Customer Reviews
Not a bad deal 
2007-07-06
The digital caliper is nice but you can collect the same data in the same amount of time with a manual caliper and chart. The Myotape is convenient for doing your own accurate measurements.
Worked great, but then it broke 2007-06-07
Worked great, seemed really awesome but then it started blinking and making crazy noises and I would have to take out the battery just to make it stop. Now I'm on Amazon looking to buy another one.. grumble, grumble
Cheap Price, Cheap Performance 
2007-05-14
Before I begin this review I have to get this out there, this is my first body fat measuring unit I have used and It is possible that I'm not utilizing it the correct way. That being said, I read the manual and pamphlet that came with the unit over and over again and looked up as much information as I could online to find out how to get a consistent and accurate reading. So far I have used a ruler to measure from the same spot as much as possible and my readings still can vary 10% give or take. I feel like my readings fluctuate less the more I use it, but I don't really think they're all that accurate, just more of a point of reference. I guess you could say that I feel like I "got what I paid for" from this thing. I don't see many other appealing alternatives out there in this price range, so maybe this is the best you can get for $30. Be prepared to be frustrated in the begin using this thing, because you have to figure out how hard to squeeze the caliper and when to push the button that takes the measurement, this can be tricky. The measuring tape included with the unit is very useful however.
Who's Fat? 
2007-05-13
A little hard to take consistent readings but that's probably b/c it's hard to pinch the fat the right way. With practice though it gets easier. Key is consistency with the how/where you take the readings. Well worth the cost.
Not a Bad Gadget 2007-03-17
This probably isn't as good as the high-end body fat measurement devices, but for the price, it's pretty good. You kind of have to practice with it a few times to get consistent measurements, and the tricep measurement can be tricky if you're doing it yourself (I hold my arm up so the fat/skin is easier to reach), but all in all the total body fat is really close to my trainer's measurements, and he uses one of those expensive calipers. It also holds data for up to 3 people.
Works Perfectly if you are Detail Oriented 
2008-04-20
Back in the old days before they had scales and hand-held devices to measure your body fat percentage, you actually had to "pinch your skin" to figure out your body fat. Maybe you remember this from grade school? You can still do that if you want to! Here is a digital caliper, the Fat Track II.
First, how a caliper works in general. You pinch a portion of your skin up away from your body. The three locations are your thigh, your abdomen, and then an "upper area". For men the upper area is the chest. For women (for sort of obvious reasons) it has to be somewhere else, so they go with the back of their arm. This gives a general overall body fat measurement.
How can this work? Fat tends to line the inside of your skin. For example, that is why people who were obesely overweight, who then drop down to only "overweight" have "pouches". It is because they still have fat inside their skin and that fat is pulling the skin down. If you watch The Biggest Loser, you know that if you really do lose that fat, your skin tones up. You lose the pouch. The caliper is measuring the thickness of that fat layer against your skin.
The downside of this technique is it can be VERY hard to learn how to do. You have to pinch the skin in just the right spot to get it to fold. You have to measure that exact same spot each day, to keep the results consistent! If you measure one location one day, and another location the next, you aren't measuring apples to apples.
Plus if you are very overweight it might simply be hard to get the skin to pull out and fold. It might be tight against the underlying fat.
However, the only "real" test that is 100% accurate is to go to a health club with an underwater scale. You submerge your entire body (including your head) underwater and weigh yourself there. Since fat, muscle etc. has different densities, this guarantees that the scale can determine how much is fat. Most of us can't afford to do that!
How does this compare with the electrical current systems? The upside for the electrical current stand-on scales and hand-held measurers is that that they require no skill. You stand on it or hold it and your fat number is provided. The downside is that, since it involves an electrical current, your body needs to be conductive. If your feet are too wet, or lotioned, or too dry, the current won't conduct properly. Some people try those scales dripping wet or bone dry and then complain they don't work properly. Also, those scales tend to be expensive.
So this caliper has the advantage of being relatively cheap, and second only to the full submission technique in its POTENTIAL for accuracy. However, if you aren't good at measuring in the exact spot - or doing it with the right technique - it *cannot* be accurate. A system designed to measure fat at the upper thigh isn't going to work if you're using it on your lower thigh. A system designed to measure skin fold fat isn't going to work if you're using it on your muscle. So there is a LOT of room here for human error.
That all being said - if you take the time to learn about the areas you're measuring, and pay CLOSE attention to the spots you use, and are precise about how you fold, this can work amazingly well! In that sense, everything is far more "under your control" than with an electronic scale. The caliper is small and fits in your purse. It's cheap. It's very reliable and reproducible.
So in terms of potential and doing what it should, I give this a 5/5. But as a caveat - if you know you're just not a precise person, and won't pay that much attention to the details - I'd say buy a scale. The scale is FAR easier for most people, and is very accurate. Just have your feet medium moist and lotion free when you stand on it. Either way you should have SOME fat measurement device in your home. It is extremely critical in your goal of maintaining a healthy weight to know not just your "raw weight" but also how much of you is fat.
Pretty slick! 2008-02-12
I liked it a lot. It was as accurate as can be expected. A bit hard to administer on oneself, but after a bit you get the hang of it! I really like the tape measure, it is handy for all measurements.
A nice combination to evaluate ones fintness. 2008-01-03
Two items came in this package.
The first is the Body Fat Caliper.
Initially I found it a little quirky but once you get familiar with the procedure it is very simple to use. It is set up to determine percentage body fat based on three skin fold measurements. If you want to use the more involved seven measurement calculation it displays the caliper reading in millimeters which you can use to manually number crunch. Of course the more involved measurements generally require a second person taking the measurements.
The second item included is the Mayotape.
This is really handy when trying to measure yourself. The end of the tape has a securing point on one side of the handle. As you pull the tape out it will not spool back in until you give it a quick jerk (similiar to positioning a pull down window blind). So you make a big loop that you can put you arm through or put around your chest, give it a jerk and it sucks up around you. Then, simply take the measurement at the edge of the handle. It still requires a little dexterity but alot nicer to use and gives more consistant readings than a loose tape.
It would be nice if the package included a little more information on taking proper measurements but that is what the internet is there for.
It may have been good if it arrived 
2007-10-10
I never had the pleasure to use this device since it never arrived and the vendor made little effort to send me a new one. It arrived at a different location, in a different state, but the seller refused to send me another and made me file a claim for refund through Amazon which was very annoying.
Cheap and effective 2007-07-31
This was the cheapest body fat caliper measuring system I could find. It seems to be accurate and is easy to use. I feel I get much better results than the body fat measuring scale I was using.
