EveryMan "Gotta Have" Latte Rating Scale:
Rating Scale (based on the amount of lattes per day you'll give up to buy this product)
• 4 Lattes: A must have product that will make your friend's jealous and your competitors cower in undisguised fear and trepidation
• 3 Lattes: A very good investment in well worth forgoing a year or two of your children's college fund
• 2 Lattes: One of those products that actually does what it says it does, but with the same pizazz as a Q-Tip
• 1 Latte: The best thing said about this product is that I wouldn't send it back if I got it for free
• No Latte: So excruciatingly lame that you would get more value by crossing the street for some discarded and well chewed gum before buying this product.
Nike – Nike+ Sportsband
http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/?l=products,sportband
Retail Cost of Product $59.00
EveryMan "Gotta Have" Latte Rating Scale: 3 to 4 Lattes.
Race Test:
Using the Sportband for the first time was not tough, yet I did have a small problem: I couldn’t get it to track my distance. I had done the setup, which is basic, but for some reason I couldn’t get it to work. My brother who had purchased it a few days earlier told me that I had forgotten to push the main button one more time. So after this small hiccup I got it going and tracking my pace, distance, time and calories burned.
Once I was done I pushed the main button again (holding down for 3 seconds to both start and stop) and it displayed my workout. I have mostly used this to train as I haven’t been able to compete in a Tri race this season because I am now living in Puerto Rico and triathlons are few and far between.
Would I use it in a race? Of course, I ran with another friend who was using a Polar watch and pod and both his unit and mine were measuring about the same. He was surprised as his had cost more than mine and it was very easy to use (obviously his has a few more features than mine but for what we were using it the cost was very easy on the pockets). Also since he thought that it was only meant to go into Nike+ shoes (I have mine attached via a Nike+ sensor pouch made by Nathan - http://www.nathansports.com/our_products/paks_music_carriers/sensor_pocket.html) he was surprised that I didn’t have to have them.
Since you can upload, compare and compete (Nike calls them challenges on their site or goals depending on what you decide to do) against your friends who might not be in the same area as you it is a great motivator. I have been using it to challenge my brother from the first time I got it and it not only has made me run more it has helped me push myself harder and train more to be able to keep up with him (He is a Marine so it gets pretty hard).
From installing the software to charging (Nike recommends about two hours for a full charge) to working out it was about four hours. This can vary as I had 1) a very slow internet connection and 2) didn’t get to work out till about an hour after I had finally charged it. So as you can imagine the band can be ready in no time.
Recommendations:
I would recommend this product to anyone that might be interested in being able to track your training, racing and even challenging some friends in a somewhat user friendly and easy to access method. I would even recommend this to someone that is better than me so I can see how well I can do against them because I don’t always have to run with them. Also if you tend to use your laptop as your main source of connecting to the internet while you travel it makes for an even better way to track your workouts. While this is not the bottom of the barrel nor the cream of the crop when you look at training tools it is one of the easier to use. It is also within the price range for most people interested something like this which was one of the reason I bought it, the price was just right.
Style Review:
For those who care to have something that looks cool it does have its cool factor and I would recommend it on that part, but it isn’t a standalone watch. It has no backlight (which would have been good) and if it gets too wet it will fail especially as it has a usb plug on the band itself. But on style point Nike has managed to make the band nice and small but still big enough for those that have big fingers.
The Nitty Gritty:
As I have mentioned before the price is well on the mark and style is also a go. Something that might put runners off is the fact that it does seem fragile (I had to exchange one for having sweat leak in) but Nike does a great job in keeping you happy as long as it is under warranty (they replaced it under their advance exchange which means that you keep yours till they send you the new one and you just return the damaged one). So I did have that SH%@? moment but it was quickly made a sweet moment given Nike’s great customer service, whether online or over the phone.
Value for Hard earned Dollar:
Would I spend less, more or the same on this product? That would depend on what it comes with, as is I would say either the same or maybe less given that it is only a pace and distance meter but if a new version came in with a few more things then maybe going for the same price or maybe a bit more, it would still keep me interested. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would go for a 8 to 9, the cost could be brought down but as it is right now it is just fine.
Just The Facts:
Buckle: Stainless steel
Case: Polycarbonate
Strap: Polyurethane
Includes Nike+® sensor
Rechargeable battery via direct USB connection
Dimensions: 9.5 x 0.75 inches
14 hours of battery life from a 2 hour charge and can store up to 28hrs of run workouts.
It is water resistant and can be submerged for about 30min in a meter of water. (Not really recommend)
The operating temperature is 0 to 50° Celsius.
If I missed any just look up the band on the internet and you will see more details.
FYINTKS (For Your Information Need To Know Secrets):
I would recommend only using this to run and then taking it off, as I had one get damaged due to my excessive sweat. I think it was just my bad luck but if you can protect it why not do it.
Remember that the band is under a 1 year warranty and they will replace it if does get damaged, almost free of charge.
I would look at doing some of the challenges and maybe even seeing if you have few friends that do have it so you can race against then using the various types of challenges on the website.
This excellent review comes to you by:
Victor Hugo Atehortua
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