Running Gear Review - Safety Vest - Noxgear Tracer360

Today's Review:

Noxgear Tracer360 Illuminated Safety Vest

Noxgear Tracer360 is probably one of the coolest pieces of safety equipment I currently own.  I saw it originally on Kickstarter, and supported the project there because I thought it was a cool idea.  From there, when I originally got it, I started wearing it for my night runs.  I was so impressed with it, that I then ended up ordering one for each member of my Ragnar Relay Las Vegas team for 2013 (see notes about this being Ragnar Compatible later).  Anyone who has run a multi-day relay race has probably had to have some kind of nighttime running gear to include something like a headlamp, tail light, and reflective vest.  Well, Tracer360 covers at least two of these relatively well.  It has reflective parts to cover the reflective vest, and it is definitely visible from behind for a tail light.

Another great thing about the Tracer360, more the company Noxgear, is their customer service and their passion for their product.  As I said, I was a kickstarter supporter of their launch.  After that, I got in touch with the owners, +Simon Curran  and +Tom Walters , and asked if they would be willing to be sponsors for our team for Las Vegas.  By sponsors, I just asked if they could give me a team discount when I bought 12 Tracer360 for my Ragnar team.  They were more than happy to work with me, and they also made some special modifications to the original Tracer360 so that it would be Ragnar Compatible:

NOTE: Ragnar Compatible:  The Tracer360 meets almost all of the Ragnar Safety Rules for a reflective vest.  The ONLY thing missing is reflective material over the shoulders.  The Tracer360 has fiber optic cable over the shoulders, but the Ragnar staff was very specific that it must be REFLECTIVE.  Simon and Tom came up with a fix for that, the Ragnar Ready Tracer360 that had additional reflective pieces that rode on the shoulder to meet the Ragnar Safety Rules.

Manufacturer Facts:

• 360 Degree Dynamic Illumination
• 3M Reflective / Hi-Vix Sport Elastic Belt
• Quick-Clip Buckle & Dual-Adjustment
• Lightweight (6.5 oz.)
• All-Season, Rain-Proof design
• Full Color Spectrum
• Battery Status Notification & Always Bright LEDs

My Take on the Gear:

This is one of the most comfortable, easiest to use, and coolest safety vests I have ever seen or used.  The sport belt sits right under chest level, and has adjustments to hold the two fiber optic cables in place over the shoulders.  The device has a low-profile electrical pack that the safety belt is attached to that sits in the middle of your back.  It is cushioned, and so light weight that you hardly remember it is there.  It has the on-off button on it, near the bottom where most people should be able to reach it.  The two fiber optic cables run from the top of the pack piece, up over the shoulders, to the safety belt in the front, then down under the arms/along your side, and back to the bottom of the back piece.  They are light-weight, and as long as you adjust them to sit snugly on your shoulders, they won't be a problem.

I have been running in a Tracer360 almost every workout since I got them (it is dark here in the Northwest in the evenings, and I don't get to go for a run until after work, around 5:30-6:00 PM, and going on a 4-7 mile run, it gets dark before I get back).  I can't imagine going back to anything else.  It is near impossible for drivers NOT to see me.  There are a good selection of light modes to use from solid colors (in most colors of the rainbow), to slow pulsing between multiple colors, to flashing between multiple colors.  My Ragnar Ready Tracer360 (I have two now, one Kickstarter and one Ragnar Ready) even has a White and Orange Ragnar mode where it flashes between white and orange colors.  Simon did that special, just for us.  What did I say?  These guys rock.  Wearing the Tracer360, it is so light (figuratively and literally) that you almost forget you are wearing it (other than it is flashing, blinking, pulsing, and tough to forget when it is dark out).  It is light-weight, comfy, and I have gotten MANY compliments and comments on it.  

