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Outdoor Section => Outdoor Tech => Topic started by: Grant Lamontagne on September 06, 2016, 02:52:26 AM

Title: Pedometers?
Post by: Grant Lamontagne on September 06, 2016, 02:52:26 AM
Does anyone use them? If so, what kind?

My Pebble watch has a built in pedometer as does my phone.  At the end of the day the numbers are (usually) reasonably close so I assume they are both fairly accurate.

I was thinking if anyone else has or uses a pedometer it might be fun to start an MTO pedometer group, where we can compare everyone's daily counts.

Any thoughts?

Def
Title: Re: Pedometers?
Post by: Outback in Idaho on September 06, 2016, 07:31:56 AM
  Got a cheap-o from the Veteran's Admin medical center, junk Chinese things. The first 10 steps aren't recorded. It was several hundred steps under the Fitbit. Since I merchandise in a store I have a lot of short walking cycles that it won't record because it needs 10 steps to activate. When I used steps to climb up and down they don't get registered till after 10 steps or so, if any. Nothing for elevation.

  I use a Fitbit Charge HR but isn't not very accurate if I'm pushing carts with my dominate hand - but would work great in the pants pocket or ankle. It also measures how far I climb in flights/steps. So when I'm on my knees working, then stand up, those get recorded. When I use a top shelf ladder-cart and climb up to get merchandise off the top, and and I'm up & down, those get counted. Fitbit also tells me how high I climbed, and when I reach a certain goal it gives me a silly badge award to share. :rofl:  If I hit 10,000 steps (goal) it vibrates and fireworks go off, or some fan fare. It also measures how much activity I've done in any certain hour, and gives calories burned.
  What I like most about this Fitbit is that it records how long I slept and how many times I was restless in the night. :tu:

  Have pre-ordered for the new Fitbit Charge 2 which has a larger screen, more activities and features, and more battery life. It also can use the phone's GPS too. This model can help you plan serious outing goals, like climbing mountains, trails, and such. Don't have all the details yet. Oh, and there's a new activity prompter to get you moving every hour to walk 250 steps, something like what Jawbone had on theirs.

  Someone on Fitbit's forum suggested the Fitbit Zip that one wears around their neck as a pedometer. It's fairly cheap, but I wonder about all these radio frequencies around certain key parts of my body. Short term exposure might not be a big deal,but what of long term? :think:

  Switched over to Verizon last night and bought an older Samsung Galaxy S4. This phone has all the sensors inside. It's got some sort of activity thing built into it but I haven't gotten into it yet.
Title: Re: Pedometers?
Post by: Grant Lamontagne on September 06, 2016, 12:32:40 PM
Probably S Health. I use that a lot to track my walking, cycling, heart rate etc.  It works quite well, at least in my experience.

It kind of works like Fitbit, but doesn't offer you the chance to challenge your friends directly, although it will compare you to other men in your age group in the area that is it so you get an idea of how you compare to the average.

Def
Title: Re: Pedometers?
Post by: Sea Monster on September 09, 2016, 07:47:51 AM
All I can say is you'll be happier without one  :)

Just another thing not to worry about in a day.

Title: Re: Pedometers?
Post by: PTRSAK on September 09, 2016, 08:53:17 AM
I just use S Health in my Galaxy S7. The S5 version was simple, just gave a step count, this new one tends to want to record it as "minutes of walking".
I must dig around in the settings and get it sorted out. I like raw data.
Title: Re: Pedometers?
Post by: Outback in Idaho on September 09, 2016, 11:17:30 AM
I just use S Health in my Galaxy S7. The S5 version was simple, just gave a step count, this new one tends to want to record it as "minutes of walking".
I must dig around in the settings and get it sorted out. I like raw data.

  Wished I had the big bucks to spend like you big guys do. I was pitching a fit cause I had to spend money on another phone. Should of went Verizon in the first place... Straight Talk's unlimited data was what persuaded me though I rarely used much, mostly GPS mapping for the government job. Straight Talk over sold the other carrier's lines and in retaliation Verizon kicked Straight Talk off to the far towers in the boonies.

