Omron HJ-112 Digital Pocket Pedometer

This is pedometer is Consumer Reports #1 rated digital pedometer- and I can see why. It's extremely light weight and really easy to use with just four big buttons on the front. Here's a few of its best features:

-it can accurately senses steps in your belt, pocket, OR purse!
-it has a large display for the visually impaired
-it has a 7 day history so you can see progress (or lack of)
-it calculates calories and distance in addition to steps

I'd recommend this little device to anyone who wants to lose weight- just begin one day, and the next day, see if you can maintain or beat your previous step record. Now how easy is that?

So what DIDN'T I like about it? Not much. Perhaps the ONLY sort of negative thing I can say is that you will need a tiny screwdriver to open the back of it to put in the battery. Other than that, if you're looking to increase your activity a little to improve your health, look no further. Also recommend The Sixty-Second Motivator for anyone who needs more motivation to stick with an exercise program.

Since getting attached to pedometers a couple of years ago, I've gone through at least a dozen--Digiwalkers, Oregon Scientifics, Omrons. Sometimes the clips would break (Digiwalkers have no spring clip), or the cover would snap off, or they would prove highly inaccurate, or they would be bulky, or they would be too "versatile" and intricate to be practical for someone who was simply looking to get in 10,000 steps for the day. For this reason, I recommended the Sportline 330 as a comparatively rugged, accurate, and inexpensive step counter that, if need be, could be replaced with minimal financial damage.

But recently I saw this "high end" Omron at Walgreen's and thought I'd give it a spin. Its primary allure: it claims to be so sensitive that you don't need to wear it on a belt or some other outer wear. Just drop it in your shirt pocket or purse and forget about it.

Guess what? The Omron people aren't pulling your leg. This is indeed a very sensitive little machine that does what it says it will do, in addition to being fast, easy, convenient, and extremely durable. I decided to test it by walking 30-40 minutes with the Omron in my shirt pocket and the Sportline clipped to my belt. At the end of my walk the Omron and Sportline were within 80 steps of each other. Moreover, it was the Omron that gave me the extra steps (a bonus if you consider the amount of time it takes--practically 2 hours--to log the full 10,000 steps).

The only advanced feature I occasionally use is the memory bank. The device automatically resets to 0 steps while saving the previous day's count in memory (for up to a week). Although I set the clock, I rarely use the other extra features--calorie counter, aerobic read-out, or even distance covered. I don't even bother with things like entering stride length and attaching clips or necklaces. This particular Omron model rises above the field because of one thing: quality. It's accurate, it's easy and fast, and it's dependable if not indestructible (I've sat on it, inadvertently sent it through the wash, dropped it into a bath-tub). It keeps going, as long as you do. If you have a shirt pocket and know how to read from one to 10,000, you're on your way.

You can never have too many good pedometers, but this Omron makes it unlikely you'll need another one any time soon. There's no question in my mind that this is best of breed, the one that Tiger Woods would use even if he had to pay for it and realized no rewards other than the practical and motivational benefits of the device itself. At its current price, it's probably the best buy on Amazon.

My husband purchased two of these pedometers in an effort to fight our increasingly sedentary lifestyle. I figured I would probably use it once & then throw it in a desk drawer & forget about it...but that didn't happen! Not only are these little devices easy to set up & use, but they do the trick of really making you realize how little excercise you get at a desk job!! Just clip it to your belt at the beginning of the day & forget about it. I almost died when I realized that on average I was walking less than 800 steps a day. Talk about a much needed wake up call. We are now taking daily walks and steadily increasing our daily excercise. Well worth the money.

This pedometer is easily a five star pedometer. It was easy to use, easy to set and read, and for the brief time I had it I thought it was the best pedometer I have owned.

Unfortunately, after 4 days it disappeared from my belt. The clip is completely unsatisfactory, and if you keep it on a belt you will loose it.

If you plan to carry it anywhere else, it would probably be worth buying, but do not count on the clip to secure it to your person.

Update 2: I just replaced the battery (CR2032) so I guess it lasts about six months. This pedometer is probably one that I have used the longest. After losing nearly 20 lb the first time I tried to clock 100,000 steps a week, I'm embarking on another 20+lb loss target.

Update: I've been using this regularly, and found that I can stick it in a change pocket where it does a great job of accurately reporting my steps. I've left the clip, holder, and cord behind, so it's a lot smaller now. I use the GMaps pedometer for distances and calories, but this is great to get accurate steps.
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I hate to take away a star considering there are a lot of things to like about this pedometer. I've used many, and I'm hoping this one is the last I have to get. Or at least if I get another one, it may be this one. Still, the folks at Omron might want to learn something for the next revision.

What I like:

- I don't have to keep it clipped to my belt. It stays in my pocket all day, as do other objects like my wallet, keys, phone, etc. And it counts away fine.

