There are few places on earth that come close to the chaos of a mall in the final days before Christmas. Droves of sweaty shoppers, dizzying lights and overflowing car parks, all set to the inescapably cheery drone of endless Christmas carols. It’s enough to suck any enjoyment out of the festive period and to test both your sanity and resolve. But it doesn’t need to be that way.
Does your best friend spend all her time in spin classes? Got a family member looking to take on a half marathon, or maybe a colleague swept up in the CrossFit revolution? Make holiday shopping effortless with our compilation of the Top 10 Coolest Health and Fitness Gadget Gifts:
1. Smart Body Analyzer Scale
Available for $149.95 from Amazon
The Withings Smart Body Analyser may appear to be just a scale, but beneath the sleek exterior lies one of the most ingenious devices in managing your health and fitness.
The Smart Body Analyser Scale records users body weight, BMI, body fat percentage, resting heart rate, temperature and even the indoor air quality, and then transfers that information to your smartphone. Users can effortlessly collect data by downloading the Withings Health Mate app to their Android or iPhone. From here, the app crunches the data into easy to read graphs, making it simple to set weight goals and track progress over weeks and months.
But that’s not all. With the ability to set up eight individual profiles, this gift is perfect for couples or families who enjoy getting fit together.
2. Larklife Smart Band
Available for $149 through www.lark.com
What do you call a device that promises to revolutionize every aspect of your health, from how you eat to getting the most out of your workout? The Larklife Smart Band.
Whilst exercise bands have been on the market for some time, the Larklife Smartband connects with your smartphone to provide feedback on diet, hydration, exercise, sleep and work breaks. Like many other exercise bands, it’s able to keep track of how long you’ve walked and how many calories you’ve burnt, but it also offers a range of features that no other bands do.
The Larklife Smartband helps pick up your productivity with tips on how to focus and stay energized. It will alert you when its time to charge up with a snack or sit down for a meal, and the device also works as a vibrating alarm to slowly bring you out of sleep; a more natural method than waking to the jarring sound of an alarm clock.
3. Armpocket Nighthawk Armband
Available for $49.94 through www.armpocket.com
For anyone that enjoys running at night, the Armband Nighthawk Armband is a must have accessory. It offers the versatility of a phone armband, allowing you to listen to music on the go, is roomy enough to hold credit cards and a key, and combines an innovative security feature that should have been thought of years ago.
The secret is in the twin ultra bright LEDs built into the armband that makes sure runners can see and be seen. The white light in front illuminates the road up to 30 feet ahead, while a steady or flashing red light ensures you’re visible from behind from up a mile away.
4. AiQ BioMan Tank
See AiQ for more information
Whilst it may be a while before we see the commercial realization of self cleaning clothing, the folks at AiQ have arguably created an even more intriguing piece of apparel.
The AiQ BioMan Tank features wearable electrodes combined with modern information technology that gives wearers real time information about their vital signs, sent to a smartphone via Bluetooth. The secret is in the stainless steel yarn that provides conductivity without sacrificing comfort and ease of use, and of course, the tank is 100% washable.
For anyone that has tried to exercise with a bulky heart rate monitor, this piece of wearable technology is an enormous leap forward, and this development is sure to usher in a new era of wearable medical technologies, helping millions gain faster insight into bodily conditions as they arise.
5. ‘Check’ Sensor
Available for €199.00 through FAM Sports
Many gadgets and apps are geared towards pushing you to your limits in order to improve upon past performances – the ‘Check’ sensor does this, but with a slightly different approach. One of the more expensive devices on this list, this powerful tool is designed to help you train smarter by searching for signs of fatigue in your nervous system before you undertake a workout or go for a run.
The device sends electrical pulses through your nervous system via electrodes that clip onto your forefinger and assess your physical state, and warns you if there’s a chance you may injure yourself or are at risk of overtraining.
6. Jaybird Bluebuds X Bluetooth Earbuds
Available for $129.95 from Amazon
Say hello to hassle free running and exercise thanks to Jaybird’s Bluebuds X Earbuds. Made for athletes, these Bluetooth earbuds are totally sweat-proof, sport an impressive eight-hour battery life, and offer alerts via voice prompts instead of beeps.
Their secure fit makes them perfectly suited for any form of workout and the streamlined design and outstanding audio quality have made them the official choice of training headphone of the U.S.A. triathlon team.
7. Go Pro Hero 3+
Available for $299 from Amazon
Created from the ground up to be the best all condition camera on the market, Go Pro has achieved supreme dominance of the sports camera market. And for good reason. This new iteration of the popular Hero series firmly cements the brand’s reputation as the preeminent sports camera available.
The Go Pro Hero 3+ HD delivers incredible video footage at cinema quality resolution. Other improvements on its predecessor include a 30 percent longer battery life and 4 times faster Wi-Fi, making the Hero 3+ HD the camera of choice for athletes and thrill seekers to document all their adventures.
8. O Synce Screeneye X Visor
Available for $249.99 from Amazon
Runners can take their exercise regime to the next level with this slick battery operated visor that can measures a user’s running workout data and display this information on its rim. German technology company O Synce have designed a heads up display that integrates into the visor, so users can simply glance up in their field of vision and access personal performance data. The display is illuminated by way of a light collection film integrated into the visor, which grants it superb contrast and easy readability irrespective of indoor or outdoor light levels.
The Screeneye X Visor pairs wirelessly with ANT+ sensors such as heart rate monitors and foot pods in order to deliver information about speed, distance, heart rate and calories burned.
9. Garmin Edge 810 Cycle Computer
Available for $427 from Amazon
For the serious cycling enthusiast, it’s tough to get better than the Garmin Edge 800 Cycle computer. Underneath the touchscreen display lies a powerful GPS navigation system that offers live tracking, wireless data transfers, weather and social media sharing.
This clever unit is able to track speed, distance, elevation and heart rate, as well as having integrated maps so users will never be lost on the road again.
10. FINIS SwiMP3 Waterproof MP3 player
Available for $124.95 from Amazon
This incredible device uses bone conduction audio transmission to deliver quality underwater sound without the need for ear buds. The 2GB of storage holds around 500 songs so swimmers can listen to music, podcasts or audiobooks all with incredible clarity.
The hydrodynamic clips attach securely to goggle straps and rest on the user’s cheekbones, and the internal rechargeable lithium-ion battery lasts around eight hours on a full charge. Now that’s a lot of laps!
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