Best clip-on and non-wrist fitness trackers
Wearing a fitness tracker doesn’t mean having to advertise the fact you’re watching your health, nor wear some nasty plastic on your wrist.
The market has moved well away from discreet fitness trackers – and even Fitbit has killed off the Fitbit Zip, which was a firm favorite for the clip-on crew.
That means trackers you can clip on waistbands, belts or bras are few and far between.
But there are still a few left worthy of your consideration – but bear in mind that you may now be better served by embracing newer devices, such as hybrid smartwatches that put advanced health tracking into an analogue watch.
Clip-on fitness trackers
If you don’t want to wear it on the wrist, you can always move the tracking to somewhere where it’s plain out of sight.
There’s a bunch of fitness trackers that offer the wearing alternative of clipping the wearable to the waistband of your trousers or jeans or even attach it to a bra or t-shirt that you’re not planning to have on show during the day.
Fitbit Inspire
Fitbit has canned its clip on trackers – but few people know that the Fitbit Inspire as an accessory that enables it to be worn anywhere on the body. Just take the module out from its strap and you can afix to your belt, bra or anywhere else.
There’s little point in plumping for the heart rate tracking version, as that data can only be gleaned from the wrist – so it’s all about the standard steps, sleep and estimated calorie data.
However, if you’re looking for something cheap and discreet, the Fitbit Inspire is our top pick.
£69.99, fitbit.com | Amazon + Clip Accessory
Misfit Shine 2
This was one of our favourite fitness trackers – back in 2016, the Misfit Shine 2 is a veteran of the wearable tech market and miraculously still on sale.
With no heart rate the data seems pretty basic in this era of super detailed biometrics, but it can be clipped anywhere on the body to track steps and even sleep.
To improve accuracy, you can specify the location within the app so while all estimates are based on movement, like they were in the old days, the Misfit Shine 2 is at least using an educated guess.
Yes it’s basic – but if you’re just after simple step data – you could do a lot worse.
Current price: £49.99, misfit.com | Amazon
Bellabeat Leaf Urban
A real surprise package, the Bellabeat Leaf Urban has been a hit, thanks to its distinct design and aptitude as a clip-on device. The data is a little basic, with just steps and sleep tracked – but there are some unique features.
Aimed at women, it can be clipped on as a brooch or worn on the wrist – and the app as some pretty cool manual features on top of the step tracking.
The app features, menstrual cycle, fertility tracking and meditation. It’s not automatically trackers, but it puts a lot of wellness data in one place – more so than the likes of Fitbit and Misfit.
£119, bellabeat.com | Amazon
Nokia Go
An interesting little tracker, the Nokia Go uses an e-paper screen to keep tabs on your daily progress – and it’s designed to clip onto your clothing.
Aside from step and sleep tracking there’s some basic automatic detection of workouts, although the data you can glean is pretty basic.
Sleep data we found to be a little wonky during testing, but if you’re looking for a discreet tracker with a quick visual display of your goal progress, the Nokia Go ticks most boxes.
Moov Now
It’s getting pretty ancient but the Moov Now is still a capable fitness tracker that can do a lot more than just track steps.
It’s a full on sports coach that will deliver actionable insights and guided training plans for running, cycling, swimming and even boxing.
But as a fitness tracker it can be placed anywhere on the body to do its thing – with plenty of data to peruse through. It comes highly recomended.
Wareable verdict: Moov Now review
If you don’t want to wear it on the wrist, you can always try your finger. Smart rings may seem like next generation technology, but they’re actually extremely useful and (fairly) discreet. Here’s our pick of the reviews.
Motiv ring
Motiv is just 8mm wide and in its latest iteration comes in rose gold, slate grey and silver finishes of titanium. Plus, there are seven sizes to fit both male and female fingers.
Inside, it’s a fitness tracker that will monitor steps, distance, and active minutes, as well as heart rate thanks to an optical heart rate sensor.
The battery will last five days and it’s waterproof to 50m. Alexa support means you can check in on your stats, as opposed to barking orders at your finger.
In our tests, we found it to be both stylish and easy to wear, thanks to its light, comfortable form factor, and it’s rightfully the best option out there for both men and women.
Oura Ring
With a big focus on fitness and sleep data, Oura provides you with a simple, intuitive readiness score for the day.
Its sensors focus on providing insights into three areas; Readiness, Sleep and Activity.
Plus, it makes personalised suggestions and can show you trends over time. Oura comes in two models and ring sizes US6 – US13. In its second iteration, this smart ring is significantly slimmer and sleeker than its predecessor.
It packs in multiple sensors, including infrared optical pulse measurement, a 3D accelerometer, gyroscope and body temperature sensors.
From £275, ouraring.com
They look like analogue watches, but are actually fitness trackers in disguise. If you don’t want to show off your tech, choose a hybrid instead.
Fossil Neely
There’s a whole bunch of Fossil hybrids you can pick from but the Neely stacks up as a stylish budget option for those with smaller wrists.
The 36mm watch is classy, light and fairly slim at 12mm thick. Activity tracking is kept to a minimum – counting steps and nothing more.
You can’t read notifications on it, but a little blue LED and vibrating buzz will let you know when you have a call or message.
The three physical buttons on the side of the watch also offer additional smarts, such as letting you control music playback or take a smartphone selfie, as well as more standard functions, like showing the date, showing a second time zone, starting the stopwatch or ringing your phone.
£99.99, fossil.com | Amazon
Withings Move ECG
Something a little more complex, this is the first hybrid to let you take an ECG reading – which can point to the signs of atrial fibrillation.
The Move ECG is water resistant up to 50 meters and will automatically track activity – and will borrow GPS from your phone if you take it for a run.
And you don’t need to worry about charging it before exercising it, either, with 12 months of battery available from the button cell battery.
Unfortunately, this one is currently still undergoing clinical validation from the FDA in the US, though it is available in the EU already.
If you can’t wait, there’s always the regular Withings Move to consider, too, which is even cheaper.
Wareable verdict: Withings Move ECG review
£129.95 withings.com | Amazon
Connected footpods
Another favourite at Wareable is the £25 Milestone Pod, which offers runners feedback on technique from a unit on the shoe. The nice thing is that the Milestone doesn’t require you to take your phone out for the run, which means you can catch up with metrics like foot strike position, cadence, and efficiency when you get back.
£25, milestonepod.com | Amazon
