Best Wearable Pedometer of 2020
Whether it’s simply just walking down to the kitchen to grab a meal, going for a jog around your neighbourhood or taking a hike through grassy hills, walking has and always will be an integral part of our daily lives. Likewise, because walking is a physical activity, it is a fantastic way to keep fit and is often recommended by medical professionals across the world as a form of exercise.
Measuring how many steps you take in a day is a lot trickier – we can’t just measure using time alone as the rate of taking steps can vary substantially and sometimes, we may just forget to keep track.
This is where pedometers come in – a neat device created by the health industry to provide for needs of an increasingly health-conscious public. Just strap one on and carry on with your daily life! Your pedometer will do all the hard counting.
Things however, get even more confusing when you do decide to make the plunge to buy a pedometer. With the brands out there ranging from Apple to Fitbit to LETSCOM to Garmin, it’s easy to see how anyone could be overwhelmed by the exhausting range of options. So, this is where our list will come in handy.
We’ve reviewed and tested some of the most popular pedometers out there so check out our list below to see what we think about these products.
Contents
- 1 Best Wearable Pedometers
- 2 Fitbit Alta HR Activity & Fitness Tracker
- 3 Fitbit Inspire Health & Fitness Tracker
- 4 Fitbit Flex 2
- 5 Garmin Vivofit 4 Activity Tracker
- 6 ZGPAX Fitness Tracker Smart Watch
- 7 HONOR Band 5 Fitness Trackers Activity Trackers 0.95
- 8 Omron Walking Style IV Step Counter
- 9 PINGKO Walking Pedometer
- 10 Realalt 3DTriSport 3D Pedometer
- 11 LETSCOM Fitness Tracker
- 12 Three Things to Consider in a Pedometer
- 13 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Best Wearable Pedometers
Fitbit Alta HR Activity & Fitness Tracker
Mention the name Fitbit to any fitness junky and you’ll be met with a smile and nod of approval. Fitbit is a respected name in the world of fitness trackers so you can rest assured that quality will be an imperative consideration in any of their products.
Likewise, the Fitbit Alta HR offers a fantastic yet affordable introduction into their line of products. Coming in a range of colours from grey to rose gold, this slick-looking device wraps around the wrist with ease and provides a huge amount of information on its deceptively compact screen.
Not only will you be able to measure your daily steps, but you’ll be able to measure the distance you’ve travelled, calories you’ve burnt, your heart rate and even your sleep pattern. If that wasn’t enough, you’ll even be able to get up to a week’s worth of battery life and can sync the device with your smartphone through Fitbit’s free application to keep track of your activities.
Fitbit Inspire Health & Fitness Tracker
Still remain in the realm of Fitbit products, the Inspire hangs slightly lower on the ladder of price but is as just a high-quality product as the Alta HR. It’s water resistant (quite important if you tend to sweat a lot), can track the steps you make in addition to time spent swimming and even comes with as diverse as a colour palate as other Fitbit products.
Further, other features such as heart rate tracking and sleep tracking are still all included provided you opt for the Inspire HR model while the only difference with the Alta HR is that you’ll have only 5 days-worth of battery.
Fitbit Flex 2
If you have both the money for it and are looking for something elegant, Spartan and accurate, Fitbit’s Flex 2 easily fits the bill.
This wearable device can be worn as a watch or even a necklace and is more than capable of just tracking your steps. Like the other Fitbit products above, you’ll still be able to track your calories, active minutes, sleep activity and even receive notifications through vibrations if you receive a text or call on your linked smartphone!
On top of this, you’ll still be able to constantly use this device for up to 5 days without charging and need not worry about any water leaking in.
Garmin Vivofit 4 Activity Tracker
Taking a step away from Fitbit, the Garmin Vivofit 4 offers an equally impressive product that is just as compact, light and beautiful. With a single strap, not only can it function as a watch, but it will do so much more: including tracking your steps, your exercise routine and will sturdily protect itself from rain and hail.
The catch? Well, it doesn’t have heart rate monitor and only comes in either white or black but here’s the sweet thing about this product: its battery life boasts a whooping one-year without charging. Yes, one whole year so you probably don’t ever have to worry about it dying during any of your long walks!
ZGPAX Fitness Tracker Smart Watch
While not nearly as well-known as its competitors above, ZGPAX’s Fitness Tracker Smart Watch offers a unique feature often overlooked by other pedometers. It looks almost indistinguishable from a real (though, digital) watch! Of course, fashion isn’t the only attractive feature of this device.
It’s still a fully functional pedometer capable of tracking steps, sleep patterns, heart rates, blood pressures and can even be synced to a mobile device. No skimping is made on its battery as well with our reports recording a battery life of up to an entire week. So, if you’re in the market for something a bit flashier on the side of aesthetics, consider ZGPAX a solid option!
HONOR Band 5 Fitness Trackers Activity Trackers 0.95
In a market where often, higher prices do equal higher quality, it can most certainly be tricky to find a good compromise. This is where HONOR’s Band 5 steps in boasting a hugely affordable price that will more than be able to serve as a pedometer for just about any user.
