Tanita BF680W Duo Scale Plus Body Fat Monitor with Athletic Mode and Body Water

I purchased this scale two years ago. I've used it daily since then. I keep track of my weight and BF in a log book. I also use calipers, a more sophisticated bio-impedance device at a supplement store, biometric formulas for BF%, and DEXA scans, to track BF%. I have researched the medical literature on BF monitoring.This scale is somewhat useful for tracking changes over short time periods, but the user needs to use some care in interpreting results. There are multiple issues. (1) leg-to-leg bioimpedance devices aren't as sensitive to changes in BF in your upper body as some other methods, and as BF decreases, especially in men, changes in residual BF is likely to be in the torso after the legs lean out. (2) the formula used here works better for people with more, but not too much, fat on them. So it gave similar results to calipers and other methods when my BF was in the mid-teens to low 20s, but was progressively less accurate and less responsive to changes as my BF% continued to decrease into the single digits. (3) there are two settings... basically, "couch potato" and "serious amateur athlete" (my interpretations there). When I started using this, I had been ill for several years, and the couch potato setting was more appropriate for me. As I recovered with surgery and medical treatments and worked out intensively 10+ hours/week, my body density and water retention gradually came to match the profile for the athlete setting. So, there was a very long transition period when I was moving between the two and that made it very hard to track BF changes using a device like this.It's easy to use, and I like being able to see an estimate of my hydration level at a glance as well as my weight. If you are serious about tracking your BF, and you expect it to change over time, I recommend buying a cheap pair of calipers and learning to use them. A device like the Tanita scale is handy, but it is not a substitute for calipers.

I have always been skeptical about scales that measure body fat %, but after seen Matt Fitzgerald recommend them as a pretty accurate tool in one of his nutrition books, I decided to give this one a try. I am an athlete, so I was interested in seeing the accuracy of the scale compared to other methods using the athlete mode vs. the normal male mode. When I did this, the male measurement was off by 6%, but once I selected the proper setting (male athlete), my percentage of body fat was within 0.5% of what was measured using calipers.As a tip, which I read in the Fitzgerald book I referenced above, in order to get an accurate body fat % reading, you should dampen the soles of you feet and quickly dry them with a towel (don't dry them thoroughly, just pat dry them) before stepping on the scale, since these improves conductivity. The manual for the scale says you have to have clean feet to get proper readings, but I think it's a little more than that.Setting up the profile once I got the batteries that came with the scale in place, was a breeze, you just enter your height, age and male / female as well as athlete or not. Then you are ready to go. You can use the scale with body fat and water % measurements or just for weight. Finally, it looks fine in the bathroom, it is not an ugly scale that you would have to hide if you have people come over. The only part I am not sure in terms of accuracy is the water %, but I was not expecting much from this feature, so it's not that important to me.

I had a tanita scale for 20 years-yep 20 and it started to look bad so I was hoping to find one like I had. This is it--got my weight, BMI and now added how hydrated you are as a 3rd measurement. I drink alot of water daily so not concerned about that but the beauty of this scale is it has a guest button, AND 2 separate buttons for you to use, my old one if you wanted a second person you had to press more buttons. This is simple--you enter what person you are, your height and age and then it's ready for action!! One tip--when setting up you need to step on the scale and do the settings but it is very, very simple to do. I noted some people complain they may get different readings---well, yes that can happen but alll scales like this do that. I'm a nurse and it is just like how blood pressure instruments work---nature of the beast thing... This scale is spot on to the one at the doctors office and very accurate and this brand is known for well built scales. Takes 4 AA batteries and they last for years without changing even with daily use. Attractive gray color and has a larger surface for the pads to get accurate measurement. Can't say enough good things about this and as a health professional I would highly recommend....

This is my second Tanita body fat scale. I had looked at smart scales but I refuse to setup a cloud account so my scale (in the house) can talk to my phone/computer (in the house), so I went old school.My original scale only did .5 lb increments, so I really like the .1 featureThis is my second Tanita body fat scale. This is my second Tanita body fat scale. I really wanted a smart scale, but I refuse to setup a cloud account so my scale (in the house) can talk to my phone/computer (in the house), so I went old school.My original scale only did .5 lb increments, so I really like the .1 featureMy biggest disappointment is how much body fat is tied into hydration. It was on the old one too, but not as drastically. I'd get different readings morning vs night, but my morning readings were always fairly consistent.Now, my morning reading can vary 7 or more percentage points if my hydration varies. There is absolutely no way for me to see if I'm gaining or losing body fat with this scale unless my hydration is 100% the same from day to day, which is nearly impossible.As far as contrast goes, it is a little dark, though I can read it easily in bright light. Lightening the grey background would help a bit. It's also easy to keep clean.I knocked off two stars for the body fat issue. I could have gotten a much cheaper scale if that wasn't important to me.

you can save you and your partners profiles, easy to use. don't know how accurate it is, sometimes i'll use it two or three times and I'll get different numbers, seldomly the same, so I don't know.. does the job though! gets you weighed.

Works fine.

This is our second Tanita scale. After 16 years of moving our first scale between bathrooms, we decided to buy a second one. It works exactly as advertised.

Sturdy design, compact, consistently accurate weight measurement, but body fat measurement is off. Overall, though, I'd recommend this scale.

extremely accurate and easy to use. I weighed myself on this scale and then on a calibrated powerlifting competition scale and there was no discrepancy. The body fat and body water analysis is fun too