Accu-Measure Body Fat Caliper

Ok so.. first I started with an electrical impedance scale that measures body fat through your feet. What a piece of crap! The readings mine as well been a stock price they were so all over the board. The fat % of electrical impedance is completely useless and unreliable. So then I went to my local body building protien shop and they had one set of calipers which is electronic kind of.. it doesn't use impedance.. it measures like these but has a digital screen that tells you the body fat % so you don't have to calculate. I paid like $35 for them. These were better but I was still getting readings that fluctuated 1-3% on body fat. This is because there is a button that senses pressure to finalize a reading and basically the sensitivity of that button isn't all that great. These do work pretty well and are WAY more accurate than my first scale. So then I said, well screw it for a few bucks I could try these simple calipers, use both and compare and maybe average them to get an accurate measure. To my amaze there is no reason to even do that because these are the most accurate, hands down. I can measure my body fat 3 times in a row and get the same body fat %. The other two devices fluctuate, these don't. Sometimes simple is the best and this is one of those cases. If you want to measure your body fat accurately, get these. Skip the springs, skip the electric devices and keep it simple! Having an accurate reading was paramount for me because I want to track my week over week progress. It helps me keep motivated in the gym and these do the trick! Also, they are much more durable and compact than expected. Highly Recommended!

It is pretty straight forward and easy to understand as it comes with a chart to calculate the body fat percentage. The sheet comes with a simple paper that should be of great quality or laminated. The plastic material is cheaply made but this caliper does it job well.

Pros -Still Working great after 2.5 years -It comes with a very helpful chart that allows one to accurately check body fat -Very easy to use -The Clicker on the side helps gauge how hard to pinch -Inexpensive Cons -Questionable accuracy* *I was trying to gain weight intentionally, and finally did. I went from 135-151 lbs. Well, my reading did not change at all, and I mostly gained fat. Now, I am not a health professional or a personal trainer, so anyone with more knowledge on this subject I am open to enlightenment! Overall, its a great tool to have around if you are concerned with monitoring body fat and are not too obsessed with pinpoint accuracy.

Getting a measurement is difficult and the results, although are clearly trending in the right direction, are inconsistent. Within one session, I can get my body fat measurements such as 10%, 12.5%, 11%. So at any given time you are not sure what it is with an "accuracy" flux of 25%. The ease of use is quite good as it "clicks" once you apply correct pressure. I am still using it because it is inexpensive and probably better than the bathroom scale, which shows my body fat percentage as 16-17% consistently, as that measurement is affected by water retention.

The Accu-Measure Body Fat Caliper is a great starter set of body fat calipers. I purchased these calipers for a personal goal and I am writing this review after 3 weeks of continued use. The calipers have kind of allowed me to focus more intently on my fat, instead of my weight... so I thought it was appropriate to take the time to share my thoughts. My Current Favorite (and only ^_^) Calipers: Accu-Measure Body Fat Caliper I did my research before buying these calipers and found the main qualities you should look for are a solid build and consistent measurements. This being my first time purchasing body fat calipers, I am very happy with the product quality. The build is solid, with no wobbling or lose connectors. In use, there is an audible distinctive "click" sound that makes it easy to determine when you have reached your measurement. Over the past three weeks, I have discovered that while the Accu-Measure calipers are consistent, they can be difficult to use when there is even the slightest bit of moisture. I would not recommend taking your measurements with these, directly after a workout. Due to this, the only way I believe I could improve on this design, would be to add a texture to improve grip. However, for roughly $7, there is only so much one may expect. In summary, I definitely recommend the Accu-Measure Body Fat Caliper. The product is portable, effective, and I can count on consistency in my results.

While the product details state these calipers are metal/stainless steel they are in fact of a very cheap plastic. I won’t comment on the accuracy as I don’t know yet, but just know you didn’t find a great deal on a high quality set. You do get what you pay for I guess. I suspected they would be due to the price. But the description needs to be updated to match an honest description of the item.

I'm a fitness professional and I have a Slim Guide caliper which I really love. However for testing myself I found that sometimes it is a bit more awkward taking my own readings. The Accu-Measure is really ideal for doing this because it has a slider on it that moves to the final measurement. This way I'm not having to contort my body trying to take the reading. While it looks somewhat flimsy, so far the Accu-measure seems durable enough for home use. I had actually purchased one for my son earlier in the year because he needed an inexpensive caliper for a nutrition class he was taking at his University. He had good things to say about the Accu-measure so I decided to buy one for myself for my personal caliper testing. I will say that the 'single site' test is probably not a very reliable indicator of actual body-fat. I'd recommend using at least a 3 site test (and there are tons of free online calculators for the Jackson/Pollock 3 site test).Still, even a one site test will still show relative differences so it can still be useful. Just be aware that males and females tend to store fat in different places and therefore have a different body fat percentage overall. Hignly Recommended!

Despite the reviews or websites that say you can not get repeatable reading with a simple instrument like this I find that with some care I can. I usually take 3 or 4 measurements together and discard any outliers. Ther rest of the readings are usually very close to each other. And, I seem to be able to find the same spot, and measure the same distance from where I am pinching myself to get pretty consistent results. So I'm happy with this. The only thing I'm not happy with is that it still shows the same amount of body fat as when I started, but I could have guessed that just by looking in the mirror or at the scale. Now that I have said that, maybe I should explain why I even think owning something like this has any value. When doing aerobic activities like running or bike riding (and lots of others things too) while trying to lose weight it can become easy to under eat too much and lose muscle mass instead of fat. So if you are losing weight but find the caliper still shows the same reading, assuming you have been able to get readings you feel are accurate, that would suggest you need to increase your calorie intake (often it's more protein that is needed). The caliper helps not so much as how many inches or centimeters it shows, but how the reading changes, or not, over time. This is how you find if you weight lose is hurting or helping, before waiting until it becomes obvious by other indications (like having noticeably lower strength or energy). All this is in my opinion of course.