Yes, expensive sports gear might not be worth it. It might be an unpopular opinion, but I’ll try to explain my point below as this post unfolds. Since my blog’s purpose is to share my financial and fitness journey, I just can’t skip posting about sports gear. We’ve already talked about the supplements I take and how I save a bunch of money every month from not taking some of them. The case is similar to sports gear since nowadays it’s considered more of a status symbol than an athlete’s tool.
Expensive sports gear is meaningless if you can’t utilize it.
Buying an Apple Watch wouldn’t be a good purchase if your intention is to use it for steps counter only. While it can cost up to €400, if this is the only way you would utilize this smartwatch, you could definitely go cheaper. There are far cheaper solutions from other manufacturers. On the opposite side, if your idea is to have an Apple Watch so you could count calories, steps, activity levels, heart rate, etc – then go for it! I can’t be against a purchase if there is a good reason behind it. Still, there is a deeper question: would you take action based on the insight this sports gear will deliver to you?
I still own my Fitbit Charge 2, despite that I got a new Garmin Forerunner 945 last summer. I suppose I will sell it eventually, but that’s another story. The point is, I use both of these devices to their maximum. I don’t like buying expensive stuff and then putting it in a drawer. The Fitbit I used for almost a full 2 years in tracking my daily activity levels, heart rate, sleep, calories, steps, activity time, etc. At the same time, I used it as a smartwatch for its notifications capabilities.
The Fitbit cost about €150 when I got it and I am still very happy with that purchase.
The Garmin Forerunner 945 I use for pretty much the same, plus a few additions. It’s more accurate, has more battery life, I sometimes go out for a run and am able to listen to music uploaded on it. It’s also a watch, so it feels more stealthy on my wrist. It was about €550 and I’m certain I’ll wear it another 2 years at least. All of these things, plus more smartwatch features, convinced me that this purchase is worth it.
During all that time I asked myself: Does it worth it? Would that make me a better athlete?
The answer is “it depends”. It depends on how you use this sports gear. Expensive sports gear is worthless when you use 10% of its capabilities. In my case, I use the device daily for sports-related stuff and for daily things. It helps me pace my workout, understand my weaknesses and strong sides. Ask yourself while you hold the money, would that sports gear or supplement make you a better athlete?
The same goes for sports shoes and apparel. If you plan to spend €500 on t-shirts, pants, and shoes, think twice. Are you buying them because they are a status symbol, or because you see value in this purchase? Isn’t this a typical case where expensive sports gear is not worth it? Plan on how you are going to use all of that. I own a couple of Adidas t-shirts with their nice ‘clima cool’ technology along with a bunch of other t-shirts from unknown brands. Yes, Adidas’ apparel has a better fit, but apart from this, is there more value to this product? If no, then you could save a lot of money!
Do you think twice before purchasing expensive sports gear? Does it worth it for you? Let me know in the comments down below.
