Best budget wearables 2017

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Fitbit Zip

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Budget wearables

Tracking your fitness doesn't have to mean wearing a wristband. The Zip clips to your pocket, belt or bra, which is handy if you don't want yet another thing clogging up your wrist. It tracks your steps, distance and calories burned, and suggests ways you can move more during the day. Just tap the screen to see how you're doing. Using the app you can log your food, track your health trends and see the leaderboard of you and your friends. You can also send your friends messages (just keep them polite). And all for £50 - less than the price of a pair of trainers.

Jawbone Up Move

Budget wearables

The Up Move is a versatile little doohicky – you can clip it to your person or wear it around your wrist. Despite the wallet-friendly price of £39.99, it does a lot, including activity tracking – steps, calories, distance etc – and sleep tracking (with suggestions to help you sleep better). It's also a smart coach, giving you advice on simple changes that mean you move more and live healthier. It even claims to read your moods, and gees you up when it feels like you need it. The LED display tells you the time as well as your stats, and it's splash-proof. Reviewed by our Australian counterparts here.

Cuff

Budget wearables

This smart jewellery fits in all manner of different pieces, so you can wear it as a bracelet, brooch, necklace, and more. It vibrates to let you know someone's calling, and buzzes quicker if you leave your phone behind. It's also loaded up with fitness skills, including step counting, and calories burned versus how many you've taken in using the food logging system. And it keeps you safe – press it, and it'll send an alert to friends and family along with your location, and audio of what's happening at the scene. At $29 (about £19) you can't afford to not have it.

Razer Nabu X

Budget wearables

£45 is amazing value for a fitness band, especially one with this many abilities. The red, green and blue LEDs are customisable, so you'll know straight away what's happening – choose for them to flash green for an incoming call, say, or blue for a text. You can even choose how intensely it vibrates. Double tap it and the LEDs show how close you are to your daily goal. Unlike most of its kind, the battery lasts between five and seven days before needing a recharge. And it's water-resistant up to 1m. One of the most bespoke bands around, it's reviewed here.

Samsung heart rate monitor

Budget wearables

The Samsung Galaxy S5's heart rate monitor is rubbish. This is a much better bet and it's only £65. It straps to your chest and straightaway shows your heart rate. The strap is adjustable, so will fit everyone from barrel-chested Blutos to Olive Oyls. You will need a Samsung Galaxy S handset and the S Health app to read your stats. The big advantage? You can work out without wearing a bulky gadget on your wrist. It's wipe-clean too. Handy if a sadistic driver ploughs through a puddle next to you.

Joe Svetlik

Joe has been writing about tech for 17 years, first on staff at T3 magazine, then in a freelance capacity for Stuff, The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, Men's Health, GQ, The Mirror, Trusted Reviews, TechRadar and many more (including What Hi-Fi?). His specialities include all things mobile, headphones and speakers that he can't justifying spending money on.