Activity Bracelets – Part 1

Activity Bracelets – Part 1

I’ve recently had the opportunity to try out several low-priced activity bracelets. The prices range from 30 to 80 euro (equal in USD). The bracelets where used for three months round the clock, except for some not fully waterproof which had to be taken off during showers and swims.

The bracelets have been used by different users in my family, primarily as pedometers to measure daily activity.

All bracelets have step tracking as their primary function, but they all have different additional functions like timers, calorie counting, hart rate monitoring etc. Via the accelerometer all bracelets except the BFH-15 can track your sleep, with varying results…

Garmin Vivofit jr.

This bracelet is designed especially for kids and the wristband is made of soft silicone without a clasp. The single size means it may be too tight on a larger wrist. The fit has been good and not tight at all on a 9-year-old girl. The band is replaceable and available in a variety of colors.

Functions other than step-tracking is timer and stopwatch. With an accompanying parent phone app, it is possible to reward the child with points for different activities. The app is available for both IOS and Android. Data is synchronized with the cloud and the bracelet can be connected to both the child and the parent’s phones.

The quality appears good. The display has got a couple of small scratches, but nothing serious. Water resistance works as promised and have been used a lot when swimming and diving in the pool.

The battery is supposed to last for a year, and nothing so far is telling anything different.

The rewarding function was initially the big reason to buy this bracelet but have almost not been used at all. It is a completely manual procedure; the parent sets the goal in the app and sets a reward in points, and then tells the child about this. The child then reaches the goal and tells the parent which marks the goal as completed in the app and the points is awarded and visible on the display. My child lost interest in a couple of days.

Scores:

• Wristband – 4 (good quality, safe fit, only one size, replaceable)
• Display unit – 4 (waterproof, easy use, black/white)
• Battery – 5 (no charging needed, replace battery once every year)
• Features – 2