Workout In Any Weather
Jabra Sport Coach is a headset to track your workouts accurately with a motion sensor located on the left earpiece. It is sweat and weather resistant (IP55) so you can wear it for all your workout sessions in any weather (except swimming).
Just Like Sport Pulse
The Sport Coach design is identical to the Sport PULSE which I proudly own myself, differentiated only by colour. The heart rate monitor on the PULSE is replaced with the TrackFit motion sensor.
Both have the same length, same EarGels and EarWing moulds. The earbud design might look intimidating, but it actually offers a secure fit on your ears, feels snug and comfortable. There are many sizes to get the perfect fit. I get the full audio experience when I wear them.
The Sport Coach has a smaller hard case that makes carrying around more compact. The Sport Coach has slightly better battery life of 5.5 hours per charge compared to 5 hours on the Sport PULSE. Both also connects to the same Sport Life app on your smartphone, and this app is the brain of the coaching features.
Sport Life App
The app, available in Android and iOS, lets you create your own workout activity and routine, while tracking the progress using various sensors. The motion sensor on the Sport Coach headset tracks your cadence (steps per minute) while the GPS on your smartphone tracks your speed and distance. If you use the app faithfully, it will collect all your workout history and provides some interesting data analytics. Currently, the workout data can be exported only in .CSV format, and the app does not have any social engagement features, which means you can’t share your stats with other friends for motivation.
Your Personal Voice Coach
Before the start of the workout, you can define the workout goal, like distance, time, calorie burn, cadence, pace, or interval training. Based on the workout, the voice prompts will guide you to reach the goal. At the end of the workout, you will get statistics like duration, distance, pace, speed, calorie, cadence.
Besides tracking of running, the app lets you track your cross-training workout. You can either use the preset workout circuit or create your own based on over 50 exercises, from back extension and burpees to plank and windmill. Once the circuit begins, the voice prompts will instruct the activity and the duration. To indicate the completion of the exercise, you can press the activity button on the left earpiece, then the next exercise will commence with the voice prompt reading out the instructions. As such, there is no need to touch the smartphone, giving full concentration on your workout.
If you, like me, do not like periodic voice prompts while running (sometimes they startle me a bit), pressing the activity button will make the voice coach read out stats on-demand.
TrackFit Motion Sensor
I did a comparison between the Sport Coach and Sport PULSE, and find that the Sport Coach provides more accurate cadence stats due to the motion sensor. I was surprised that the Sport PULSE cadence is a derived value from the distance travelled (when I jogged on the spot, the cadence reading is zero). The Sport PULSE has a heart rate monitor (HRM) that generally works with other fitness apps like Runtastic, while the Sport Coach motion sensor has more limited support with other apps. For instance, Runtastic does not work with the TrackFit sensor. Therefore, between the 2, I find that the Sport PULSE works better for me.
Great Audio
The audio quality of the Sport Coach is also identical to the Sport PULSE, which is clear treble, boomy (but not overly heavy) bass, subtle mids. I love them so much that I use the even outside my workout. The Jabra Sound app offers Dolby Audio which I thought was too over-processed for my liking. The app also tweaks the equalizer based to the Jabra audio model you select, which seems to suggest that the original audio product sound quality needs tweaking.
Note that many third party music apps – including Jabra Sound app – pauses abruptly when voice prompts are played. For non-disruptive music experience, you should use the Google Play Music app, so that when the Jabra voice prompts appear, music is softened and not paused.
Verdict
The Jabra Sport Coach is a less expensive alternative – albeit a mere S$50 – to Jabra Sport PULSE. It has all the benefits of the Sport PULSE which I have reviewed favourably. The TrackFit sensor provides more accurate tracking of your jogging stats based on cadence. But for me, I find the heart rate monitor on the Jabra Sport PULSE more useful.
If you need an all-in-one fitness headset, you might want to check out Sony Smart B-Trainer that has heart rate monitor and motion sensors, including GPS and even a built-in music player.
Jabra Sport Coach retails at S$248 at all good stores and on Jabra Singapore Online Store.
Jabra Sport Coach Specs
- Wireless sports earbuds with intelligent audio coaching optimised for cross training
- TrackFit sensor
- Jabra Sport Life App for integrated training management
- Activity based training, pre-defined training programs, interval training, target pace training, measuring time, consumed calories, distance, speed, pace, work-out start, end, time, goal achievement notification through Jabra Sport Life Application
- Control music and calls directly from inline
- Driver: 6 mm
- Sensitivity: 94 dB SPL with 1mW at 1KHz
- Impedance: 16 Ohm
- Maximum Input Power: 5mW
- Frequency: 20 Hz to 20 kHz
- IP55 Certified, drop, strength, dirt, temperature and humidity tested
- NFC for easy pairing
- Battery: Up to 5.5 hours talk/music time, and up to 10 days standby time, 2 hour charging time
- Accessories: 4 sets of eargels, 3 sets of earwings, USB cable, 2 fitclips, 1 pouch
- Weight: 16g
