Yesterday I was finally able to replace my failing fitbit Clippy. Clippy was suffering from the basic design defects of the Ultra series (the plastic was not flexible enough to deal with the hinge being bent, so plastic was chipping off the hinge, and the black layer was coming loose from the blue layer, and little bumpy shards of blue plastic rained out every time the two halves separated), but also had the screen crack (I mean WTF, a fitbit's screen is not supposed to crack) and had ceased to charge at home despite reinstalling all the things. (It still charged at work though, but it wouldn't sync at work because firewall on steroids. So I was carting the adapter between home and work every few days the last few weeks.) I've come to rely on the data that Clippy feeds me enough that I become anxious at the thought of not having it, and since it's had a measurable good effect on my general stamina and well-being, I felt it worth replacing.

Despite the design flaws, I would have been happy with another Ultra, but the series was discontinued, and all of the places still carrying it had jacked up their prices to well above the prices of the current line.

The current line of Fitbits are Zip, One, and Flex.

( My needs in a tracker, and my self-guided rehabilitation process, featuring the Fitbit. )

Unfortunately, Fitbit is not designed with the needs of people who need to limit their step count in mind. It is designed for people who need motivation to reach their goal step count, and who will be able to limit themselves from harmfully overstepping it after they reach it, without being warned or prompted. If the Flex showed me the time, and then allowed me to set green/amber/red levels for after I've reached my goal, I could probably use it. It doesn't, so I can't.

That left me with the One.

I was nervous about the One because it's described as having a silicone holder, and the pictures show a thin clip on the back of a flexible silicone basket that cradles the tracker.

Upon actually examining the thing, I was less nervous. ( Details on the actual One which other reviews have sort of ignored. )