Reply With QuoteNo direct experience but in case you haven’t already read it here’s the dc rainmaker review
From reading it, I’d say a interesting concept but not ready for mainstream yet?
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/11/...th-review.html
Anyone tried one? During lockdown and now i'm working from home i've been wearing a samsung smart watch a lot but i'm finding that it's mainly the health side that i'm using as i turn off more and more notifications. I'm also wearing my other watches a lot less.
I looked into whoop but couldn't stomach the high sub cost and don't fancy a fitbit of similar.
On paper the Oura seems a great fit but wondering if anyone has experience ?
ta
No direct experience but in case you haven’t already read it here’s the dc rainmaker review
From reading it, I’d say a interesting concept but not ready for mainstream yet?
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/11/...th-review.html
Haven't read that one yet but your synopsis chimes with the other ones i've read - cheers
I've looked at these a few times but came to the conclusion that they weren't quite offering enough for the money and worried that they might be a little bulky
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I thought it looked interesting, and if cheaper might have tried it for the sleep monitoring (George Russell had one for that purpose) but am sure it’ll improve and get cheaper quite quickly
I’m in a similar boat, using a garmin but wanting something less watch like so I can wear an automatic rather than a Garmin. The oura is well reviewed but by all accounts can’t be worn (easily) whilst doing weights due to its thickness, also has no GPS so your phone needs to piggyback on it. I think the Oura also has a subscription model like the whoop now.
Of the two I’m leaning more towards the whoop, £18 a month if taking the 18 month option but still not convinced there’s a good “wearable” outside of fitness watches yet…
Last edited by tiny73; 21st December 2021 at 16:42.
The oura ring is $7 a month vs £30 for the whoop (the cheaper options are pay up front but can be down to the equivalent of £18)
I was seriously considering the whoop but i really struggle with the concept of dropping £300 and then having nothing of any residual value at all- albeit selling an Oura isn't going to be easy due to the sizing.
Interesting to see others are in the same boat.
Thanks Lazydonkey , I didnt even know this wearable tech existed! Another rabbit hole to go down on reviews :)
Steve
Had the motiv ring and previous version of oura. Tried them as a) the apple watch is a pile of tech junk b) wanted to see if this was something that could for fitness.
Used it for about 8 months before covid hit, used in hiit classes, running outside etc and it worked fine.
Since covid they've be stuck in the USB port on the back of the TV Chaging for over a year.
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I’ve looked at the Oura ring but decided that the subscription model is not for me. I did the 18month deal on Pa Whoop previously and whilst some of the information was interesting/useful, I found that it was widely inaccurate (this may be fixed the the latest incarnation, but it mostly seems to be product placement that gets the good reviews!), and the sleep tracking could be easily affected. I found that if I woke up at about 0400, and went back to sleep, my recovery was always much better than if I slept through the night. Also the HR monitoring was awful, using a hammer or saw always showed up as max HR and sent my daily scores through the roof.
The main point now that I keep considering is what I would do differently with the data, I’ve got a fairly good sleep routine, and it is not easy to change much more, and my sleep performance was seemingly fairly random. The Oura ring was a tempting buy but I concluded that whilst I would find the data interesting, previous recovery/sleep tracking didn’t alter what I did very much and so it seemed a bit of a waste, I have a regular training routine (swim/bike/run/S&C) and the extra data didn’t change what I did, so it became a bit irrelevant…
What you are going to do with the data is the key question, and is it worth £200? Initial cost, plus a month fee? I decided not, but if the reviews and functions update, then I will review this a future points, but if not, I’ll just save my money!
I’m looking at some HRV apps at present (Welltory, elite HV and will consider HRV4Training) to see if they can offer the same kind of info as whoop etc but without the subscription and another device.
Got an unexpected pay rise before christmas and really enjoyed wearing my non-smart watches over Christmas so I placed my order this morning.
I'm not usually this gung ho but i really like the look of the product and i'm interested to see where it goes.
I have an Apple Watch which I love and hate in equal measures as stops me wearing nicer ones.Originally Posted by Lazydonkey
Purchased a Huawei band to allow me a tracker without wearing ‘2 watches’ but the quality is lacking for me.
Really wondering about getting one for myself & the wife based on my research. Plus she seems to have a reaction to the Huawei band, so this would remove the issue.
