Getting Active with the Casio G-Shock GBA800

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June 26, 2018

When perusing the catalog of releases for the year from Casio’s G-Shock line (or brand, however you want to refer to it), there was one that caught my eye – the Casio G-Shock GBA800. The big callout here was that it was incorporating a bluetooth connection (much like the Casio Edifice EQB501 and EQB900 watches we reviewed) as well as a step-tracker. Now, admittedly, the G-Shock line does seem a little more fitness-ready, so I wanted to take a closer look.

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Introducing the Polar Ignite

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Patrick Kansa

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June 26, 2019

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As you’re aware, I’ve covered a variety of fitness-specific watches, testing them out as part of my own trips to the gym. Over time, I’ve really come to like the products coming from Polar, for a combination of functionality, ease of use (including clever charging), and affordable pricing. The most recent of these I reviewed was the Polar Vantage M. If you’ve spent any time with the Polar Vantage, their newest watch – the Polar Ignite – will look familiar. There’s more here than meets the eye, though.

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Breaking a sweat with the Polar Vantage M

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Patrick Kansa

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June 5, 2019

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When it comes to watches, people tend to think of them in the traditional form (be they quartz or mechanical), or go to the other end of the spectrum with full-on “smart” watches of the Apple and Android varieties. Sure, those get some fitness tracking in, but it’s more an afterthought. What about a watch that is purpose-built for that task? There are options out there, but the stuff from Polar has quickly become some of my favorites, and my now-constant gym companion. Lately, I’ve been spending time with a more recent release, the Polar Vantage M.

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Connecting up with the Alpina AlpinerX

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Patrick Kansa

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May 10, 2018

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It was not all that long ago where we brought you word of a curious thing – a big Swiss brand (Alpina) flogging their watch on Kickstarter, of all places. This was an oddity as we generally think of that platform for launching new brands, for raising capital, and so on. Things that, ostensibly, Alpina is not (they’re established) and should not have a need of (being part of Citizen should have it’s advantages). So, why this route? The word was so that backers could help to finalize some of the design and app features. From the earlier writeup we did, Eric liked what he saw so much that he backed the project (as did plenty of others). Today, I’m going to talk with you about the time I spent with with one on my wrist.

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Taking the Polar M200 out for a run

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Patrick Kansa

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July 12, 2018

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Just a few years ago, I had my first experience with a Polar product. In the time since then, I’ve used it, alternating with the Garmin that’s also in my workout watch stable. A lot can change for a brand in a few years, so we reached out to the brand, and got a few more items in for review. The first one we’ll be taking a look at is the Polar M200.

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Getting smart with the Polar M600

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Patrick Kansa

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July 18, 2018

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So far, with Polar, we’ve focused more on the workout / running watches that were purpose-built for fitness tracking. Today, we’ve got something that is still purpose built, but also is a full-blown Android-powered smartwatch, the Polar M600.

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Back in black with the Suunto 3 Fitness

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Patrick Kansa

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September 7, 2018

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While we have reviewed more than a few different fitness watches, there is one brand we have not really focused on – at least, until today. That brand, of course, is Suunto. As with many other brands, they offer a wide variety of fitness watches, some very technically oriented to a specific sport or activity, and others a bit more, shall we say, generalist. Today, we check out that latter category, with the Suunto 3 Fitness.

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Alpina AlpinerX Smartwatch…on Kickstarter!?!

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Eric Boucher

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March 23, 2018

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As most anyone reading this article is aware, the micro brand Kickstarter phenomenon has hit stratospheric levels in the last few years. As a watch blogger, I can tell you firsthand that it can be quite difficult to sift through the endless emails and press releases related to Kickstarter watches. It seems that several new brands are popping up on an almost daily basis on the popular crowd funding site. A small handful of these new brands are actually designing and selling some very nice pieces, but the vast majority are, to put it mildly, junk.

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The Fitbit Inspire is taking the One’s place

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Patrick Kansa

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April 29, 2019

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Product render of Fitbit Inspire HR, 3QTR view, in Black

As I’ve mentioned from time to time, I’ve not particularly found a use case for a smartwatch in my life. That said, I do rather like having a fitness tracker. For some years now, I’ve relied on a Fitbit One to track my daily activity, as well as (and this is the “killer app” for me) wake me up with silent alarms in the morning. All good things come to an end, as we know, and the Fitbit One is no more for the catalog. It’s been replaced by the recently-announced Fitbit Inspire.

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Introducing the Fitbit Versa

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Patrick Kansa

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March 14, 2018

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Versa_3QTR_MetalLinks_Silver_ClockAnalog_CMYK_SH.tif — Product render of Fitbit Versa in 3 quarter view in silver metal links showing analog clock

We watch folks have a difficult time with smartwatches. We can’t see them supplanting our beloved traditional watches, but we’re undeniably drawn to the promises (if not the delivery on those promises) of what the tech can do for us. For me, I’ve really decided they don’t fit my own particular use case, and would likely need to double-wrist it. In other words, not likely. The one exception I would likely make would be for something like the Fitbit Versa.

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