When we wore the Tracer360 at the Las Vegas Ragnar, we could always spot our runner in the long line of runners at night.  They were the ones that stuck out and were visible from over a half mile away.  As we were driving the support van, we passed runners that had tail lights you could barely see to ones that were almost dead.  The Tracer360 won't ever do that to you.  When you turn the Tracer360 on or off, it will pulse Green to let you know the battery is still good.  Or, it will pulse red to let you know the battery needs to be changed.  One thing it WON'T do to you though, is if you are out on a run and the battery starts to give out, it won't just diminish in brightness and leave you stranded.  It will switch to an energy saving red pulse.  This does TWO things.  It lets you know that your battery needs to be changed when you are done with the run, and it DOESN'T leave you stranded without your illuminated vest.  I have had mine start pulsing red only 5-10 minutes into an hour-long run, and it never  gave out on me.  This is an AWESOME benefit for any of you running a team relay.  If the batteries get weak, you will still be able to finish the leg you are on.

Summary:

So, I can't say anything bad about these.  They definitely have the wow factor (you become like a walking disco party, or for you kids out there, a walking rave party), the comfort factor (so lightweight, and fits comfortably enough, you won't even think about  the feel, just how cool you look), and the safety factor (believe me, you can't miss someone in this vest when it is dark out).  The company is run by a couple of amazing guys, and their product is really great.  If you ever bump into me at a race, you can bet I will be wearing mine for my night gear.  These run true-to-size at least for the men's sizes, and for the women, if in doubt, order one size larger.  It is easier to deal with extra fiber optic cable than deal with not having enough.  Hope you can pick one up and try it, and if you are ever driving through my area and see a strobing light running along the road, no it is NOT aliens, it is just me out rocking my awesome Tracer360!

Running Gear Review - Heart Rate Monitor - Rhythm by Scosche

So, this will be my first gear review.  Currently, I will only be able to review the gear I have.  Maybe in the future, I can branch out and try new and different gear to review and the like, but we shall see.

Today's Review:

Scosche Rhythm Heart Rate Monitor

Scosche Rhythm is a non-chest strap heart rate monitor.  I will start with the quick stats and details on it per the manufacturer's website.  It is their slightly older model (they now have the Rhythm + which is their newer version of this as far as I can tell).  Currently the Rhythm comes in black with yellow or pink body.  I purchased mine at a Best Buy where it was selling for right around $79.99 (the same as it sells for on their website).  The strap has Velcro on both ends to adjust on either side so you can correctly position it on the upper forearm.  Unlike your standard chest strap heart rate monitor that works on electrical diodes touching the skin, the Rhythm works by shining a small light onto the skin and measuring the light absorption.  The literature that comes with and can be found online states that this is only at most 3% off the chest strap accuracy.  The Rhythm connects via Bluetooth to a number of Apple and Android phones.  Per the user manual iPhone 5, 4S, 4, and 3GS, iPad 3rd and 2nd gen, iPad iPod Touch 5th, 4th, and 3rd gen, all requiring iOS 5.1 or higher.  It doesn't really specify which Androids it is usable with, but I am currently using a Samsung Galaxy S4 and it has no issues.

Some of the quick facts from the user manual that some will find important:

• Size: 2.17"W x 1.92"H x .58" D
• Weight: 1 - 1.1 oz. depending on armband
• Charging Time: 2 Hours
• Battery Type / Life: Lithium Ion / 6 Hours

My Take on the Gear:

Now, onto the more interesting things, my actual testing of it so far.  First, I have been testing it, using the Scosche Rhythm app that was designed to work with the unit.  There are a number of other apps that the monitor is supposed to work with (Digifit, iBiker, iPower, RunDouble C25K, iSpinner, iCardio, iRunner, iSmoothRun, Spinning), but I don't use any of those.  I usually use MapMyRun.  I was not able to get MapMyRun to recognize the heart rate monitor though, so was required to use the Scosche Rhythm app.

