Moov – £50
Starting at the lower end of the price spectrum, Moov is of the best of the basic fitness trackers. Its simplicity is demonstrated by the lack of a digital face; instead, a round chip is held in by a comfortable rubber strap, which can be worn on the wrist or ankle.
This tracker can be worn when sleeping, walking or exercising – it’s a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week accessory. Which is why its six-month battery life comes in handy.
The bit where the Moov gets really exciting is when it becomes more than just a fitness tracker. Communicating with the smart phone app, it offers you coaching, analysis and the chance to connect and compete against your friends and family.
Buy here.
Microsoft Band 2 – £199
The Band 2 is more than an activity tracker, but not quite a smartwatch. It sits comfortably in the middle. In fact, more than comfortably – it has the potential to dominate that middle ground. It packs in an incredible amount of sensors – eleven, including GPS and a UV monitor – into a comfortable, nicely designed wristband. Health and productivity are at the fore – it’s as easy to check your heart rate, steps and calories, as it is your texts, calendar appointments and email notifications.
The Band 2 is a real contender when it comes to tracking fitness data. You can track runs and weight workouts, as well as elevation gain (of particular use to the trail runners out there) and – for those looking to shift some festive pounds – calories burned. You can also download guided workouts from the likes of Gold’s Gym and sync with apps like Strava and RunKeeper.
Design-wise, the screen is large and vivid, making it easy to check your progress on-the-run, and it’s curved black design means it doesn’t look out of place when worn casually.
Buy here.
Pebble Time – £129.95
With the backing of a digital screen, the Pebble Time becomes an all-round lifestyle watch.
Linking with your smart phone, and the bespoke Pebble app, you can fully customise your watch and even add new apps such as Runtastic. And it doesn’t stop there: you can even download different watch faces to make it look that little bit better.
Because it links with your smart phone, it can intuitively receive texts, e-mails and notifications from your phone, meaning you can leave your phone in your pocket while you run.
It’s worth noting that the Pebble Time also has an impressive diving distance of 30m, in case you’re looking to use it in the pool.
Buy here.
Tag Heuer Connected – £1100
Perfect for that guy who has to have the top-of-the-range gadget.
As expected with Tag, you’re guaranteed the very best quality in terms of watch build. But the added functionality of sports tracking makes it that more appealing to both watch lovers and sports fanatics.
The watch links up with the Tag Heuer smart phone app. Here you can not only look at what’s been tracked, but customise your watch face depending on what sport or activity it is you’re doing.
Much like the Pebble, through the Tag app you can download up to 4,000 available apps to tailor your running needs.
Buy here.