Had a tax return 3x what I expected, so feeling in a similar boat to you!
My sizing kit is due to be delivered today.
What finger have you decided upon, as I’m still debating it?
Appreciate the index finger is meant to be best, but it looks slightly strange to me.
I’ve got one. First generation. I use it exclusively at night. I like it. It does its job very well. I’m careful to take a break from it though - I don’t want to be one of those guys losing sleep over his lack of sleep. I don’t wear a wedding band so I had mine sized for my wedding ring finger which works well.
Thanks. I have worn the sizing rings for a while now and while the left index finger seems to be the least obtrusive - I cannot live with the look; as sad as that is.
Have decided on my right hand ring finger as I have a wedding band on my left.
I'm going to go with middle finger on the right hand. Tried the ring finger on that hand but my wife thought it looked a bit odd as i also wear a wedding ring on the other hand. looked a bit too matchy. Tried index finger but it just felt odd. The size i've got will also work on the ring finger, albeit a bit more loose. So i've got options.
Ring was shipped yesterday so all being well should have it next week.
Gone for the stealth on my right ring finger, can also wear on the left and a couple of others.
Shipped today, so will be here soon enough I hope.
Looking forwards to getting it.
I've got a fit band thing.
Cost under £50, no subscription and it does sleep monitoring, step counting, heart rate monitoring.
I wear it on my right wrist and a normal watch on my left.
Does all I need it to, but doesn't cost the earth or take over from a watch.
M
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Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
I must be missing a trick here, what problem are these devices trying to solve?
I go to bed and sleep, sometimes better than others. My heart still works after 64 years and long may it continue. I go to the gym and train hard, I run a couple of times/ week and push myself reasonably hard, my heart rate goes up but always comes down again. I use a Casio F91 to time runs, simply to know how long I’ve been out. When I return I take it off and go back to a proper watch.
Generating data might be interesting but is it really any use? Unless you have an underlying medical issue it seems pointless to me. If you’re a serious athlete training hard to achieve optimum performance maybe these things add value, but I seriously question how much good they do for the ordinary Joe.
£63 duty & handling.
Ouch!
I have one - absolutely brilliant device. Easy to wear, great for sleep tracking, steps, temperature variation etc.
Have test driven Fitbit, Jawbone, you name it over the years, this one I enjoyed most.
That said I got tired of all the data and it’s sat in the box for months! But it’s one I’d definitely recommend. Happy to answer any questions if people have
I’ve had an original fitbit flex, the other one, Alta, Alta HR and the latest version, all left me wanting. Seemed to be more glitchy the further they progressed.
Apple Watch x 3 but still doesn’t tick what I need. Do not like all the notifications etc, too large.
This seems to tick all the boxes I want, more health orientated than an exercise device. Really looking forward to getting on with it.
I hear ya! Although hopefully mine is being delivered today.
Partly it's a cool gadget, also I'm a data geek for a living so this sort of thing is fascinating to me.
But it's also the nudges and the general improvement in wellbeing that work so well. I now pretty much permanently work from home and these sorts of devices (currently a Samsung smart watch) mean i don't kid myself on about how much or how little activity i've done each day. It's also good at giving you a kick up the arse when you feel tired or feel like your sleep was sh*t (in my case cos the baby woke when i was in a deep sleep) and giving you an objective view on how well / badly you slept. Without it i'm prone to stay up too late and then end up getting sick / grumpy.
I'm not using much of the smart watch functionality, the calls are useful but all notifications are off.....it's just a health tracker for me now. Hence the change.
I've tried loads of different trackers but this one seems to get the balance between useful and obtrusive about right.
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That's great to hear - can't wait to get mine. As someone who runs a data science function there is no such thing as too much data :D
Reckon you'll love this in that case.
For all that things can be seen as gimmicky, things like sleep tracking are not only very good, but very useful. Splitting the difference between types of sleep stages I understand to be very difficult for any advice, but Oura seem to manage well, and it's *really* telling how things affect your sleep - how much alcohol you can get away with, drinking how late? Eating late? It becomes very clear how much you can get away with while still getting close to optimal sleep.
