Great format and content - I like this chatty conversation style that’s relaxed but doesn’t deviate into trivia. Having two opinions that converge is extremely persuasive.
Must say, it's hard to believe your subscriber figures are so low relative to other channels considering the quality of your reviews. I think you mentioned the polar watches did a good job of HRV was it? Any particular polar model? Keep up the good work.
I've used bunch of different gadgets during the years. The Oura I've worn every night for several years now (I'm still on v1) and it's by far the most reliable and useful "tool" I've got. Not only measuring progression and recovery data (HR, HRV, Respiratory rate, etc.) as a runner, but also for overall sleep and health status (reliable sleep patterns, body temperature, etc). Great to be able pick up those warning signs early on and make some proactive changes. Also very valuable measuring the impact of changes in the daily routines.
This is such a good review! Really like the conversational style of this video, very natural and personable. Your experiences with this product are really interesting and is definitely making me consider the ring, having a simple score of how ready and rested you are on a daily basis would be invaluable throughout any training block / programme!
Thanks! We were planning for most of our reviews to be in-person chats, but the pandemic has made that much harder! Having tested a few products like this I (Nick) have found it’s made a bigger impact on my training/lifestyle than anything else. Though still not always easy to follow advice when you’ve got to fit your run in haha!
Haha thanks very much! But I have given wrong impression I think as she’s nearly 2 (should be sleeping better 🙈) Still feels pretty new to me though :)
Spot on I’ve had a whoop I Think I had about 10 green days in a year ? Im one of those robot losers I’m on the polar vantage at the moment I like the the app & the recovery score , great I know what you mean about the hrt test every day you can’t be arsed My wife bought me a oura ring last year for my birthday I don’t like wearing rings so she ended up with it ?… Gutted now after watching your review great work lads thanks 👍
I love my oura! I’ve had one since v1 and now have the v2. The app is frequently updated with new and interesting features, and the ring firmware updates come out often as well. It’s really helped me make changes towards improving my sleep (for instance, it helped me realize that I tend to sleep hot, so I was able to address that in my sleep environment) and I use it to guide my training, as well as to track illness etc. highly recommend.
Agree with everything you are saying about the ring, been using it for a while and any illness shows up 2/3 days before I realise the symptoms. It’s great for planning training and far better than anything else. It would be nice if oura and Garmin would integrate to help with their recovery and planning sessions
Excellent review as always! I really love your videos and I think it's just a matter of time when the number of your subscribers will rise exponentially ;-). Your review was one of those which finally convinced me to buy the Oura ring. As I have been having some sleep issues (moonwalking, lucid dreaming while my muscles not being paralyzed,...). Yes, I am aware of its limitations, but the stuff I have watched and read about it is pretty interesting (now listening to the book "Why We Sleep" and it's mind blowing!) ... Currently waiting for my order to arrive (after trying the plastic dummies from the sizing kit - "half-size" would be ideal for me, which is not an option, of course, so I chose a smaller option). I am pretty excited to test it when it arrives in a few days. Btw. I am a long-term Garmin user sleeping with my Fenix 6 Pro Titanium... The sleep data from Garmin is alright, but far away from perfect and not giving me enough feedback on improving my sleep. Also, I am interested in the body temperature measurement which Garmin obviously lacks... we'll see.
Thanks very much! Hope you enjoy using the ring, let us know how to get on. I (Nick) was very excited for it to arrive and still using it and checking my stats every day, which I’ve never done with a sleep tracker before
@@TheRunTesters So, I really like the ring a lot. The sleep data seem more accurate than Garmin. I have been wearing it 24/7 for the last 10 days. The only issue I have with it is the Activity tracking feature - don't get me wrong, I know this is not an activity tracker and I did not expect this feature to be good or relevant. However, what I dislike about it is the fact that it does not seem to reflect my fitness level at all - the cal. goal is basically stuck at 500 cal / day, which is ridiculous (I am 196 cm, 100 kg, very active sportsman) and seems to require just an easy software fix. As far as I understand, it is the same goal for everyone and if I do my regular trainings (nothing extreme), the ring advises me to take it easy and if I don't, because there is no reason (all other metrics like HRV, RHR,... show I am ready and rested), my disobediance impairs my Readiness score... I will give it a few more days to see if it improves once it gets to know me better :-)... but based on other users' experiences I don't think it will. So, the option that I will return it within 30 days is actually open. No matter what my decision is, I think it is an excellent device and I am really glad that I've tried it (and maybe I will keep it ;-)).
