Omron Alvita Optimized HJ-321 Tri-Axis Pedometer Review

The Omron Alvita Optimized HJ-321 is a great pedometer for an excellent price for people who don't want or need a pedometer that syncs with an app. It uses an advanced tri-axis sensor to record your steps. It's small, silent, and you can wear it clipped to your waistband or carry it loose in your pocket or bag. It has a seven-day memory and estimates your calories burned, distance, regular steps, aerobic steps, and steps per minute.

How to Wear the Omron HJ-321

This pedometer is 3 inches wide and 1.25 inches high. It comes with a holder clip so you can wear it horizontally on your waistband. You aren't limited to wearing it there, as the mechanism is accurate in three dimensions, and it will count steps accurately even if it is tilted or positioned at an angle. You can slip it out of the clip and carry it in a pocket, bag, or pack, and it will still record steps correctly.

Setting the Pedometer

You will need to know your weight, height, and stride length to set the pedometer. There are various methods you can use to measure your stride length. The instructions suggest using the 10-step method: walk 10 steps with your normal stride and measure the distance from start to end in inches. Then you divide that number by 10.

You can choose between English and metric measurements for the display. Enter the time of day, which will allow the pedometer to reset at midnight and record each day's data.

The Current Display

The pedometer is always on, but the display powers down after five minutes if no button has been pressed. It has three buttons:

• Set: Used only when you are changing the settings
• Mode: Used in changing between the different data displays
• Mem: Used to review past days

The numbers on the display are large and easy to read, but the units next to them are very tiny. If you have aging eyes, you may not be able to make them out without reading glasses.

Data

These are the numbers you will see on the pedometer:

• Steps: Shows the steps taken since midnight of the current day.
• Distance: Miles or kilometers estimated from your step count and stride length.
• Calories burned: Estimated based on your weight, stride length, and steps per minute.
• Aerobic steps: Steps you took when walking at least 60 steps per minute and for more than 10 minutes. You are allowed a rest of less than one minute in those 10 minutes for the steps to be counted as aerobic steps. If you have a goal to achieve 30-60 minutes of moderate exercise per day (as recommended by health authorities), you can use aerobic steps as an indicator as to whether you are meeting that goal.
• Steps per minute (pitch): Shows you how you are performing for speed.
• Time of day.

What the Omron HJ-321 Pedometer Doesn't Do

This pedometer counts your total daily steps and total daily aerobic steps. You can't reset it so that it only counts steps and distance during a dedicated walking workout. This pedometer doesn't download data to a computer or mobile app.

Memory

You can review all the different data for each of the past seven days. Use the Mode button to select which data you want to see, such as the daily steps total, then press the Mem button to scroll back to the last seven days. This is a handy function if you want to log your steps but you procrastinate.

Bottom Line on the Omron Alvita HJ-321

This is a full-featured pocket pedometer. The styling is sleek, and it fits well on the waistband or in a pocket. The clip worked very well, and it was never lost from the waistband in weeks of wear by the reviewer. It didn't need an additional safety leash, but one is always a good idea. Similarly, there is a risk that the pedometer could slide out of the holder, but it never did during the review testing.

The step counts were comparable to accurate pedometers the reviewer wore on the same days. The price is excellent. Don't settle for an old, clicking, inaccurate mechanism when you can step up to the HJ-321.

Buy the Omron Alvita Optimized HJ-321 Pedometer at Amazon.com

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