Runtastic Moment Elite Review: Good Looks, Bad Value

Our Verdict

The Runtastic Moment Elite looks sleek as a watch, simply its fitness tracking features and app don't measure upwards.

For

Strong, sturdy build
Glow-in-the-dark hands
Long battery life

Against

$10 monthly fee to see historical data (really)
No automated sleep tracking
Lacks automatic activity tracking
Runtastic App not as robust as competitors

Tom'south Guide Verdict

The Runtastic Moment Elite looks sleek as a spotter, but its fettle tracking features and app don't measure up.

Pros

+
Strong, sturdy build
+
Glow-in-the-night hands
+
Long battery life

Cons

-
$ten monthly fee to see historical data (actually)
-
No automatic sleep tracking
-
Lacks automatic activeness tracking
-
Runtastic App not as robust as competitors

One of the biggest knocks against fitness and activity trackers is that their designs make them stick out ─ in a bad mode. The Runtastic Moment Elite ($179) is role of a growing form of devices that await like a traditional analog watch, but continue tabs on the number of steps you accept, as well as your sleep. But while I like the looks of the Aristocracy, it lacks some features establish in similarly priced competitors.

Design

Simply past looking at the Moment Elite, you wouldn't be able to tell that it has any fettle-tracking capabilities. Like the Withings Activite Steel, it'southward a watch first, and looks proficient no matter what you're wearing.

Size-wise, the 46mm, eight.v-ounce Moment is beefier than the 42mm Timex Metropolitan, not to mention the svelte 36.3mm, 1.3-ounce Withings Activite Steel. Those with smaller wrists may prefer the latter, or one of the smaller versions of the Moment.

Instead of minutes and hours, the major tick marks around the Elite's dial are in minutes. A smaller inner circle lists the hour marks, but the ruddy numbers are very hard to read. At the superlative is "MI" with "KM" underneath in cherry-red; when y'all beginning an activity in the Runtastic Pro app, the easily will rotate to testify your altitude.

MORE: Best Fitness Trackers for Running, Pond and Grooming

A smaller inset punch has just one hand, and goes from 0 to 100; as with the Withings Activite, this is your progress indicator, showing you lot how far along you are toward coming together the 24-hour interval's goals, every bit a pct. It's a nice impact, but the Timex Metropolitan lets y'all switch between two dissimilar metrics.

Unlike the Activite Steel, the Moment Elite'due south easily glow in the dark, which is very handy when you wake up in the middle of the night and want to know the time. However, the Timex Metropolitan+ has a backlight.

The Moment Aristocracy looks good no affair what you're wearing.

When you lot hit l or 100 percent of your goals, the Moment Elite vibrates for a second, and a pocket-sized red LED (by the ix hour) lights upward briefly. Yous can also set the watch to vibrate if yous've been inactive for a fourth dimension, as well as if you ready an alarm.

The Moment Aristocracy is waterproof to 300 feet, whereas the Activite Steel and the Timex will last up to 165 feet. However, of the three, but the Activite tracks your swimming.

Models

The $179 Runtastic Moment Aristocracy is the largest and most expensive watch in Runtastic's lineup. It has a black stainless steel case that'due south 46mm in diameter, has scratchproof mineral glass and a material-and-leather strap.

Credit: Runtastic — (Paradigm credit: Runtastic)

The Moment Classic ($179) also has a stainless steel case, only is a slightly smaller 42mm and has a polished terminate bachelor in silver, rose or aureate. It also comes with a blackness leather strap.

MORE: All-time Smartwatches

The Moment Basic ($129) has a 42mm stainless steel case, comes in blackness or biscuit, and has a silicone strap.

The Moment Fun ($129) is the smallest of the grouping at 37mm, and has an aluminum case and silicone strap, Plum, Indigo, Raspberry or Sand.

App

Runtastic makes more than a dozen practise-specific apps for both Android and iOS (such as running and biking), simply only 1, Runtastic Me, lets you lot see the information gathered by the Moment Elite watch. It's a piffling confusing initially when you lot search for "Runtastic" in the App Store.

The principal folio of the Runtastic Me app shows at a glance the daily count of your total steps, active minutes, calories, altitude and slumber. If yous select, say, steps, the app shows yous when exactly during the twenty-four hour period you were agile.

You can also set up to three vibration alarms, as well as an idle alert; if you lot've been sitting for besides long ─ y'all determine the length of time ─ the watch volition vibrate to get you moving.

Still, Runtastic me isn't as sophisticated as apps from Fitbit and Jawbone. For example, Runtastic's app doesn't adjust your goals based on your progress. That is, if you initially gear up your goal to 5,000 steps, the app won't gradually increase that amount. Additionally, there's no nutrition tracking.

I should exist able to come across all my data without having to pay $9.99 a month for information technology.

Also, Runtastic Me requires yous to upgrade to a Premium Membership ($nine.99 per month, or $49.99 per yr) to access certain features, such as viewing your stats older than a week, or setting customized goals for calories, distance and sleep. While a premium membership is justifiable for, say, an advertizing-costless experience or training plans, I should exist able to run across all my data without having to pay for it.

Functioning

Every bit you run, the Moment Elite'due south minute hand can go from showing the fourth dimension to showing how far you've run. However, this currently requires starting an activity in the Runtastic Pro app ($4.99) app ─ non the Runtastic Me app, which you use for every other watch function. It's a niggling disruptive, and a fiddling annoying that yous have to shell out an additional five bucks to use all the features of the lookout man.

More than: All-time Running Apps

The Aristocracy can runway steps, altitude, sleep and calories burned; its accelerometer was very accurate, measuring 650 steps as 648. Still, as I've found with many accelerometer-based fitness trackers, its accuracy will diminish with more than vigorous activities, such as running.

Sleep Tracking

In guild to start slumber tracking on the Moment Elite, you have to press and concord the push on the side of the watch. The small-scale fitness-tracking hand on the watch will then rotate to the small moon icon. When you leave Sleep style (once more, past holding the button on the side of the Elite), the small dial returns to its fitness-tracking position.

I wish it automatically entered slumber way, equally on just about every other fitness band these days, including the Withings Activite Steel.

Within the Runtastic app, yous can set an alarm, and the watch will vibrate to wake you. It lacks a smart warning, like those institute in the Jawbone and Fitbit apps; that is, it won't wait for a time when you're in a calorie-free slumber state to wake yous. Information technology also won't automatically exit slumber manner.

Battery Life

The Runtastic Moment Aristocracy uses a standard spotter battery that lasts up to 6 months on a charge. That's fairly standard for nearly fitness trackers that rely on coin-cell batteries.

Bottom Line

As a lookout, I like the heft and build of the Runtastic Moment Elite. It's a substantial, attractive timepiece that looked and felt expert on my wrist. However, Runtastic has to do more with the features and functionality of the watch and its corresponding app. The Withings Activite Steel, for example, offers automated sleep tracking and comparable battery life in a much smaller and as attractive design. And, you lot can view all your information without having to pay actress. Yet, if y'all're already invested in Runtastic'south suite of apps, the Moment Aristocracy is worth a look.

Michael A. Prospero is the deputy editor at Tom's Guide overseeing the home, smart habitation, drones, and fitness/wearables categories, as well as all ownership guides and other evergreen content. When he'due south non testing out the latest running spotter, skiing or training for a marathon, he'south probably using the latest sous vide machine or some other cooking gadget.