How accurate have you found the Band 2 to be when estimating distances without using GPS?

[Schnarky]

I initially found mine to be surprisingly accurate when I tested it on a treadmill. On an 8 mile run, it was within about 5% of what the treadmill displayed. I repeated this a few times, and was pleasantly surprised by its accuracy.

Recently it has gotten bad though. It's consistently reporting distances that are 20% lower than what the treadmill (same treadmill, btw) is reporting - so for example, when the treadmill says 2 miles, the band says 1.6 miles, whereas before it would always be somewhere around 1.9-2.1

What have your experiences been like with this feature?

 

[poit57]

I haven't used it much without GPS, but I think it has been fairly accurate when I have. Most of the times that I've seen this estimate tested is on the occasions when I can't get a GPS lock before I begin a run. Without GPS, I'm still notified that I've reached my first mile marker within about 50 feet of the spot that is measured with GPS.

My church has a small gym with a walking track around it on the second floor. The track is supposedly 16 laps for a mile, but I don't know how accurate that measurement is. The few times I've run on that track, the Band registers 1 mile when I'm near 15.5 laps.

 

[DroidUser42]

It's worth noting that the Band uses the GPS to calibrate for your stride length. If it's suddenly off, then perhaps it was lost. A run with GPS on should restore it. Another condenser might be is if you're running a different pace. Without the GPS, the Band can only estimate based on step count. If your stride length changes with different kinds of running, that could be a problem.

 

[Nate Silver]

After you found it to be agreeing with the treadmill distance, did you do any outdoor (with gps) runs? If so, the Band may have made adjustments to pacing based on that. Its really hard to tell which device (if any) might be reporting distance accurately when you're dealing with an indoor activity where there is actually no distance involved. Its all pretty much guess-work, since stride length and cadence are so variable. I typically use both the Band and my Fenix 3 on the treadmill. It is very rare (if ever) that all three agree on distance.

 

[DroidUser42]

I'd hope the treadmill would know the distance, but that would be relying on the device being properly set up. It's possible some internal calibration is way off due to using a different part or something. Maybe you need to take a distance measuring wheel on the treadmill with you. :evil: