Technology has come a long way, especially for athletes. There are countless ways these days to track your fitness goals and workouts in all sports. So what are the best sports gadgets available today?
We’ve compiled a list below of some of the most popular and highest-rated devices to help you decide which is the right on for you. Whether you’re a golfer, cyclist, runner, weightlifter, baseball/softball player, or just an athlete in general, you’ll be sure to find something to your liking below.
TecTecTec recently jumped into the rangefinder business and their VPRO500 is one of their best-selling models and is one of the better golf accessories.
Lightweight (6.5 ounces) and portable (measuring 4.09 by 2.83 by 1.61 inches), the VPRO500 has a laser range up to 540 yards with a continuous scan mode and advanced PinSensor technology. This technology allows the VPRO to provide quick measurement with 1 yard accuracy and also measures flagsticks and hazards with 6X magnification.
It also features a water- and dust-resistant body and comes equipped with a shock-resistant case, a free CR2 battery, wrist strap, and a microfiber cleaning cloth.
Another plus — a 1 Year Warranty & TecTecTec Happy Customer Guarantee. The TecTecTec VPRO 500 offers a high quality rangefinder while also helping you save a few bucks.
Let’s stick with golf and talk about the Arccos Golf 360 Performance Tracking System, which uses sensors that attach to the grips of your clubs to analyze your game and other pertinent data.
A former winner of Golf Digest’s “Best Game Analyzer,” the system comes with 14 sensors — one for each club — and tracks every shot you take. You’ll know exactly how far you hit each club and the GPS will let you know your exact distance to any point. With the help of the sensors and its data tracking, you’ll know exactly what aspects of your game you need to work on.
There is a permanent battery that lasts up to five years and there is also a power-saving mode.
A free mobile app for both iOS and Android users as well as free access to Arccos Caddie is included with the purchase.
When it comes to wearable sports technology, Fitbit is a name that certainly comes to mind right away. And their Alta HR Band is a very popular and effective activity and fitness tracker.
It packs a lot of power in the slim design as it continuously tracks your heart rate, steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, and sleep patterns. You can wear it during any physical activity such as jogging, cycling, hiking, gym workouts, and tennis, to name a few. It has a battery life up to seven days.
The unisex Alta HR is available in three sizes — small, large, and extra large — and six different color styles.
The Gexco Tennis Ball Saver is a very cool and useful sports gadget designed to make sure they’ll be bouncing like brand new every time you step onto the court. Save money by not having to buy brand new balls every time they begin to lose a little juice.
Basically, this is how it worksl: Tennis balls are originally made with 14 PSI of internal pressure and come in a pressurized can. When you open a tennis ball can for the first time, you can feel the pressure being released. And every time you hit the ball, more internal pressure is forced out.
The Gexco Tennis Ball Saver acts like a new, unopened can, storing 3 tennis balls in a vacuum of 14 PSI pressure. This will naturally force pressure back into the balls through the porous rubber seams. After enough time storing, you’ll get the bounce back, extending the life of your tennis balls.
As the official bat sensor technology of Major League Baseball, you know you’re getting an effective and valid product with the Blast Baseball Swing Trainer.
Simply attach the sensor to the knob of your bat and swing away. The analyzer provides real-time feedback and the information is automatically captured and sent to a smart phone app (it’s iOS and Android compatible). It’ll track data like swing metrics, and allow you to analyze and improve timing, attack angle, and bat speed. There are also in-app training videos and tips.
You can also share your results via social media and e-mail.
Lots of times to excel in sports you need to rely on speed and power. And the multi-sport ball coach from Pocket Radar can be used to track the speed of a ball or puck for almost any sport, including baseball, softball, tennis, hockey, lacrosse, volleyball, and more.
Measure your numbers for volleyball and tennis serving speeds, baseball and softball pitching speeds, and hockey shot speeds. As for baseball, you can also measure exit velocity off a bat. Exit velocity has become quite the stat in recent years.
It can measure from 25 miler per hour to 130 MPH and is accurate to within +/- 1 MPH. It has a range on a baseball from 120 feet.
It’s not easy to find an effective tracker for swimming, but the Garmin HRM Swim Heart Rate Monitor is one of the best sports gadgets in that department.
Ideal for pool swimming, but useful in other bodies of water, the chest strap is lightweight and compact with a non-slip design. It can store up to 20 hours of heart rate, swim pace, stroke type and other data and transfer that information to a Garmin-compatible device.
The battery is replaceable but it is designed to last up to 18 months. And don’t forget to pick up a new pair of swimming goggles.
Want to track your fitness but not in the form of a smartwatch or band? How about in jewelry form? Well the Motiv Ring Fitness Tracker will do just that and do it in compact style.
