Connected comfort
December 12 2017: Electrically heated belts that you can strap around your waist,   are no longer a novelty.  A lot of older people find  comfort in them.  And  not just the old. The hyperactive among us,  often long for  some warm comfort that drives away  pain and fatigue. Their problem: They can't  sit in one place, tethered to the mains cable of the belt. 
Now,  a Pune-based startup -- Afferent --  has  created a wire-free heat belt, the SandPuppy Fitbelt.   Made of soft lycra, and flexible carbon fibre,  you charge it initially for about 2 hours,  with  the power cord provided. Then  disconnect and use wirelessly. A single  press switch serves as on-off as well as  the selector for three colour-coded heat levels:  blue  for low, white for medium and red for high. That's it! The temperature ranges from around 30 degrees C to 60 degrees C.  It's a soft-and-thin fit and easily goes under one's clothing. A full charge lasts for at least an hour, at the red level.   The Fitbelt  currently sells at a discounted rate of Rs 3099  at the company's site  www.sand-puppy.com or at Amazon.
There is a  also a Fitbelt Plus model priced Rs 7499, that comes with an additional  micro vibration mode. It also works  with an app installed on your phone that lets you adjust the heat level continuously or set up a programme of   preset heat cycles --  all with a swipe.  Afferent CEO Prachi Kamat says,  the Fitbelt is aimed not at  patients needing clinical  lumbar support,  but at  providing relief to a large number of lay  sufferers from  midriff pain.   The product was developed and made in India  and has  earned  warm acclaim from users   in the few weeks it has been available. And that's  a pun intended!