Review // The Nike+ FuelBand - A Step Towards the Future

Sole Collector reviews the Nike+ FuelBand, a product cool enough to fascinate the everyday futurist and useful enough to quiet (most of) the skeptics.



words // Brennan Hiro Williams

images // Zac Dubasik & Jotham Porzio

video // Jotham Porzio & Brennan Hiro Williams

as published in the March iPad issue of Sole Collector Magazine

Have you ever wondered how much physical movement you perform during the course of a 24-hour period? Walking to work? Shooting hoops? Skating? Instructing the uninformed on how to douglas?

Cue the FuelBand, a new product from Nike's Digital Sport sector that aims to promote activity and motivate users in their everyday lives. The wristband tracks user activity throughout the course of a day, and, with the help of Nike+ software, converts that data into visible, useful statistical representations.

I recently spent seven days with the FuelBand, experiencing Nike's intriguing new gadget firsthand. What I found was a product cool enough to fascinate the everyday futurist and useful enough to quiet (most of) the skeptics.

THE BAND 

Unboxing and setting up the FuelBand was a surprisingly easy process, requiring only a computer with Internet access and a USB port. After plugging in the FuelBand's integrated USB 2.0 connector tip to my MacBook Pro, I was able to input my information (gender, height and weight), my preferred product specifications (which wrist will you wear the FuelBand on) and my daily NikeFuel goal, all through the downloaded Nike+ Connect software. The FuelBand simultaneously charged its two curved lithium polymer batteries during this process (a charge that lasted approximately four days, as advertised), making for a short wait before it was ready for action.

The FuelBand itself, made from thermoplastic elastomer, polypropylene, magnesium and stainless steel (the product uses no polyvinyl chloride, or “PVC”), weighs in at just over one ounce (30 g) for the medium model. Though there are only three sizes sold (small, medium and large), each band comes with two easily removable links (8mm and 16mm) for a more customizable fit. At its “fattest” point (the latch), the FuelBand is 8 mm thick.

The LED display on the front of the FuelBand is impressive, using 100 white and 20 color LED lights seated just under the FuelBand's surface. A small button triggers the display, and with each click cycles through four readings: Fuel, calories, steps and current time of day. An ambient light sensor in the display detects light levels, automatically adjusting the brightness of the LED display depending on the current environment.

During my week with the FuelBand, I found it comfortable and, more importantly, durable. One of the biggest questions leading up to the test was whether or not the wristband could hold up against more rigorous activities. I wore the FuelBand just below my shooting hand during multiple pick-up basketball games with few issues. The clasp was knocked open two different times, but the FuelBand never became dislodged from its position on my wrist. I should note that I recently observed Andrew Bynum, center for the Los Angeles Lakers, lose his FuelBand on the court during two separate NBA games, though I think most users should encounter minimal problems (unless they plan on hacking the arms of large basketball players for 48 minutes every night). Looking to further test this issue, I put the FuelBand through a boxing routine and experienced zero issues, even during several rounds of heavy bag work. Playing catch, running and even bowling all felt natural – I could feel the FuelBand on my wrist, but it was certainly not a distraction.

THE FUEL

To understand the FuelBand, it is vital to understand NikeFuel, the new metric that Nike calls "the ultimate measure of your athletic activity."

One of the most common complaints I heard after the release of the FuelBand was about the NikeFuel metric. “What is Fuel? Is that even a real thing?” According to Nike, NikeFuel is, in fact, a real thing – the result of highly developed research. The metric, developed by Nike with the assistance of sports and science experts, is based on oxygen kinetics – the amount of oxygen intake necessary for a given activity or movement. Fuel points are essentially derived from comparing movement, measured by the device's three-dimensional accelerometer, to data collected on oxygen kinetics for different activities. Therefore, instead of just measuring calorie expenditure, which is variable by both gender and body type, Fuel is a "normalized score that awards all participants equal scoring for the same activity regardless of their physical makeup." A calorie burn total is included on the FuelBand for good measure, and is viewable with the click of a button.

When synced with a wireless device or a computer, NikeFuel totals are shown in a series of different graphs and charts, allowing users to see how active they are by hour, day, week, month and even by year. Fuel totals accumulate towards achievement goals and can be shared on social media via Facebook or Twitter (more on these subjects later).

The next question is consistency. I was unable to notice any glaring inconsistencies with my Fuel totals. For example, multiple two-hour pick-up basketball sessions resulted in similar scores of approximately 2,500 Fuel points.