Thanks for the review - very insightful. I do have a question, are you able to pair with a Garmin Watch to use for Heart Rate during runs/sessions (ie. as you would with a HR Strap)
Thanks guys. Great review and very useful. I’ve been tempted by this since I heard Lance Armstrong raving about it on his TDF podcast last year. You mentioned it’s benefits for sleep tracking but is there value in wearing it during my runs? I spend a lot of time looking at the HR data from my Garmin Forerunner 235 and suspect it isn’t always accurate.
I (Nick) keep it on for runs and it goes towards the Oura active calories burned target, but it’s not that useful since you can’t see your heart rate during the run or anything. You’re probably right on the watch not being accurate I’m afraid, we all use chest straps linked to our watches, much better results!
I love my Oura ring too! So much more comfortable than smart watches/bands. Plus it tackles a more holistic and wellness approach compared to other smart devices, which is better for activity. The cycle tracking and battery life is super awesome! And another interesting thing is it detects illness before you feel anything. Also, it was very accurate when it comes on tracking my sleep. You can actually protect its beauty without sacrificing biometrics and comfort with an OSleeve.
Great info! Would it be possible to connect a Garmin Forerunner 255 with an Oura ring, to use the heart rates from the ring instead of the watch? Also, how could the ring benefit me if I already own the watch? Would the ring be more accurate?
Wonderful review, lads! How do you think about what Oura offers vs Garmin’s Body Battery data? Also, given how Oura really priorities sleep/recovery, do you think it’s a device that is still worthwhile if you only wear it at night?
Body battery can be useful, but for me (Nick) it's limited by inaccuracy on the Garmin when it comes to sleep. Every Garmin I've used massively overestimates my sleep - whenever I'm reading or watching TV late at night it all gets counted as sleep, which undermines any faith in other stats! The Oura is much more detailed and accurate for sure. And I'd say you could def use it just at night. The activity stats do feed into your readiness, but if you were tracking your runs on another watch anyway and getting them into Oura via Apple Health or Google Fit then the ring would be registering your key activity for the readiness score anyway. It might be how I start to use it going forward myself.
I wear mine 24/7 (as intended). It’s actually quite good at activity tracking, although I wear my Garmin to track my heart rate for MAF running. They recently released a feature where the ring can detect various activities on its own (such as golf, in my case) and while I don’t care about tracking calories, it is shockingly accurate when compared to my HRM.
In terms of the sleep tracking, how accurate do we think it is, sleep experts etc say that trackers etc can be fooled just by being motionless as opposed to sleeping, do you think it’s still relevant? The HRV etc is a definite benefit for sure.
I (Nick) have found that’s it’s substantially more accurate than watches, which do get fooled by sitting there reading. I’ve been noting when my daughter has made me get up in the night, or just woken me, and the Oura is spotting that kind of thing pretty much every time. It’s still not perfect, but good enough that I think the advice is relevant and useful.
@@TheRunTesters Thanks so much for the reply. I had the whoop and was disappointed in it being fooled so often that the info/feedback was irrelevant. Giving me 2hours extra sleep because I was reading in bed with little movement. It did have a pretty interface however. Currently use HRV4TRAINING app instead but the Oura ring definitely has me thinking about other options that give a more complete and rounded picture. Excellent review as always and thanks for the response. Really enjoy what the run testers do on TH-cam and the various publications/websites your reviews feature on. Thanks again.
I was disappointed by the Whoop too, felt like it could have been really good but too unreliable. Haven’t tried that app, might investigate! And thanks for your kind words!
Thanks for the great review. I've just sent my Whoop strap back because the HR data was pretty much showing me at max HR for the whole duration of my runs, where my Polar watch gives me pretty good data (even compared to the HR10). I tried lots of different positioning of the strap etc, but nothing could tame it, so my recovery/strain values were never going to be useful. I don't particularly like wearing my Polar watch all the time, especially at night, so the ring appeals to me. Out of interest, what is the ring HR data like when running with it on? It is close to other HR devices?
Hi, great and useful review thank-you. Does the ring give you a readiness score at any one moment in time of the day, not just in the morning? (I want something that will tell me if it is a good or bad idea to go for a run in the evening when I have done a weights session in the morning for example)
Yeah I was wondering about the same thing! Currently using Garmin's solution for this stuff, but if the Oura is more precise and informative with it... Might be worth a switch? Idk... A comparison would be great.
