FourFit Health Band review + Sunday Reflections link up

I’ve love working out and am very health-conscious, but I’ve always been a bit skeptical about the benefits of fitness trackers. I have a fairly good idea about how active or sedentary I am day to day because it varies it a lot. On the days I go for a run I’m fairly confident I’ve hit the 10k steps milestone, and on my volunteering days I’m on my feet a lot fetching and carrying animal food. But on the days I’m stuck in the office I know I have to make an effort to keep active and not sit for too long. I have to admit though that I was curious about how many steps I clock up on average, so I was looking fowrardto trying out the FourFit Health Band.

At only £49 the Health Band is great value for money; surprisingly for a budget fitness tracker it’s far from basic.

Now, I don’t really have a lot of patience with setting up gadgets so this one is perfect for me because it’s really easy to use. The charger is a little clip which connects with three small prongs (you just need a plug that has a USB connector – I use the one for my phone). The battery lasts really well – I typically only need to charge it every 6 days. It also charges very quickly in around 30 minutes.

One of the reasons I’d never seriously considered getting a fitness tracker was cost. Unless you’re happy with a very basic one they can be very expensive. At only £49 the Health Band is great value for money; surprisingly for a budget fitness tracker it’s far from basic. It monitors sleep, counts calories and steps, measures heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen levels and fatigue. It also has a stopwatch and can track GPS.

The tracker has just one button which you use to toggle between the functions, and the display goes off after 5 seconds so the light won’t bother you in the night. I take my regular watch off at night so I wondered if wearing the band would bother me, but to my surprise it didn’t at all. I actually really like being able to tap the screen to see the time if I wake up in the night without having to look at my phone, which I find far too bright. The only downside with the screen is it’s hard to see in bright sunlight.

I find having such detailed readings really useful, especially the amount of sleep I’ve had.

The FourFit Health Band syncs up with your phone, and the Wearfit app logs all the information. I find having such detailed readings really useful, especially the amount of sleep I’ve had (usually not enough!). It even gives you a breakdown of how much deep and shallow sleep you’ve had, and how many times you woke up in the night.

I’m not sure how it measures fatigue because a couple of times it has shown a reading of severe fatigue when I’ve been asleep. It doesn’t seem to be connected with physical exertion because after a run with a sprint finish it said I was only mildly fatigued. The instructions are very basic so I’ve not been able to figure it out.

Wearing the FourFit Health Band has definitely made me more aware of how active I am. It has encouraged me to move more, particularly on days when I’m more sedentary. It’s waterproof too which means you can take your FourFit swimming in cold water; I’ll definitely be wearing it on my upcoming holiday!

You can even take a selfie just by shaking your wrist!

The band doesn’t need to be constantly connected to bluetooth as it will transfer all workout data once reconnected to the phone…handy if you don’t want to take your phone to the gym. You can set the app up to vibrate when you have an incoming call or text, which I find really useful as I don’t always hear my phone when it’s in my bag. You can even take a selfie just by shaking your wrist!

The strap is a bit difficult to do up tightly one-handed, and mine has discoloured. In hindsight I wish I’d have chosen the black strap which wouldn’t show any marks. It’s also available in red, but the lower spec Fitband 2.0 comes in more colour options. I’d love to be able to change the strap to co-ordinate with my outfit. Currently you can buy additional straps for the Health Band but only in blue, black or red. It does say on the website that limited edition straps will become available, so I’ll definitely buy one when they go on sale.

FourFit also have a Mini Kids activity band for £39. Isobel has been asking for a FitBit for ages but they’re so expensive, that we’ve been putting it off. We’re going to buy her one of these for Christmas instead. She’s already chosen the purple strap!

Do you wear a fitness tracker? Do you find they make you more health conscious?

This is where I link up!

Disclaimer: I was gifted the FourFit Health Band in exchange for a review. All words and opinions are my own.