With so many different pedometers and pedometer watches on the market it makes it difficult to decide exactly which pedometer watch might be right for you. This article is here to assist you in determining which pedometer watch might best suit your particular needs. We’re not going to suggest any particular brands here because we’ve already done that in the Top 5 Best Pedometer Watches article but here is some advice that will help you make your own educated decision:
What are you going to use the pedometer for?
First and foremost it is a good idea to sketch out what exactly you need the pedometer watch for. Do you think you will be tracking your daily steps as you casually walk around the house, neighborhood, and office? Are you thinking about establishing a regimented work-out routine that involves daily or weekly running sessions that you want to track? Or maybe you are having a bit of heart trouble and need to keep track of your heart rate at all times during the day.
Figuring this out is the first step because it will determine what kind of functions and qualities you will be looking for in a pedometer watch. Different watches have different features and they range widely across the brands. You’ll find some watches that will just be able to track your daily steps and have no features that allow for dedicated tracking like daily stats storage memory.
It is also not really a common feature for pedometer watches to have the heart rate monitor built in. Touch and finger pads need to be affixed to these watches and you’ll want to find one that fits comfortably on you and doesn’t slip off.
If you’re looking for all of these features in one watch, you can expect to pay a little bit more for it which brings us to the second step in the choosing process.
How much are you willing to spend for a pedometer watch?
I’ve seen pedometer watches with price tags from $20 to $200. You will have to try and balance feature sets with your budget. It is pretty common for the more expensive brands to have the most features. Some of the really expensive ones even allow you to upload data onto your computer so that you can easily keep track of it with spread sheets and similar programs.
The cheaper watches will have fewer features. Most of the really cheap ones will just tell the time and count your daily casual steps. They won’t be able to establish a dedicated track routine or give you progress reports and updates in any way. Keep in mind also that the more expensive a watch gets the more accurate it will be.
Cheap brands will miscalculate your stepping pattern pretty often and they will be too sensitive or not sensitive enough so it will be tough to know exactly how much you have been walking in any given day.
What does the watch look and feel like?
Last you will want to see how the watch looks and feels on your wrist. Once you have found a few different brands that match your feature and price criteria you should try them on in all of the different color schemes you can find. Some watches will only have one color scheme of course but others will have many (I’ve seen some even in hot pink.)
Try and make sure the watch is both aesthetically pleasing as well as comfortable on your arm. The last thing you want to do is get discouraged from working out because you don’t like the way your watch looks or because whenever you put the watch on it digs into your wrist bone and makes you uncomfortable for the few hours you’ll be using it.
Just try and make the most reasonable choice. Don’t necessarily jump at the most expensive feature rich brands right away; try to think about your purchase for a little bit. Your pedometer watch is going to be with you for a while so you want to make sure you like it as much as you can.
Good luck and have fun working out.
