The best wearables for a water workout, from swimming watches to swimming headphones

The dog days of summer are in full swing, and with scorching temperatures on the rise, a dip in a pool or a swim in the ocean sounds downright appealing. Whether you’re a rugged survivalist or just want some casual wearable tech that will survive a rainy day, getting a waterproof device is a solid investment.  

We’ve gone through the best devices for navigating the day, finding out where you’re going, and keeping an eye on the heart, but what about when you just need to jump in for a swim to get that workout done? We f0und the seven best swimming wearables to cool off with — and the findings are pretty affordable.

Swimovate PoolMate HR

If your workout is primarily water-based, then the PoolMate HR by Swimovate is the perfect accessory. This swimming device allows you to monitor your heart rate in and out of the pool, automatically track and record each stroke and lap you make, and set alarms to help you beat a personal best. The wearable comes with software for your computer that can help you track your progress. With its understated design, this device looks just as good as casual accessory as it does being a workout enhancer. You can order the swimming watch online for around $175.

Instabeat

A heads-up display for swimming might seem a little far fetched, but that’s actually not the case. Instabeat has developed a swimming wearable that you can attach onto swimming goggles so you can optimize your performance. The display is pretty rudimentary, but that’s important since you need to be focused on your workout. The attachment monitors your heart rhythm, calorie counter, and breathing patterns. The built in sensors also track your strokes, laps, and flip-turns. The wearable is priced at $140, but you are going to have to keep an eye on this one. They seem to seem to sell out pretty quickly.

Finis Neptune V2

Bone conductor technology became widely popularized when Google Glass was introduced in 2013. Since then, the application of this technology is astounding. The Neptune V2 by Finis implements this technology so you can experience one of the best underwater MP3 players out there today. With 4 GB of data storage, waterbabies can use these swimming headphones to listen to music, podcasts, and audiobooks without having pesky earbuds pop out of their ears. The lithium ion battery lasts up to eight hours on a single charge. Considering all the things that the Neptune V2 can do, its price of $159.99 is pretty reasonable.

Sony Walkman Sport MP3 Player

The Walkman is still a thing. This device, however, can actually be pretty beneficial to those that like to take a dip in the pool. The Walkman Sport MP3 Player by Sony is a pair of waterproof earbuds that support 4 GB of music and can be submerged up to six feet in water. The cool thing about these earphones is that they are an all-in-one device. You connect them to a USB docking station on your computer, where you can drag and drop music directly to the device. A control station is placed adjacent to the actual earbud so you can easily change music. Sony is having a clearance sale on their website, so you can find these headphones there for $79 bucks.

Swimmo Smart Swim Watch

While this product ended the Kickstarter phase back in May, it easily surpassed its goal with over 900 backers. The potential for this waterproof smartwatch to become one of the best activity trackers is palpable. The watch syncs up via Bluetooth to Android and iOS to provide real-time monitoring in the pool and open water. It comes equipped with a heart rate monitor, an OLED display, and uses patent pending gesture recognition technology. You can preorder your Swimmo via the Kickstarter page for $169 bucks.

Suunto Ambit 3

If you are one of those wilderness survival people, or just a really big fan of Bear Grylls, then this smartwatch is for you. The Sunnto Ambit3 packs so much technology into a single watch that it’s almost overwhelming. It has GPS tracking and route navigation, speed tracking, heart rate monitoring, and multi-sport tracking sensors, just to name a few. The watch is also perfect for swimming, as it monitors pace and distance, swim-style detection and correction, and stroke efficiency. This ultimate survival and/or swimming watch retails at a hefty price tag of $450, but considering that you’ll probably live longer than people who don’t have one — it’s worth it.

Garmin Vivoactive

The Garmin Vivoactive is an impressive smartwatch that implementing cross-activity tracking. With the multi-sport smartwatch, you can monitor five activities, such as running, biking, golfing, and movement-oriented actions. The waterproof device is great for tracking swimming patterns, as it monitors your time, distance, and strokes. When you connect the swimming watch to Bluetooth, you can also receive alerts and notifications about text messages, phone calls, and even emails. The device is currently on sale for $249.99.