My Fitbit Zip and my wife's Zip do not count steps the same

[okdandman]

My wife and I both use the Fitbit Zip.  We walk for at least an hour together.  After that period of time I have at least 1,500 to 2,000 steps more than she does.  We watch to make sure our steps are the same and they are very close, but I have way more steps on my Zip than she does.  This has been the case ever since we started using the Zip for walking.  We wear then on our wrist or in our pockets and its always the same.  Why?

[TracyPinocchio]

I have learned over the years that the best place to wear my zip is on my shoe, which is the only body part that knows what actual steps I take.  Wearing it on my bra, as suggested, gives me no steps; wearing it in my pocket or clipped to my belt gives me marginal steps, but clipped to my shoe I'm getting a true figure.  Experiment.  Have yours in your pocket and hers on her shoe and see how they differ. (You'd think whoever has the larger stride would get the fewer steps.)

My husband has moved on to Garmin, but when he had a fitbit, he wore it on his wrist.  He is an Italian chef, so his hands are always moving whether he's talking or cooking - even though he doesn't actually MOVE as much as I do running around the dining room of the restaurant I own, he easily doubles my steps.  It DOES matter where you wear you device.

I now wear one on my wrist AND my zip on my shoe, and they talk to each other, so I'm not getting a double count.  I only have the one on my wrist because my husband gave it to me as a gift to shut me up about how I move more and he gets the steps. If I ONLY wear the one on my wrist (an Alta), my steps are significantly lower than the zip on my shoe.  If I wear them both, the zip updates my Alta so the numbers match.

[okdandman]

Thanks. Very interesting information. I have noticed that steps are not always accurate. I ride a motorcycle and play golf, sometimes using a golf cart. When I ride the motorcycle I have my Zip in my pocket or clipped on my belt. The Zip will count steps while I’m riding the motorcycle and when I ride in a golf cart. I’ve had over 25,000 steps taking an 8 hour motorcycle trip. And 16,000 to 17,000 steps in 3 hours in a golf cart. I actually get fewer steps playing golf when I walk than when I ride in the cart.

My wife and I recently started wearing our Zip in a Zip bracelet. I had hoped that would keep down the steps I get from the vibration in the golf cart, but it only had a minor affect. My wife also wears the Zip bracelet, but its because its a cool, wild looking color. We’ll try wearing them on our shoes as you suggested. We have to do something because it really aggravates her when we do the same walk and I have so many more steps than she does. I know the whole idea is to keep you moving and at least that’s working. Thanks for the info.