There are two reasons I was interested in reviewing the UA Health Box, which falls into a category I don’t normally write about: One, I needed the physical motivation of a looming deadline to get myself back into the yoga studio. And two, I was really curious to see how HTC performs making generic fitness products instead of smartphones.

So far, everything is looking peachy keen. I’m beginning to accept that HTC doesn’t want to be considered just a smartphone company anymore, but that’s only because it’s convinced me a bit with the UA HealthBox, its latest collaboration with fitness-giant Under Armour. The UA HealthBox offers all the ingredients to help you achieve your weight-loss goals, it’s geared toward serious fitness enthusiasts.

UA B

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UA Heart Rate monitor

I’ve never worn anything like the UA Heart Rate monitor before, so it took me a while to figure out how to make it comfortable. It didn’t help that the instruction manual only depicts the way it should fit on a man’s chest.

The UA Heart Rate monitor was the easiest of all three gadgets to set up, whereas I played a bit of the Bluetooth setup waiting game with the Scale the B. The b has two plastic tabs on the that underside that require contact with your skin at all times to offer a proper readout. en you’re wearing the device during a workout, it syncs your heart’s B rate with apps like MapMyRun UA Record.

I found that the heart rate monitor offered what seemed to be the most precise reading compared to the UA B. I’m not sure which device takes precedence when the app archives a number, but the readout sure matched how I was feeling. The number might also factor in the fact that the heart rate monitor rests straight at the source, while the B just pulls your pulse from the wrist.

It’s not that I’m not committed, but the heart rate monitor is too awkward to wear to yoga class. I’m already slightly self conscious the last thing I need to worry about is a light-up dongle peaking through my sports bra. Anyway, this device works best in a gym setting, where you can actively check on your heart rate with your phone.

UA Scale

Of all the products that come bundled with the UA Healthbox, the scale is the only one that’s reflective of HTC’s design prowess. But that’s to its detriment, because HTC’s penchant for shiny things has made the Scale a major attractor of dust hair. It was terribly grimy after a week in my bathroom. Those basic glass–metal scales you see at Bed, Bath, Beyond might look dated, but they’re much easier to clean than this overized hockey puck. The UA Scale’s modern design just isn’t made for bathrooms.

Each time you step on it, the scale greets you by name, which it figures by weight. (It stores up to 7 additional weight profiles, too.) Then, it offers a readout of your body weight body fat percentage, which it calculates using bioelectrical impedance—more commonly known as measuring the electric currents in your feet. It’s sounds neat, but pay mind that this is not considered a “gold stard” method of measuring body fat. http://jap.physiology.org/content/jap/60/4/1327.full.pdf

I don’t deny that weight is an extremely touchy subject, but things got particularly touchy for me during my first few days with this product. Around the third or fourth time I stepped on the scale, it measured my weight at 10 pounds over what it had displayed minutes before. I then tried it in front of coworkers at the office to confirm my findings , embarassingly, it fluctuated 12 pounds between three seperate readouts. Oddly, my male colleagues experienced more consistent readouts, with variances of only a few ounces in between.

The readouts on the scale are now more dependable than when I brought it home five weeks ago , as a result, I feel more confident stepping on it. Under Armour says that it needs to calibrate before it works properly, which is perhaps what happened with me. Either way, I feel a duty to warn those who might be sensitive about their numbers at first: you may experience a bit of an emotional seesaw as the Scale figures out your weight.