I received the
Wrist ID Elite to test and review. The Elite comes in three styles: classic, rugged, and black edition. The classic comes with a plain flat faceplate, the rugged has an outer raised border, and the black edition comes in a black matte finish with engraving with a hint of gold. While I like the look of the black matte, I prefer silver over gold, so I instead went with the rugged edition. I love the little extra touch the rugged faceplate gives the ID.
The band is what makes this ID stand out from the others available. You can have either a silicone or leather band with a watch-style buckle. The silicone band comes in one of six solid colors or five dual "black collection" colors. For the leather band, you can choose black or brown. The sleek style gives it a look that will work for everyday wear if you want, not just on the run.
What do you get?
I'd like to take a little time to talk about the packaging. I'm big on the little things, and Road ID does the little things right. The Wrist ID Elite comes in it's own tin, with the band and faceplate inside. The tin is perfect for some reuse for holding some tea bags for myself in my desk at work. Inside the package, I also got a nice little card from Keith J, who prepared my Road ID. It's a nice little touch, with just a bit of humor, but also gives you the contact information to reach out right away should something not be right. Additionally, on the back is a coupon "Redeemable for One (1) Free Bear Hug at Road ID HQ", and it has a footnote of "from an actual bear. He works in the warehouse. Great hugger". I'll be holding onto this in case I ever get the opportunity to try and redeem it.
The Wrist ID Elite is one size fits all. You get a long band that you trim to just the right size. I went with a silicone band, which was easy to work with. I took my time, taking little by little off until it was just right. It was easy to do, if not a little time consuming. Of course, I was extremely scared of trimming too far, so probably trimmed it many more times that I could have skipped. In the end, I did get it just right.
The last additional thing I got was a
badge. Road ID helps you customize your ID further with small badges with either a small picture or text. There are a lot of cool looking ones that made it hard to pick from. In the end, I went with a
custom badge. With a custom badge, you can add up to 15 characters, 11 if you want larger text, or 7 if you want to go with the largest font size. I made myself a #BIBRAVEPRO badge on large text size. I'm very happy with it. Now that I have it on the band, I also see I can easily go with more than one (at least at my wrist size) with it still being comfortable, so I may get myself another one, or more to swap in and out (it does currently say bye two elite badges and get a third free).
How do you like it?
I love the peace of mind I get from wearing my Road ID. I've owned a Wrist ID Sport for quite a while now. I purchased that one after I started running because I thought it looked like it'd be the most comfortable one. The Elite is so much better than my Sport. It's very comfortable, looks good, and most of all feels good to have that information right there. I like the customization of adding badges, especially one I could customize myself. The silicone band with the clasp gives it just the right amount of weight to feel good on your wrist, but you quickly forget it's even there. It's a hard balance to achieve, but it fits the bill for me.
It may be a running "accessory", but a necessary one. I never run without it, and even wear it to the gym, just in case. I'm not a person who wears it all the time, but you never know. With this particular ID, I could see that as a possibility more than the others. If you have any serious allergies, this is a perfect solution to always having that information on you.
The Takeaway
Running is a wonderful sport that allows me to destress and feel better both mentally and physically. Having my Road ID gives me the peace of mind knowing should anything ever happen, which I pray it never will, that my wife will be able to be contacted right away. They'll know who I am, which can also help doctors. I hope my Road ID never needs to be read by anyone, but as an Eagle Scout, I like to always be prepared. Road ID gives me peace of mind. The Wrist ID Elite gives me a sleek and comfortable delivery of the peace of mind.
Free $5 Giftcard
The Crystal City Twilighter is 5K part of a series of races put in by Pacers Running, a local chain of running stores. The race takes place July 22nd, in Arlington, VA. Now, before you say "why?!?!" to running a race in Virginia in July, what makes this different is that it takes place at 8:30 pm. That's right, this is a midsummer's night jaunt through Crystal City.
