Tanita BC554 Ironman Glass InnerScan Body Composition Monitor Elite Series
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List Price: Our Price: $129.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Health Care See more product details |
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Customer Reviews of Tanita BC554 Ironman Glass InnerScan Body Composition Monitor Elite Series
Customer Review: Excellent tool to improve your health and your shape - Helped lme lost over 200 lbs
Summary: 5 Stars
Is an excellent motivational tool to keep you inspired day after day, as you see the results of your workouts, diet or life-style translate into numbers in the body composition display.
I use this Tanita Body Composition Monitor, along with a Polar Heart Rate monitor (the s625x running computer) and the ABS Diet book (from Men's health Magazine) to go from 44 to 32 size pants, and I have been able to keep the weight off for more than 5 years.
There will always be a debate on how accurate this monitors are, no matter which model or brand you buy. Independently of the technology that the scale uses, the data displayed will always be related to statistical groups.
The important thing to keep in mind is that you have to record your results and see if the trends show improvements (e.g. decrease in fat %, increase in muscle mass, increase in metabolic rate, decrease in metabolic age, etc.). You get off the scale, scroll thru all the displayed measurements using the arrows keys (as long as the scale hasn't turned off). You have plenty of time to record your readings. This keeps you motivated as you see the numbers improve week after week. It may be slow improvement or small steps improvements, but over time the motivation will keep you focused and you will get the results you want.
Customer Review: Great Scale - sans the 'known' LCD problem
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this scale over three years ago from Amazon when I started my fitness program. I really loved it and it showed me how I developed over the years. I am really not sure about the BMI readings, as others have commented, what I do know is that the scale is very accurate when it comes to weight. I also like the additional options, such as the met age. It always makes me feel good when it tells me I am 30! I also like the fact that I can store multiple profiles in the scale so my dad can use it as can my son because the profiles are customized for their height and age.
The only problem is that the right side of the LCD stopped working. This is apparently a known problem experienced by other reviewers, as well. I wouldn't dock too many stars for that though, since I still got 3 years of service but really these things should last and last. Since I am abroad, I won't be able to send this back to Tanita until I am back home though I have every intention of doing so assuming it's still under warranty (I have no idea if it is or not actually). It is also pretty heavy, so I can't ship it back either.
Great scale but if your needs are simpler, I would recommend any of the Tanita units under $50.
Customer Review: Be wary about using your Tanita in a bathroom.
Summary: 1 Stars
Be wary of Tanita and their warranty claims. The product itself was decent, and fairly accurate, however Tanita is not a company that prides itself in customer service and product support. I used my scale in a normal bathroom environment, and after just 3 months you could see evaporation underneath the screen. I don't know if a gasket had a crack in it, or what the issue might have been, but the unit couldn't withstand the normal humidity of a bathroom. In fact, the unit was a good 20 feet from any active water, like a shower and tub.
I shipped the unit in, and without even so much as a courtesy call, the "customer service manager" returned my unit with a note that my warranty claim was refused, even though I had spoken to someone before about the issue, and said it would be replaced no problem. The customer service manager was nice enough, but said that even though it was well within the boundaries of his discretion, he was going to refuse the claim, because they refuse all like claims regarding evaporation. He even admitted that it happens fairly often.
Stay away.
His recommendation? Buy another Tanita, and not place it in the bathroom. Right.
Customer Review: Great scale, fair body composition. Fun!
Summary: 4 Stars
I think it's fun! It seems quite good on accuracy, as far as consitently reporting readings that are close to each other, from one weighing to the next. Like other reviewers, I was at first dismayed to find that it reported almost double the % body fat when I put it in male standard mode versus male athletic mode. % body fat should be % body fat right (regardless of whether you're an athlete or not)?! But upon further reading and thinking, I realize that they are using some measure of water versus tissue to calculate body fat, and that they have to change the calculation equation for athletic types who tend to be 1) more muscular, and 2) less hydrated.
Thus, there is a somewhat reasonable explanation in that they have to base their equations as calibrations from a population of individuals of the two different body types. So it won't be perfectly accurate, especially if you happen to be an individual that deviates from the norm of the population you are in (athletic group or standard group).
But the important thing is being able to measure change in yourself over time, and I think it does this quite well.
Customer Review: Wow, what a gadget!
Summary: 5 Stars
We got our Monitor yesterday and of course, got right into setting it up. Is it ever NEAT! I have been exercising religiously for about two years but other than weight and heart rate, really didn't have any way to gauge just how I was doing. Talk about pleased after getting the results from the body scan. At 53, I have a metabolic age of 39 - it definitely gave me a boost of confidence AND showed that dragging myself out of bed at 5:00 AM to do an exercise routine has proved to be worth it; and gives me incentive to keep it up. My husband, who has not been quite so religious about his exercises, found that some of his results indicate that he nees to get much more active!! It will be fun to see how much he improves over time. We are really pleased with this purchase (can you tell?)! I think anyone who is just starting an exercise routine and looking at getting into a more healthy lifestyle should definitely buy one of these to get an early baseline so they can get full benefit of it right from the start.