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(Followup note added 4/13/02: Our initial query is below. After reading everyone's advice we decided not to buy a pedometer for our original purposes. However, we found a cute little Brunton pedometer and we couldn't resist buying it. Our comments are the Brunton are posted at the end of the series of posts following this one.)
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(Original March 13 query)-
We would like to acquire a pedometer but don't know one pedometer from another. We'd prefer to take the advice of HAZ members. We suspect there was a topic on pedometers on the 'old' HAZ website. However, it was probably vapored the same way the one on altimeters was vapored. So, if you wouldn't mind passing along some of your wisdom, we'd sure appreciate it.

Some advance clarification:

There have been posts to the altimeter topic we started stating, in essence, 'why bother.' :roll: We appreciate those opinions. However, we will be spending 6 months in Utah this summer. We know from experience there last summer that our GPS doesn't work well (if at all) in the dense spruce-fir/aspen forest where we spend most of our time. (We do not have the option of returning the GPS.) We do not have mapping software and don't plan on getting it. Also, we're not in a position to burn AA batteries at will so we don't leave the GPS on and let it run. Most of our upcoming summer hiking will be 'off trail' with a rather inscrutable USFS map as a 'guide.' Hence, the need for an altimeter and a pedometer. (All of our Arizona hiking is 'on trail' and we need neither an altimeter nor a pedometer here. That's pretty obvious and the 'why bother?' shoe fits here.)

So, we'd appreciate your insights on pedometers with the knowledge that we have a genuine usage for one and really need some thoughtful advice on your recommended 'best' one to acquire. Thanks.

John and Susun in Rimrock

[quote='montezumawell']
Most of our upcoming summer hiking will be 'off trail' with a rather inscrutable USFS map as a 'guide.' Hence, the need for an altimeter and a pedometer. [/quote]

I would never rely upon a pedometer to do anything close to being accurate. I've played with a few and found them to be crap. Perhaps someone else has had better luck. Short of taking along one of those survey wheels, I think the most appropriate thing to do would be.

1. take some data on your hiking rates. If you know you will be hiking off trail, do it somewhere where you are familiar with distance...for example...find a forest road...pick a starting point, mark it somehow....drive the car a mile(or a half mile, or two miles..whatever)...park and then get off the road and hike back to where you can see the starting mark....ideally you would do this on a long straight section...track how long it took you....that will give you a general idea of how long it takes you to travel a certain distance....that way you can rely upon an accurate watch rather than a pedometer. I know that I can cover a mile in x amount of time. I know that if I am off trail, it takes me x + some to travel the same distance...I know how much longer it will take me to go up rather than down. Know yourself and your ability.

2. learn how to read a map. even if you are using dated usgs topos, they are still accurate enough to get you from point a to point b...unless the area is totally devoid of geological features, you can get a baring on something!

3. if you know the area you will be exploring, and will be there for as long as you say, I would find the 'border' roads. I'd drive the perimeter of where I was going to be playing, so I'd have an idea of where to go in the event that I needed help. If you can find a road, you can find help.

for me, these are issues of safety, which is something I don't mess around with at all.

hope this is of some assistance

Think a pedometer would be highly inaccurate for hiking. You first have to calibrate a pedometer by walking a measured distance using your normal stride and you need to do this several times for true accuracy. Once the pedometer is set to your normal stride, it will give you a fairly accurate reading wlking over flat, paved terrain of the same type you used to calibrate it. Your hiking stride is to varied to do this.

I have had the same experences with pedometers as evenstarx3. For navigation, I mainly use a compass and a USGS topo map. I have been able to locate targets from seven miles away (USGS benchmarks, graves etc) level terrain and two miles, mountain terrain. You can also locate features on the map and correlate them with the terrain. Good Luck.

I have used a fairly decent walking pedometer while hiking and found it to be very inaccurate as well. As stated before, pedometers are set to a preset stride distances, so that step you take up onto a six inch rock is counted as three feet of distance, just like one step would be counted on a level surface. I believe that there is technology to make an accurate pedometer for rough terrain, only it will probably cost the same as a good GPS and you would probably have to wear some type of electromagnetic detectors down the length of your legs with electric underwear or some such thing.

GTG

Here we go guys, this group will be sure to appreciate this....yes as with most things these days, the world of pedometers has gone virtual....
check out-
http://www.sportbrain.com

I got comped one of these during a promotional push for the product, but havent actually had a chance to try it out. I will get it set up and hit the trail then let you know what I think....
Part of the appeal to me was being able to set the pod in its cradle and it downloads all your stats to your personal workout web page online, I am also very interested to see how it tracks calorie burn...mmm, I am reading and it says 'earn rewards for your achievements..', does that mean spam email offers?
LOL
More later as my research develops.
Sande J

After due deliberation, the pedometer vedict is in: we won't be using one for hiking this summer. The members HAZ spoken and they were unanimous in their aversion to pedometers for usage on the trail. Thanks to all who took time to post their opinions. In the process, we did learn a lot of interesting things about pedometers:

