Runtastic Orbit Review & Giveaway

*** This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered! ***

After hearing more and more people talk about how much they loved their fitness/activity trackers, my interest in these devices started to grow and I began doing a little research. I asked around on Twitter which units people preferred and I read a lot of reviews online. I didn’t end up purchasing one at the time because I wanted to sit on it for a little while to see what people were saying about the ones they had purchased. And then, in some kind of twist of fate, I was offered the opportunity to review one for my blog. Turns out the offer was to review a new tracker hitting the market from the popular app developer, Runtastic. If you don’t know much about Runtastic, you can check out their site, but you could also check out one (or more) of their cool fitness apps they have available. They have apps for running, cycling, squatting, and more. I’ve even been using their tabata timer app for a while, which I find handy for my TRX/Kettlebell workouts.

In the box

1 Runtastic Orbit

2 Wristbands – 1 black, 1 blue + 1 Clip

1 USB charging cable

1 Quick Instructions + 1 Legal and Product Information + 1 Coloured Wristband Card

Product Summary

24 hour tracking of your activities, steps, calories, and sleep

2 different options for wearing – black/blue wristband or clip for a more discreet look

Syncs with Runtastic Me app – see more detailed views of your activities, calories, distance and sleep. Set goals and reminder vibration alarms.

Waterproof up to 300 feet (*note: I did not test this out as I have no ability to go that deep in water! I also did not wear it in the shower because there are times when I like to remove all of my jewelry and accessories)

iPhone 4S, 5, 5S, 5C and Android 4.3+ supported (but the Runtastic Orbit can run as a stand alone device if preferred)

{Link to a detailed user manual here – the Runtastic Orbit product page here}

Available for purchase on their site or Amazon.ca for $119.99 (Will be available at Canada Computers and Walmart in October)

Ok, now that you have a quick overview of the Runtastic Orbit, we can get into the more detailed portion of the review. I’ve broken this up into a couple sections to make it a little easier to read.

Wearibility (is this even a word? It is for now 😉 )

Personally, I found the Runtastic Orbit very easy to wear. I read some reviews that mentioned that the wristbands were a bit large, but I did not find this to be the case. I wear larger watches and accessories quite often, so this was easy to transition into wearing. Seriously, I slept with it on and it didn’t disturb me at all, which was an original concern. I alternated between the two different colour wristbands according to my outfits, but I never tried out the clip. I preferred to wear the device like a bracelet while incorporating it into whatever outfit I was wearing that day. Also, the Runtastic Orbit can double as a watch, so it’s quite convenient to wear. The screen is bright once you press the main button to scan through the options, which is nice – made it easy to see when I wanted to check the time or steps while outside.

Functions

While wearing the Runtastic Orbit you can quickly scan through your totals for the day by pressing the silver button on the front. In this sequence you will see – time, steps, calories, and active minutes. For more details, you can easily sync using Bluetooth with the Runtastic Me app on your phone. Once synced you can see visual representations of your steps, active minutes, calories, and distance by the hour. Also, you can check out your “Sleep Efficiency” breakdown, which I found to be the most fascinating part. This screen shows you a coloured timeline that differentiates between “awake” time, “light” sleep, and “deep” sleep. I’ve always thought that I tossed and turned too much during the night and this little device actually shows me how much I do.

To re-charge the Runtastic Orbit, you plug the little USB charging cable into your computer and connect the other end magnetically to the back of the device. In my opinion, it does take a bit long to re-charge, which could be annoying if you really want to be tracking your steps or sleep closely. To solve this, I charged it during the day because I was more interested the sleep tracking overall.

One last small function that I found to be fun was the happiness tracking. It’s basic, but with the Runtastic Orbit you can press the silver button twice to let it know when you’re feeling happy/content. Then when you sync with the Runtastic Me app, the report will actually show small happy faces to represent when you used this feature. Sure, it’s not science, but it can be like a small reminder to consider when you’re feeling good as you are going about your day.

Accuracy

The Runtastic Orbit doesn’t have specific sensitivity settings, so the accuracy is not exactly right on point. But, this appears to be the case for most activity trackers from what I can tell. The situation here is that the device occasionally counts random arm movements as steps – unloading dishwasher, bicep curls, wildly waving arms for no reason – but, this isn’t a big deal to me because I count these movements as activity in general. If you’d like to reduce the chances of this happening though, you could always wear the device in the clip. Overall, I’m sure it over estimates a little bit, but after wearing it while running 12K I don’t think it matters. For me I look at it as counting my activity (not just actual steps) throughout the day, which is what I’m interested in seeing since I work in an office and barely move from my chair throughout my shift.

Additional Points

Overall, I really enjoy the Runtastic Orbit. I’m finding it interesting to monitor the sleep tracking and I like the idea of working towards the steps goal. I sit for too long at my work desk, so wearing this is keeping me accountable to move around. I’ve noticed that I will also walk around now while waiting for something (like the bus or the elevator), instead of just standing still or leaning on a wall. It’s like, while I am wearing the device I feel an obligation to move – which I should be doing anyway. I’m glad to see that I have been achieving my steps every day, but the real test will definitely be the winter. I might just have to keep you posted!

Giveaway

And now to the fun stuff – the giveaway! Up for grabs is one Runtastic Orbit (pictured in package above) and here’s how to enter:

– Leave a comment telling me your favourite way to stay active and keep moving

– Extra entry – Like Runtastic on Facebook or Instagram (tell me what you did in the comments below)

– Extra extra entry – Like YogiCrystal on Facebook or Instagram (tell me what you did in the comments below)

Contest open until Wednesday, September 10 at 11:59 pm EST

Good luck!! 🙂