Guide to Buying the Best Pedometer

Pedometers are everywhere. Your local supermarket possibly even sells several varieties. Amazon.com lists many hundreds of pedometer products. (In fact, of several hundred thousand healthcare products being sold by Amazon.com, a pedometer - the Omron HJ-112  - is often the Number One seller.) How do you choose?

Price, accuracy and special features will be the keys for most people. The following is a guide to finding on the internet the information that you need.

Consumer Reports published pedometer test results in its October 2004 issue (available to subscribers only). The Omron HJ-112 was the top-rated model. Some detail about the test is here. The Australian Consumers’ Association has online a pedometer report.

The Prevention.com website has a report on tests of 38 pedometers. A separate page presents profiles (pdf file) of the nine best of these.

Pedometer Fitness Fad Takes Off – a May 2005 report from National Public Radio, with a guide to the most accurate models.

Mayo Clinic - some introductory material, including advice on choosing a pedometer.

Pedometer Buyer’s Guide – an excellent introductory article by David Mendosa, originally from the January 2004 Diabetes Wellness Letter.

A Consumer’s Guide to Buying a Pedometer (pdf file) – another useful resource, from the Texas A&M University System.

Wikipedia - an introduction to pedometers, including details of how they are increasingly being integrated into personal electronic devices.

Pedometer Site - lots of resources - aimed particularly at teachers - from PE Central.

Pedometer readings 'not accurate' - a BBC report on a university study.

The About website has a series of articles in its Health and Fitness section. They include the following:

Before You Buy a Pedometer – a basic introduction to the different types of pedometer, and usage tips.

The Most Accurate Pedometers – a report based on research done by the University of Tennessee.

Pedometer Mechanisms - What Makes Your Pedometer Tick?
How to Set Your Pedometer

Top 10 Best Pedometers
Cheap Inaccurate Pedometers Could Hurt Fitness Efforts

Reviews

A lengthy set of reviews is at The Anatomy of a Pedometer, from the JSC Engineering consulting group. Amazon.com and Epinions include many user reviews at their websites.

Here are links to reports I've written, summarising reviews of the most popular models:

Nike+iPod Sport Kit 
Nokia 5500 Sport Cell Phone with Pedometer
Omron HJ-105 Pedometer
Omron HJ-112 Premium Pedometer
Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer
Oregon Scientific MP121 Waterproof MP3 Player and Pedometer
Oregon Scientific PE316CA Pedometer
Sony Ericsson W710 Walkman Cell Phone with Pedometer
Sony Network Walkman with Pedometer
Strollometer

The About website has many reviews.

Company Websites

New Lifestyles

Omron

Oregon Scientific

Pam Fitness

Sportline

Tanita

Yamax

 
November 12th, 2005
Updated: March 27th, 2007
Updated: November 7th, 2007