Does anyone here use these? I'm curious how well they work and how accurate they are.

Also interested on how the distance is actually calculated and if it needs to be on a certain part of your body. I've lightly red so far that it is pendulum based.

I have one of those in the drawer somewhere but I never really got into using it. It basically clips to your belt and it can detect through momentum shifts when you take a step. There is an adjustment dial on it, you set the dial to how big your average step is, and then it just does the multiplication and shows your total distance on the meter. I took one down to Comdex one year and it said I walked about 40km.

Just poked around at some... Yeah. They suck. While in the store, I tried one of the best ones there and it still miscounted. It told me i had taken 44 steps when I had only taken 37. That's a big margin of error in the step counting on its own, let alone the error in the actual distance calculation when hiking because of different length steps on varying grade and terrain.

Wait until GPS get more accurate then you can tell how far you have gone (but then of course elevation is a factor) - good luck - nothing is really all that accurate.

My GPS already is pretty accurate - within 5-6m alot of time. The biggest issue is if you are in a tree'd area. The reception of the GPS is crappy and not very good for getting an overall reading.

What kind of GPS are you using? Although they have improved the tree coverage thing is definately an issue. I had someone recently tell me that 10,000 steps is considered the ideal hike but come to think of it with the pedometer you got we could get and ideal 10,000 step workout with just 8,500 !!!!!!

I'm using a Garmin eTrex Vista. Bought the top of the line for that series. Makes absolutely no difference if you have the bottom model or the top model. Lotsa trees means dead weight. Mine's got a few other things like an electronic compass and barometric altimeter which is also nice. I have actually found that in heavier trees it actually uses the compass to help right itself (at least that what it looks like it is doing).

The tree issue has been a problem for a long time. It does seem to be getting better but will be interesting to see where things are going in the future.

Has anyone tried the eTrex Geckos yet??

My 76S is a mixed bag under tree cover. At the bottom of the Grouse Grind where there are very tall trees reception isn't a problem. Closer to the top where the trees are shorter it frequently loses reception. The amount of wetness in the tree cover makes a big difference as well. I'm gonna pick up an external antenna one of these days and see how that goes.

Those Geckos look cool, looks like they are after the consumer market... Games on board?!? oh no! what's next, custom downloadable error tones?