Best Pedometer

How do you choose the best pedometer? To answer this question properly, you have to take into account what you're looking for in a pedometer.

Pedometers can have a variety of features, ranging from simply counting steps, to measuring your heart rate, or playing music.

However, there are a few features I consider essential when choosing a pedometer. They are:

1. Pedometer Accuracy

2. Pedometer Size

Everything else falls in the category of:

3. Extra features

Now by definition, a pedometer measures steps. If it doesn't measure steps then it's not a pedometer. But not all pedometers are equally accurate in counting steps. Of course, you want to buy a pedometer that's as accurate as possible.

The most basic pedometers count steps by using a weight on a pendulum. Every time the weight moves up and down it counts a step. This works pretty well when you're out for a walk. However, unfortunately, some pedometers will also measure steps when you're driving in the car and you hit a bump. Of course this isn't really a step and it shouldn't count toward your daily total.

Some pedometers get around this by not counting steps until you've taken four or five steps in a row. If you hold the pedometer where you can see it and shake it up and down, you'll see that for the first four steps the counter doesn't change. Then the counter will increase by four steps and as you continue to shake it, it will start to count your steps normally, one at a time.

This feature can be both good and bad. It's good because it doesn't count the times the pedometer gets bumped when you are not walking. It's bad because if you only take a few steps at a time while walking around the room, it won't count them.

The most accurate pedometers are the ones that use an accelerometer. The most widely available pedometer that uses an accelerometer is the Omron HJ-112 pedometer. An accelerometer doesn't use a weight on a pendulum to measure your steps. It has a piezoelectric crystal that measures movement, so it's much more accurate. I wear my Omron HJ-112.in the car all the time and it never picks up extra steps while I'm driving.

Size
For some people, the size of a pedometer is not a very important factor. Pedometer size used to be more important to me, because I didn't want to wear a huge box on my belt.

If you look at the pedometers out on the market, they range in size from very tiny, about 2 inches by 1 1/2 inches to larger ones that measure about in. by 4 in. If you don't mind having a big pedometer on your belt, then by all means you could go with a larger one.

Other people don't like having a large pedometer on their hip though. So for them, a smaller pedometer is a better buy. There's even one pedometer that you don't have to wear on your belt, the Omron HJ-112 pedometer. Since it has an accelerometer, you can put it in your pants pocket, shirt pocket, or even a bag or purse. It isn't the smallest pedometer on the market, but since you can hide it away in a pocket, I think it's a fair trade-off. (I keep mine in my pocket, that's why pedometer size doesn't matter as much to me anymore.)

Extra Features
You should consider anything beyond counting steps an extra feature.

Here's a list of some of the ones you should consider:

Cover: A cover is nice because it keeps your pedometer from accidentally reseting itself if you bump against something. The drawback to a cover is that you have to open the pedometer to see how many steps taken.

Distance: Some pedometers allow you to put in your stride length. They then multiplied this by number of steps you've taken to figure out how far you've walked. This is only an estimate though, because your stride length is not the same when you're walking slowly around the house as it is when you're walking quickly outside.

Calorie counter: Some pedometers calculate how many calories you firmed while walking. At best, this is a rough estimate since everyone's metabolism is different. It's nice to see though if you've walked enough to burn off some of the calories in your lunch.

Memory: Some pedometers have a memory that keeps track of how many steps you've walks over the past week. Some just give you a running total, while others break it down day-by-day. This is a nice feature if you are keeping a pedometer log and forget to write down how many steps and you walked one day.

Radio or MP3 player: These let you listen to music as you're walking which may help you to walk faster or walk farther. It means you don't have to carry a separate radio or MP3 player on your walk. However I've found that most pedometer radios don't work that well. They don't pick up stations well, unless you live in an urban area. I've never tried the Oregon scientific pedometer with an MP3 player, but you're probably better off just getting a dedicated MP3 player.

Pulse meter: This lets you check your pulse by putting your finger on a sensor. They vary in accuracy and don't work very well if you try to measure your pulse while walking. I think you're better off taking your pulse with a finger and a watch.

So what's the verdict? My choice is the Omron HJ-112. It is the most accurate pedometer I've ever owned. While it's not the smallest one on the market, it doesn't have to be worn on your belt, and it will fit in your pocket or purse and still accurately count steps. The 7 day memory, aerobic steps, distance and calories burned are great added features.

If you're buying your first pedometer, or looking at upgrading, you can't go wrong with the HJ-112.

Well, that's it, you now know what to look for in a pedometer. If you'd like to learn more about pedometers, check out my blog at www.pedometersource.com