With the advances in electronics, it’s now possible to monitor everything from heart rate to recovery with the help of wearable devices. We look at some of the latest gadgets to offer you extra insight into your training
Polar – Verity Sense – £86.50
The Polar Verity Sense is an optical heart rate monitor that sits a little higher up your arm. Using an elasticated strap means it sits closer to the skin, doesn’t move, allows a great range of movement and therefore provides higher levels of accuracy and consistent measurements.
The unit can transmit to a watch or other recording source, as well as having its own built-in memory for downloading after a training session.
Polar Verity Sense
The recently updated version now has a battery life of up to 30 hours, an internal memory to store up to 600 hours of training and is able to transmit up to 150m.
Sitting on the upper arm, we’ve found the heart rate reading to be more reliable than that of a watch and more comfortable than a chest strap. The test strap caused a little chafing for one tester, particularly during longer runs in the summer months.
The unit is quick and easy to recharge and now available in a range of coloured straps.
Prevayl – Fiit Tracker – £65.00
Smart wearable tech brand Prevayl has partnered with Fiit, an interactive hybrid fitness platform, to launch its latest fitness tracker.
Prevayl’s clinical-grade ECG sensor technology allows Fiit members to get more from their workouts with real-time data insights; BodyCheck evaluates recovery and readiness to train, FitnessCheck accurately determines maximum heart rate recovery to better understand your health and fitness levels and Female Athlete is a guide for female users through their training in every phase of their menstrual cycle.
The new Tracker comes with a Prevayl sensor and chest strap and is compatible with any one of the 1,500 connected on-demand workouts available on Fiit, accessible on the brand’s app.
Prevayl Fiit
MOBVOI – TicWatch Pro 5 – £329.99
For those wanting a smartwatch with sporting credentials without being tied to the Apple infrastructure, the TicWatch is a great choice. Using Google’s Wear operating system, it covers all the areas we’ve come to expect of a smartwatch with Google’s ease of use.
The watch has built-in GPS, heart rate monitoring and a barometer. The latest technology will also track and record data such as blood oxygen saturation, sleep tracking and a calculation of VO2 max.
The range of metrics and monitoring is perhaps more than most people will ever need, but such is the advanced rate of technology that these are built in as standard.
TicWatch
Besides its sporting credentials, the watch will link to your smartphone and display text messages, emails and a whole range of everyday information mirrored from your device.
Battery life is great at over 80 hours in regular use and recharging is easy. The TicWatch is compatible with devices running Android 8.0 or later.
Decathlon – GPS900 – £199.99
Built in conjunction with Coros, this watch is a multi-sport GPS watch that records running, cycling, swimming and many other activities.
All the usual GPS watch features are present, such as heart rate monitoring (from the wrist), speed, pace and distance as well as some basic navigation such as return to start.
The watch connects to the Coros smartwatch App which is an easy-to-use interface that allows you great insight into all of the recorded training metrics. As with other Coros watches, battery life is great and this model will record up to 80 hours of GPS tracking in its UltraMax mode.
Decathlon GPS900
XIAOMI – Smart Band 7 – £39.99
As a great value training tool, this Smart Band gives a wide range of training metrics and measurements that are perfect for the casual runner or multi-sport athlete.
The only thing missing from the band is GPS, but heart rate, sleep monitoring and a wide range of other features are present.
The band has a massive two-week battery life, a bright and colourful display and over 100 sports modes to record most activities.
An accompanying App gives a more in-depth analysis of the recorded data and it’s available in a wide range of colours.
Smart Band 7
OneOdio – Open Rock True Wireless Sports Earbuds – £113.00
The benefits of open-ear earbuds become apparent as soon as you put them on. They sit over the ear and don’t block the ear canal. In doing so, they allow the user to hear both their sound source and the environmental surroundings.
The open-ear design uses air conduction technology to deliver clear sound whilst still being able to hear external noises.
Noise-cancelling microphones are built in to eliminate background noise when you are on a call, meaning clearer conversations. Of course, the buds are wireless and use Bluetooth technology to connect to your phone or music source.
The battery life of the earbuds is great, with a single charge providing up to 19 hours of use, while when used with the supplied charging case this can be boosted to up to 46 hours! Quick and easy to charge via USB, a five-minute charge will provide an hour of playtime should you need a quick boost.
OpenRock
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