Travelling with your WHOOP: flights, heat, the beach

Flights and security

Nothing special: a WHOOP stays on the wrist, and the steel clip is too small to set off a scanner. Jet lag, on the other hand, produces a few nights of odd data, which is normal and sorts itself out.

The real issue: salt

It is what damages a band fastest while travelling. Salt does not evaporate with the water: it crystallises inside the weave, turns it rough, then irritating, and saws at the fibre with every movement.

A week of swimming without rinsing tires a band more surely than three months in the gym. Rinse in clean water when you come out, even roughly, working around the clip. See: swimming with your WHOOP.

Sunscreen

The first enemy of pale shades. Some filters yellow textiles almost irreversibly. The habit that avoids all of it: apply the sunscreen, let it absorb, then put the band back on. See: a pale band that has yellowed.

For a trip somewhere sunny, a mid or dark shade spares you the vigilance.

Heat and sand

Do not leave the device in a closed car or on a towel in full sun: prolonged dry heat permanently softens elastic. Sand works its way against the steel clip and behaves like sandpaper there. A careful rinse of the fastening is enough.

What to pack

A second band, if you have one. Two reasons: one dries while the other is worn, which counts double in a humid climate; and if the first picks up a permanent stain, your holiday does not end with a grey band.

A fine weave dries faster, which makes it a good travelling companion. See the CoreKnit.

When you get back

Wash in lukewarm water with mild soap, rinse thoroughly, dry flat in the shade. Ten minutes that undo three weeks of salt.

What actually goes in the bag

For two weeks of planes, sand and salt, the CoreKnit weave dries in minutes: Navy or Cobalt. A sailboat or a sun fits in the wash bag and weighs nothing.

The one that stays at home, though, is the "No Risk No Story": its white weave and two weeks of sunscreen do not get along. It is a city band, and the line would have been fitting — but it comes back grey.