The upsides to the app:

• You can play and control your music through it (I still use a different app to do that, but more for reasons of getting this app and many others to recognize my specific playlists, an issue for another time)
• You can select the type of activity AND the heart rate level you want to achieve during the activity so it gives you a visual guide to whether you are in the zone or not (as well as you can select to have audio prompts)
• You can add custom activities and setup the heart rate levels for the zones for that activity
• Does a pretty passable job keeping and allowing you to track heart rate data.
• The Stop, Pause/Resume buttons on the app are larger and easier to hit when working out than many other apps I have seen.

The downsides to the app:

• The GPS tracking is off by QUITE a bit.  A route I have run three times now, I have driven before, and I have mapped on both Google Maps and Map My Run came out a mile SHORTER on the Scosche app vs. the Map My Run map and the Route Creator.
• The music playing portion only recognizes limited playlists.  I created a couple of playlists using Amazon MP3, and they are not recognized.
• In spite of the website and documents saying that workouts can be shared with a number of other apps, the ONE I wanted to share it with is the ONE that it is currently having (known) issues with.
• I have not been able to find a way to export the workouts as a GPX or anything to manually transfer to another app.

Now this really ISN'T a review of the app, but since you will also have to decide whether you want to use the app if you get the heart rate monitor, I wanted to give at least a few points on it.

Now onto the heart rate monitor itself.  The pros would be:

• No Chest Strap!  You don't have to have something wrapped around your chest, hopefully staying in place.  It is an armband that wraps around the upper forearm, and the unit sits on top or inside of the arm.  If you are used to running with an MP3 player on your bicep or something like that, it isn't too much of an adjustment.  If you are used to wearing an MP3 player on the wrist, you could probably figure out a way to combine the two.
• Relatively small size and comfortable.  The unit is not very big and site just below the inner side of the elbow.  The times I have run with it, it has always been comfortable and never gotten in the way.
• Ability to control your music volume.  There is a plus and minus button on the unit that will increase and decrease the volume without having to do it on your phone.  This is particularly nice as a lot of smart phones' volume buttons are a bit difficult to get to in an armband.
• Ability to stop and start the workout.  The center button is supposed to allow you to start and stop your workouts without touching the phone.  It is also supposed to allow you to change the music, but I believe that is only when using the associated app for music as well.
• Strap is highly adjustable.  Since both ends of the strap have Velcro, you can put the unit on your arm where you want it, and then adjust from BOTH sides to keep it where you want it.  This is instead of trying to figure out where to start it so it is where you need it to be when you are done pulling a single strap.

The only con I have come across so far is the inability to sync this heart rate monitor with a variety of apps.  I have used +MapMyFitness  MapMyRun for a long time, and would really like to be able to sync it up with that.  It seems that a big effort to make it compatible with Apple has been done, but not much to make it compatible with Android.  If I could change one thing about it, that would be it.  Make it better compatible with Android and Android apps.

Other than that, it has been a great heart rate monitor.  Small, light-weight, and simple to use.  You turn it on, wait for your chosen app to sync with it, and then go.  If you need to adjust your volume up or down, pause or restart your workout, both are fairly simple tasks with this.  Oh, if you have a relatively LOW resting heart rate, you might have to do some jumping up and down to get the monitor to actually properly start registering your heart rate, but once you start working out it will be fine.

Summary

My overall review?  This is a decent heart rate monitor for the money.  It doesn't require a watch or something like that with it.  It doesn't require a chest strap or anything with it.  The straps are comfortable, and it fit snuggly without being too tight.  My only issues are issues with compatibility both with apps and the online portal.  If you have an app you like that is on the list of partner apps, I would definitely recommend this monitor.  It has been great.  If you don't I would definitely think twice about buying this.  I might recommend looking at their Rhythm + as it is supposed to work better with a wider range of apps.  If you don't want to bump up to the Rhythm + and you are okay with the Scosche Rhythm app issues, this is definitely worth the cost.