Fitness trackers make great gifts for corporate wellness programs, gyms, or any kind of group fitness program. They can also make a great addition to your employee incentive/rewards programs, too. So how do you figure out which fitness tracker is right for you and your budget? We tested two fitness trackers at opposite ends of the budget spectrum, and here’s what we found.
First up, The Reflex by FitIncluded.
Description: Wearable activity tracker with customized app Price: Less than $40 Features:
- Water-resistant silicone band
- Tracks steps distance and calories burned
- Monitors sleep (light or deep)
- Set vibration alerts, activity reminders, alarm clock and more
- Long battery life (up to 30 days!
- Comes with a FREE custom app that can be personalized with your logo and messaging!
- Available in 3 colors: red, black and blue
The Review:
I wore this one for about a week, including sleeping in it most nights. First of all, this reminds me a LOT of my Garmin Vivofit2. The band itself is slim and comfortable to wear. It didn’t bother me at all to sleep in it. As far as features go, the functionality seems pretty darn close to my Garmin as well. So why not just go out to Best Buy and pick up a bunch of basic Garmin or Fitbit trackers for your wellness program? Two reasons:
- This one works just as well as the retail brand and it’s MUCH more affordable.
- The customized app.
I LOVE the customized app. Not only can you add your logo to the product and the app, but you can also create groups, collect data, and build community. If you’re running a corporate wellness program where you’re tracking specific outcomes, you’ll love the information available to administrators through the app. The other feature I really liked? The battery life. I don’t know about you, but I am constantly charging one device or another. I loved not having to think about charging this band all week. The battery lasted a good 3 1/2 weeks before I finally had to plug it into the docking station and charge it. Cons: Like a lot of the retail trackers, there’s not really a display on the wristband itself so you have to open the app on your phone to get your step count and other data. I also found that when I manually synced the device with my phone, it took a minute or so to see the updated data in the app. This really wasn’t a big deal. Verdict: Two thumbs up. Overall, I felt like this performed just as well as my Garmin Vivofit. FitIncluded did their homework and built an excellent, high quality fitness tracker and an app that’s intuitive and easy to use. I would highly recommend this to anyone with a group wellness or fitness program! Click here to download a full spec sheet on The Reflex.
Next up, the Fossil Gen 3 Q Venture Smartwatch
Description: Smartwatch with built-in fitness tracker Price: $275 Features:
- Bluetooth Smart Enabled
- Powered by Android Wear
- Notifications from social media, text, email, apps, etc.
- Voice activated Google Assistant
- Interchangeable watch bands
- Available in several different color combos and metallic tones
The Review:
I ordered the Gen 3 Q Venture Smartwatch in Gold Tone, and have been wearing it almost daily for a few weeks now. Here’s my problem with traditional fitness trackers: A regular fitness tracker looks too casual when I’m dressed up for client meetings. Enter the Fossil Smartwatch. As expected, it’s absolutely gorgeous. It looks and feels like a real watch! I couldn’t wait to charge it up and wear it, but of course I had to head to my local jeweler to remove a few links so it would fit properly. This is definitely a smartwatch for Android users, and it automatically syncs with the Android Wear app and your phone. Aside from the obvious benefits of a smart watch, plus Google Assistant, which is arguably the best AI assistant on the market right now. As far as the fitness tracker piece of it goes, it calculates steps, distance and calories burned just like most others. However, you can choose to integrate with Google Fit to track specific workouts. I also didn’t test the sleep tracking function because the watch just felt too big and bulky to sleep in. Instead, I recharged it at night. Cons: The price. At $275, I would definitely include this as a top-tier gift option in your employee recognition programs. Also, battery life. At first it seemed like the battery ran down too quickly, but after tweaking the settings, I figured out how to use battery saver mode. (So be prepared to experiment with the default settings.) Verdict: I absolutely love this watch. I wasn’t sure whether or not I really needed the smartwatch features, but they turned out to be genuinely useful. Most importantly, I get the function of a great fitness tracker in a beautiful Fossil timepiece.
Want to see more great promo products for your wellness and recognition programs?
Register now for JDA’s annual Spring Product Showcase coming up on Thursday, March 1st at the Pelham Civic Complex.