Hi! So I (Nick) have never found the Garmin sleep tracking good. It always hugely overestimates my sleep time, misses points where my wee daughter gets me up in the night, counts it as sleep when I’m reading. That kind of thing. I don’t tend to trust the body battery stat as a result, and even if I did, the detail you get here is much deeper. Garmin is improving on this front though, the question is whether you can ever get as much accuracy on the wrist as the finger.
Not many good choices for wearing rings if you're not married. Thumb is immediately discounted. Middle finger can be mistaken for a wedding band at a glance.. Pinky could work, but idk if Oura makes a small-enough one...
You mentioned the purchase price for the ring, but you didn't mention if there was an ONGOING subscription fee which seems to be the trend these days in the health & wellness sector. I tell ya, the day Garmin begins charging a monthly sub fee to use their watches is the day I switch to a "dumb" Casio G-shock and simply time my runs w/ a stopwatch. BTW, I went to Ora's website looking for this info... couldn't find anything. But I couldn't find a price listed for the ring itself either. I figure if they're hiding the purchase price of the ring, chances are they'd also hide a subscription fee too if it exists.
The subscription is new for the third generation of the Oura ring. It didn’t exist when we made this video. We will cover it when we review the new ring.
Great format and content - I like this chatty conversation style that’s relaxed but doesn’t deviate into trivia. Having two opinions that converge is extremely persuasive.
This channel is massively underrated
Spread the word 😂
Must say, it's hard to believe your subscriber figures are so low relative to other channels considering the quality of your reviews. I think you mentioned the polar watches did a good job of HRV was it? Any particular polar model?
Keep up the good work.
Agree 100%. No BS reviews. All solid content.
Agreed. Very hard to grow a channel. I say that with a loyal army of 250! 😀
Agreed. Consistently great reviews 👏
I've used bunch of different gadgets during the years. The Oura I've worn every night for several years now (I'm still on v1) and it's by far the most reliable and useful "tool" I've got. Not only measuring progression and recovery data (HR, HRV, Respiratory rate, etc.) as a runner, but also for overall sleep and health status (reliable sleep patterns, body temperature, etc). Great to be able pick up those warning signs early on and make some proactive changes. Also very valuable measuring the impact of changes in the daily routines.
This is such a good review! Really like the conversational style of this video, very natural and personable.
Your experiences with this product are really interesting and is definitely making me consider the ring, having a simple score of how ready and rested you are on a daily basis would be invaluable throughout any training block / programme!
Thanks! We were planning for most of our reviews to be in-person chats, but the pandemic has made that much harder! Having tested a few products like this I (Nick) have found it’s made a bigger impact on my training/lifestyle than anything else. Though still not always easy to follow advice when you’ve got to fit your run in haha!
This is a really well considered and put together review, thanks guys. Big fan of this channel!
Thanks very much, appreciate it :)
How do you define accuracy for Oura & Whoop? I know you mentioned Whoop isn't accurate, what's this based on for you?
Congratz on your new baby girl Nick!
Haha thanks very much! But I have given wrong impression I think as she’s nearly 2 (should be sleeping better 🙈) Still feels pretty new to me though :)
@@TheRunTesters haha. Belated then. Things improve... They never fully recover!
Hahaha that’s what I’ve heard!
Phenomenal review guys - I take your word for gospel on all products your review. Keep
up the great work!!!!
Thanks very much!
Spot on I’ve had a whoop I Think I had about 10 green days in a year ? Im one of those robot losers I’m on the polar vantage at the moment
I like the the app & the recovery score , great I know what you mean about the hrt test every day you can’t be arsed
My wife bought me a oura ring last year for my birthday I don’t like wearing rings so she ended up with it ?…
Gutted now after watching your review great work lads thanks 👍
I love my oura! I’ve had one since v1 and now have the v2. The app is frequently updated with new and interesting features, and the ring firmware updates come out often as well. It’s really helped me make changes towards improving my sleep (for instance, it helped me realize that I tend to sleep hot, so I was able to address that in my sleep environment) and I use it to guide my training, as well as to track illness etc. highly recommend.
Agree with everything you are saying about the ring, been using it for a while and any illness shows up 2/3 days before I realise the symptoms. It’s great for planning training and far better than anything else. It would be nice if oura and Garmin would integrate to help with their recovery and planning sessions
A little more integration would be great, hopefully something we'll see in the future!
