Wearables that keep you safe
While it is most likely you feel safe at home, that feeling may not extend too far from your front door. A Gallup poll shows that around four in 10 adults in the US say there is an area within a mile of where they live where they would be afraid to walk alone at night.
This applies even more to women. The poll shows that nearly half of all women, 45%, said they do not feel safe walking alone at night, along with 27% of men. Though substantial, this 18-percentage-point “safety gap” between the genders is in line with historical trends, and larger gulfs have been measured in the past.
Thankfully, there is an increasing number of wearables and gadgets that make it easy to call for help. Although we’ve had panic buttons for a while, its only recently though that they have become smaller, smarter, wearable and more discreet.
Some of these are predominantly marketed towards women, but others are unisex in design so could be used by men as well. After all, statistics show that victims of public crime are overwhelmingly young adult males although the lack of crime reporting makes it difficult to get accurate numbers.
Having one of these devices may give you more reassurance next time you are coming back from a late night out. While it may not protect you from an attack, it could potentially give you the ability to notify your friends and family at a touch of a button.
We’ve narrowed safety wearables down to a few of our favorites. While compiling this list, we’ve examined functions and features carefully and thoroughly. We try to test every device personally, but where not possible we took user reviews into consideration and dismissed devices with bad customer reviews and low ratings. This left us with the following selection.
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Ripple 24/7 | Apple Watch | Garmin watches | Revolar | Invi | LifeStation Mobile
Ripple 24/7
This is one of the most popular such devices on Amazon. Originally a crowdfunded project, Ripple is a panic button that comes with a 24/7 support team. Through the service, users have access to the company’s US-based professional monitoring team.
The little padlock looking device has a brooch-clip design which makes it easy to attach to clothing, keys or jewelry. Click the wearable or the app, and the user will immediately receive a call from the professional monitoring team to his or her smartphone.
Click once if you feel you are in an uncomfortable situation. This is used for anytime you just want someone there for you. If you feel you are in a serious emergency but can’t talk on the phone, click three times and the monitoring team will send first responders directly to your location. They will also relay all of your critical information to them on your behalf.
The penny-sized Bluetooth device is water resistant and never needs charging. The battery lasts six months, and when it expires, you will receive a new one for free.
By purchasing Ripple you’ll get a one year subscription to the professional monitoring team. Continued support will cost you $10 per month thereafter, but this is totally optional as you can opt to send alerts cost-free to friends and family instead. It’s worth noting, some of its functions only work in the US.
Apple Watch
Now better than ever, the Apple Watch has made it to this list. This is thanks to operating system updates which brought a number of new functions to the wearable device’s side button, including a new emergency SOS function that can call 911 and notify loved ones.
Apple’s SOS feature gives users a way to quickly dial emergency medical services in the area whether you’re local or traveling overseas. In some countries, you might need to choose the service that you need. For example, in China you can choose police, fire, or ambulance.
To make a call press and hold the side button on your watch until the Emergency SOS slider appears. Continue to hold down the side button. Wait for a countdown to begin and an alert to sound. You can also drag the Emergency SOS slider. When the countdown ends, your watch automatically calls emergency services.
After SOS is activated, your watch will display your current Medical ID, so that responders can instantly see important medical information like your height, weight, allergies, and the like.
The function allows you to designate up to three SOS contacts. After an emergency call ends, your Apple Watch alerts your SOS contacts with a text message (unless you choose to cancel). The text message contains your current location, and, for a period of time after you enter SOS mode, it will send your updates as your location changes.
You don’t necessarily need the latest version of the Apple Watch for this. Series 3 will perform just fine, as will Series 4. We are now on the fifth generation which should see a successor in September.
Garmin watches
A number of Garmin watches now offer something called “Assistance and Incident Detection“. This includes the new Forerunner 45/45S, Forerunner 245/245 Music, Forerunner 945. It can also be found on the slightly older vívoactive 3 Music, Forerunner 645 Music and Fenix 5 Plus.
The first is a supplemental feature that kicks in automatically when an incident is detected. It sends an SMS and email with your name and GPS location to pre-loaded chosen contacts. The watch uses your paired compatible smartphone to do this. Once activated it starts a 30 second countdown giving you a chance to cancel it before sending messages.
The Assistance option does the exact same thing, the only difference being that you need to activate it manually. Its use is therefore wider than for walking, running, hiking or cycling. Whenever you feel in danger, simply activate Assistance and a message with your location will go out.
Revolar
Revolar is less about fancy looks and more about protecting you and your loved ones. The unisex gadget sends an SMS (with your location and a customized message), by connecting to the accompanying smartphone app through Bluetooth. You can choose up to 5 friends and family members as your contacts, and you’ll never pay a monthly fee to alert them. Plus, the device will work all over the world — anywhere your smartphone has cell coverage or WiFi.