Despite its price point, it still comes as a slick, lightweight device that fits an AMOLED screen and cannot only just tell the time and count your steps, but monitor your sleep patterns and utilise its in-built GPS capabilities to add a layer of accuracy to your daily activity be it walking or jogging.
Omron Walking Style IV Step Counter
Now that we’re on the topic of affordable pedometers, it would be absolutely criminal if we did not give a mention to Omron’s Walking Style IV Step Counter – one of the most affordable on our list.
We’re not going to lie: this product is basic to its core. You won’t be able to link it to any smartphone, measure your heart rate or even your exercise patterns but you’ll be more than able to measure your steps and tell the time. It’s even able to use this data to calculate the number of calories you burn in a day and is totally able to tell the difference between casual walking and brisk walking!
And if battery life is a concern, you need not worry as it comes with a battery life that stretches into the range of months.
PINGKO Walking Pedometer
If you’re looking for an even more affordable option than Omron, you should consider PINGKO’s Walking Pedometer which could just be close to the cheapest out there in the entire market.
Again, we stress that this product is at its best barebones when it comes to functionality. All you will have is a single LCD screen that can be clipped onto a belt, whose sole duty is to keep track of how many steps you make. And by pressing the button just below it, you will be able to see how many calories have been burnt.
Now the battery can last for entire months but the thing to note is that it’s only able to store up to a week’s worth of data so you’ll have to manually input it somewhere else if you intend on tracking your steps for longer periods of time.
Realalt 3DTriSport 3D Pedometer
Like the PINGKO product just above, if you aren’t too keen about strapping your pedometer around wrist, Realalt’s 3DTriSport Pedometer coming in 5 colors from black to pink might just do the job for you.
It is basic and intuitive to use and absolutely capable of both telling the time, calories burnt and most importantly, how many steps you take in a day. Now while its battery can last for up to a year, its memory is only able to store a single month’s worth of data which does require a bit of extra work if you plan to use this device for the long run.
LETSCOM Fitness Tracker
The final product on our list by LETSCOM offers a fine comprise between price and functionality with its diverse range of color options. It isn’t quite minimalist as the belt-strap options nor is it as functional as the Fitbit but will more than able to record your steps along with calories burnt, distance covered, active minutes. It even monitors your sleep and gives you a nudge if you get a call or text – just like it’s more expensive alternatives.
Looking at its screen, it fitted with an in-built OLED HD display and has a battery life of days on end so given its price point, it would be an excellent gateway product into the world of pedometers for just about anyone.
Three Things to Consider in a Pedometer
Accuracy:
The unfortunate reality is that when you pair the word ‘accuracy’ with ‘pedometer’ you’re bound to start some sort of fiery debate. Measuring steps is hard work and things get complicated when you add in the imperfections of technology, GPS signals, distinguishing between walking and driving and so on. It doesn’t matter whether you spend a thousand dollars or ten dollars on a pedometer – nothing will be 100% accurate.
That being said, you can be sure that any decent product will give you a good approximation of your steps so if you decide to choose any of the products on our list, you won’t need to worry too much! Just ensure you come into this with realistic expectations and you’ll be all set.
Comfort:
If you plan on buying a Pedometer, chances are you’ll be wearing it a lot, probably for weeks (and even months) on end. Obviously then comfort should be a key consideration for you to minimise any long-term discomfort. Lighter and more compact pedometers would be fantastic for not getting in the way of your daily activities while bulkier pedometers may get in the way and be noticed but could offer an easier experience whence it comes to readability.
But in any case, comfort is a subjective thing so what may be comfortable for us may not be for you – we suggest you think about this factor hard before making any purchases.
Functionality:
Going hand in hand with price, you should think carefully about what you are looking for in a pedometer. If you’re just looking for a device that can accurately measure your steps and nothing more, then you don’t need to fork out large sums for something by Fitbit or Garmin where you’ll probably not take advantage of their added functionalities (e.g. heart rate monitors).
Likewise, if you want all the fancier functionalities and want to store your data for the years to come, you’ll need to whip out a wad of cash to fulfil your needs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can’t I just use my smartphone’s GPS?
As our phones get fancier and lighter each year, you may be tempted to just download a step-tracker app and use your phone as a substitute for a pedometer. This is certainly a good idea on paper, but scientific research has conclusively shown that dedicated pedometers are far more accurate than any smartphone app.
This is not to say apps are entirely useless – it’s just that they just aren’t as good as a pedometer while wearability would be trickier if you intend to go for jogs and brisk walks.
Are they 100% accurate?
Absolutely not – no one device is guaranteed to give you full accuracy. This is a hugely complicated topic but in essence, you must understand that every step you take often has a different amount of energy applied to it. For instance, walking up hill or up a flight of stairs will require a lot of more energy than simply walking down a gentle slope – the number of calories burnt will vary based on this while this isn’t something your average pedometer can accurately account for yet.
That being said, more expensive options like Fitbit and Garmin are capable of linking your steps with your heartrate to the number of calories burnt so if you’re concerned with not just measuring your daily steps, you should consider those options.
