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Omron Walking Style II Pro Pedometer | 
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| Brand: Omron
Category: Sports
Buy New: £17.95 - £29.95 (On sale from £32.99)
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Amazon.co.uk - Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Avg. Customer Rating: 52 reviews
Sales Rank: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 5.1 x 3.9
ASIN: B000RXWVVQ
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| Features:
| • | Uses Advanced acceleration technology to accurately measure your activity level | | • | Counts Steps and Aerobic Steps | | • | Calculates Distance covered | | • | Calculates calories burned | | • | 7-day memory function | | • | Real time Clock |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 47 more reviews...
Product confusion - but very good April 19, 2008
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Name confusion.
Amazon and other retailers have muddled the name and so confused two physically and functionally similar but different pedometers made by Omron.
The pedometer that Amazon is selling is the Omron `Walking Style II' pedometer (about 20) which comes in red, dark blue or white colours. This is not quite the same device as the top-of-the-range `Walking Style Pro' pedometer (about 30 +P&P, not sold by Amazon) which is a silver-blue metallic colour and can download your walking data onto a PC.
Description.
It's about the size and shape of half a large hard-boiled egg! The pedometer slides into a holder which incorporates a large clip which can be attached to your belt, a pocket (but not trouser rear - you'll end up squashing it) or hand bag. There's also an essential safety lanyard which helps prevent the device from making a bid for freedom, which it occasionally does.
There is no OFF switch. It is intended to be worn every waking hour in order to count your steps. The handbook suggests the battery (CR2032, 1.30 for two Tesco-branded batteries) lasts six months. Whenever you change the battery, beware losing the tiny screw that holds the battery compartment closed or stripping the thread in the plastic casing.
Features.
Let me say from the outset, from other reports and my own experience, that both Omron pedometers are excellent and probably easily the best on the market in terms of accuracy, information recorded, quality and value for money.
Both count your steps, distance (Km), time, calories (Kcal) and fat (g) burned during walking or jogging. The pedometers cleverly decide whether you're just, for example, shuffling around the kitchen or window shopping and avoid counting these steps which don't improve fitness. You'll need to be walking for at least four seconds before you are credited with the steps you've taken.
If you walk continuously for ten minutes, taking at least one step per second, then the pedometer figuratively pats you on the back and counts all the steps as being aerobic. These are recorded separately from your overall number of daily steps.
Number of steps each day.
This was news to me, so I'll quote the handbook:
`For long term health and reduced chronic disease risk, we should do 10,000 steps a day. For successful weight loss, this should be between 12,000 and 15,000 steps. If we want to build aerobic fitness, we should make at least 3,000 (preferably more) steady steps per day'.
No wonder our hip joints need replacing later in life! In everyday terms, 10,000 steps equate to about five and a half miles - and every day!
Walking Style II versus Walking Style Pro models.
They both memorise readings from the last seven days which you can view on the LCD. However, the Pro additionally memorises the last 41 days which can be downloaded onto your PC with the supplied USB cable and Healthcare Management software. I find this permanent visual record very interesting and motivating. The software is well designed and very easy to use and instantly draws bar charts so you can see on a daily/weekly/monthly/annual basis whether you are reaching whatever targets you have set yourself for steps/distance/calories etc. I need these targets to encourage me to take all these walks; perhaps walking your dog is sufficient reason for you, in which case the basic Walking Style II would probably meet your needs.
Finding a Pro model.
The Pro model was not easy to find on the internet and there are several earlier models to confuse you. Conduct a Google search for the Omron-healthcare.com website and search for HJ-720IT-E2 (I think the `E' indicates the European model) which will take you to the Walking Style Pro facts page. From here, you can also download the excellent Healthcare Management software (free) which goes with the Pro model (not the Walking Style II). You will see on the facts page that this software is also used with the Omron M10-IT blood pressure monitor and the information from both devices can be portrayed simultaneously on your PC as graphs and a lot more. The software can keep track of hundreds of users, so was presumably designed for medical professionals; password protection of the data is available.
In February 2008 when I bought my Pro pedometer, Omron Healthcare UK in Milton Keynes (who were very helpful) told me that only one company, Totally Fitness, was permitted to sell the Pro model in the UK; Totally Fitness said it was news to them and only wanted to sell a package called the Fitbug (74.95) which comprised the basic Walking Style II pedometer and a proprietary bit of software that allowed purchasers to email their walking results to a fitness instructor who would then assess their progress. This is not what I wanted.
On eBay I eventually found a German retailer called Mymedishop who sold me one for 37Euros (28.46 at the time) but with an eye-watering 19Euros for P&P (14.57 at the time), 42.94 Total. Getting over the shock, I rationalised that since the pedometer is worn all day, every day, in just one year this is 12 pence per day, less than half the price of the milk I slosh over my breakfast cereal - and I expect I'll be using the pedometer for more than a year.
Too late, Totally Fitness then contacted me to say that they DID sell the Pro model at 34.95 + 2.95 P&P = 37.90. Choose your horse but make sure you get the HJ-720IT-E2 if you want the Pro model.
Conclusion.
In a nutshell, or half an egg, these Omron pedometers are excellent: intelligent design, interesting and useful, and encourage health improvement. Easily worth 5 stars.
Walking to fitness April 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Have just bought this product, mainly based on reviews and Amazon pricing.
Not disappointed with either. Easy to set up and use. is accurate and looks stylish. Excellent product. Only downside so far is the fiddly set button, but I do have large hands.
The best pedometer for hill-walking March 25, 2008
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
At last a pedometer that works for hill-walking. I've tried four different pendulum pedometers in the past that have been reasonably accurate on the flat but all were hopeless for hill walking: always greatly under-estimating the number of steps and hence the distance walked. It must be something to do with the pendulum system not being able to cope with the ascents and descents of hills. I've just given the Omron pedometer a tough test on a walk with steep hill that rises 1000feet in 1 mile of distance. I clipped the Omron on one side of my belt and one of my older pedometers on the other side. The Omron correctly measured the hill ascent as being approximately 1.6km (i.e. a mile) whereas the pendulum pedometer measure 0.37km. Over the whole walk the Omron correctly measured the distance (I plotted it with dividers on an OS map) whereas the other pedometer only registered half the distance. The Omron gives an estimate of calories burned, but this only applies to walking on the flat. Hill walking can treble or quadruple the rate of energy expenditure.
If you don't mind working in cm (to input you stride length) and km (for the distance covered) this is an excellent advance in pedometer design.
Omron Walking Style II Pedometer March 10, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Absolutely fab product. Bought this after having purchased a much cheaper (and totally useless!!) model. This pedometer is easy to set up (5 mins), and read. Gives a wealth of info and is very accurate. Resets every day by clock.
Couldn't be any better, and a bargain on Amazon at half the retail price - excellent!!
Walk this way... February 23, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I bought this pedometer with a little apprehension. However, I am pleased to say that it is excellent. I lend it out to clients and they all think it's good too. The safety clip is brilliant.
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