- Although the buttons look like they could get pressed in a pocket by other pocketizens, like keys, change, fingers looking for stuff, they don't. Especially Reset, which I feared would get hit somehow. But yet, over a week into the product, I haven't seen a reset happening to my step total.

- I'm beginning to like that it resets itself to 0 every night, and also keeps a history of the past week. I can easily track what I did in the week and see what kind of activity gives me more steps. I don't like to chase step counts like some people, but I like to do things that up the count. After all, we're building a lifestyle here, not trying to win a count game.

- You may see lower counts, but that's because of no false hits. This device works like skip protection on a CD player. It doesn't start visibly counting even after you've started walking. This seems to be a defect at first, but this is what I assume is happening: The pedometer senses motion and starts recording it, and takes a few seconds to decide whether this is real walking or merely an occasional jolt. If the movement is a jolt or tap, or just a solitary step or two, the count is discarded before ever showing in the display. If the movement continues and has the characteristics of walking, the recorded steps are then added to the counter. So no bogus steps.

- Accuracy: I've walked 50, 100, 500 steps that I manually counted (sorry can't keep count more than 500) and the pedometer was off by a maximum of two steps for the 500 step walk. Otherwise it was off by 1 or exact. I've never had a pedometer that stays so true.

What I don't like:

- Limitations: Why would all users be less than 300 lb? Are people over 300 lb incapable of walking? The setup doesn't let the user go more than 300 lb, so the calorie counts are likely to be lower to start with. Then there's the following point.

- Assumptions: Every step is the same length. This is fine for people going walking as a regular exercise, but that gets old fast. At different times of day, different levels of energy, and different situations and terrains, steps are not uniform. So the mileage and probably the calorie count is probably off by a lot. I walked a known mile and yet the pedometer counted 0.7 miles because my step length was off. And the step length was determined by the manual's directions. In fairness, all pedometers that calculate calories burned and distance walked will have this problem

- Size - it's bulky, like a handheld stopwatch. I don't see why it couldn't have been smaller

- Visibility. It's hard to read from your pocket. The downside of the pocketability. It might have benefited from some thing like a light (maybe I haven't found it)

- Shape. It's too much like a key fob and I often pull the wrong thing out of my pocket.

I wanted to start walking more as I have a very sedentary job. I bought a Sportline pedometer first (Sportline 353 Talking Pedometer) about a year ago. It worked fine counting steps but had other issues.

It was constantly slipping off my waistband and bouncing off the floor. It also easily reset. If I bumped the reset button with the seat belt all my fine walking data was lost. You could theoretically keep a walking tally for a week - but I accidentally hit the reset button 2-3 times a day at times. It was very frustrating. The clip broke after about 3 months, so I retired it.

I bought a Omron HJ112 Premium Pedometer and have worn it almost every day since. It has a teather. Even if the clip slips off my waistband, the pedometer dangles from the teather - it doesn't bounce off the floor. Also the clip is part of a separate holder - if the spring breaks it could easily and inexpensively be replaced.

It also works attached to my bookbag or purse strap, in my pocket or in my purse. It doesn't count as well attached to a down jacket pocket -- but a denim jacket or blazer lapel works fine.

It has a clock, and a 7 day memory. At midnight it automatically stores the day's data and resets to zero. It tallies daily: steps, mileage, calories burned, aerobic steps, and time spent in aerobic activity. It saves that information (except for time spent in aerobic activity) for 7 days. This is good if I am traveling and not near my fitness log for 2-3 days.

One trick: Sometimes I go out walking at 11:30 PM -- especially if I have been on the computer all evening. But the pedometer resets at midnight -- late night walks would get split over 2 days. So I leave the clock off by one hour. The pedometer starts its new day at 1AM. And I am always in bed by then. Promise. :-)

I like very much that it counts the number of aerobic steps and the time spent. My goal (in addition to just walking more) is to walk a minimum of 30 minutes a day at an aerobic pace (and increasing this amount). According to the manual: "Aerobic steps are counted separately when walking or jogging more than 60 steps per minute or more than 10 minutes continuously."

The pedometer has been very helpful. If I come in from the bus stop and just go to my desk I walk about 1000 steps. If I come in from the bus stop and keep moving for just a few minutes longer - climb the stairs to my office on an upper floor and then go get water for coffee - I get in 10 minutes of aerobic activity.

When I started wearing a pedometer I was getting in about 3000 steps a day (none aerobic). I average about 8000 now and working up to 10,000 (about 4000 aerobic).

I haven't changed much noticeabe. I park on the other side of the parking lot at the grocery store. I walk the cart back to the store -- not just the buggy coral. I get off the bus a stop early - about a block and a half away (1000 steps). I take the stairs at work (20 steps per floor). I walk the dog each night for about 30 minutes (5000 steps). I sit outside for lunch instead of sitting in my office with a sandwich (1000 steps). Little extra steps like this all day long add up.

