Pedometers are now much more accurate than yesterday, and now they pack in extra features. The egg-shaped ila Sport is a pedometer, milometer, and a personal safety alarm. The form factor fits in most hands comfortably, even at a decent run. It also has a belt clip for hands-free tracking of your walk or run. The ila Sport tracks steps, mileage and calories burned. The alarm is triggered with the push of a button.
A personal alarm is useful for running in semi-populated areas and in the dark. It’s only useful if someone is within earshot that is likely to call for help or venture toward the alarm to check on you. Of course many people often don’t react to an alarm if they don’t know what the alarm is. It is also surprising that the alarm trigger is a button, which may be easily pressed. Ila Security says the button is not one that will be depressed casually, even in the heat of a vigorous workout.
You can use the backlit display to check your progress in the dark. The handheld also stores information from past workouts so you can compare with last week’s run. It sells for about $35.