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Our Top Picks: Fitness Watches

By Grace Cunningham   |  

It’s time to start a-fresh and enhance your feel good factor with exercise but motivation can be difficult to keep so we’ve put together a selection of the best fitness watches on the market that will help to keep your focus towards your goal.

Epson Pulsense PS-500 is available from Epson directly at £109.00.

Epson unveil the PS-500 - fitness technology taken to an exciting dimension.
Lightweight, easy to use and a clear display are just some of the highlights of the PS-500 from Epson.

First up it’s the Epson Pulsense PS-500. Optimising an optical heart rate sensor and accelerometer this watch not only focuses on your workouts but helps to analyse and focus on your day-to-day routines. Monitoring heart rate, activity level, calorie burn and sleep patterns 24 hours a day and computing them with a Bluetooth Smart connection and algorithms located in the Epson app this watch ables you to update and set new goals across several mediums to create a healthier lifestyle. In addition specific summary reports are given to assist with providing motivation and focus.

With lightweight properties it is easy to forget that you are wearing this device unlike other watches however the one downside is a chunky and fiddly charging unit which seems to take a while to charge in comparison to other devices.

iFit Classic Smartwatch is available at £199.00 from Nordic Track.

Analogue meets fitness in the iFit fitness watch.
Timeless design with clever technology, what’s not to like about the iFit !?

Hands up, who wants a fitness watch that looks like a day-to-day watch? Here at Luxury Lifestyle Magazine the aesthetics of the iFit Classic Smartwatch caught our eyes and is now a firm favourite here at HQ. Using a timeless aesthetic, the iFit keeps the authenticity of an analogue watch but here’s the clever bit, within the dials are three fitness sub-dials that display your daily activity metrics. Syncing with iFit technology it’s like having a personal trainer on your wrist offering advice on daily activity, diet and sleep – taking into account factors including steps taken, distance covered, calories burner and sleep. And an additional bonus, the Classic offers smartphone notifications too!

With the option to have vibration alerts to remind you to become active, easy calorie data input and the additional water proofing for up to 50m this watch really does promise it all.

Mio Alpha 2 available at £149.90 from Mio Global.

With a classic style with a hint of colour, the Mio Alpha 2 certainly looks the part.
With a classic style with a hint of colour, the Mio Alpha 2 certainly looks the part.

Looking for a watch that will do the job but also look the part? Introducing the Mio Alpha 2, a fitness watch combined with an EKG-accurate heart rate monitor (that doesn’t require a chest strap- bonus!) that will evolve the way you work out. Taking into account heart rate, distance covered, calories burned and pace this fitness watch syncs with the Mio GO app and helps to analyse and improve the way you work.

The watch itself has a refreshing splash of colour with an oblong screen which makes data easy to read however the small buttons can be difficult to use when in a rush. The set up of the watch is quick, easy to complete and with a a compact charging cable and unit the minimalist approach definitely works.

Withings Activité costs £320 from Withings

Paris meets Switzerland in the Withings Activité fitness watch.
Swiss and French influences combine to create a truly stunning and discrete fitness watch in the Withings Activité.

Meet the Withings Activité, an elegant Swiss-made timepiece in haute-couture design with intuitive yet discrete technology. Designed and created by prestigious designers in Paris and made in Switzerland, the luxury watch capital of the world, it’s no wonder that this classical reinterpretation is a hit with our HQ.  Featuring a classic round face the two hand dials show the time and the sub-dial displays percentage progress against specific activity targets set from steps take or sleep patterns. With the face made from stainless steel and sapphire glass that includes touch-screen capabilities, secure on either a leather strap from the ancestral “Tanneries Haas”or interchanged with a plastic strap suitable for sportswear/underwater use, it can be adapted to your lifestyle.

Inspired by the pedometer, the Activité hosts a sophisticated tracker and advanced accelerometer with a discrete built-in digital system which initiatively detects every move you make and then monitors activity whilst you sleep. Working with the Withings Health Mate application it allows personal activity plans and monitors progress with an option to even vibrate when a goal is surpassed. The bonus? With no buttons it responds to simple taps between modern and there is no need to recharge as it’s powered by standard watch batteries that last a year – result!

Misfit Shine 2 is available on Amazon for £79.99.

LED technology and fitness monitoring combine in the Misfit Shine 2.
Taking a unique approach to design the Misfit Shine 2 can adapt to how the user wishes to wear and use the device.

The Misfit Shine 2 takes on a different approach to the standard fitness watch and aims to be flexible for the user. Available to be worn on the wrist with the original sport band or conveniently placed on the collar, sleeves, waist or even in pockets with the clasp, it can adapt to its’ user’s preference.

Taking into account the standard data the Misfit Shine 2 (compatible with iOS and Android devices) syncs with an app to set personal targets and converts data into its own unique point system to demonstrate whether goals are being achieved. Featuring a halo of rainbow-coloured LED lights which illuminate with text and call notifications, progress & time, a vibrational motor – to nudge you to become more active, and again a resistance of up to 50m for water use it functions with everything you require to monitor activity. Here’s the bonus – the coin cell battery never needs to be charged, the downside it lasts up to 6 months before the battery needs to be replaced.

Zing is available from Mvbii at £54.99. 

 

Zing not only monitors fitness but promotes the social aspect in addition, a great starter piece for those new to a fitness programme.
Zing not only monitors fitness but promotes the social aspect in addition, a great starter piece for those new to a fitness programme.

Just starting out in fitness and want something that isn’t going to overwhelm you in the first instance? The Zing watch may be for you. Focused on making fitness sociable the Zing multi-use watch takes into account your fitness activity but also encourages the user to stay social at the same time. Inbuilt sensors and a variety of ways to wear the Zing – as a pendant, watch or as a tablet in your pocket, ensure that it records data daily but in a way not to inconvenience the user. Available in light weight material and various designs, this watch is designed for a beginner level and at a lower price point than our other gadgets, this product is good for an introduction to fitness monitoring.