Walking is great exercise and unlike swimming or going to the gym, all I have to do is walk out the door. "Aerobics on a stick" I call it. The pedometer helps me stay motivated and it reminds me to walk walk walk!

If you are wondering whether you want a pedometer, let me add my vigorous "yes". Wearing a pedometer has a way of making you parse every step you take as exercise....even walking down the hall to ask an officemate a question raises your step count just a bit, and soon enough you will be raising your ambitions to 10,000 steps a day or even more without needing to make a production over going to the gym.

If you are wondering "which pedometer," I'll add my pitch for this nifty little Omron. My last pedometer: inaccurate, physically uncomfortable, impossible to wear with a dress, broke after 2 months.

My Omron: accurate, comfortable clip, even works if I just stick it in a pocket or purse, have dropped it frequently to no ill effects. Best of all, it has quite sophisticated features: it tracks not only steps, miles, and calories, but "aerobic steps" - if you keep walking for 10 minutes or more it counts as aerobic - it is even smart enough to let you pause for up to a minute and still count subsequent steps as aerobic. Finally, it has a 7-day memory that allows you to track all these features back a whole week so you can see your improvements.

I can't say enough about this product. I know they call it "premium" but for less than the cost of a couple of weeks at a gym, you'll have a permanent and genuinely practical exercise system. It is the best fitness value of any kind on the market.

I splurged on this little gadget last night in a new effort to lose weight. If you aren't already aware of it, you should aim for 10,000 steps each day for improving your health and losing weight. Get a good pair of walking shoes, grab this pedometer, and go for it (I prefer to also carry a tiny FM radio on my belt with earbud headphones and a pulse meter).

I've owned probably 3-6 other pedometers that I have paid about $10-$30 for each unit in the last two years. Some were lit, some weren't. Some opened like a pocket watch to reveal the display (looked like a tiny pager). Others played a little tune and could speak the numbers on the display. One was even a basic mechanical pedometer with an analog display similar to a car's odometer display.

I wish I had bought this pedometer before I wasted my money on all of the others. This pedometer has yet to give me a 'false' reading. A good example is at work where I am in my chair that leans back at an angle. Most all of the pedometers I owned would register several hundred paces just while I was sitting at work or while driving in the car. Their mechanics would sway back and forth as I shifted in my seat or drove over small bumps. This one did not give any false readings at all in the car - nor has it done so at work.

Not even counting on it's ability to estimate your caloric usage during walking or your distance traveled (another 'estimate' in my book), it has scored an A+ in my book for its accuracy as a pedometer in it's ability to sense each step reliably and accurately.

Again - I regret that I didn't get this pedometer first.

It is a little larger than most, but I believe that is due to it's internal mechanics. It feels like a pocket watch when you hold it in your hand. It's not too light - and it's not so heavy that it will weigh down on an elastic waist band.

I haven't had more than a day with it yet, but it has definately impressed me so far. After a week, I'll have a better idea how well it does at keeping track of steps over a 7 day period.

I purchased a Sportline 360 pedometer three years ago -- what a mistake! It only worked once -- then went into an inactive mode from which it never awakened. I should have returned it, but I thought that I must have done something wrong. After having professional trainers unsuccessfully try to get it working for me last year, I knew it was just a dud. Before buying this Omron Premium Pedometer, I read every pedometer review I could find -- the Omron Premium overwhelmingly received the highest marks. Now I want to add my "thumbs up" to the other reviews. I have had my Omron for a week and I love it. It is always on -- doesn't go into hibernation. It was easy to set up and counts steps perfectly. I have taken it to my fitness club -- the track there is a 1/5 mile track. I counted my steps as I walked around one time -- 196 steps. The pedometer counted out -- yes -- 196 steps. Love it. I bought this pedometer because of the great reviews it received at this site, so thank you all.

I bought this for my 72-year-old father for Christmas since he recently had a heart attack and is now doing the 10,000 step regime. He had enrolled in some hospital-sponsored programs to teach him how to eat better and exercise more, and they gave him a cheap pedometer that never worked. He was getting discouraged, so thanks to the wonderful customers at Amazon, I did my homework and purchased this pedometer based on their reviews (which is primarily how I purchase 99% of my Amazon orders).

He has been using this pedometer since Christmas day and walks every night now. It is accurate and he likes all the features-- it measures regular steps, miles, aerobic steps, has a 7-day memory feature, and even a clock. The lanyard is a brilliant idea-- as many others have indicated, the belt clip can slip off, so the lanyard keeps it securely attached.

The best feature of this pedometer is the ease of which my dad was able to use it-- he set it up and got it working in a matter of minutes and the instruction booklet was clear and concise. There are no confusing displays or key combinations to remember, either, and the display is large enough for him to read without squinting (he's developing cataracts so sometimes reading is difficult for him).

For a small investment, this pedometer delivers what it promises.