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Reviews -> Omron HJ-113 (Walking Style II)

Last modified on Sun, 4th May 2008 at 11:58 BST by zipplet

Summary


Available from: Mortonmedical (http://www.mortonmedical.co.uk/)
Price: £21.30 inc VAT at time of review from listed supplier
Link: http://www.mortonmedical.co.uk/omron_step_counter_HJ113.htm
Conclusion: Accurate pedometer with adequate features to track your lifestyle. Can be worn in the pocket which makes this product exceptional.
Rating: 8/10

Description


If you're anything like me - a guy who loves to use the computer for hours on end when he's not socialising or going to work - you probably don't have a very active lifestyle. This might not even bother you, but did you know it's recommended that you should be walking at least 10,000 steps each day? I bet you didn't.

I decided one day I needed to get more fit, as I've put on some weight since I started working in a small supermarket (easily done when there is food at hand when you take breaks and such, plus staff discount) and I wanted to get rid of it.

After deciding that walking would be the easiest way for me to lose weight as I have a lot of stamina for it and I like long walks especially at night, I found I couldn't stick to a proper regime as I had no way of knowing how much walking I'd put in. I'd have a spurt of walking, then lose motivation because I thought I'd walked enough for the mean time. I had no way of knowing if I even met my weekly goal, except to guarentee it by taking huge walks as often as I could which got very very tiring. You'd be surprised how motivational it is to be able to quantify your exercise.

After reading some stuff online about exercise and dieting I came across lots of pages recommending a pedometer as a way to motivate one self, so I thought I'd give it a go. But I didn't want one of those horrible clunky ones with a clicking pendulum because not only are they noisy, but you have to wear them on the front of your trousers/pants (for you Americans) which advertises it to everyone - and it could be annoying and get in the way. I'm a little shy with regards to that kind of thing so I wanted something discreet.

Enter the Omron HJ-113 - a very accurate pedometer with dual axis accelerometer (MEMS) technology - which claims to be able to count steps accurately in your pocket, around your neck, and even in a bag!

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I should mention this pedometer is almost identical to the very popular HJ-112 available in the US, except measurements are in metric units and you can't reset the counter to 0 (why would you want to, you'll see what I mean later). Note that I got my unit from ebay at a price cheaper than that at the top of this review.

I was quite surprised at all the stuff they threw in the package, I thought I'd only be getting the pedometer and a battery at most:

I really like the safety clip - it's only a simple plastic thing but the best I've seen in my opinion (while looking at other pedometers). It snaps onto your clothing without destroying it like a safety pin, yet it's very strong and will stop you losing the pedometer if it falls out of your pocket or the belt clip falls off.

The belt clip is reasonable but not very strong - it will fall off so make sure you use the safety cord and clip! Otherwise you'll lose your new pedometer during a jog or something.

After inserting the battery using the supplied screwdriver the pedometer asked me to enter the time, my weight (in KG as this is a european model) and my stride length in CM. I've found it doesn't matter if you don't know your stride, you can enter an average for your height (google) and tune it later if the walked distance is incorrect.

This pedometer can display the following measurements:

It can show you the last 7 days of data aswell as the current day so you have plenty of time to log your results if you are inclined to do so.

One great thing about this pedometer which drew me to it (as well as the dual axis sensor) is the aerobic steps feature. Any period of exercise that lasts for at least 10 minutes with a speed of at least 60 steps per minute is recorded as an aerobic exercise. This type of exercise is very good for you, and burns more calories than walking about the house. Thus, if you have walked 10,000 steps but only 1,000 aerobic steps you know you aren't doing that well. I aim for at least 30 minutes of aerobic steps per day.

The step counter resets at midnight, which is why you don't have a reset button on this pedometer. It's designed for people who would rather see their total count over the day, not reset for each walk/jog. The aerobic function should be sufficient to seperate normal steps from exercise.

How accurate is the dual axis sensor? Well, the pedometer indeed works in my pocket. I've found no difference between wearing it in my pocket or using the belt clip on my trousers. Just perfect for someone who wants to conceal the device and keep it personal. I haven't tested it around my neck as a pendant because the supplied cord is not long enough to loop over my head. I might give it a go using a different neck lanyard I have. I wouldn't recommend using the pedometer in a bag - I did try this and it seemed quite good but if you start swinging the bag a little it's not too accurate, and it's easy for the pedometer to end up lying horizontal which stops it working.

For the sensor to work the pedometer must be perpendicular to the ground, but at any rotation (even upside down or on it's side). This is something a pedometer with a normal balance/ball mechanism cannot do!

As for the aesthetics - it's a nicely designed unit, not too large in my opinion. The display is clear and easy to read with good contrast. The keys are easy to press but not too easy, so don't worry about accidentally pressing them. Even if you do it's no big deal as it's hard to screw with the settings accidentally. It seems robust but you should still avoid dropping it if possible because MEMS sensors are not indestructable!

Battery life is quoted at 6 months if 10,000 steps are taken each day. I am inclined to agree with this as I have used mine for 4 months and it's still going strong.

Finally, how motivational is it? Very! I find that now that I can quantify my exercise, I can see when I need to push forward and make an extra effort, and I can see when I've made an exceptional effort. I'm now regularly taking 10,000+ steps when I can. When I first got the pedometer I stuck to my normal routine to see how active I was, and I was quite shocked - 3000-4000 steps per day? Terrible! Now I see why many many sites are recommending pedometers.

Why only 8/10 and not 10/10? The belt clip isn't too great and it misses some features I'd like such as average speed during aerobic exercise, and the ability to mark events (at the beginning of a jog for example).

This pedometer is highly recommended. Anyone wanting to improve their well being and lose weight should grab one *now*. Omron also make a USB uploading pedometer that I recently bought, and I will be reviewing that soon.