Well I’ve had really good luck during this pandemic in connecting all these health devices together, but today, my GreaterGoods Wifi Scale finally broke. It’s always been pretty flaky. The Wifi couldn’t handle special characters and now it won’t connect to Wifi and the iOS application that programs it is definitely busted. Doesn’t even render correctly, so time to find the next solutions. But here is what is working:
- Scosche Heart Rate Monitor. Some say this reads high and low, but the main thing is that the Bluetooth LE works flawlessly when connected to both a Garmin bike computer and also to an old Mac when using TrainerRoad. Pretty impressive and not too expensive. Plus as an arm band it is way easier to put on. I have not tried their latest version, but it even has a single LED to give you a small read. The lower cost $80 version doesn’t have that. I’m not sure why you need it as you are probably using a watch or something.
- Withings Body Plus or Wyze Smart Scale. Ok, this is definitely a first world problem, but it sure is convenient if you don’t have to record your weight all the time. There are plenty of reviews on this at Tom’s Guide, PC Magazine (although these reviews are four years old). They all say the same thing, the $99 Withings has lots of features (and integrates with Strava in addition to Healthfit and the Wyze at $28 is an incredible value. The main issue is the Wyze is Bluetooth only, so you need a phone application to make it work (like the Scosche) but supports both Apple Health and Google Fit.. And for the Withings Body seems like another good choice at $59 it throws away the heart rate monitor and weather (why do you need that on a scale?). The main issue is the proprietary app. The bane of all these devices. The main issue with Wyze is how to get the data to all the places I need it mainly TrainingPeaks and Apple Health.
Blood Pressure Monitor
When there is time you want to measure your blood pressure then having a wireless system for it. And there are reviews from Very Well Health and Wirecutter. The main issues are the actually fake spot reviews of the Omron are not that high:
- Omron Healthcare Platinum. This was top rated by Very Well Health, but has a terrible Fakespot rating.
- Omron Evolv. This is a small cuff type that has a C rating and seems pretty convenient
The nice thing about these is that they are bluetooth connected and then work with Apple Health. They have something called Fitness Syncer at Training Peaks that knows how to talk with Omron
