Is Well-Designed Wellness Gear Worth the Hype? I Tried It to Find Out

I’m sitting in my gym’s coworking space, listening to the clinking of weights and the thumping of feet on treadmills as I stare at my computer screen’s 20-plus tabs of well-designed wellness equipment. There’s a tab for a minimalist home fragrance diffuser with a collection of scents that aim to improve your mental acuity (Aera’s Clarity bundle), multiple tabs for sensors that report on how your home environment is impacting your sleep (including the sleek Apple-like Ultrahuman Home), a couple for AI-powered toilet add-ons that decode your waste (Dekoda by Kohler Health and Throne One—both simple and white), and more. These products didn’t come out of nowhere: They’re a result of our culture’s increasing obsession with wellness and better looking stuff.

Though I am hesitant about some of the items in this category, they all pique my interest. In my early 20s, I was in a car accident that left me with chronic pain. Since overcoming that, it’s been hard not to obsess over improving my body. It’s seductive to think that there’s some product that is the key to maintaining my health, even if I know there isn’t. And as someone who puts a lot of consideration into the objects that surround me, I understand the appeal of products that align with one’s everyday aesthetic rather than the one-size-fits-all vibe of wellness gear of previous decades. In my tiny apartment, it’s a welcome change that these items are easier on the eyes. If they can be out on a shelf, I can more naturally build new habits with them than if I were to shove them to the back of my closet because I can’t stand the sight of them.

Sitting sedately and staring at a screen is no way for me to judge these products, so I decide to embark on a wellness odyssey and try as many of them as I can. Will I genuinely feel better? Will I lose all my other character traits and become focused on wellness alone? What if I end up liking exercise less than I do now? There is only one way to find out.

One of my first stops is the New York City outpost of Technogym, an Italian fitness company that operates at the intersection of exercise and design. I don’t have room to bring bulky fitness equipment into my Brooklyn apartment, but here I can dream about what my ideal home gym would look like if I had the space and could afford a $14,350 treadmill. Maybe I could have a serene home gym with the company’s recently released Sand Stone collection, a line of equipment all in a minimalist beige tone. Or I could have something more metropolitan and flashy, with the Personal line and its slick mirrored surfaces. I try out the Kinesis Personal Vision, a cable machine that looks like a sleek modern mirror with four arm extensions poking from the top and bottom. It functions just like a regular cable machine but without all the visual bulk—a dial in the center allows you to adjust the resistance, and when it’s not in use, the arms can collapse away. I then move along to the Run treadmill, which can be used to simulate sled training—a type of resistance exercise popularized by CrossFit that involves pushing weight to engage the legs, glutes, and abs—in addition to regular running. Details like the wide, clear display and slat belt set it apart on a functional level, not just an aesthetic one. As simple as it may be, the speed- and incline-adjustment joysticks, which you can flick to go faster, felt like they allowed me to stay in my exercise more than when I need to slightly slow down in order to push the same button several times to get up to my desired pace. Before my workout, I was naive in questioning how much the aesthetic qualities of gym equipment really matter. I find exercise equipment, like anything else in my life, whether it’s a vacuum cleaner or a toothbrush, more satisfying if it is clearly designed with both utility and aesthetics in mind—and I regretted the fact that I’d have to return to the clunkier equipment I was used to.

While at Technogym, I try out some new running shoes—specifically the R.A.D UFOs. They’re the first running shoes from R.A.D, a four-year-old company founded by Ben Massey, a former CrossFit athlete who wanted to create a shoe specifically for functional fitness. Part of my problem with a lot of the big brands is that it feels like their sneakers are designed just as much for lifestyle use as for working out. I appreciate that the UFOs are purpose built—these are made specifically to make your experience of running the best it can be. The rounded sole of the shoe propels me forward as I run, and their bulbous shape looks pretty bizarre in the best way possible—making one of the Technogym trainers curious enough to ask what I’m wearing.

Next, I head to another spot in SoHo, where an Airstream is waiting for me. Inside, the trailer is hollowed out, devoid of its usual built-in furnishings, instead lined with a lounge area at one end and a glowing bed-like platform at the other. This platform is known as the Ammortal Chamber, a recovery and energization tool aimed at "human optimization." Light therapy, sound therapy, and molecular hydrogen therapy are among the many different "modalities" built into the device, which hits several wellness buzzwords with one unusual stone. I realize while in the chamber that there is a ceiling to my ability to commit to wellness, and this chamber is above that ceiling. While it’s a little relaxing, I think it’s a bit too strange—and the science on how effective all of this is a little too foggy for me to imagine spending $169,500 on it. I can’t say I feel energized afterward in the way I was told I would.

The Ammortal Chamber is just one of a slew of big investment pieces that wellness obsessives turn to for recovery. Some say hyperbaric chambers help out the immune system; others swear by cryotherapy chambers for calming sore muscles. Cold plunges are an easier on-ramp for those who are new to the wellness racket, and they tend to be relatively affordable. The Polar Monkeys Cyber Plunge, made from stainless steel, is a good option for anyone looking to lean into the tech bro associations that wellness is taking on. For a calmer aesthetic, the wood-grain Kohler x Remedy Place Ice Bath looks ideal for the wellness-obsessed who aren’t also Cybertruck curious.

A stop at my partner’s apartment a little farther downtown allows me to try out his Nama juicer. The Nama is beloved by the juicing community for its self-feeding hopper, which allows you to add all your ingredients at once rather than piece by piece like a typical juicer. Indeed, with this juicer (and my partner, who’s been using it for years), the process of making cold-pressed juice could not be more approachable or easier to clean up. We simply cut the fruit into manageable pieces, plop them in the top, and the machine strains the pulp out one spout, and the fresh juice comes out the other. The white machine, with its distinct sections, looks orderly and commanding instead of industrial like most of the products it’s in competition with, and the juice tastes better than anything I’ve had store bought. I’m grateful for the extra calories as I continue through my day.