There are three types of alerts you can send. One press indicates a ‘Check-in’, two presses a ‘Yellow Alert’ and three or more pressed a ‘Red Alert’. That means your safety network will instantly know where you are and the seriousness of the situation. Also, it’s easy to customize which of your contacts receives each of these types of communications.
Revolar can be clipped discretely under your clothing or you can choose to attach it to your keychain. It stays powered for up to a year on a simple, easy-to-replace battery. So far, the little gadget has been receiving some pretty good reviews on Amazon.
Invi bracelet
This one is a bit different. Designed to be a non-violent form of self-defense, this innocent looking device has a nasty surprise in store for any potential attacker. It emits a stink to repel them!
How it works is simple. If you feel you are in danger, unlock the small safety clasp and yank hard on the leather strap. This breaks the canister containing the company’s stink solution. The two-step activation system is in place to ensure the device is not activated by accident. The idea is that the foul odor emitted by the bracelet will distract and demotivate the attacker!
Invi*
Lifestation Mobile 4G LTE
Another popular device on Amazon, Lifestation Mobile 4G LTE is primarily designed for seniors. For that purpose it has a range of useful functions.
The thing runs on on the AT&T network in the US that provides around the clock access to the company’s Emergency Monitoring Center. This comes at a monthly cost starting at $34.95. There’s also an optional fall detection service that runs at $10 per month.
You don’t need a separate AT&T plan, it is built into the device. This ensures excellent GPS coverage allowing the emergency team or caregivers to pinpoint your exact location.
Simply press the button to be connected with a TMA certified care specialist and the 24 hour monitoring centre. They will speak directly to you through the device and contact emergency services, friends or family if necessary.
The device is essentially a tiny (3 x 1.5 x 0.5 inches ) AT&T cell phone that can be worn around a person’s neck for easy access or clipped to clothing. It is also waterproof.
The company boasts its gadget offers the longest lasting battery for GPS Medical Alert Units. It charges in 3 hours and will last up to 5 days on a single charge.
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*Disclosure: We are a review site that receives a small commission from sales of certain items, but the price is the same for you. We are independently owned and all opinions expressed here are our own. See our affiliate disclosure page for more details.
Great items. I love how technology is doing something good for safety! What some of them are missing is a self-defense element to help protect the wearer in a time of need. I like ROBOCOPP’s Sound Grenade for that. It clips on to a backpack or keychain, etc. and is small as a chapstick. You can activate it with a push of a button, and it’s SUPER loud. Personal alarms have been shown to deter danger, and this is something I like having better than pepper spray (which I do have, but am often scared to use if I really had to) Really, it’s good for anyone because it’s easy to use, safe and effective.
I’m surprised Revolar didn’t make the list! It’s a wearable device that pairs to your smartphone and uses custom alerts to notify your contacts when you click the button. You can check in or send for help if you need to. After doing the research it was the best tech at the best price. I was excited to give them as gifts this year!
Well spotted. We will update the article to include Revolar.
Thanks!
Are any of the pieces waterproof? My concern is falling while in the shower.
Some of these are splash-proof so are ok in the rain but not in the shower or bath. The Apple Watch (second generation) is the only device on this list that is fully waterproof.
I’m not clear as to what Guardian means on Ivy.
Do any set an alarm and call 911 to protect me vs telling people my location ?
Cuff seems to be closed.
Are there any stand alone devices that look nice and don’t need to be paired to your phone? What if my phone dies and I feel unsafe while running or something? I’m just out of luck? What if I didn’t even bring my phone with me, or forgot to pay the bill? It would be nice if there was a stand.alone device that could do all the same things without a monthly fee… Personally, I’d rather pay a higher price for a lifetime subscription rather than have it hit my bank account every month… Do they make anything like that?
This x 1000
It is surprising that V-Alrt did not make the list despite having many unique features, including ‘Fall Detect’ (very useful for elderly people), ‘Tracker’, Water proof (can be worn while having shower or in heavy rain), one year life of the battery etc. and all this in a very small & light weight device that can be worn different ways discreetly and is quite inexpensive too, compared to many competing products out there in the market.
So basically, these are useless if you drop your phone and are x meters away from it? Or if the phone’s is dead. Because all of them are using Bluetooth. Or am I wrong?
Kronaby has a hybrid watch that has a great panic program as well as a “follow me home” button that allows someone of your choosing to know your location when you press the pusher on the side of your watch.
I wouldn’t recommend the Nimb.. have received two rings. First one wouldn’t charge, second one they didn’t have in my color/size so I opted for a different color. It literally fell apart. Now i’m waiting for a replacement “sometime in the fall” DON”T pay for support a year in advance, you won’t get refunded
The Samsung watches have done this for years. As usual, its devices get left off while Apple gets promoted for adding a new (copied) feature that Samsung has had for years.