Customer Reviews

Oregon Scientific PE316CA Pedometer with Calorie Counter

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I'm recovering from back surgery and wanted a way to know--rather than guess--how close I come to meeting my daily walking goals. This comparatively inexpensive pedometer doesn't achieve perfection, but it does get the job done.

On the up side, it's small, easy to read and includes a user-controlled back light. The belt clip is extremely secure, and the screen displays everything from actual steps walked to total distance and calories burned. It was easy to adjust the stride length and body weight. My steps are tracked accurately with the "sensitivity" slider control set in the middle, rather than all the way to the left as many other reviewers suggest. I have learned that there is a bit of wiggle room on mine--if I count off 20 steps, it might say 19 on one set and 21 on the next. In the long run--I bothered to count all the way to 100 several times--it was spot on.

On the down side, the cover is extraordinarily difficult to open. Difficult as in I have wrestled with it for nearly five minutes just to pop it open. (I now don't close it quite securely. It doesn't fall open.) And I can see some folks might be bothered by the imprecision over short term counting. And for some reason, if I clip it to a pants pocket, rather than on a belt loop or my waist band, it doesn't seem to read anything at all. I have no clue why this is so, but it is a little disapointing.

Considering that every other pedometer I looked at was more than twice the price of this model, I'm astonished at how well it works. Perfectionists will likely prefer a more expensive version, but for short term use, casual interest, easy-going folks or even something to help get the kids more active, you can't go wrong.

Here's what a pedometer should do for me:

(1) Should be comfortable to wear all day
(2) Shouldn't slide off my waistband so the clip needs to be flexible and firm (an extra safety leash is useful too)
(3) Should be easy to read with a simple bend of the neck instead of removing the unit everytime
(4) Should be secured in some way so that bumps or touches don't accidently set off buttons or reset the counter
(5) Should be easy and intuitive to move between functions
(6) Should be accurate in its count when you wear it correctly, and within 10% for distance when you set your average stride
(7) Should have a few days of memory
(8) Should be light enough to be non-intrusive

This little doohickey from Oregon has all of the above, and I have found it to be fairly durable. It is light, secure because of the flappable cover, functional because the clip fits on a thick denim trouser waistband as well as a slim running track-suit lining, and at least in my case, it is also fairly accurate. Surely does not give me readings like 256 if I walk 10 paces, as another reviewer unfortunately experienced. There is a thing as a defective device, one can exchange it if he has a reasonable case, can't he?

The only other good alternatives to this device would be the offerings from Sportline or Omron. Sportline is sleek and I bought one because of its compelling price but the little sukker went kaput in 2 months. Omrons are known to have short battery lives.

My humble opinion -- for the price, Oregon's is quite a decent purchase, at the very least I doubt you should face all the excruciating glitches outlined in other reviews here.

I was hesitant to buy this based on prior reviews of the product. I've had no problems with it. It's easy to use. It's fairly accurate (none of the pedometers on the market are extremely accurate but this one is better than the two I've had before this). The clasp stays on my wasteband, unlike the previous model I had. It doesn't seem to skip steps or add steps. Best of all, it doesn't reset itself whenever you bump it, thanks to the cover. I like the cover feature even though it's difficult to open. The difficult to open feature works for me because it keeps my toddler's curiosity at bay! I would recommend this for someone who is just getting into an exercise regimen and just wants a beginner level tool.

I read the reviews before I bought this product.
I was hoping to use it to increase my exercise level.
It wore it for several days, and yes, it IS light
and easy to use; however, I noticed it was saying
I was doing a LOT more walking than I thought. So
I finally tested it. I walked 25 steps. It said 24.
Not bad, right? Well, then I set it on a table and
left it there. There was NO MOVEMENT at all, no
earthquakes, etc. yet several hours later it said I
had taken 236 steps! It seems to 'add' steps over
time, regardless of whether or not you actually took
them. Was very very disappointed. DON'T WASTE
YOUR MONEY.

The price of this product is what sold me comparing to other pedometers. I bought it being aware of the problems other reviewers have stated. The "happiness" ratio seems about 40% at best. The thumb clip has been problematic but you can work around it. But is that what you want in a product? The biggest flaw I have found is in its accuracy. After several tests of 50 steps the unit averaged being "off" by being over 40 steps...on the lowest sensitivity. Disappointing. I wouldn't mind it being off by being under because I would exercising more and thats good. But this way I feel like its cheating me at the cost of my health. I will continue to use this unit but I will be on the lookout for a new unit. I can not make a recomendation for this product.

I bought this item about 3 months ago and LOVE it. I saw some reviews where people complained that it counted steps when they weren't moving and didn't count steps when they were moving. I had some of this trouble too and found that it was usually where I placed the pedometer. You just have to experiment some to find the best place to put it for how you move (including how you move when you're sitting at your desk).

I have tested it out several times to check for accuracy--counting my steps as well as those on my pedometer. This may seem a bit manic, but I manually counted out more than 500 steps in a couple of these times. In all cases, the pedometer was right on with my count (occasionally it was off by one or two steps only).

I've had mine for two days and agree with the others about the painful thumb button on the locking mechanism. I just shaved the little plastic catch down a little with an Xacto knife: problem solved.

The step counts seem accurate to me and I haven't noticed any spurious ones while the unit was sitting on a table or anything. I believe there are defective ones out there, but mine seems fine.

I'd recommend it, and I'd recommend shaving or sanding that little plastic ridge down to save the tip of your thumb!

This is the best pedometer I have found at any price. The design does not allow for accidental reseting (very annoying). The night light actually works well - a first in my experience with pedometers. Setting the stride sensitivity was simple and maintains the setting well, I was concerned it might be jossled because it is a slide bar. It has faired well through the inevitable dropping, sliding off the waistband and the occasional unsolicted game of "cat hockey". I am thrilled to have a great pedometer, finally.

It sounded like a good idea... Perhaps a higher-end model would work better - but this one felt awkward and performed "cheaply". The poor design made it difficult to open and adjust. I put it on once to test it and it seemed to be somewhat accurate in step counting with only small error. Before I got a chance to read the directions to try other options (something I have never had to do with what I would have thought to be much more compicated equipment) it got some moisture in it and stopped working completely. Into the junk drawer with other quickly dimmed bright ideas. A nice idea, poor execution.

I just got this pedometer. I have tested it while walking. On its lowest setting it overestimates my steps by about 5 to 10 percent. I have tested it about 10 times each time taking more than 100 steps outdoors. Everytime it has overestimated by that much. I am not very happy about it.
Well now after 3 weeks of use it has stopped functioning right. It now overestimates my steps by around 30 to 40 percent. I am going to give it back.