ESSENTIAL TECH
If data is your thing, we’ve a trio of tech that might tick your box
HUAWEI Watch Fit 3
£139.99|huawei.com/uk
Tester Helen
With a revamped design, the comfortable Watch Fit now closely resembles an Apple Watch – a clear sign that Huawei has advanced its fitness tracker to be more of a smartwatch (and that it wishes to compete in the style stakes). Crucially, however, the reasonable price tag remains the same – it’s easily one of the best value smart watches available. The big difference is the larger OLED screen, which looks great, even under direct sunlight. The only thing I don’t like is the rotatable crown: it makes it easy to scroll smoothly through the features, but it’s clunky and looks out of place style wise with the sleek stylings of the watch. There are more than 100 fitness elements – the data is displayed much more clearly on the Huawei Health app than on the watch screen – but you do have to get used to the stiff human voice telling you that your workout is starting! The battery life is brilliant, lasting about 10 days (definitely an improvement on anything Apple offers); it’s a relief to have a smartwatch that I don’t have to charge every 24 hours. For the price and functionality, the Watch Fit 3 is definitely one of the best value smartwatches you can buy.
Suunto Race Watch
£325 suunto.com
Tester Kate
As a last-minute gal, I didn't unbox this until minutes before I was heading out for a run, but it was really easy to set up for the first time. The screen is big and clear without feeling too chunky, and I love a touchscreen. It did take me a little while to get used to the navigation, which uses a combination of the screen and buttons and can be faffy at times but it offered all the functionality I’d expect from a running watch, and I enjoyed accessing all the stats in its app on my phone. I also really liked that it asked how I felt after each run – ideal for times when you’re less focused on stats and more on enjoyment.
The GPS was easy to connect and always seemed accurate. The watch also has an offline maps option, although it did take quite a while to upload and sort out so definitely requires some advanced planning. Once it was ready though, it was really easy to use and follow on my run.
Even with all these bells and whistles, the watch’s battery life was fantastic. The only area that let it down was some of the smartwatch features. While it does show notifications and control music, it doesn’t offer all the lifestyle options that some other watches on the market do, such as music storage and the ability to make payments.
Wahoo Trackr Heart Rate
£79.99 uk.wahoofitness.com Tester Laura
The Wahoo Trackr Heart Rate is a chest-strap heart-rate monitor for runners looking for increased accuracy in their heart rate data. Chest straps offer a lot more accuracy over similar wrist sensors so if you’re training for a long-distance race it could be a good investment.
The big difference with this one is that it has a rechargeable battery that promises more than 100 hours of active battery life. That means it’s better for the environment and less faff than having to change the battery. It can pair via Bluetooth to up to three devices simultaneously. It’s compatible with GPS smartwatches and smartphones, and with apps including Apple Watch, Strava, Nike Run Club and Peloton as well as Wahoo’s apps and training products.
I found it really easy to set up and I was off and running in it in less than 10 minutes. I found it pretty comfortable to wear; the elastic strap was easy to adjust and stayed in place throughout my run. The pod isn’t built into the strap, which means you can unclip it to recharge and give the strap a bit of a clean after sweaty runs. The device doesn’t have its own on-board memory so you are reliant on being paired with a device but I’ve had no problems with the signal dropping out.