Omron HJ-112 Digital Pocket Pedometer Immediately

One day, my wife's friend was talking to her about these 10,000 steps, the next day, my wife is asking me to get us pedometers. I was generally skeptical because I've heard alot of stories about how pedometers break, count steps inaccuarately, or are just gimmicks.

Because Amazon had such a wicked good price on this pedometer, I figured that I'd get two, one for myself and one for my wife to get free shipping.

We've had them for about a month. Here are our impressions:

PROS:
1. Extremely durable - my 3 year old has thrown both of these things all over the house. They're still going strong. (I do not recommend throwing them around the house as they do get scratched up).

2. Rather accurate in counting steps - this surprised me. I thought the only truly accurate pedometers are those that have GPS contacts (which this does not). This pedometer generally accurately counts the steps you take. Note that this is different than measuring distance. The distance measurement is based on your calculation of your stride length, which is set out in the instructions.

3. Clear display and easy to use controls - nice dedicated buttons for each commonly used function. Very easy to learn.

4. Good instructions - unlike many instructions which seem to be written in the country of manufacture (hint -- not USA), the instructions for this little pedometer are very clear and easy to follow.

5. Small, very small - this pedometer is so small and thin that I keep it in my pocket. It is an easy way to make sure that I'm not overly sedentary during the day.

5. Spare clips and holsters - since I put it in my pocket, I generally don't use the other things that came with it, but there are several ways that you can carry this around including a belt clip, holster and a hand strap.

CONS:

1. No backlight- very annoying as it makes it much harder to see the pedometer's display at night.

2. Memory is only for last 7 days - would be nice to have a month or more to really check on your progress


One note: once set up, this pedometer is great for walking, but involves extra work for runners if you are using it to measure distance. It works fine to count the number of steps in your run (which is its primary function).

Because my running stride varies during my runs (yours may or may not), in order to get an accurate distance reading, I had to take the average of various stride lengths during a run. It is a little annoying, but it works (sort of). Something to be aware of if you vary between walking and running and want to use the pedometer to get a running distance estimate.

However, if you just want this pedometer for walking or counting steps, then it is top notch, very durable, reliable and accurate, my wife loves it and I recommend it highly. I'd also recommend getting it from Amazon. I didn't find it at any local store, and Amazon's price and free shipping (if you buy two) really can't be beat. Get more detail about Omron HJ-112 Digital Pocket Pedometer.