Elvie Review

In this Elvie Review, we look in some detail at the innovative Elvie device and accompanying app. A great Mother’s Day gift or Christmas present? Let’s see…

Elvie is a rather neat device and accompanying app for tracking & monitoring the effectiveness of your pelvic floor exercises. It’s made in the UK by Chiaro.

There is a profound and widely understood need for large groups of women to take up Kegel-type exercises, notably after giving birth. Putting it bluntly, such exercises can hold off incontinence and reduce the risk of a prolapse.

But the pelvic floor group of muscles also lift and hold your core and so there will be an exercise/performance element to this as well. The more keen athletes amongst you might see the opportunity for an area of ‘marginal gains’ in performance!

Is it any good?

Well if the packaging, care and thought that seems to have gone into the design of this product is anything to go by; then YES. It is very well presented and just about every angle seems to have been covered in its design … from the font on the pack through to the location of the Bluetooth antennae.

More Product Details In The Elvie Review

There is a near-cylindrical container with a push-open drawer, a little bit like a chamber for a sci-fi character being woken from cryogenic sleep. The drawer has a standard micro USB charging port – neat. The wired connection is to the container and NOT to the Elvie; the Elvie very cleverly charges wirelessly when inside the container. The container opens, when pressed, to reveal the Elvie unit itself.

When you use the Elvie THERE IS NO WIRE ATTACHED.

As you can see the Elvie is a completely smooth and stretched out egg-shaped unit with a ‘floppy bit’ attached. The floppy bit is the bit that stays outside the body and this aids straightforward removal and, I assume, also contains the Bluetooth antennae. Bluetooth is an extremely low powered signal found on every modern smartphone and most modern fitness devices.

The Elvie is fully washable and is waterproofed to those uses.

Using The Elvie App

Here’s a good example of Elvie in use. Contract and raise the Red Diamond,

You can do the exercises whilst standing, feet shoulder-width apart. Lying and sitting are fine too. Hold the app/smartphone near your belt and follow the instructions.

Muscular contractions gently squeeze the device which, in turns, senses this and transmits the nature and strength of the movement to the app. A little red diamond thing moves around the screen accordingly.

Tip: The strength of the contraction may well vary depending on the position you are in whilst performing the exercise. So try to measure progress in the same position.

The great thing with the app is that you can see your own personal progress. This is probably the sort of ‘wearable’ gadget that is never going to see its users competing socially in league tables. However, the app is more than sufficiently engaging to keep you interested and, more importantly, keep you doing the exercises. Having your own progress and activity in front of your eyes is certainly self-motivating for me.

Perhaps, more importantly, the Elvie specifically tells you if you are performing the contractions in the correct way. Obviously, if you’ve been doing the contractions ‘wrong’ then you will find more benefit from doing the contractions ‘right’. Obviously.

There are a variety of exercise types such as those based on quick ‘lifts’ to a certain level, and then lifts and HOLD for a certain duration. The app is engaging in this respect and the pulse lift exercises have you aiming for targets on the screen.

And in case you were wondering. “YES” there is a sex benefit as well.

Yes, there are lots of faintly-saucy YouTube videos from Chiaro showing the users’ reactions to the device ‘in use’ and there is no harm in bringing some light-heartedness to an important women’s’ issue.

Elvie Ratings – Elvie Review of Reviews

This Elvie Review certainly rates Elvie highly and so do many users on their Facebook site scoring an impressive 4.7/5 (based on 30 users). Similarly, Mumsnet customer review shows an impressive total average of 4.8/5. The Elvie review on Amazon also gives a highly creditable 4/5 stars based on 173 reviews.

Alternatives – to the Elvie Review

There are a few, somewhat 1970s-looking, alternatives out there to the Elvie Review. Not for me! But they exist.

Other Interesting wellness products (that actually work and are useful) include:

• Sleep Tracker: EMFIT Review
• Activity Band: Polar A370 Review

But these are more generic wellness products and not Kegel types. Probably the best of that bunch is the OTHER Ring which claims to be the most scientifically accurate sleep tracker and which also doubles up as an activity tracker. Developments in the future will probably include measures of monthly fertility. Cool!

Oura Ring 4: Available Now, Full Details

Price, Elvie Discount, Elvie Review & Availability

Elvie Direct

THE AUTOMATIC ELVIE DISCOUNT from ELVIE has now been stopped globally.

Buy with confidence from Amazon where you know the returns policy. In any case, as of Feb 2020, Amazon is offering superior 20-25% discounts.

Amazon

Prices are usually £169 or $199