The Omron HJ-720itc pedometer, my new favorite.
For a long time, my daily pedometer has been the Omron HJ-112, but it’s been replaced by the new Omron HJ-720itc pedometer. I never thought that I would replace my trusty HJ-112, because I liked it so much. It was quiet, accurate and had a seven day memory. Best of all, I didn’t have to clip it to my belt. Since it uses an accelerometer to count my steps, it can slip in my pocket where no one but me knows it’s there.
In a way though, I haven’t got rid of my HJ-112. That’s because the HJ-720itc is really an HJ-112 with some added features. I was always puzzled by the top of my 112. There was a cover you could pry off (I never could resist tinkering) that was shaped like the end of a USB cable. There was nothing I could see beneath it, but at first I assumed that Omron’s engineers had planned for future upgrades.
Then, I learned that in Japan, Omron sold a pedometer that synced with your computer via a USB port. They had a website that was in Japanese, but with page translation software, I got the gist of it. Needless to say, I was jealous. I briefly contemplated learning Japanese and flying to Japan to get one of these pedometers, but I decided that this was unrealistic. So, I settled in for a wait, figuring that eventually, Omron would release the pedometer here.
Now, the wait is over! You can pick up the HJ720 at Amazon.com.
It’s very easy to use. You simply install the Omron Health Management Software on your computer. It says it works with XP/200, but I have installed it on Vista Home Premium without any problems. You then connect your pedometer with the included USB cable and click the download data button.
The pedometer automatically downloads the data to the Health Management software. There, you can look at your data by day, week, month, year, or all time. It lets you see what times of the day or week you are more or less active. It also shows you your aerobic steps in orange, so you can see the periods when you were most active.
I haven’t seen it in any of my local sporting goods stores, but as I mentioned, Amazon has the HJ720 in stock at a good price. I highly recommend it.
New contender for best pedometer
Last post, I mentioned a new idea for pedometers, tracking how close to your daily 10,000 steps (or whatever your step goal is) you are. There is a Sportline pedometer that does this. I’ve only seen it at one of my local big box retail stores and I can’t seem to find any info about it online.
Sportline calls the system “Goal Track”. What you do is enter your step goal for the day and then it continuously calculates what percentage of your goal you’ve walked. For example, if your goal was 10,000 steps, 2,500 steps would be 25%, 5,000 steps would be 50%, etc.
The funny thing is, I’ve gathered all of this information from the package itself. The Sportline website makes no mention of it and web searches have turned up nothing either. Another thing that’s funny, is that only one of the big retailers carries pedometers with this feature. The other retailer has the same old Sportline pedometers I’ve seen for years.
Still, I think it’s a great idea. Omron should take notice and incorporate this feature into it’s pedometers. This raises the question, would I switch? I can quickly answer that by saying no. I didn’t even buy the Sportline pedometers to test, because they use pendulum switches. I’m more than happy with my Omron HJ720 itc and it’s accelerometer and USB connection.
What I didn’t do today
I meant to go by the store to look at those Sportline pedometers that tell you what percentage of your goal you’ved reached. I didn’t though… After work, it slipped my mind. I’m going to write myself a note though to go tomorrow.
I wonder if they are still using the pendulums in their pedometers. I still remember the click of the pendulum each time I took a step. That was how I knew it was working :) When I first got an HJ-112 and then an HJ-720itc pedometer, I would take them out of my pocket to see if they were working, because they are completely silent.
How close to your goal are you?
As regular readers know, I am an Omron pedometer kind of person. I really think they are on the cutting edge of pedometer design and as you know, my daily pedometer is an Omron.
I just heard about a cool feature that a Sportline pedometer has that is giving me some pause though. Apparently, there is a new Sportline that tells you the percentage of steps towards your goal. For example, say your goal is 10,000 steps, and you’ve walked 5,000, then you’d be at 50% of your goal.
I think this is great. We all know that we have a goal in our mind that we want to reach, but if my goal os 7,500 steps and I’ve walked 4,712 steps, what percentage is that? Do I need to “step” it up, or am I pretty sure I’m going to make my goal? (Pardon the pun.) If however, my pedometer is telling me I’ve walked 41% of my goal, I can correlate that with the time of day and decided whether I need to increase my activity level or not. If I’m at 41% at 10:00 in the morning, then no big deal, but if I’m at 41% at 7:00 pm, then I’m in danger of not meeting my goal.
I’ll try to see if I can find one of these pedometers and keep you posted.
Choosing the Best Pedometer Video
I just uploaded a short video on what to look for in a pedometer. It covers what basic features you need to have, what advanced fatures are nice add ons and my pick for the best pedometer on the market.
Check out the video here:
What is the best pedometer for you part 2
In part 1 of What is the Best Pedometer For You, we talked about the basic features to look for in a pedometer. Now, we’ll talk about some of the extras you can look for.
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 lengthis 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. Itis 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.
What is the best pedometer for you?
What is the best pedometer on the market? To answer this question you have to take into account what you’re looking for in a pedometer. Pedometers can range in features from simply counting steps, to measuring your heart rate, or playing music. There are a few factors that you should take into account when looking for a pedometer. They are:
1. Pedometer Accuracy
2. Pedometer Size
3. Extra features
Accuracy
Now by definition, a pedometer measures steps. If it doesn’t measure steps it’s not a pedometer. But not all pedometers are equally accurate in counting steps. Of course, you want to get 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, some pedometers will 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.
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 go up 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 pedometergets 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. 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. 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. 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.
In part 2 of what is the best pedometer, we’ll look at what extra features to look for when buying a pedometer and what the top choice of pedometers on the market today is.