It's the first of these devices I'd consider unobtrusive to wear and providing genuinely useful and actionable feedback.
thanks Senninha
[drums fingers waiting on courier]
Awful wait isn’t it!
When did they say your delivery would be? Mine is next Friday, but the sizing kit arrived a few days ahead of what they said on the tracking.
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Amazon has a lot to answer for - i'm not used to waiting for stuff.
Estimated date was Wed 19th. Out for delivery just now, due in a few hours. Similar timeframe to the sizing kit.
I know, when I miss the 'deliver by 10pm' for an item and have to wait for the next day it annoys me!
Assuming you have it now & are happy?
Still got the sizing ring on, to get used to wearing a ring on that hand. Occasionally seem to move my fingers in such a way to make it a little painful...no idea what I am doing though.
It arrived on Friday afternoon and i've worn it constantly since then. Really impressed. It's a bit chunkier than my wedding ring but it's still pretty subtle, my wife actually commented that she likes it just as a ring.
It's still learning but the sleep duration is consistent with the samsung watch, albeit where samsung said i regularly got no deep sleep the oura is now consistently saying i'm getting deep sleep, albeit varying as you'd expect with a 2 year old in the house. The activity tracker seems to count massively more steps than the samsung, but i'm not too worried about the actual number, more the relative number.
Did a hard 3 hour cycle yesterday and was feeling it when i work up this morning and the readiness score was down to 60, so it lowered my activity quota for the day. Which is exactly what i want - an objective measure to tell me when to train and when to recover. I often wake up mid way through a deep sleep due to aforementioned 2 year old and i wanted a way to separate "i feel shit" from "i'm exhausted", especially as i usually train before work.
App is a bit glitchy on android but not too much of any issue, just the occasional error message.
Overall the biggest thing i've noticed, or not noticed, is how unobtrusive it is. It's nice and light and you simply don't notice you're wearing it. Battery life seems great too. It was 70% battery on friday evening and was down to 40% this morning. Quick 30 mins on the charger and it's back up to 80% again.
But most importantly i'm getting to wear my watches again. Put on my Tag Micrograph this morning and i've forgotten how much i enjoy picking a watch for the day. The samsung was a great tool but it didn't bring me joy.
Really interested to see how the insights within the next few weeks. Overall i'm really happy, it's exactly what i hoped it would be.
Last edited by Lazydonkey; 17th January 2022 at 10:47.
It is the watch wearing without something in my other wrist that I am looking forward to.It arrived on Friday afternoon and i've worn it constantly since then. Really impressed. It's a bit chunkier than my wedding ring but it's still pretty subtle, my wife actually commented that she likes it just as a ring.
It's still learning but the sleep duration is consistent with the samsung watch, albeit where samsung said i regularly got no deep sleep the oura is now consistently saying i'm getting deep sleep, albeit varying as you'd expect with a 2 year old in the house. The activity tracker seems to count massively more steps than the samsung, but i'm not too worried about the actual number, more the relative number.
Did a hard 3 hour cycle yesterday and was feeling it when i work up this morning and the readiness score was down to 60, so it lowered my activity quota for the day. Which is exactly what i want - an objective measure to tell me when to train and when to recover. I often wake up mid way through a deep sleep due to aforementioned 2 year old and i wanted a way to separate "i feel shit" from "i'm exhausted", especially as i usually train before work.
App is a bit glitchy on android but not too much of any issue, just the occasional error message.
Overall the biggest thing i've noticed, or not noticed, is how unobtrusive it is. It's nice and light and you simply don't notice you're wearing it. Battery life seems great too. It was 70% battery on friday evening and was down to 40% this morning. Quick 30 mins on the charger and it's back up to 80% again.
But most importantly i'm getting to wear my watches again. Put on my Tag Micrograph this morning and i've forgotten how much i enjoy picking a watch for the day. The samsung was a great tool but it didn't bring me joy.
Really interested to see how the insights within the next few weeks. Overall i'm really happy, it's exactly what i hoped it would be.
Mine is out for delivery today, which is frustrating as I need to pop out at some point. Wish it was DPD delivering where I know how long I need to be waiting in for.
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Question for the Oura ring owners, what kind of data do you see from activities? And do you use an app to register/start tracking an activity? ie if I went to do a hiit session do I clock start and stop on an app or does it recognise automatically that I’m sweating like <insert unsuitable analogy here > and my heart rate is through the roof?