Excellent review as always! I really love your videos and I think it's just a matter of time when the number of your subscribers will rise exponentially ;-). Your review was one of those which finally convinced me to buy the Oura ring. As I have been having some sleep issues (moonwalking, lucid dreaming while my muscles not being paralyzed,...). Yes, I am aware of its limitations, but the stuff I have watched and read about it is pretty interesting (now listening to the book "Why We Sleep" and it's mind blowing!) ... Currently waiting for my order to arrive (after trying the plastic dummies from the sizing kit - "half-size" would be ideal for me, which is not an option, of course, so I chose a smaller option). I am pretty excited to test it when it arrives in a few days. Btw. I am a long-term Garmin user sleeping with my Fenix 6 Pro Titanium... The sleep data from Garmin is alright, but far away from perfect and not giving me enough feedback on improving my sleep. Also, I am interested in the body temperature measurement which Garmin obviously lacks... we'll see.
Thanks very much! Hope you enjoy using the ring, let us know how to get on. I (Nick) was very excited for it to arrive and still using it and checking my stats every day, which I’ve never done with a sleep tracker before
@@TheRunTesters I'll surely will share my experience after I'll have it used for a few days.
@@TheRunTesters So, I really like the ring a lot. The sleep data seem more accurate than Garmin. I have been wearing it 24/7 for the last 10 days. The only issue I have with it is the Activity tracking feature - don't get me wrong, I know this is not an activity tracker and I did not expect this feature to be good or relevant. However, what I dislike about it is the fact that it does not seem to reflect my fitness level at all - the cal. goal is basically stuck at 500 cal / day, which is ridiculous (I am 196 cm, 100 kg, very active sportsman) and seems to require just an easy software fix. As far as I understand, it is the same goal for everyone and if I do my regular trainings (nothing extreme), the ring advises me to take it easy and if I don't, because there is no reason (all other metrics like HRV, RHR,... show I am ready and rested), my disobediance impairs my Readiness score... I will give it a few more days to see if it improves once it gets to know me better :-)... but based on other users' experiences I don't think it will. So, the option that I will return it within 30 days is actually open. No matter what my decision is, I think it is an excellent device and I am really glad that I've tried it (and maybe I will keep it ;-)).
Great review- I have had one for about 5 months. I was amazed how drinking beer/wine too much or too late impacts health.
Thanks! Yeah the state of the sleep I have after a few beers is absolutely terrifying haha
Re-watching the Oura Ring. Would love to see a comparison between this and the new Whoop 4 band.
We're on the case with Whoop. 👍👍
Thanks for the review - very insightful. I do have a question, are you able to pair with a Garmin Watch to use for Heart Rate during runs/sessions (ie. as you would with a HR Strap)
Thanks guys. Great review and very useful. I’ve been tempted by this since I heard Lance Armstrong raving about it on his TDF podcast last year. You mentioned it’s benefits for sleep tracking but is there value in wearing it during my runs? I spend a lot of time looking at the HR data from my Garmin Forerunner 235 and suspect it isn’t always accurate.
I (Nick) keep it on for runs and it goes towards the Oura active calories burned target, but it’s not that useful since you can’t see your heart rate during the run or anything. You’re probably right on the watch not being accurate I’m afraid, we all use chest straps linked to our watches, much better results!
I love my Oura ring too! So much more comfortable than smart watches/bands. Plus it tackles a more holistic and wellness approach compared to other smart devices, which is better for activity. The cycle tracking and battery life is super awesome! And another interesting thing is it detects illness before you feel anything. Also, it was very accurate when it comes on tracking my sleep. You can actually protect its beauty without sacrificing biometrics and comfort with an OSleeve.
Great info! Would it be possible to connect a Garmin Forerunner 255 with an Oura ring, to use the heart rates from the ring instead of the watch? Also, how could the ring benefit me if I already own the watch? Would the ring be more accurate?
Wonderful review, lads! How do you think about what Oura offers vs Garmin’s Body Battery data? Also, given how Oura really priorities sleep/recovery, do you think it’s a device that is still worthwhile if you only wear it at night?
Body battery can be useful, but for me (Nick) it's limited by inaccuracy on the Garmin when it comes to sleep. Every Garmin I've used massively overestimates my sleep - whenever I'm reading or watching TV late at night it all gets counted as sleep, which undermines any faith in other stats! The Oura is much more detailed and accurate for sure. And I'd say you could def use it just at night. The activity stats do feed into your readiness, but if you were tracking your runs on another watch anyway and getting them into Oura via Apple Health or Google Fit then the ring would be registering your key activity for the readiness score anyway. It might be how I start to use it going forward myself.
