The Key 2 Life Sport is affordable, comfortable, and, as the name suggests, is perfect for wearing while you're working out. It's also made by one of the best medical alert bracelet brands in the States, and comes with USB storage in addition to the Key 2 Life software for inputing medical and health information.
The Key 2 Life Sport offers 3.75GB of storage, and is therefore suitable for people with complicated medical histories who need to upload detailed information, as well as for people with basic medical issues.
It's important to note straight off that the Key 2 Life Sport is very different to the best medical alert systems, which are used in the home, and sometimes in tandem with best fall detection sensors. This medical ID band stays on your wrist while you're exercising, so that if you should need medical assistance, first responders will be able to get the information they need from the band to assist you quicker. But how does this fan favorite stack up against newer models? Time to find out...
Key 2 Life Sport review: Design
The Key 2 Life Sport often retails for around $35 and is great value in comparison to most of the ID bracelets , especially considering it has a 3.75GB USB drive for storing lots of medical information. . You can certainly find more affordable options, such as the QRepublik MED ID ($13), but the quality just isn’t as good.
On the Key 2 Life Sport's USB drive, you can open a program to record your medical data and export it to a viewable PDF. As such, if you have a medical emergency, first responders can easily review all of the necessary information as long as they have access to a computer with a USB port.
Key 2 Life Sport review: Features
The software used to record your medical records is complicated though. In fact, there are 32 tabs for entering data. Not only can you enter all the minutia of every medical diagnosis you've ever received, but you can keep records of physical therapy, insurance, dental, psychiatry, podiatry, chiropractor appointments, x-rays, lab results and more.
None of the medical ID bracelets we reviewed come close to providing such comprehensive medical recording software, but on that same note it could be too much for some people who have only basic medical needs.
You can easily share the information with doctors, ensuring all of your information is accessible in one place. In addition, the information can't be accessed without your username and password, and you decide what information is important for emergency responders to know in the viewable PDF.
Key 2 Life Sport review: Performance
The data entry process isn't easy either - we were met with several error messages during testing. In addition, the help tools aren't very helpful. This is evidenced by the word document included on the drive, which provides step by step instructions on how to setup your profile.
To evaluate the comfort, we wore the Key 2 Life Sport each day for a week while working, exercising and running errands. The Key 2 Life Sport delivered superb levels of comfort in a range of scenarios. The Velcro strap design is ideal because you can customize the fit to your preferences. However, it lacks a leverage loop, which ensures the fit stays tight. So, over the day, it can get a little loose, requiring you to adjust the strap.
The reason the Sport didn't earn a higher grade for the exercise comfort is the canvas strap. It was certainly among the most comfortable bracelets to wear while dripping with sweat, but the canvas strap and Velcro are more susceptible to absorbing sweat than metal or silicone materials.
Should you buy the Key 2 Life Sport?
The Key 2 Life Sport's overall comfort and durability is without question, though why it isn't made of sweat-proof material really is a mystery to us. It won't win any style awards either, but then the design is meant to look more like a sport band than an ID band. Since the USB drive tucks into a pocket underneath the velcro strap, you can carry vast amounts of your medical data with you on the move.
For other fitness content, take a look at our guide to the best fitness trackers, as well as the best treadmills, the best home gyms and the best online fitness programs for getting fit at home.
