Sportline 340 Strider Pedometer

3 Responses to Sportline 340 Strider Pedometer

1. 

   P. Scott Pope "Scott Pope" on March 9, 2011 at 10:52 am

   129 of 131 people found the following review helpful:

   
   Surprisingly Accurate, Excellent Value, May 8, 2005

   By 

   P. Scott Pope “Scott Pope” (Chicago, IL) –
   
     
   
     

   This review is from: Sportline 340 Strider Pedometer (Sports)

   After having little success using a $250 Timex Bodylink GPS watch (see review) in Manhattan, I decided to try this $15 pedometer. At first I was quite skeptical. However my tests showed the Sportline 340 Pedometer having astounding repeatability (better than 1%) and accuracy.

   Most pedometers, including this one, are very basic instruments. Inside the device, there is a balanced weight that is very sensitive to vertical motion. When clipped to your belt, it increments the counter as you step driven by the translation of one side of your waist.

   In order to test and calibrate the Sportline 340 Pedometer, I walked a very straight stretch of six Manhattan blocks. In the first group of tests, there were few sidewalk obstacles and minimal pedestrian traffic that impeded my movements. In order to be moderately scientific, I was certain to start and stop on the proper side of the street so the distance included exactly six stretches of cross street and six stretches of sidewalk.

   After four trips of walking the same path, my step counter showed an amazingly small range of 588 to 594 steps. When one considers the variables imposed, such as not always being able to walk completely straight, the results are even more impressive. As you can see from the data below, the accuracy was quite amazing. The difference from the mean never exceeded 1%. Given the simplicity of the pedometer, I didn’t expect this level of repeatability. Moreover, I didn’t expect my stride length to be so uniform.

   My hypothesis was that the exceptional accuracy may have been fostered, in part, by the shoes I was wearing. The Kenneth Cole Building Block shoes (see review) have very heavy soles and large heals. These may insure that the impact is harsh enough to always trigger the movement of the weight.

   On a second grouping of tests, I walked precisely the same path wearing my New Balance 620 cross trainers (see review). The conditions were not the same as the first group due to far more pedestrian traffic and other obstacles, which made it very difficult to walk in a straight line. In fact, one test had to be scrapped as I was nearly run over by a taxi. As you can see below, the second group produced a step count about 2% greater than the first group. Yet this was probably due to the unavoidable path changes.

   Considering that the pedometer is only calibrated in whole inches, the accuracy truly limited by the precision of the calibration settings. This means there is no difference in the two calibrations as both stride lengths would round to 32 inches.

   For the price, the Sportline 340 pedometer is an excellent piece of fitness equipment. If you enjoy low-impact exercise by walking, consider this device as an excellent tool for tracking your efforts.

   Pros
   Inexpensive
   Light
   Accurate

   Cons
   Lack of speed, time or other measurements
   Requires user to look down while tilting the device upward
   Possible inaccuracy caused by movement other than walking
   Needs greater calibration precision

   TEST DATA

   Experimental conditions:
   1) NYC Avenue N/S: Amsterdam from 73rd to 79th
   2) Measured distance on MS Streets and Trips 2005: .301 miles/1589 feet
   3) Calculated distance based on NYC grid: .300 miles/1584 feet

   Group1 – Wearing Kenneth Cole Building Block Shoes
   ________steps____diff from mean____calculated stride length
   Test 1____592____0.04%________32.22
   Test 2____593____0.21%________32.16
   Test 3____594____0.38%________32.11
   Test 4____588____-0.63%________32.43
   Average____591.8____________32.23
   Std Dev____2.6

   Group2 – Wearing New Balance 620 Cross trainers
   ________steps____diff from mean____calculated stride length
   Test 1____597____-0.75%________31.95
   Test 2____614____2.08%________31.06
   Test 3____595____-1.08%________32.05
   Test 4____600____-0.25%________31.79
   Average____601.5____________31.71
   Std Dev____8.6

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2. 

   Johanna on March 9, 2011 at 11:49 am

   27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

   
   Where o’ where has my little pedometer gone?, December 12, 2005

   By 

   Johanna (Brewster, NY United States) –

   This review is from: Sportline 340 Strider Pedometer (Sports)

   Great on accuracy (as long as it is level — like most pedometers). Only 3 stars, though, because the belt clip is not a full belt clip but a mere spring clip. Mine came off twice. It would have probably come off more than that except for the fact that I have not recovered it yet.

   For only a few dollars, it is well worth it; HOWEVER, be wary of your delivery charges. I was charged from Amazon’s third-party seller almost twice the cost of the pedometer for delivery. (It required no more than a small padded envelope and was sent via regular US mail.)

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3. 

   Book Boy "mmg" on March 9, 2011 at 12:39 pm

   18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

   
   Sucks!, May 8, 2006

   By 

   Book Boy “mmg” –

   This review is from: Sportline 340 Strider Pedometer (Sports)

   Initially, the 340 was way too sensitive to be even remotely accurate. It did, however, give my wife a good laugh; she was sure that at least 5000 of my 10000 ‘steps’ were registered while sitting perfectly still and clicking the TV remote. But after one week of use, the darn thing became so *in*sensitive that it would only register when I jumped up and down like a pogo stick. Pass on this one.

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