I wear mine 24/7 (as intended). It’s actually quite good at activity tracking, although I wear my Garmin to track my heart rate for MAF running. They recently released a feature where the ring can detect various activities on its own (such as golf, in my case) and while I don’t care about tracking calories, it is shockingly accurate when compared to my HRM.
In terms of the sleep tracking, how accurate do we think it is, sleep experts etc say that trackers etc can be fooled just by being motionless as opposed to sleeping, do you think it’s still relevant? The HRV etc is a definite benefit for sure.
I (Nick) have found that’s it’s substantially more accurate than watches, which do get fooled by sitting there reading. I’ve been noting when my daughter has made me get up in the night, or just woken me, and the Oura is spotting that kind of thing pretty much every time. It’s still not perfect, but good enough that I think the advice is relevant and useful.
@@TheRunTesters Thanks so much for the reply. I had the whoop and was disappointed in it being fooled so often that the info/feedback was irrelevant. Giving me 2hours extra sleep because I was reading in bed with little movement. It did have a pretty interface however. Currently use HRV4TRAINING app instead but the Oura ring definitely has me thinking about other options that give a more complete and rounded picture. Excellent review as always and thanks for the response. Really enjoy what the run testers do on TH-cam and the various publications/websites your reviews feature on. Thanks again.
I was disappointed by the Whoop too, felt like it could have been really good but too unreliable. Haven’t tried that app, might investigate! And thanks for your kind words!
Thanks for the great review. I've just sent my Whoop strap back because the HR data was pretty much showing me at max HR for the whole duration of my runs, where my Polar watch gives me pretty good data (even compared to the HR10). I tried lots of different positioning of the strap etc, but nothing could tame it, so my recovery/strain values were never going to be useful. I don't particularly like wearing my Polar watch all the time, especially at night, so the ring appeals to me. Out of interest, what is the ring HR data like when running with it on? It is close to other HR devices?
Hi! Seems to be a good product. How do you buy it in UK? Do you still need to order from US site?
Hi, great and useful review thank-you. Does the ring give you a readiness score at any one moment in time of the day, not just in the morning? (I want something that will tell me if it is a good or bad idea to go for a run in the evening when I have done a weights session in the morning for example)
It's a morning read on the Oura. You could try the HRV4Training app if you have a specific time you want to do your test.
@@TheRunTesters Thank-you!
a good Finnish product again..
It's definitely a strength.
How does the Oura compare to the Garmin Body Battery and Sleep Tracking?
Yeah I was wondering about the same thing! Currently using Garmin's solution for this stuff, but if the Oura is more precise and informative with it... Might be worth a switch? Idk... A comparison would be great.
Hi! So I (Nick) have never found the Garmin sleep tracking good. It always hugely overestimates my sleep time, misses points where my wee daughter gets me up in the night, counts it as sleep when I’m reading. That kind of thing. I don’t tend to trust the body battery stat as a result, and even if I did, the detail you get here is much deeper. Garmin is improving on this front though, the question is whether you can ever get as much accuracy on the wrist as the finger.
I will say though the Garmin tools can still be useful! Just have to use them with some limitations in mind.
Ring on index finger is a power move.
Not many good choices for wearing rings if you're not married. Thumb is immediately discounted. Middle finger can be mistaken for a wedding band at a glance.. Pinky could work, but idk if Oura makes a small-enough one...
Haha I did not consider the potential problems if you’re not married!
Is there a retailer in the UK for these?
Hi Phil, think you have to go through the main site and get shipped to the UK.
You guys tell beautifully. But in this company there is no phone to speak to anyone by e-mail no one answer will you buy this product?
Hi Gena, are you asking would we buy it?
But in this company there is no phone to speak to anyone by e-mail no one answer will you buy this product?
I sent many emails to no one answered.
You mentioned the purchase price for the ring, but you didn't mention if there was an ONGOING subscription fee which seems to be the trend these days in the health & wellness sector. I tell ya, the day Garmin begins charging a monthly sub fee to use their watches is the day I switch to a "dumb" Casio G-shock and simply time my runs w/ a stopwatch. BTW, I went to Ora's website looking for this info... couldn't find anything. But I couldn't find a price listed for the ring itself either. I figure if they're hiding the purchase price of the ring, chances are they'd also hide a subscription fee too if it exists.
The subscription is new for the third generation of the Oura ring. It didn’t exist when we made this video. We will cover it when we review the new ring.
I sent many emails to no one answered.