Nike+ SportBand (Silver)

by Nike

Product Details

• ASIN: B002Y1NYYM
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,985 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #53 in Electronics > GPS & Navigation > Sports & Handheld GPS > Running GPS Units
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 3, 2010

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Accuracy Variable but Much Cheaper than a Garmin GPS., August 14, 2010

By 

Jeremy C. Stone - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nike+ SportBand (Silver) (Electronics)

I have long wanted a quality GPS driven running watch but could never quite afford the $200 minimum pricetag. For Father's Day this year, my wife and kids came up with a pretty good alternative in the Nike Fit+ Sportband. At around $60.00, it is much more affordable than a GPS watch and is pretty darn good for the price. There are just a couple of points that anyone considering buying one should consider:

- You DO NOT HAVE TO PURCHASE NIKE SNEAKERS TO USE THE SPORTBAND. Nike would tell you otherwise but the sportband system works just as well with your favorite brand of running shoe. You must simply find a way to attach the sensor to the laces of your shoe. I initially used a folded over piece of duct tape holding it in place under my laces. I looked online and found numerous devices designed for this purpose specifically, ranging from $2 to about $10. I picked a latex case that attaches to my laces and holds the sensor in place. It works as well as the Sportband is expected to work. Thank goodness because I personally find Nike running shoes overly expensive and of poor quality.

-The Sportband is generally pretty accurate. It is surely accurate enough for everyday use. Even without doing calibration on the system, it is generally within 1/10 of a mile on my workday morning 5 milers. The only place I have found that it falters is when I try to include speed work into my routine. When I do my usual 8:10-8:20 miles the accuracy is as I mentioned, however, if I speed up my run to under 8 minute miles, it changes my gait and, clearly, this effects the accuracy of the unit. On such runs I have "lost" up to 1/4 mile on the same 5 mile route I run 4-5 days a week. This is not an enormous deal except that when training for a race, my pace is very important to me and I don't trust the pace that the watch is telling me since the mileage is clearly inaccurate. I can do the adjustment in my head but isn't that why I wanted a running watch in the first place?

Within these parameters, the Sportband is a good purchase. It won't stop me from getting a GPS watch when I find the money to do so but it has provided a good substitute in the meantime.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Motivation, December 27, 2009

By 

Envelope Deb "Envelope Deb" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nike+ SportBand (Silver) (Electronics)

I bought the Nike+ SportBand to easily keep track of my running progress as I train for a half marathon. I do not use an ipod but bought Nike shoes that are Nike+ ready. I am entering my second week of use of the SportBand and I am very happy with it. It is very user friendly, comfortable and easily uploads run info to the Nike+ website. The sensor (included with my purchase) seems to be very accurate.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great alternative for those who don't have an iPhone/iPod and would like to try Nike+, April 2, 2010

By 

Peter - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nike+ SportBand (Silver) (Electronics)

For me, half the battle is just getting out the door. Nike+ seems to help with that.

A number of my friends recently purchased Nike+ after finding out it came with their iPhones. Not being one of the enlightened Jobsians, I decided to give this Sport Band a shot. I'm currently using this product in unison with the Marware Sportsuit Sensor Case for Nike + iPod Sport Kit for iPod nano 3G (Black), and I couldn't be more pleased.

For me, the Sport Band is more convenient than using my phone or an iPod because I don't/can't run with something that big. I run with a small SanDisk Sansa Clip 2 GB MP3 Player (Black), which only holds my workout playlists.

Anyways, after using this product for a few months now, I've got to say it definitely increased the number of times I run a week. The online interface, although a bit unintuitive at times, is slick and provides a great overview of your running habits. You can create challenges for yourself, and also for your friends, as well as set goals like "I want to run at least 3 times a week." There are also a few modes that you can use to train for various distance races, such as 5ks, half-marathons, and full-marathons. It tells you how many miles to run over how many days for a number of weeks. I found that to be very useful as I'm planning on eventually running a marathon myself. (key word: eventually)

Although I can't say this Nike+ has got me on a regular running schedule, it has definitely helped. It's very convenient to use, as it's just like wearing a watch, (It also works as a watch) and the product is very durable. The strap is made of some kind of rubber, and I can't picture it breaking, as I've dropped it a number of times already.

Synchronizing with your computer is as simple as plugging the black body of the Sport Band into your PC, and letting it upload the data to their website. (No effort involved)

Bottom line: if you want to start running more, the Nike+ Sport Band provides a tool for both motivating yourself through peer pressure/guilt (haha, when you see all your friends ran one week and you didn't, you feel like you have to) and for getting a nice overview of your running habits. It's definitely worth purchasing to fulfill a New Year's resolution or two.