Upright Go 2 Review: Stand up straight

I have a confession to make. I slouch!

I remember my grandfather as an old man all hunched over and I thought then how I hoped that never happened to me.

So a few years ago my wife bought me an Upright go. Essentially it’s a small rechargeable box that with adhesive sticks to your back. Every time you hunch it vibrates to remind you to straighten your back.  Thus instead of the wife continually saying to me stand up straight a small vibration reminded me to.

You can wear it all day as you do not notice its there, but the idea over time is it trains you in increasing minutes each day to have a straight back. Upright recommend you use it for a minimum of two weeks. Did it work for me 2 years ago- not really as back then it always seemed to have connection issues with the app on my phone (which it needs). Also, I kept forgetting to charge the battery.

Next, I tried a soft Velcro brace which essentially forced you to straighten your back. Both methods retrain your muscle memory so the natural position is a straight back.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago I was provided with an Upright Go 2 to test also with an optional necklace. So three pieces of good news 1. According to the App, my back is straighter than I thought 2. The battery lasts and lasts 3. It has connected the first time every time with my phone and calibration is fast.

Calibration involves sitting up straight so the unit knows what position that is. It can be done by either selecting calibrate on your smartphone or by double-pressing the on-off button.  If you lean forward or slouch for more than a defined period which is by default 15 seconds the units vibrates. Straightening your stance then stops the vibration.

The Go 2 versus the original is smaller with a larger adhesive pad so it adheres better to your spine.  It comes with replacement adhesive pads and more can be purchased.  The unit has more sensors which provide better feedback on your posture but that all happens in the background. Last but not least the battery lasts 3 times longer than the original at  3 days. 

The App (IOS and Android) also allows you to monitor your progress and understand just how much a problem you might or might not have.

After a week of wearing the Upright Go 2 adhered to my back that is during the day it was time to try out the necklace. Yes, that is what it is called and that is what it does.  You remove the adhesive from the Go 2 then attach it to the necklace via the USB C charging port. It then simply hangs on you back counterbalanced by a clever magnetic clasp on the front.  Now I am not one for wearing a necklace but I even forgot I had it on yesterday and visited the shops whilst wearing it. My recommendation is to buy the necklace as well as you do not need to worry about the adhesives.

• The Upright GO 2 RRP $149.96
• Optional Necklace RRP $29.95
• Additional Adhesives – 10 pack RRP $14.95

The end result if you have any posture issues then this is a great posture trainer that will help stop your slouching. More importantly, it stops the stand up straight comment from the Mrs.  Next stop my son who spends far to much time hunched over his phone.