amazfit  Helio Strap

I wear garmin watch most of the time but sometimes I want to wear my analog watches, and Amazfit is great alternative. Cheaper than WHOOP and polar LOOP.

This is helping me listen to my body and not overtraining. Some days, I have much more stress and added physical demand that I go home and still workout thinking I need to get it done and go hard. With this device, I’m reminded of how my sleep was the night before and how much energy It calculates for me having for the rest of the day along with the amount of energy I’ve already exerted. When I go over my recommended exertion for the day, I’m more likely going to injure myself for overtraining. I can focus on improving my recovery and getting to peak condition so I’m able to go hard on the days I’m truly recovered.

Great experience so far. I’ve had whoop for 6 years and I’ve been trying both out now for two weeks. The Zepp app displays things almost like whoop but the calculations are different. I like the battery analogy like garmin does which Zepp uses biocharge. I like that the biocharge changes with my strain/activities. Something whoop does not do. I give a 4 because Zepp all needs more of a polished ui and to create their own style and not copy so closely what whoop has done. Also the strap sucks!!! Invest in better straps. Something sleek and modern. People will pay for them.

I wanted to get away from wearing a smartwatch constantly (I needed to detox a bit) and wanted something sleek but powerful to wear 24/7 to continue tracking my metrics. I have had Amazfit devices in the past, but had most recently been using the Pixel Watch lineup (1, 2 and 3). I love the depth of information that Zepp provides over Fitbit, and I have especially been loving the new Biocharge feature. I also haven't had an Amazfit devices since Aura was a feature, and I've been finding the Aura AI Personalized Music incredible for relaxing and falling asleep.

I like the hardware, seems durable and has a good battery. The software needs some work. Automatic activity tracking specifically seems to add too many activities and doesn't differentiate what they are in a meaningful way like if you manually start tracking an activity. Getting to 100 exertion is too easy, like my last workout was +143 exertion points, doesn't have much benefit if it is stuck at 100 as a max. Hopefully they keep working on the software, it's great to not pay a subscription.

I was hesitant to order the Helio Strap, but any doubts vanished when I started using it. First, the addition of the BioCharge functionality provides better feedback on the recovery and exertion balance. The fact the strap can connect to the Amazfit Active 2 to provide more accurate readings during CrossFit, HIIT and similar activities is a game changer. And using it to complement the readings from the Helio Ring on sleep analysis provides a more rounded picture of your fitness journey.

I've had to return due to skin issues from the skin side material. Actual use was not bad. Sleep tracking as a lot to be desired. It was hard to trust it, especially since my awake time was way off. I could be awake for an hour or so, tossing and turning and the app showed I was awake for 1 minute. Exercise wise, it seemed to do well. If you are not looking for sleep tracking, then I would definitely recommend. If you are buying for the sleep tracking, I would try something different.

It exceeded my expectations, especially the app. I own Apple Watch Ultra and Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, don't use any of those anymore for health tracking just Helio Strap on my bicep. Speaking about the app, thank you for proper Hearth Rate Zone calculation and ability to tweak manually (unlike the samsung for example), thanks for PAI and I really enjoy AI food recognition, despite thinking that I will not use that stuff initially.