Misfit just slipped up behind us with some new watches

They slipped the watches in, all sneaky like and silent. Well, no, that’s not really the case – I got the email about the new releases just as I normally do. But unlike brands that don’t see fit to give their watches clever names (and hope the model numbers do the trick), Misfit didn’t just name their watches – they named the specific colorway they released. In this case, we’ve got the new “Ninja” palette gracing the Misfit Command and Misfit Path watches.

These two Misfit watches are what are known as hybrid smart watches. They eschew the brightly lit all-screen approach, and instead provide a watch that looks like, well, a traditional watch. Tucked into that innocuous case, however, are a lot of smarts. This starts in the form of the accelerometer that’s tucked in there, which is how you can get things like activity and sleep tracking in the device. Pair that up to a Bluetooth radio, and now you can hook your phone in for all sorts of fun.

For both the Misfit Command and the Misfit Path, that means the data can be synced off of the watch onto your phone. You can also do things like get notifications on your wrist, find your phone, and control your music (and camera). Of these, the secondary notification on the wrist is something I like. Sure, you won’t be able to read a text, but that’s what I’ve got a phone screen for. I like the secondary buzz because it helps in those cases when I’m either walking (and don’t feel the phone buzz in my pocket) or I’m at the desk, and the phone is off of the side and out of sight.

In short, the Misfit Command and the smaller Misfit Path are a solid way for someone who’s not sure they want to go full-bore into a smart watch, nor do they want to strap a weird bangle onto their wrist to get step tracking. Add in the fact that they run on standard watch batteries (no daily charging needed here!) and you’ve got something that feels like it should be appealing to a variety of folks. While the Ninja colorway is new, there are other (more traditional) color combos as well. Whatever the color, the Misfit Path runs $149.99 while the larger (also with some additional functionality) Misfit Command also goes for $149.99 (I did see some color combos as a discounted price on their site – so bargain hunters, be on the lookout!) misfit.com