VIITA Race HRV: a light, premium smartwatch that tracks hydration
After four high-quality smartwatch collections, VIITA is back with something new. Race HRV a very light premium, limited edition smartwatch that tracks a plethora of stats including hydration.
This is the Austrian company’s third time around raising funds on a crowdfunding platform. Last year it ran two successful campaigns for Titan – a luxury Garmin competitor that sells for a relatively budget price.
Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets
Race HRV also has qualities of a high-end, luxury watch. It features a titanium bezel and backcover, polymer and fiberglass housing, a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal touch screen and 10 ATM water resistance. This combination of materials makes the watch very lightweight, at 64 grams you’ll hardly feel it on your wrist.
But Race HRV is not just about design. The functionality is where it gets more interesting. Apart from the basics which come on any half-decent sports watch including GPS, Race HRV has stress and regeneration monitoring 24/7 based on heart rate variability.
Where it stands out from the competition, though, is in the claim the watch automatically calculates water demand based on vital signs. This is done by combining data of the micro-movement sensor, pulse, heart rate variability, Regeneration status, Stress progression, movement patterns and sleep time and quality.
The company says its algorithm determines a wearers water consumption “very precisely”. How well this works in real-life remains to be seen. We are yet to see a wearable that automatically tracks hydration with precision.
Those interested in the device will be happy to know this is not something you’ll be charging often. Battery life is an excellent 2 weeks on a single charge.
Perhaps best of all is the price. While $217 may seem like a lot, it really isn’t when you take the build and specs into consideration. There will just be 1,894 watches made, to commemorate the world’s first car race from Paris to Rouen in 1894.
Price: $217 and up
Funding open:
$23,461 raised out of $27,219 goal
25 days to go
Estimated delivery: March 2020
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