The best running tech and gadgets of 2017 review: From wearables to fitness trackers and sports earphones
Are you marathon ready? How are your glutes? Firm and rippling? Should they be rippling? Oh my god somebody Google “rippling glutes” right now and tell me what it says.
In the meantime, it’s time to peruse City AM’s exhaustive list of the absolute best running tech of 2017, from things that go around your wrist to stuff that wraps around your head. It’s all designed to make you run faster and run smarter, so you’ve no excuse not to run at all.
Watches
Huawei Watch 2 Sport
Half smart watch, half sports watch, the Huawei Watch 2 Sport treads the fine line between utility and fashion. It’s finely tuned to the fitness market, with GPS tracking and body metric sensors out the wazoo, but it also performs wonderfully as a wrist-mounted extension of your Android device. £329, huawei.com
Garmin Forerunner 935
Widely regarded as the GPS sports watch of professionals, the Garmin Forerunner 935 tracks almost every metric you can think of, both inside your body and out. It works while running, but can also track swims, hikes and bike rides too. £469, garmin.com
Apple Watch 3
The latest Apple Watch is more geared towards fitness than ever before. While the second iteration added GPS, the third can untether itself from the iPhone entirely thanks to its 4G data capabilities. The Watch lacks the variety of sensors found in dedicated fitness bands, but if you just want to beam music from your wrist as you run, you can’t go too far wrong here. £329, apple.com/uk
Fitbit Charge 2
The latest iteration of Fitbit’s most popular fitness tracker introduces a larger OLED screen, a more comfortable design, GPS tracking via your phone, and a range of premium straps. The clever bracelet can now track multiple sports, and for the lethargic among us, it can be worn in bed to track how well you’ve been sleeping. £90, fitbit.com
Trainers
Stridalyzer Smart Insoles
Slip a pair of these intelligent insoles into your clogs and the accompanying app will relay all manner of vital health data, such as pressure readings, stress maps and impact measurements. You can even have the app send an audio warning if your insoles reckon you’re about to twist a knee. $100, retisense.com
Futurecraft 4D
The mid-sole of these futuristic, 3D-printed Adidas trainers is made using what the company calls “Continuous Liquid Interface Production”, which helps form a shoe that’s both custom-designed for an individual’s gait as well as super science-fiction looking. They’re due to hit the market some time later this year. £TBC, adidas.co.uk/futurecraft
Altra Torin IQ Trainers
The Altra Torin IQ trainers stand out from other smart trainers, in that they’ve taken an existing popular shoe and enhanced it with an array of sensors that track pace, cadence, distance and running style. The sensor measures impact and landing zones to help you analyse and overcome problems with your form. $220, altrarunning.com
Audio
AfterShokz Trekz Air
They’ve got a reprehensible name, but the Aftershokz series of earphones are beloved by tech-savvy runners. They’re technically not even earphones, instead using bone-conduction to transmit audio through your skull and into your mind. The result is maximum comfort and (as nothing is actually blocking your ears) the best situational awareness you can get, albeit at the expense of a little sound quality. £149, aftershokz.co.uk
JayBird X3
Look at the shape of that earbud. That’s an earbud that’s going right inside your ear canal and not coming out until you’re back home after your run and gulping down pint after pint of cold water over the sink. The Jaybird X3 boasts top-end sound quality in a light form factor, with excellent build quality and a battery life ensuring you don’t run out of music mid-sprint. Perhaps not an earphone you’d ever want to share with a friend however. Think of the wax. £109, jaybirdsport.com
Jabra Elite Sport
These are a truly wireless pair of earbuds with a beefy 4.5 hour battery life. They’re superior to the Apple AirPods and the Google Pixel Buds in that they’re sweat and water-proof, form a tight seal inside the ear for decent bass and come with a built-in heart rate monitor. Jabra’s roots are in bluetooth headsets, so you can bet your mother’s Sunday dress they can be used to make important phone calls too. £229, jabra.co.uk
Vi, the AI personal trainer
An artificially intelligent personal trainer built into a pair of earphones, Vi provides helpful advice tailored to your own routine, from encouragement to perfecting your form. She might tell you to slow your pace to avoid over-exertion too early in a session, or push you harder when you’re coming up to a personal best. The more you run, the more she learns and the better trainer she eventually becomes. $249, getvi.com
Other Stuff
Flipbelt
If you’re the kind of runner who can’t bear to leave any personal belongings at home, the Flipbelt is an innovative solution for the over-encumbered. It’s a big lycra pocket that wraps around your waist, with compartments for your phone, your cash, and a clip for your keys. No more jangling your way around the park. £25, flipbelt.co.uk
MilestonePod
Smaller than a box of tic-tacs but bigger than a postage stamp, the MilestonePod attaches to your laces to turn any pair of running shoes into a pair of smart running shoes on the cheap. It gathers up all kinds of data, from mileage to more specific information about your running style, and beams it to the companion app for later perusal. The battery lasts six to eight months too. $29, milestonepod.com
Million Mile Light
If we learned anything from the Matrix, it’s that we humans are basically hot, wet batteries. So why not power stuff using our personal energy supply? With the Million Mile Light you can. It uses jiggle-power to illuminate a pair of LEDs, improving your visibility on the roads, especially in these dusky winter months. £12, batteryfree.co.uk