Five years ago we reported on a device invented by a group of students at MIT. This device, originally called "Wristify", was a small bracelet designed to heat or cool the wearer to achieve customized comfort, regardless of the surrounding environment. Today, after a few years of R&D, and with the help of a successful Kickstarter campaign, we have Embr, the newly designed and branded "Thermostat For Your Body".

The new hardware looks like a (very) large, faceless watch. The unit itself is an aluminum heat sink with a carved fingerprint-like series of waves on the outer surface, topped with a thin button/light bar indicating the current heating/cooling status. The strap is a steel mesh bracelet, very similar to Apple's Milanese Loop watch band (or a less expensive knockoff).

I've been trying out a review model for a few weeks, mostly testing out the cooling features since I live in LA. I've also given the heating feature a few opportunities to show its potential on a couple camping trips and cooler evenings. Considering this device takes the form of a watch, I've had to make the decision to either replace my existing watch, or double up with 2 wrist devices. I opted for the former, which didn't feel very natural for my watch addicted lifestyle, so I would quickly replace it with my watch after my heating or cooling session ended. 

Upon receipt of the Embr, the default setting was 3-minute increments which felt way too short. After speaking with Sam, one of the founders, I learned that there's a much longer 30-minute session option which tends to work much better, albeit tends to cause problems with capacity limitations and heat buildup in the device. 

The device can be controlled using the light strip/button on the device, or with the accompanying mobile app, which offers much better UI, along with more detailed settings.

Even though this device is quite large for something you wear on your wrist, it's very small considering it's meant to change the temperature of your entire body. The cooling effect comes on quickly, feeling like an ice cube applied to the wrist. If anyone has ever used this trick, as I have many times, you'll know the feeling. It doesn't necessarily provide complete relief if you're really hot, but it helps kickstart the psychological effect of feeling more comfortable. The same effect is experienced in heating mode, however, the warming option feels much nicer on the skin. 

If the ideal temperature is a few degrees (fahrenheit) below or above what the ambient temperature is, the Embr will do a fine job of getting you to a better place. That said, a small fan or a sweater can also make up for a few degrees of discomfort, and will probably cost a lot less than this $300 gadget (depending on your taste, of course). Personally, I would prefer a similar device that didn't require me to remove my beloved watch. I'm also not a fan of having to explain to everybody what this strange thing is, as it makes people quite curious. One idea that I had was a necklace-like form-factor, rather than the bracelet form factor, but apparently Sharper Image had this idea a long time ago...

So, to answer the question in the headline of this review, no, the Embr has not proven to me that it can provide sufficient heating or cooling when experiencing major discomfort in a hot or cold environment. It can, however, help you feel a little more comfortable, when synced up with an app and some focused meditation.