Sports Watch Functions
The watch band is made of soft silicone. It slides over your hand without having any buckle or clasp. The digital display includes the time, including seconds, day of week and a.m./p.m. The time display is large enough for my aging eyes, but the seconds are tiny and displayed in the lower right corner. The day of week and a.m./p.m. are too small for me to read without glasses.
There are four buttons, each with text. But the low-contrast raised printing is very hard to read. Luckily, you can easily figure out what is what and remember it.
The top left button operates a back light. I had difficulty pressing it correctly at night to read what the time was.
The lower left button switches to stopwatch mode, with the right buttons operating start/stop and reset. The stopwatch times to the hundredths of a second. I had no problem operating the stopwatch. This is useful for timing your workout. The buttons are hard to press accidentally, although this could happen and stop the timing when you didn't want it to.
Emergency Response Profile
Carrying your emergency contact information is important in case of an accident. But how many of us leave home for a workout walk or run without it? The RumbaTime GO watch lets you create an emergency response profile. The watch has a printed emergency number and your individual profile number on the outside of the strap. Emergency responders can call the number to find out your information.
The VITA emergency response profile requires a yearly subscription fee, which, as of this writing, is $14.95 for one year or $19.95 for two years.
In your profile, you can list your emergency contacts, blood type, age, gender, medications, allergies, medical conditions and insurance plan. These are all items suggested for personal medical information by our guide to first aid to have available for any emergency responders.
I count ID and health alert info among the 10 essentials to take walking. Even if you are in good health, you could trip and fall or get hit by a vehicle. Accidents happen, and you may not be able to give your own medical history or contacts to responders.
Cashless Payment
We enter the 21st century with this feature. Through VITA, you can apply for a pre-paid debit card chip and put it in the slot on the band. Then, as you are out walking or running, you can make cashless payments at merchants using the VISA payWave system (U.S. only at this writing). These include many 7-11 convenience stores, McDonalds, gas stations, RiteAid pharmacies, Office Depot and Jack in the Box.
I didn't use the debit card function. If this is appealing to you, check the terms on the card. Look for any service fees, inactivity fees, etc. You can recharge your cards with funds via the VITA web site.
I would have preferred a system that would link to one of my existing debit cards. But I understand why you would want a separate card for using these terminals. If you lost the watch or there was a malfunction, you would only risk the money in that account.
Bottom Line on the RumbaTime GO Watch
This watch can be useful for walkers and runners who want to use the cashless feature and who like having their emergency medical profile available without carrying other ID, cash or credit cards. I decided to review it because I thought the emergency medical information feature was especially important for older walkers and those with chronic medical conditions.
However, the product-insert materials are printed in very light text, and the watch itself is difficult for aging eyes to read without glasses. These features make it less appealing to those who also like to leave their reading glasses at home when they go out for a workout.
Personally, I prefer using an ICE (in case of emergency) app on my cell phone, as I rarely walk without it.
