As the long, hot days of summer beat down, the time is ripe for pool parties and trips to the beach! For times when parents are chatting and attempting to supervise their kids, iSwimband can be an important assistant in helping maintain your vigilance. This wearable, drowning detection sensor is 1.5-inches wide and can be snapped into a rubber wristband for toddlers (or other non-swimmers) or snapped into a headband for swimmers.
The iSwimband alerts a parent’s compatible Bluetooth device with a sound akin to a submarine dive alarm when a swimmer has been submerged too long or if a non-swimmer enters the water. We were able to download the free app onto our iPhone 4 and were impressed by its streamlined, helpful instructions. The parent customizes the settings for their child’s swimming abilities, or lack of ability, and how soon they want the alarm to sound if the sensor is submerged.
The sensor can monitor from up to 100 feet away — as long as the parent has an unobstructed view or path for the signal. We tested the sensor in the wristband and also in the headband on kids playing in a pool and found both ways of wearing the sensor to be effective.
(For self-conscious tweens, the headband can also attach to goggles, making the it even less noticeable.)
The manufacturer, Aquatic Safety Concepts, says the sensor is not intended as a replacement for adult supervision. And they report that the iSwimband battery should last for hundreds of hours of splish-splashing fun.
iSwimband drowning detection device, $59.99, iSwim