Though, while the scores were consistent during my testing period, the system is not foolproof. The accelerometer inside of the FuelBand is effective at recording higher impact activities involving upper body movement (such as running); however, it is essentially unable to accurately record certain lower body-intensive activities (such as cycling), a fault acknowledged by Nike in the instruction manual. The wrist-mounted nature of the device makes such activities difficult to measure, for now. 

Despite not earning my fair share of Fuel for mashing down the street on my bike or practicing Steven Seagal-esque front kicks in the mirror, my quest for NikeFuel was largely undeterred.

MOTIVATION

Not unlike many Saturday mornings, thoughts of sleep lost during the workweek kept me firmly tethered to the pillow, a lamentation usually only satiable through more sleep. I shifted to my left and slowly peeled open an eye, just enough to glance at the FuelBand sitting on the nightstand.

"What was my score yesterday?"

It was 2,182. Just short of my 3,000 Fuel point goal. At that moment I felt a certain level of excitement – something akin to the anticipation of playing my favorite new video game. I needed to spring up and see where this game could take me. Maybe even rack up a score I could be proud of.

While this was a fleeting feeling, it was an important one. Generations of antiquated workout devices and diet plans use the same methods. You suffer, and then, maybe, you gain. The feelings associated with those systems are so familiar in our everyday lives, introducing another layer might be exhausting and, at best, annoying. The FuelBand, on the other hand, provides a fresh approach, engaging a gaming-savvy generation with achievement goals and competition.

Goals are set while the FuelBand is synced with either a computer or mobile phone (I started with 3,000, a total recommended for an “active” day). As the user's Fuel total increases throughout the day, so do the corresponding 20 colored LED lights on the display, transitioning from red to yellow to green, until the Fuel goal is reached, at which time a “GOAL” animation runs across the display. The concept isn't complicated, but it works to create a competition against oneself, a competition that, in my experience, helped motivate me to get to the gym at the end of the day and push me through the finish line. Once synced again, the FuelBand mascot awards the successful goal breaking with badges and celebratory animations, an achievement system not unlike the popular Xbox Live Gamerscore.

Multiplayer? The FuelBand does that, too, getting further integrated into your everyday world via Facebook, where users can utilize a FuelBand Facebook application. Through the app, users can join “missions,” where they can compete against fellow FuelBand users, friends and professional athletes alike. Recent “missions” include Fuel point challenges against Kevin Durant and Andrew Luck, a scavenger hunt with DJ duo Duck Sauce and a fundraiser for LIVESTRONG.

Even if you're not convinced by the science behind the NikeFuel metric, the fact that it provides a positive total is significant. Calorie counts are stressful, but blasting your way to a new high score is fun. NikeFuel creates a video game-like experience, and in doing so was much more efficient in motivating me to exercise. I could take off the FuelBand and walk away on my own free will, but like my experience with any good video game, I didn't want to. I wanted to level up.

'COOL' FACTOR

The FuelBand released in grand fashion last January, following a cryptic “1.19.12” release date teaser that had the blogosphere buzzing in anticipation for weeks. The product I saw that morning had my full attention, though I would be lying if I said that initial interest had anything to do with fitness. The FuelBand looked cool.

During my testing period with the FuelBand, I received several comments and questions directed towards the product, not about exercise or sports, but rather about the FuelBand's aesthetics.

"Woah. What is that?"

Let me see the lights.”

"Cool watch!"

The last comment reoccurred several times over the course of the week, perhaps answering an important question about the FuelBand: What use does it have for someone not interested in exercise? I'm not recommending that anyone buy the FuelBand solely as a timekeeping device, but with its sleek design, unmistakable LED display and a price point in the same range as most of the Casio G-Shock line, such a purchase might not be out of the question (If the LED display could be kept on at all times, Nike could have a hit fashion accessory in its hands). For some, this aspect alone might justify the $150 retail price tag. Put simply, not many accessories, sports performance or not, measure up to the FuelBand in terms of cool.

CONCLUSION

In the end, the FuelBand withstood the weight of elevated expectations. Its $150 price tag will scare off some that look at it only as a “wristband,” but it proved to be much more than that. With its minimal, stylish design, I could wear the FuelBand all day, maximizing its effectiveness both as a monitoring device and as an integrated experience. Most importantly, it was effective in motivating me to be more active, turning exercise from work into fun.

I am excited to see what else Nike+ has on the way. The upcoming Nike Hyperdunk – which measures not only NikeFuel, but quickness and vertical leap (possible game changers) – shows that the FuelBand is leading the way for a much more expansive product selection.

For me, the FuelBand inspires thoughts of technological possibility and advancement – it looks like the future, and that's something I want a piece of. I imagine that Doc Brown would be proud; 2015 is, after all, only three years away.

Music - Nicatyne "Ghasp"