I'd even be more inclined to wear Fitbit's new Alta tracker over the Blaze: It makes no bones about being just a fitness tracker, whereas the Blaze is in the awkward position of being a gadget that tries but fails to be stylish. Yes, it's less expensive than either of those devices, but for a wearable to be successful, people should actually want to wear it every day, and that just wasn't the case for me. It lacks the retro futurism of the Moto 360 and the craftsmanship of the Apple Watch. It's just not fashionable, and it feels rather cheap. Ultimately, the whole package feels decent for the price, but it's not something I looked forward to wearing every day. That said, over the week or so I wore it, I did manage to break the strap in a bit, and it ultimately became my go-to band when I wasn't exercising. For the money, I would have expected a higher-quality, more supple feel. With the base $200 edition and elastomer strap you're getting what you pay for, but at $100 the leather strap isn't exactly cheap. The leather option felt more comfortable to wear for extended periods, but neither band feels particularly well crafted.
Fitbit's silicone is good enough, but it's definitely not as comfortable as Apple's own sport bands. The elastomer strap is clearly the better choice for working out, but the rest of the time I preferred the leather option.
The Blaze is very light, which helps it recede into the background while you're wearing it. Though the watch lacks the polish of a premium product, I didn't mind wearing it for extended periods of time. Perhaps my nerves were shot when I first tried the device at CES, but I was initially unimpressed with it. If you're doing lengthy workouts every day, you'll probably burn through the battery faster, but even so, I did three in a five-day period and the battery held up just fine.Īs for actually wearing the Blaze, it's a lot more comfortable than I expected. Fitbit promises five-day battery life, which is about how long my review unit lasted. It's odd and rather awkward, but fortunately you won't need to charge it very often. The tracker drops into a weird little plastic charging frame for power you can't rejuice it without removing it from the strap. While it's simple enough to remove the bands, Fitbit clearly thinks that popping out the tracker and dropping it into a new frame makes for a better experience.Įven if you don't own multiple bands, you'll be popping the tracker in and out of its frame to charge it. I tested the black leather strap, which sells separately for $99 and comes with another steel frame. If you want to use a different band, you don't swap the band itself you just pop the tracker out and insert it into a new frame-and-band combo. The $200 base model comes with an elastomer sport strap, available in black, blue or plum. By subscribing, you are agreeing to Engadget's Terms and Privacy Policy.
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