Tech Tools: Wear a T-shirt with a built-in heart monitor

HeartBit

Heart rate monitors in wearables are fairly commonplace, but what about a high-tech top that has a monitor built in? Heart Bit combines smart sportswear with a clip-on heart rate monitor to help you train more effectively and avoid over-stressing your body.

The device, which is currently running a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, uses three sensors built into a tightly fitted top to monitor heart muscle activity with a three-lead ECG, giving you feedback on effort and strain, more accurate heart performance readings, monitored runs and walks, and post workout assessments through the app.

You get about five hours of battery life out of a single charge, and the device charges up reasonably quickly. When not monitoring your heart rate, the T-shirt also doubles up as a handy base layer for cold mornings.