Sprenzy Shopping Blog

Last week, I mentioned the Garmin Forerunner and the iPod Nano with the Nike+ Sport Kit as great fitness gadgets to motivate more exercise. The only problem is both fitness tools can be expensive at $150+ each. For under $50, an alternative solution is the Silva Accelerator Series Speed and Distance Pedometer Watch.

The Silva Tech40 Accelerator Series Watches come in hiker, runner and fitness designs, which are different aesthetically but offer the same functionality. The watches offer the basics of any sport watch (chronograph, countdown timer, alternative time zone and daily alarm mode) along with a pedometer that captures speed and distance.

From Silva USA, the pedometer features…

• Highly accurate step counter with adjustable sensitivity allows users to tune the sensors to their individual walking style. Doctors everywhere are now recommending 10,000 steps a day to maintain a healthier lifestyle.

• All sensors are contained in a simple wrist watch. That means no funny looking mechanical belt clips or funky shoe pods.

• Get off the beaten path! Free yourself from mileage markers at the track or trail! Pick a new route every day! The Accelerator can automatically distinguish between running and walking, and can calculate your average speed, distance, caloric expenditure, and total exercise time.

• The Accelerator has a delayed step counter feature that differentiates between ancillary movements and actual steps. This feature provides users with the most accurate results by delaying calculation until it has registered 10 steps in a row to eliminate overly sensitive step counting.

• The smart scheduling features allows users to set the pedometer to automatically start/stop counting steps at a predetermined time every day, so you’ll never forget to turn it on.

I really like the fact the pedometer is built into the watch and doesn’t require an external shoe pod. Additionally, the watch offers a personal profile where users can choose between metric or imperial units and enter their weight, running and walking stride lengths. Silva claims a 95+% accuracy for their pedometer, which is very good for a wrist mounted pedometer watch.

Based on the specs, my only complaint is the watch doesn’t display your pace (e.g. 7 minute mile pace). It does display your speed (e.g. 6 MPH), which you can covert to pace yourself. To learn more about the watch, check out the interactive user guide for the accelerator series.

The bottom line is the Silva Tech40 Accelerator Series Watches are a simple and affordable alternative to take your walking, hiking or running to the next level.