Finally, I head home, where await many boxes of new gear (which were provided by brands gratis for editorial consideration, though only the products that felt exceptional were chosen for inclusion here). As I unpack, I take note of what fits in my space visually and what stands out. Before starting my workout, I try Aarke’s filtered water system, which reduces heavy metals and chlorine from tap water. The stainless steel and glass pitcher is less of an eyesore than a typical plastic Brita jug—glass always feels classier—and this sleek design makes hydrating a more enjoyable ritual.

The workout pieces that stick out the least are from Stakt, a company that makes compact exercise gear. The brand’s yoga mat folds up, allowing it to double as a block for different exercises and to store cleaner than a rolled up mat. I do a mat workout I found on Stakt’s online class library using the six-pound weights, which twist off in two-pound increments. Their cylindrical shape and burgundy color are unassuming, so I can keep them out without worrying about them looking too out of place.

The Stakt stuff has something of an unfair advantage in my apartment, since it’s designed for use in a small space, as opposed to, say, the Nüobell dumbbells, which I try next. These weights look really sleek and absolutely do not scream gym rat compared with most other adjustable dumbbells on the market, but they’re not exactly camouflaged amid my other belongings. Many dumbbells are hexagonal and boxy looking, but these feature a series of circular discs that allow them to transition from 5 to 60 pounds, a great way to save space compared with buying fixed weights. I twist the handle of the dumbbells to get to my desired weight and marvel at how smooth the transition between increments is.

While I squeeze in my workout, I wear Forme’s purportedly posture-improving fitness apparel. I’m skeptical of the company’s sweeping claims, but the moment I slip on the sports bra, my posture does feel improved. Afterward, I don’t experience any back pain or soreness, which can result from other, too-tight sports bras. This one has more coverage than a typical version, looking almost like a split between a crop top and a sports bra.

I find exercise equipment, like anything else in my life, whether it’s a vacuum cleaner or a toothbrush, more satisfying if it is clearly designed with both utility and aesthetics in mind—and I regretted the fact that I’d have to return to the clunkier equipment I was used to.

After my workout, I arrive at the point in my day where I can shower. It might seem like this means my work is done, but recovery is just as crucial for anyone who’s committed to wellness. I use Flamingo Estate’s Morning Exfoliating Peppermint Soap, then the brand’s Sage Rich Cream. They both smell so vivid—like I’m actually sniffing the titular herbs—and the combination leaves my skin feeling softer than usual. The silver tube of the cream feels medicinal, like it’s come from a very classy small-town healer, and the big block of soap feels monumental and purposeful as it waits on my shower caddy.

Then I lock in for my proper recovery time and take out Normatec’s Elite Legs. Think of them like a leg-length blood pressure monitor that compresses your legs to encourage blood flow—they relieve tightness in muscles and feel almost as relaxing as getting a real massage. You can select specific zones of your legs for the compression to focus on, but I just use the general mode today. They’re better for use after a long run, but even though I’m not particularly sore after today’s workouts, 30 minutes helps calm things down—it might even be overkill, but it’s a good way to unwind. The design of them is sleek and uncomplicated—the fact that they are rechargeable and effectively cordless helps—making them an item friends have been eager to slip on when they come over to my apartment, instead of corded versions I’ve tried that are more, shall we say, repellent.

Finally, I bring my focus to my face and slip on Therabody’s TheraFace Mask Glo. When I’m stuck behind the mask for 12 minutes as it cycles through different types of light—four minutes of red, then four minutes of a combination of red and infrared, and lastly a period under blue LED lights—I realize this is the clearest my mind has been all day. The Elite Legs bring your mind to your body, which is relaxing in its own right, but with your face covered by the TheraFace Mask, it feels like you can really disappear for a minute. Seeing results in your skin takes diligence (the company recommends daily use), but the relaxation it offers is instant. While there’s no way to make one of these masks look totally normal, the TheraFace Mask Glo looks cleaner (and less spooky) than its competitors, which have more defined facial features or mix a couple of different materials.

As I approach the end of my time reviewing these products, it hits me that it would be hard not to feel like I’m losing a bit of my humanity in order to fit all of these routines into my life. You’d think they would allow for a sense of control, but there is always something else that could stand more perfecting, some other health concern falling by the wayside just as you turn your focus to another. And while the offerings on the market now are certainly better designed than those that preceded them, there’s not a wide enough variety available to buy things that truly disappear into your home, even if these companies would rather you believe otherwise.

If I were to live up to these standards of the truly optimized life—a consistently thorough workout, a balanced recovery, a targeted skin care routine, a nutritious diet, a device or two’s worth of data to keep up with—I would need to schedule out my days to actually tend to these various commitments. There’s no way to manage all of this and a social life and professional responsibilities, not to mention leisure for leisure’s sake or a proper night’s rest, one thing that everyone can agree is central to good health. My apartment would start to look like a Gwyneth Paltrow acolyte’s home, for better or worse.

In the pursuit of a better body—in the many meanings that can take on—you can lose track of what’s so great about being in good health: being able to do what you want to do when you want to do it. Being overly committed to wellness can turn your life into what it’s like when you’re faced with health problems—burdened by appointments and medicine and monitoring every detail of your physical health. This isn’t to say that this experiment has cured me of my love of the gym or made me want to ditch the red light mask, but it’s made me connect with why exactly I’d want to do those things in the first place. Wellness products like these can be a part of a well-lived life, but they’re just that: a part. But, hey, I’d still go full Bryan Johnson if it meant I could spend all of eternity with that Flamingo Estate cream.

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