This Runtastic Orbit review is sponsored by Runtastic and Sweat Pink; I received an Orbit in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
I often get asked from my Challenge Group members, class participants or readers - which fitness tracker is the best? Unfortunately, up until a few weeks ago, I never owned/used a fitness tracker, so I wasn't even sure what they did, let alone which was best. I know that when I set myself a big health and fitness goal, I have to start tracking my workouts and nutrition, but as far as my movement - I never took the plunge. I was always a little curious, especially when it came to tracking my sleep, which was why I was so excited to receive he BRAND NEW Runtastic Orbit to try out!
The Runtastic Orbit is a wearable activity, fitness and sleep tracker that can be worn on your wrist like a watch, or as a clip. It tracks movement, sleep and mood (double tap the button when you're happy). It also has a screen where you can view your daily progress and is waterproof up to 100 meters! It displays the time and also will tell you when you're 50% towards your goal, when you haven't been active in 60 minutes and when you've reached your goal. The first time I wore the Orbit, I wore it in the shower because - why not? - it's waterproof! I also hit 50% of my step goal, which causes the device to vibrate, right as the water turned on. For a split second I thought I was getting electrocuted, but rest assured, the Orbit is indeed waterproof! The information collected on the Orbit will sync with the new Runtastic Me app, which you can download to your smartphone.
BUT, perhaps one of the coolest features is that the activity tracker also syncs with all of the other runtastic apps (run, bike, swim, etc.), so it will combine your data into one place. Unfortunately, I am not running or biking right now and never was a swimmer, so I didn't get to use this feature, but how awesome is that?
| I decided to wear the Orbit for a week on the wristband and a week on the clip. My weeks are pretty routine, so I thought it would be a good way to compare the two options. On my first day I wore the Orbit, I was happy to see that I was taking well over 10,000 steps without even trying. Just my normal Tuesday routine (walking to and from the train station, to and from the gym and teaching my Bodypump class) clocked in at just over 15,000 steps! On Thursday, when I teach step aerobics, I almost reached 20,000 steps! I think there may have been some over-counting, but it was really exciting to be able to see my daily movement over the week. |  |
| Tuesday  | Thursday  |
When it came to looking at my sleep, there were some good days and some bad days. The green represents "deep sleep", the yellow is "light sleep" and the red is "awake". At some point while testing out the Orbit, I started sleeping with a body pillow (hello 30-week baby bump), which restricted my movement while sleeping more, but didn't really facilitate more sleeping, so I think that affected the tracking. I'm not sure exactly how it judges the "efficiency" of your sleep, but I typically fell between 95% and 98%.
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| When I switched over to the clip, I did notice that it seemed to be more accurately counting steps, but the problem with the clip is I would constantly forget it. I would leave it on the t-shirt I slept in or the pants I wore to work and would miss entire days of tracking. It also once fell off my clothing, hit the floor and reset the device, so I lost all of the data since the last sync. So while wearing the clip might be more accurate for measuring, it wasn't the best wear-method for me. |  |
It was fun for me to track my movement and sleep, and while I don't have any other wearable fitness tracker to compare it to, I was satisfied with the Runtastic Orbit. I can't wait to use it once I start running again! The Runtastic Orbit is available for $120, which is comparable to most wearables on the market and includes 2 color band options (black and blue) along with an easy-to-use USB connection to charge it. Additional color options for the wristband are sold separately: orange/yellow/red and green/white/steel.
Do you currently use a wearable or track your daily fitness?
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