Ring 4

In the past few years I have realised that even though my phone can do 99% things needed to work, play and even click..having dedicated devices always take the limitations out of what my phone can do - that 1%. Laptop - MacBook Pro 14” M3 Pro 24GB 1 TB - Workstation/HQ - I do all my work on here while managing a Consulting business, a budding YouTube channel and entertainment. Gaming Device - ASUS ROG XBOX Ally X 4TB - my only tech purchase in Japan, got it for half of what it costs here in India and it has been a treat playing Indies on it and the occasional Destiny 2 - current rotation is Hades 2 and Realm of Ink (I am a rogue-lite fanboy). Camera - Sony A6300 with Kit Lens on a SmallRig Cage - Photo & Video Setup - I have other lenses but this is the one (the worst of the lot really) that forces me to frame my shots better and I still don’t do pictures justice (skill issue you can say) Phone - iPhone 17 Pro - Jack of all trades/Communication Device Listening Apparatus - AirPods Pro 2 & TruthEars x Crinkle - Zero:Blue2 IEM - one drives work; one is driven by my DAP. Audio Player - Shanling M0 Pro 512GB - I love listening to instrumentals when I work and pop/rock when I work out and this is small enough to stay concealed and out of the way for both. Fitness Trackers - Oura Ring Gen2 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 - One is a dedicated sleep tracker and the other one is a do all time piece that believe it or not did warn me of signs before my stroke last Feb, never trusting another device over this. Something a bit different from the usual knife/saks/wallet post. I love tech as much as I love other EDC so feel free to share your Tech EDC I enjoy seeing new things to add to make my life easier. Take it Easy, Kev From OneTakeEDC

Got fed up with waking up tired and not knowing why, so I went full psycho and wore/used multiple trackers at once to see which ones actually match up. TL;DR at bottom. **The setup:** \- Oura Ring 4 \- Samsung Galaxy Ring \- Fitbit Charge 6 \- Garmin Venu 3 \- Withings mat under my mattress \- Cheap Amazfit as control **What I found:** Oura was consistently the most accurate for sleep stages. Like, within 5-10 min of when I actually remember falling asleep/waking up. The HRV data correlates scary well with how I actually feel. BUT and this is the kicker—the Fitbit Charge 6 at $179 was maybe 85-90% as accurate as the $399 Oura. For most people that's probably good enough. Samsung Galaxy Ring surprised me. No subscription, solid accuracy, but you NEED a Samsung phone or it's basically useless. The Withings mat was weird. Some nights dead accurate, other nights it logged me as asleep when I was literally reading in bed. Partner movement throws it off. **Biggest surprise:** The cheap Amazfit ($89) wasn't terrible?? Sleep duration was accurate, stages were hit or miss. If you just want basic data it works. **What actually improved my sleep:** Honestly tracking alone did nothing. What helped was: \- Seeing my HRV tank after drinking (even 1-2 beers) \- Realizing my "good" sleep nights correlated with room temp under 68°F \- Noticing deep sleep crashed when I ate late **TL;DR:** \- Got money? Oura Ring 4 \- Budget king? Fitbit Charge 6 \- Hate wearing stuff? Withings mat (if you sleep alone) \- Samsung user? Galaxy Ring is solid \- Broke? Amazfit Balance does the basics Happy to answer questions. Been down this rabbit hole way too deep. wrote up a longer comparison with prices and specs if anyone wants it: [https://sleepupgradehub.com/the-best-sleep-trackers-of-2025-reddit-s-top-picks-373007](https://sleepupgradehub.com/the-best-sleep-trackers-of-2025-reddit-s-top-picks-373007)

The VO2 Max calculator on a Garmin is just a sort of chart of pace vs heart rate and nothing else. It’s not a real measure of your VO2 Max. Clearly since it dropped since you added back your easy runs that is the reason it has changed. You increased the volume of running at slower paces your watch is using to estimate so it’s lowering it (at least that is my guess) My VO2 max went up to 54 two months ago and has slid back down to 51 despite me being more fit. I run 150 miles a month and have made significant gains in my threshold pace. When my V02 was “54” My watch estimated my threshold at 8:05/mile Now that it’s “51” it estimates a 7:20 threshold. If I’ve maintained my same volume but improved my threshold pace how can my VO2 have dropped? It’s just an estimate and I don’t really pay attention to it other than to see what it says. I don’t base anything off of it or consider either of those to be my threshold or my VO2 Back to you: Are you seeing a change in performance? Do you feel slower at the 5k distance? Trust your body and use the watch as a guide

So I want to buy some kind of activity tracker. I want it to be without a screen since I always have my phone with me. Currently I am looking at either the new polar loop or the oura ring 4. I do some light running and a little strength exercises. I want to see how my overall heart health is, if I am improving, I also want to see my running path on the phone afterwards. I don't want to have multiple apps for the data. I know the ring is more expensive and has a subscription but the monthly cost is manageable not like the insane monthly cost of the whoop. I also don't like the helio strap since it looks very cheep and plastic and I want to wear the tracker 24/7. I have never owned an activity tracker so my question is: Does anyone have any insights that could help me make a good choice?

I’ve been wearing an Oura ring alongside my wrist-watches for about 18 months now. It gives me the health insights that I’m looking for without overwhelming me with unnecessary information. If you’re going down this journey I’d urge you to consider what wearable information you find useful (I.e gives you actionable insights) versus just consuming data from sensors because they can serve it to you. When I’m doing actual sports I switch out for a G Shock and either use my Garmin head unit connected to a proper HRM if I’m on the bike (which syncs my activities Strava) or run Strava on my phone when I’m running, because let’s face it… my phone’s battery is outlasting mine and I’m taking it with me anyway to play Spotify through my Bluetooth earbuds. Smart watches are the dumbest invention of the 21st century. No, I do not want to read my emails or receive Teams notifications on a device strapped to my wrist that constantly buzzes and steals my attention away from whatever it was that I was doing before I was staring at a 1 x 1” screen when I’ve got a perfectly good phone in my pocket. Oura gives me the sensors and insights I need without the unnecessary stats or interruptions.