My understanding is that any app that can publish to googlefit can be picked up - ie i use strava for cycling and it picked that up within mins. For some reason my walk didn't pick up automatically but you record activities within the oura app so i'll try that next. Health sync is an option too it can publish to and from oura.
Activity detection is on the list for this year i think.
Last edited by Lazydonkey; 17th January 2022 at 16:17.
Interested to see how you get on.
I had a whoop band but didn't renew the subscription:
- Mostly it told me what I already knew
- It did some odd things e.g. would think pottering in the garage was some major exertion - checking on my Garmin and my heart rate was never over 100
- If I'd done something like a shortish Zwift race next day it would say I was recovered when I felt completely done in!
- Aesthetically a disaster really! This seems more discreet.
Stealth arrived & charged.
Interesting you saying it over read the steps, I’ve been all over the house and it has only captured 32 so far.
Actual ring is so much more comfortable than the testing rings for sizing. Although I do miss the sizing number under the ring as I started to scratch it with my thumb on calls as therapy lol.
ETA not sure why my hand looks quite as fat as it does here or why it is at a funny angle!
Might not have refreshed yet?
Seems to have caught up a bit now.
Annoyingly phone phone tap tap taps against it when it type unless I hold it tighter. iPhone without case…can see the case being added lol
As an update to this my walk eventually filtered through this afternoon. So it all seems to work.
Really impressed with the sleep analysis, and it has still not learned my base levels. My wife is getting one now too.
https://ouraring.com/taf/ebe7c73008
This gets 50 USD / EUR / GBP off the price if anyone is interested. Covers most of the duty & handling cost.
I also get some clothing vouchers if 2 people use my referral, for transparency.
Yeah the sleep analysis is really good - i got a row the other day as i was falling asleep too quickly....meaning i was too tired. Had never viewed that as a bad thing before.
Overall i'm delighted with mine, glad you're happy too.
Thanks for the continued feedback guys, much appreciated. Have any of you used it whilst lifting weights? I’m thinking specifically of deadlifts, squats etc, heavier weights on a bar kinda thing.
Last edited by tiny73; 21st January 2022 at 15:09.
I'm cyclist not a lifter I'm afraid.
It's chunkier than my wedding ring so it might be an issue, i certainly notice it more when I'm doing stretches etc. Might be me getting used to it.
My wife has stolen mine already, so another on it’s way to me.
Ref lifting, I’d imagine the thicker profile may get in the way / pinch. I’ve had a couple of pinches lifting stuff in the house and garage but nothing silly heavy.
Think there’s an ideal of an exercise-fitness watch and then a health ring that both can sync to.
I’m happy to lose the Apple watch as wanted to wear proper ones & hated a band on my right wrist. It will be coming to SC soon.
My only wish would be a slight vibrate for notifications as the number of WhatsApp messages I miss is amazing!
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Am I right in understanding you had the whoop band then? This is something else I’ve looked at but not sure how accurate the fitness side of it is and again, whether you need to start an activity on an app. I’ve got a Garmin Fenix 6S which is genuinely amazing and I’m barely touching the surface of its capabilities but I miss my “proper” watches hence looking at “wearables” (hate that word…)
Editing to add; if you did have the whoop band can you use it in isolation or is it only useable with the subscription?
Not a whoop here I am afraid. However speaking with my exercise friendly folks, they insist on the Garmin and then this to supplement.
However, they are not watch people. Can you wear a band only when training?
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Not a whoop here I am afraid. However speaking with my exercise friendly folks, they insist on the Garmin and then this to supplement.
However, they are not watch people. Can you wear a band only when training?
Aaah get you, thanks. Someone on here had the whoop. Interested in feedback
Interestingly the second ring is now being delivered via RM. The first was DHL to the delivery point.
No idea if this will be good or bad from a tracking perspective.
ETA - DHL tracking says it is at my local depot. RM says it is still in Germany. Excellent.
ETA - it has never been in Germany according to DHL, NL to UK directly.
Last edited by Mj2k; 24th January 2022 at 17:39.
How are you getting on so far? Still really intrigued by the concept as I like the functionality of my Garmin Fenix but miss wearing a traditional watch.
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