Just like the smartwatch, this ring will track steps taken, calories burned, distance, heart rate, and sleep patterns. Made of very light, yet durable, titanium, the ring is also waterproof.
With a 3-day battery life and charges in 90 minutes (included USB charger), the Motiv Ring works with Apple Health and Google Fit.
When it comes to the best sports mouthguards, Vane Protective Gear is taking safety to another level with their G-Force Sensor Technology.
This patent-pending technology has strategically placed sensors that turn red when they detect an impact of 100 Gs of force. This indicator will help coaches and parents decide whether the impact is enough to take the player out of a game. Football studies show that 100 Gs is when a concussion occurs.
While they aren’t designed to prevent or predict concussions or other injuries, the mouthguard is recommended for high contact sports like football, hockey, lacrosse, boxing, mixed martial arts, and more. The mouthpiece is latex- and BPA-free.
Performance wristbands are popular with many athletes worldwide and this bracelet from Power Balance is one of the most popular. On their website, Power Balance says NFL stars Drew Brees and Darren Sproles, as well as the NBA’s Rudy Gay and golfer Keegan Bradley are fans of the bands.
According to Power Balance, the silicone bracelet’s hologram is designed to “resonate with and respond to the natural energy field of the body.”
Available in 20 stylish color schemes, there is a 30 day money back guarantee.
It might be an older model, but the Garmin Approach S20 GPS Golf Watch is wildly popular and as effective as many on the market today.
You get accurate yardages to the front, back, and middle of the green, as well as shot distances, and innovative technology and functions highlight the watch. AutoShot Round Analyzer, which tracks your shots, measures distance and records shot locations so you can assess your round. Add a Garmin TruSwing and attach it to your club, and that sensor will track your swing to help improve your swing and consistency.
Another notable highlight of the S20 is the Green View Display, which shows you the exact shape and layout of the green.
Available in four colors the S20 contains over 40,000 pre-loaded international courses (with free updates), is sun-light readable and the high-resolution touchscreen is golf glove-friendly. It will alert you on smartphone notifications and it comes with one lithium polymer battery.
One of the best sports gadgets for cyclists, the Wahoo RPM Sensor is designed to track real-time speed and cadence on your smartphone (iPhone or Android) or Bike Computer.
This is how it works: Attach the cadence sensor to your bike’s crank arm or shoe and mount the speed sensor to your bike’s wheel hub. Both sensors are wireless but connects to your desired devices via Bluetooth 4.0 and ANT+ to meaure the data.
The cadence sensor is waterproof up to 5 feet. It comes with a replaceable battery that can last up to 12 months with no charging and you can send the data to your favorite cycling apps.
Here’s something for the hockey fans out there — street hockey, to be more precise: the Franklin Sports Automatic One-Timer Hockey Passer.
Work on your “one-timer” shots on goal as the mechanism shoots you perfect passes every time. And you’ll know when the pass is coming as the LED lights blink to let you know one is coming to you.
The passer includes 4 standard street hockey balls, but it can hold a maximum of 9 balls. It fits standard size 2 5/8 inch street hockey balls and runs on 4 “D” alkaline batteries, which aren’t included. It measures 27 inches by 9 1/2 inches by almost 10 inches.
We’ve already talked about a couple fitness trackers like the band and the ring, but if you’re looking for something bigger, take a look at the Welteayo Smartwatch.
This does everything a fitness watch should do: track steps, distance traveled, calories burned, heart rate, and sleep patterns. This particular watch also measures blood pressure and blood oxygen data and has a sedentery reminder that let’s you know when you haven’t been active over a period of time. Other cool highlights are the weather forecast function, music player, and remote camera function.
But what sets this watch apart is the big, bright color screen so you can read all of your information and messages clearly. It comes with a user’s manual and a cable charger.
One of the best sports gadgets you can have — as all athletes will tell you — are wireless bluetooth headphones. Music is a necessity when working out. Well, for a lot of people it is.
These Senso headphones have an IPX-7 waterproof rating and the gel flex silicone earbuds are designed to stay in your ears regardless of how sweaty you get. As for sound, these have the latest Bluetooth 4.1 CSR technology for crisp and clear acoustics. It’ll connect via Bluetooth as far as 30 feet away.
The headphones have great battery life with music up to 8 hours and 240 hours of stand-by. It’ll charge in only an hour and a half.
It also includes a 1-year warranty and a 30-day no hassle money back guarantee. They’re available in 3 colors — Red, Black, and Black/Red.
Tracking your fitness these days is simple with all the latest technology most sports gadgets feature these days. Keep it here to see our recommendations.
