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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Product Reviews of Tanita BC554 Ironman Glass InnerScan Body Composition Monitor Elite Series
Product Review: Broken displays not a fluke, manufacturing defect
Summary: 3 Stars
Firstly, I love this scale. Even if those who argue that some of the numbers other than weight are not meaningful the scale measures how those number change accurately and to me that is also meaningful. BUT a week after i bought the first one the display cracked. Amazon shipped a new one no questions asked. 30 days after that the display cracked on the new one. Again its being replaced but twice cannot be a fluke, given that other reviews here also mention the same cracked display problem it seems clear to me that the digital display is not sufficiently engineered to absorb even light shock from banging.Product Review: Careful in choosing a Tanita model to fit your needs
Summary: 3 Stars
Great looking scale, just wish they hadn't put stickers on the glass part that leave residue which is close to impossible to remove. There are several types of Tanita scales out for choices in functionality. This "high end" model only really gives you an expanded recall function over most of the others, that recall function is horribly engineered by the way. It only recalls the LAST measurements, shows no statistics and is pretty much useless in my opinion. I use a pad and pen, it works ten times better. The manual that comes with the scale is essentially non-existant, it has a five sentence explanation of what most of the measurements are looking at. It never explains how it comes to these conclusions, mostly for the reason that to explain the calculations, would invariably reveal how innacurate the result set would be. The other issue with this scale is that the icons backlight by LEDs are about a 1/4 inch big, making it impossible to see them when standing on the scale. The only way to recognize the setting that you are currently looking at is by memory or getting off the scale and down on your knees. The accuracy of the weight function seems dead on, however, I have had four people step on this scale and the body fat, muscle mass and other "features" are ridiculously off. One of the people to step on the scale was a nutritionalist who was very familiar with her measurements and it was way off, by at least 20% in fat measurements. The biological age feature is a joke, I change ages daily according to the scale. The thing that I will say is that the fluctuations are registered so that you can see if the measurements are either decreasing or increasing. My suggestion is that if you are interested in these scales, and they do have their merits, go with a much lower end model than this one as it is really not worth the extra fifty or so dollars from much similar models. Go out to Tanita's website and compare them to see what you would like to have as far as options are concerned. For myself, it does give me some record to set goals against and I like that, I just wish I had gone with a more reasonable model that a $100 selection.Product Review: Complete Bodyfat and Weight Scale Analysis in one unit
Summary: 5 Stars
I have owned many of the Tanita scales over the years and they just get better and better. With all the functions built into this machine it should be hundreds more. If you are serious about losing weight, maintaining weight, or just want to know all the real factors on a daily basis this is the ultimate machine. Everything from muscle mass, water weight changes, and more this is great for the novice exercise enthusiast to the serious athlete. You can get a side by side comparison of this versus the other ones at www.tanita.com and you'll see how feature packed this is. It's also very reliable, easy to use. Go get yours today!Product Review: Directionally Correct, but Accurate???
Summary: 3 Stars
I've used a simple model from Tanita for over 5 years and was as happy as a man with one clock -- I knew exactly what time it was. The added features of the BC554 were irresistable, but now I had 2 sources of data and they were not in agreement by a significant amount (e.g. 3% body fat difference on a base of 16%).
The weight measurement is as good as ever: precise, accurate and consistent. The best that can be said of the other functions is that they seem to be directionally correct and some are simply 'figures of merit', not measurements at all.
Customer support is surprising. When I asked the inevitable questions via their web site, I received a phone call from them. The answers made sense, but only reinforce my assessment.
It seems that the algorithms are based on a statistical sample using gender, age, height, and 'athleticism'. If your actual profile is close to the sample population, the accuracy is probably pretty good. But as you progress toward 'athletic' and away from the calibration population, accuracy declines.
It seems to me that anyone purchasing this model is serious enough about fitness to fall into this 'no man's land'. The other issue is that I would expect some continuity between the measures for 'standard adult' and 'athletic adult'. But there is a chasm! I measured 19% at 'standard' and 9% at 'athletic'. The first is clearly too high and the second is too low. Maybe a calculated average is closer to an accurate reading, but that is a serious shortcoming in a top-of-the-line product.
So, simpler & cheaper is my recommendation. Accept the idea that you are getting directionally correct numbers that are only accurate if you match the calibration population profile.
Product Review: Disappointed
Summary: 2 Stars
Have had this thing for months and overall am not pleased with it. Seems like the technology is just not there yet. Readings for the same person from day to day or hour to hour fluctuate tremendously especially on fat percentages.