REVIEW – There are dozens of ways we can track our biometrics these days. From smartwatches to smart rings, from earbuds to your vehicle’s sensor array, everything is trying to monitor and report on (and sell, in many cases) your biometric data. How long/well did you sleep? Have you eaten lately? What’s your BMI? This data is private, but if you allow access, devices in your life will gather, track, compile, analyze, and report on this information for you—caveat emptor. I’ve been using a smart scale for about a decade. I weigh usually every morning and it tells me just how horrible I have been doing in keeping my weight under control. I’m not sure why I like this, but I do. So, when Julie offered the team a new mental torture device, (aka, the Lepulse Body Composition Scale) I agreed. During the holidays. Herewith is my report.
[stextbox id=”consumer”]⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $84.99
Where to buy: LePulse and Amazon
[/stextbox]
What is it?
The LePulse Body Composition Scale is a smart scale with a handheld wand that helps gather deep information about body composition.
What’s included?
[stextbox id=”whats-included”]
- LePulse Body Composition Scale with attached wand
- Charging cable (USB-A <=> USB-C)
- Mounting wall clip for the wand
- Paperwork
[/stextbox]
Tech Specs
[stextbox id=”tech-specs”]
- Advanced 8-electrode technology
- 20 Body Compositions
- Segmented BIA measurement
- 4.68” Large LCD Display
- Trend Tracking & Professional Report
- One Body Fat Scale for Whole Family
[/stextbox]
Design and features
The Lepulse Body Composition Scale is a black 12” square of glass that sits up about an inch from the floor. On the top (judging by the printing on the face as to orientation) in the center there is a captive cable 59” long that is also attached to what I call a wand. The wand is a cylinder, 11.5” long and 1.5” in diameter. There are two flat sides with sensors, and the cable is attached in the center on one of the non-flat edges. There are four metal panels on the wand – two small ones on one side, and two larger ones on the opposite side. These are for your fingertips. The small ones are for your thumbs, and larger ones for your four fingers of each hand. (See “Assume the Position” in the Performance section below.)
The scale is divided roughly into three segments, with an info screen down the middle. The left and right panels are for your feet, and are divided into four pads. The toes go on the top ones and the heels go on the bottom ones. As long as your foot is large enough to touch these four pads, the scale can measure your body info. (The company makes a lot out of the fact that anyone can use it. There are even instructions on how to weigh your pet or infant.)
Setup
Setting up the LePulse Body Composition Scale is pretty easy. Download their app and create an account. (This is how it always starts with such devices. It’s like watching Paula Deen start a recipe: “So, first, melt two sticks of butter…”) Make sure it’s charged. Turn it on, connect over Bluetooth to your new phone app, and then let things go.
Performance
Turn on the app and then get on the scale – not a lot of mental gymnastics around this. You do have to make sure that you’re in the “Measure” section of the app. The little song it plays is fine, but it’s a popular Christmas Carol, and I’d much rather it be a generic 20-second riff that doesn’t make me have “Angels, We Have Heard on High” on my mind for the rest of the day! It’s fine, because it’s Christmas right now, but in three months, I’m gonna be irritated! The “Final Jeopardy!” timing theme would be much more preferred and more apropos.
I tried it for a day or two without the song, but the device is so sensitive, if you lose contact or alter your footing it gives an error, and if you don’t have the “measurement sound” setting activated, there is no aural feedback at all. You won’t know whether or not your weight and other data was captured. Listening is fine. (“Glooo-oroio-orio-roios in excelsis Deo!” Really. Glory to God in the highest. Every time I weigh myself. SMH. As an atheist, it really bugs me.)
Before mounting the scale, you need to press one of the pads enough for it to “wake” the sensors and turn on the display, then step off. (This is kinda standard for digital scales.) Once it resets to 0.0 for the weight, you can “Assume The Position.” This is as follows: While standing with your feet on the correct areas of the scale, you have to hold the wand at a 45º angle from your shoulders, arms straight, with your legs apart. You feel like you’re a water skier waiting for the boat to pull you up. Their setup tutorial has great pictures, and a little bit of Engrish, which I find endearing.
The data that is given is very detailed and granular. It’s not just weight, BMI, and % Body fat. There is lean body weight (Basically, body weight minus fat), fat mass, bone mass, % visceral fat, % subcutaneous fat, obesity level, body age, waist-to-height ratio (WHR), and just about everything else you can imagine. Reviewing the data for the first time, I felt like I had gone to a gym to sign up and they had done one of those workups where they use the little pinchers to check your fat and measure everything everywhere! But that takes about 45 minutes, and this happened in 20 seconds. (“Glooo-oroio-orio-roios in excelsis Deo!”)
As I used it over the few weeks of testing, I found more and better insights into my body, and maybe it affected my desire to increase muscle mass. Or maybe it stopped snowing and I got back on the bike. I never got used to the song.
Final thoughts
I have been using a smart scale so long, I am addicted to the data it gives. The LePulse Body Composition Scale gives even more. Even with the irritation of the Christmas carol “measuring sound” (which could be any 20-30 second sound snippet!), I like getting detailed data about my body composition. This scale gives much more detailed information (“If you’d lose some of this fat, your muscles would be in great shape!”) than just telling me my BMI is too high. It sounds fatalistic, but it is quite a motivating factor.
What I like about the LePulse Body Composition Scale
[stextbox id=”pros”]
- Detailed body composition information
- Easy setup and measurement
- Great charts and detailed info
[/stextbox]
What needs to be improved?
[stextbox id=”cons”]
- Please let me have a different measurement sound!!!!!!
- Very tedious stance and grip required
- I do wish it would auto-launch the app and go to the correct screen.
[/stextbox][stextbox id=”consumer”]Price: $84.99
Where to buy: LePulse and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by LePulse. They did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
[/stextbox][stextbox id=”related”]Check out these other reviews!
- RunStar Smart Scale review – a lot of information, at (and from!) your fingertips.
- Withings Body Scan scale review
[/stextbox]