There is a robust market for pedometers on Ebay. Probably 100 listed at any given time. The New Haven is the favorite 'antique' model.
Brunton and Silva make both digital and 'analog' (mechanical) models. You can buy talking pedometers, personal safety pedometers and, as SandeJ noted, pedometers that download to your computer. Weight Watchers, Avon and various other such organizations co-brand pedometers. They are mostly used for people who like to count their 'daily steps.' Apparently, 6,000 steps is a pretty normal day. Get up around 10,000 steps and you are in the 'fitness' range. As GTG noted, there's no way a pedometer could be useful on a trail unless you wore a digital body suit with complex onboard calibrators for 'trail roughness co-efficients.'
It wouldn't surprise us to see PDA's and pedometers merge someday as it appears pedometers are mostly an urban phenomena. One can also find a plethora of pedometer perspectives by using your search engine and simply typing in 'pedometer.' So, it appears as if the pedometer case is closed for the time being and, once again, we appreciate your opinions!

John and Susun in Rimrock

I find that the Casio works reliably on all sorts of terrain if set properly. It would always be within + or - 10% of the real trail mileage.

After reading all of the above posts we forgot about pedometers for awhile. Inadvertently, we stumbled onto a sweet deal on a Brunton pedometer from an online outdoor retailer in Texas. It was $20 including postage and a bullet proof 30-day return policy. Heck, that's cheaper than most pedometers sell for on Ebay with no return policy! We couldn't resist just to see what one would be like. As chance would have it, the Brunton arrived as we were leaving for several days of day hiking up at the South Rim.

We didn't bother calibrating the Brunton for our stride. In the meantime, we have found two features so endearing that we are definitely keeping the little thing. It barely weighs an ounce and it's a smart little bugger.

We like looking at our total steps along the trail. It also has a feature we didn't expect. It calculates our total hiking time. No, not total elapsed time but actual walking time. So, let's say you stop for a water break or stop to talk to some other hikers. The little pedometer stops doing its thing, too, both in terms of counting steps AND measuring time for those steps. So, when you get to your destination, you can see your total elapsed time on your wrist watch and then look at your pedometer and see your actual walking time. The difference between the two is your total 'time of stops,' so to speak. We checked this feature out on five different hikes and its time calculation is 'right on.'

We think the total steps feature is pretty nifty. As an example, we took 13, 098 steps to get down to Indian Gardens but only 11,303 back up! It's interesting that our actual walking time (not total ET) back up from Indian Gardens was only 12 minutes more than our actual walking time going down there. Most interesting!

It's pretty obvious that we could play around calibrating the little thing and, as Sid notes above, get the mileage to within 10%, plus or minus but we're having so much fun with the step counter and the timer we don't much care anymore about what kind of mileage it calculates.

We've begun to keep written records of our total steps and total walking time for each of our hikes. We're making notes as to treadway type and condition, type of topography, trail congestion and weather conditions. Eventually, we're pretty certain we will be able to interpolate our steps and actual walking time to come up with some reasonably accurate distance estimations.

If you're interested in the vendor who sold us this pedometer you can send us a PM and we will send you their URL.

Here's an interesting note. We checked Mangum's first edition of Sedona Hikes published in 1992 and noted that he said all of his distances were calculated with a pedometer. We checked his 6th edition where mileages have been calculated off of topos and with a GPS and there isn't that much difference between the two editions. Most interesting!

Anyway, taken for what it's worth and taken within its inherent limitations, this Brunton pedometer is flat out FUN and well worth the twenty bucks.

J&S in RR

(post transferred)

I have been wanting to pick one up lately to hopefully keep track of speed and mileage. I haven't heard anyone mention using one yet. I'm looking for some suggestions and any available "consumer reports".

I have also been curious as to my mileage at work. Sure seems like I get a workout between buildings and up/down those stairs.

Thanks as always.

Thanks Joe (or whomever).

I knew it was pretty much voodoo to begin with, but getting within 10% isn't a big deal to me. I just want to get a general idea of mileage on new trail hikes. I don't want or need a GPS right now. I'd rather spend 35 bucks right now as opposed to whatever for a GPS.

Well, here's a followup--posted since this topic somehow bubbled back to the top of the list. We'd forgotten it even existed. As noted above, we bought a Brunton for our summer trip. We liked it a lot until it broke. Have no clue what caused it to break. Travel stress, maybe. Anyway, we got around to emailing Brunton about their warranty. They sent an email reply and told us to print their reply and send it along with the ped and five bucks. No receipt necessary, apparently. They took FOREVER to mail another one back to us. It arrived the day we were leaving Gold Beach for points south. Anyway, we are now using it again. Since it broke about 30 days into our 126 day string of hikes, we can't really say much for how it worked out over a whole summer. We now wonder how long this one will hold up. Luckily, we didn't put too much emphasis on the thing, especially after reading everyone's opinions here. Thanks

J&S

Thanks for the (added) info guys. I'll look at these Bruntons and see if there are any competitors yet. I'll report back when I have one and it's tested.