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If you've read my blog or follow me on social media, you know that it was about a year ago when I purchased my first Bellabeat LEAF (now called the LEAF Nature) as a Christmas gift to myself. I wrote a review about it HERE, but oh so much has changed with it in these last 12 months.
At the end of July 2016, Bellabeat announced to its community that they were going to be releasing a new version of the LEAF - the LEAF Urban. As someone who loves technology and all things sparkly, I was so excited to be able to check out this newer version. Not long after the announcement, Bellabeat contacted me to let me know that as one of their most active users, the were going to be sending me a new LEAF Urban as a thank you. To say I was eager and excited was an understatement.
So, what is the LEAF exactly? In a nutshell, it's a fitness & wellness tracker that looks like a gorgeous piece of jewelry. It can be worn as a necklace (it comes with an adjustable chain), it can be worn as a bracelet (it also comes with an adjustable leather strap), or it can be worn like a brooch, clipped to your shirt or pants.
First, it tracks your activity/steps. Within the Bellabeat app, YOU have the ability to customize your fitness goals & see feedback based on what is important to you. Maybe you have a goal of 45 minutes of activity a day - you can set that up & track it. Or perhaps instead of activity time, you prefer to see how many steps you've taken for the day - you can set that preference up instead. And again, that's customizable. Maybe you're recovering from an illness/injury or just getting into a walking program and 10,000 steps a day isn't realistic yet, you can change that goal based on your needs. The other thing I love about the fitness tracking side is that you can manually enter your activity/workouts. For instance, while doing Pilates or yoga, you may not be moving much, but you're still working out. Because of that lack of movement/constant movement, the LEAF may not completely register what you're doing, so you can go back in and enter it yourself. The more input you put into the LEAF, the more it learns from you. For most of my workouts, I clip my LEAF to my sports bra. Most days around the house I wear it as a necklace - but more on that later.
Second, it tracks your sleep. At night, I make sure to clip my LEAF to my shirt. In the morning, I sync my LEAF & it will tell me how much light vs. deep sleep I got. If you were disturbed during your sleep (like maybe up with a sick child), it will register that, too. When you sync your LEAF in the morning, it will tell you what time it thinks you fell asleep and what time you got up. You can either say "all good" if it's accurate or if it's not, you can click "not quite" and fix it. I love that you can adjust the time, but one enhancement I would love to see is being able to adjust the "fell asleep time" to a time before 9pm. Sometimes I'm sick & I'm asleep in bed at 7pm. Or maybe I have an early flight to catch and go to bed early. I'd love to be able to capture that for those times that it happens. Your LEAF also can function as your alarm clock. And this may sound silly, but the alarm feature really is one of my favorites. I startle very easily. So when my normal alarm goes off in the morning, it scares the heck out of me and jumping up out of bed scared is not the most fun way to wake up each morning. The LEAF vibrates and gently wakes me up - which is a much more pleasant way to start the day.
Third, the LEAF offers in-app focus/meditation sessions. These sessions have been greatly improved over the past year. Initially, it was just deep breathing exercises. Now there's a whole variety of guided meditations & you get feedback from your LEAF during them by looking at your phone screen. Again, for these exercises, I usually have my LEAF clipped to my shirt or as a necklace if I'm sitting upright. If you're moving a lot during your sessions, you'll see the waves on the screen moving a lot (think of what waves look like in a storm). If you're relaxed, focused and keeping still, the waves on the screen will barely move. The Bellabeat team thrives on the feedback of its' users. And one feature that so many were asking for is the ability to manually input your meditation time. I like using the guided ones because focus & meditation is something I struggle with. Slowing down my brain and thoughts is hard for me, so I prefer to hear that soothing voice telling me to breathe in and out and what to focus on. Some people just want quiet. So now, either way, your meditation time will be factored into your app - and again, more on the importance of that later.
Next is an optional feature: tracking your monthly cycles. This is a feature that I personally use and love. Before my LEAF, I always used an app to keep track of my periods because quite frankly, I never knew the answer when a doctor would ask "what is the date of your first day of your last period?" Maybe you no longer get your periods or you're pregnant? No worries! You can turn off the tracking for your monthly cycles & it won't appear on your screen anymore. On birth control? There's an alarm on the phone specifically for that so you remember to take your pill every day.
Finally, one of the newer features that was rolled out in late summer is the stress predicting feature. Life happens. And your health (mental and physical) plays a huge factor in how you & your body can cope with and respond in stressful situations. The stress predicting feature takes it all into account - how much activity/exercise you've gotten for the day, how much/how well you slept the night before, how much time you've spent meditating & where you're at in your monthly cycle. It takes all of that information, puts it into an algorithm & pops out a number. The lower the number, the better. If you're number is higher, then you can watch it go down by maybe getting in a good workout, taking the time to meditate for 10 minutes or making sure you get proper sleep. As I've said so many times before, this isn't just a fitness tracker to count your steps. It's truly trying to capture overall wellness and give its users feedback. Knowledge is power and you can take that feedback and use it to make positive changes in your lifestyle.
So, what are the main differences between the LEAF Nature & the LEAF Urban? In terms of functionality with the app and the things I described above, they're the same. The differences come more on the aesthetic side & device itself. The Urban is a bit smaller and a little more sleek looking. It's also water resistant (as opposed to the Nature being sweat & splash resistant).
Both come with chains so that you can wear them as necklaces. Both come with leather straps so that you can wear them as bracelets. Now here is where I'd love to see a major improvement. The strap on Nature was VERY secure. The metal clasp opened and closed securely and I always felt comfortable wearing it as a bracelet. In fact, that was my favorite way to wear it. My Urban bracelet makes me a little nervous. While I love that the leather quality is way better, the metal clasps don't close. They're less like clasps and more like hooks. The LEAF Urban is designed to be worn tightly as a bracelet. And if done so, it should stay in place. But leather - any leather - stretches over time. And I know some users have run into the problem of being able to adjust their bracelet so that it fits securely. If they adjust it to one hole, it may be a little loose, but if they adjust to the next hole, the bracelet feels too tight. The bracelet being a bit loose isn't a problem on the Nature because of the secure design of the leather strap and closing clasps, but this does pose a problem for Urban owners, like myself, who prefer to wear it as a bracelet but are afraid to. I'm hoping Bellabeat takes the bracelet feedback from its Urban users and just changes the clasps so that they have closures on them.
Overall, with the exception of the bracelet clasp issue, I'm so happy with my LEAF Urban. I still love and use both of my LEAF Natures, but I love having options. To me, the Urban looks a little more fancy & sophisticated. The Nature looks a little more laid back & casual. Now, depending on my mood and outfit, I have a LEAF that will go perfectly for any occasion. The LEAF Urban, like the Nature, comes in a silver or rose gold option - so you can pick your favorite!
The last area that I have to give props to is the entire Bellabeat team. From customer support to tech support to Urška Sršen (CPO & co-founder) herself - everyone that I've worked with has always been kind and helpful whenever I had questions or feedback. Truly a world-class company that takes care of its customers.
And at the time of writing this blog post, they're currently offering FREE EXPEDITED SHIPPING so that you can get a LEAF for you or a loved one - or grab a LEAF bundle to get one for each of you, in time for Christmas!!! Just click this link to take advantage of the free expedited shipping!
Happy Christmas & happy shopping!!!
https://www.talkable.com/x/pv8Xy3
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