Last updated: October 20, 2016

Pros: Smart apparel that doesn't require a device to gather fitness details

Cons: Prices are very steep, fairly intensive set-up

When a basic T-shirt seems like a piece of clothing from yesteryear, you're not all that far off. With Hexoskin, you can put on a biometric shirt and measure your body's physical activities like never before.

The 100% textile biometric shirt is jam packed with delicate sensors which capture the wearer's heart rate, breathing rate and volume, activity levels, sleep, cadence, and more. The information is transferred to an app in real time and is available for iOS and Android devices, as well as smartwatches. The Hexoskin has over 14 hours of battery life and is safe for all types of physical activity. While this type of gear was only available to elite athletes and even astronauts in training in the past, it is now being sold to anyone who wants to improve their performance and increase their exercise levels.

Hexoskin shirts are made in Canada with fine fabrics imported from Germany and Italy. The shirt is machine washable, light weight, breathable, and equipped with UV protection. You can purchase the product on the Hexoskin website. Items are sold for men, women, and juniors, and come in a tank top style or long sleeve with a mock turtleneck. Depending upon your purchase, prices range from the high $150s up to $5,000, since items are sold separately and in packages. For example, one may opt to go for a package which includes 20 Hexoskin smart shirts which come with integrated sensors, 10 Hexoskin devices which are Bluetooth recording devices, the Hexoskin app, a web dashboard with free storage of biometric data, and a Hexoskin USB cable to charge the device and upload the data to the dashboard. A package like this is close to $5,000.

While the price may seem steep to some, the level of sophistication is pretty high when compared with other connected apparel.