Omron HJ-321 Tri-Axis Pedometer Review

The Omron HJ-321 is a great pedometer for an excellent price. It uses an advanced 3D 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, aerobic steps, and steps per minute.

This pedometer is three inches long and 1.5 inches wide. It comes with a holder clip so you can wear it horizontally on your waistband. But the mechanism is accurate in three dimensions, and will count steps accurately even if it is tilted or lying 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.

You will need to know your weight, height and stride length: how to measure your stride length. 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 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 and I can't make them out without reading glasses.

Data

• 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, 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 it Doesn't Do

This pedometer counts your total daily steps and total daily aerobic steps. You can't reset it so it only counts steps and distance during a dedicated walking workout.

This pedometer doesn't download data to a computer or mobile app.

You can review each of 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 through the last seven days. This is a handy function if you want to log your steps but procrastinate.

Bottom Line on the Omron HJ-321

I liked this full-featured pocket pedometer. The styling is sleek and it fits well on my waistband or in my pocket. I was amazed at how well the clip worked, as I used it for weeks without adding a safety leash and I never lost it from my waistband. Similarly, there is a risk that the pedometer could slide out of the holder, but it never did.

I found its counts to be comparable to accurate pedometers I wore on the same days. The price is excellent. Why pay the same for an old, clicking, inaccurate mechanism? Step up to the HJ-321.

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.