  Was looking at phones and almost went for an HTC Desire since it supported Mini SD Cards up to 200GB, and a few other features. Saw the S4 there and there was only two left in stock. Me, I like sensors! So grabbed the S4 even though it's one OS version down from the Grand Prime I was using, though I also prefer a more manageable screen size like the S4, and the S4 was probably as close as I was to ever getting to a Moto G or X. (Have always had the best longevity & performance with Motorola, but now they are made by Lenovo.)

  Only bad thing about the S4 is that the sucker overheats fast. The Grand Prime also overheated but I thought that was more due to the much longer screen size. Also the battery doesn't last as long as I'd of hoped. It's the same battery at in the Grand Prime. Though am supposed to have a Mophie Juice Pack coming in ... that should give me almost twice the battery power. Unsure if I can use a tempered glass screen cover with that extended battery case or not.

  As for comparison with the Fitbit, well... I don't carry the phone around with me in the house so there's a difference in steps. If someone had a pair of Kangaroos they could put the pedometer in one of the side pockets and bet set - providing they didn't forget about it being there. :ahhh
Title: Re: Pedometers?
Post by: Grant Lamontagne on September 11, 2016, 12:29:54 AM
I just use S Health in my Galaxy S7. The S5 version was simple, just gave a step count, this new one tends to want to record it as "minutes of walking".
I must dig around in the settings and get it sorted out. I like raw data.

I believe all Samsung phones were updated to the new version of S Health- I use it fairly often with my S5 as it records my biking and walking, in distance, elevation, steps (if applicable) duration and so on, as well as my heart rate.  It can track a lot more too, like diet and water consumption, but I prefer the things that it does automatically because I never remember to enter things in.  It also tracks it with a GPS so you can look at your route on a map, which is also nice.

As for other phones, well, there are hundreds of apps in the Play Store that will do the exact same thing- Endomoto comes to mind.  I have never tried any of them mind you, so I can't really comment on them, as the only time I have had fitness trackers on my phone were when I have had Samsung phones- I had an S3 before the S5.

But, judging by how many Endomoto posts I see on FB from a variety of friends, I would imagine it works reasonably well.

Def
Title: Re: Pedometers?
Post by: Gerhard Gerber on September 12, 2016, 02:34:37 PM
I was just wondering why folks use these?  Motivation?
Title: Re: Pedometers?
Post by: Grant Lamontagne on September 12, 2016, 04:55:01 PM
I use it mostly to track how active I am being, so I know when I am starting to be overly lazy.  The typical goal is 10,000 steps per day, and when I finish a day at 4300 I feel bad.  :P

I also need to lose about 30 lbs, so daily goals can help a lot.

Def
Title: Re: Pedometers?
Post by: Gerhard Gerber on September 16, 2016, 02:21:34 PM
Found this interesting: https://www.wired.com/2016/09/told-smarsmurfches-actually-getting-good/
Title: Re: Pedometers?
Post by: Grant Lamontagne on September 16, 2016, 11:16:48 PM
Consider yourselves warned, you may have to fix the above link to view it.  It contains the word smarsmurfch, which will have to be edited to it's original version to be read!

Def
Title: Re: Pedometers?
Post by: ryan1835 on September 21, 2016, 10:50:08 PM
a measly 7,411 steps today  >:(

Title: Re: Pedometers?
Post by: Grant Lamontagne on September 22, 2016, 04:20:28 AM
5743 for me, but then I had my phone on charge for a while today too. 

My watch says 5835 so maybe I wasn't as active as I thought!   :ahhh

Def
Title: Re: Pedometers?
Post by: wonderwolf on October 04, 2016, 12:30:32 AM
I was just wondering why folks use these?  Motivation?

In my previous line of work we had challenges for how many steps we took each day (UPS Delivery guy) and the guys who had the fit bits would keep track and write down their numbers. The challenge was to get more steps in than management did....which I think was just a ploy so everybody could write them off on their taxes.

I wouldn't mind getting a fit bit/watch set up to track my activity. I like to keep track of how active I am with my work and running etc. I'm not sure if they act like a race clock or not but I would like to know the distance I run and my pace is.  Only bad thing is I don't have a smart phone yet and I hear that is kind of the thing that makes it really usable.