Omron HJ-150 Hip Pedometer

Suggested Retail Price: $19.99

Rating: 8/10

Product Features

• Measures steps
• Used by clipping to belt
• 7 day memory storage
• Time of day display

Product Specs 

• Comes with belt clip and instruction manual
• Accurate within 5%
• Runs on a lithium battery with 1 year average life
• 1 year warranty

Disadvantages

• Few extra features

Review

Although the Omron HJ-150 comes with minimal features, its accuracy and ease of use make it a nice pedometer.  While this is not a highly recommended model for someone who wants extras or wants a record of all types of statistics, it's still a nice pedometer if you just care about counting steps.

As you would expect in a pedometer, the Omron HJ-150 is quite accurate.  The true step count is guaranteed to be within 5% of the pedometer step count, although it is often even more accurate than 5%.  If your reading seems to be off, make sure the pedometer is as horizontal as possible, as this is required for the best accuracy.  This is the most frequent issue with improper step counts, but fortunately, it's also very simple to fix.

Another advantage of the HJ-150 is the long battery life, and the average life of the lithium battery is a full year.  Note that this estimate is based on taking 10,000 steps a day.  If you walk a lot more, you might want to buy some extra batteries for your pedometer, because it will need to be changed more frequently.  Of course, if you don't use the pedometer all that often, expect a longer battery lifetime.

Despite coming with few extra features, this pedometer model still has a 7 day memory storage feature.  You'll be able to access how many steps you have taken in the previous week.  Also, the step counter on the HJ-150 will automatically reset at midnight, so you can easily figure your daily walking statistics.  Additionally, this pedometer has full clock function, and can be used as a watch.

A lot of people will appreciate the small, unobtrusive size of the Omron HJ-150.  At only 2 inches in diameter, it's only slightly larger than a silver dollar.  It's also lightweight, so you'll hardly even know it's there.  However, this can actually be a problem, because if it falls off your belt, you might not even notice.  It might be smart to invest in an additional safety strap for the belt clip, so that you will never have to worry about losing your pedometer.

Overall, this is one of the best pedometers that is primarily just for counting steps, as it's not designed to have all kinds of fancy extras.  If you want a model with more features, and like the Omron brand, the Omron HJ-112 Digital Premium Pedometer and the Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer are both suggested.