REASONS TO BUY
Large print display
Only one button
REASONS TO AVOID
No app interface
No daily sorting of data
3DFitBud Simple Step Counter Review
A simple, easy-to-use and read, step counter. No frills
3DFitBud Simple Step Counter
Credit: 3DActive Pro
RELATED: Best Pedometer
Our Verdict
In our rigorous testing, the 3DFitBud ends up at the bottom of the heap, mostly as a result of this device's simple design. That doesn't mean that it's terrible at its job. Our tested products are already the “cream of the crop” and that most of the low scores of the Simple Step Counter can be attributed to intentional design simplification. Given that, the FitBud is a worthy consideration for anyone looking to simply track their step count. For simplicity AND slightly higher accuracy, check out our Top Pick winning CSX Simple Walking 3D. For more robust data management, check out any of the other products in our comprehensive, comparative review.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
3DFitBud Simple Step Counter | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  Best for Overall |  Best Self-Contained Unit | |||
| Price | $25 List $23.99 at Amazon | $120 List | $25 List $24.99 at Amazon | $35 List | $27 List |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | The simplest sort of pedometer | A woman-specific step counter that collects a host of other data as well | An affordable, extensive, and autonomous pedometer with no need for a smartphone | An inexpensive, comprehensive pedometer for those that don’t need/want data managed on a smartphone app | A product that collects all the information that most will want, without the complication of a phone app |
| Rating Categories | 3DFitBud Simple Ste... | Bellabeat Leaf | Realalt 3D TriSport | OZO Fitness SC2 Dig... | Omron Alvita Optimized |
| Depth of Data (20%) | |||||
| Data Management (20%) | |||||
| Accuracy (20%) | |||||
| Ease of Use (20%) | |||||
| Portability (20%) | |||||
| Specs | 3DFitBud Simple Ste... | Bellabeat Leaf | Realalt 3D TriSport | OZO Fitness SC2 Dig... | Omron Alvita Optimized |
| % Accuracy | 97.3 | 94.5 | 99.1 | 90.8 | 99.2 |
| Battery Life | Approx. 1 year | Up to 6 months | Up to 1 year | Approx. 1 year | Information not available |
| Tracks Distance in addition to steps? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Needs additional device? | No | Yes, syncs with smartphone | No | No | No |
| Sync Style | n/a | Syncs wirelessly | No | n/a | n/a |
| Tracks Heart Rate? | No | No | No | No | No |
| User-entered data? | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Automatically enters sleep mode? | Yes | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A |
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Our Analysis and Test Results
The FitBud Simple Step Counter is just that. It is one of the simplest pedometers we have ever tested. In overall scoring, the 3DFitBud ranked the lowest. However, we only test the best of the best, so it exceeds the performance of average pedometers.
Performance Comparison
Walking in the woods is simple. Counting your steps can be too. The 3DFitBud is ultra simple.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Data Management
The 3D FitBud is a brilliant piece of equipment. It is a large-print display of an ever-accumulating count of one's steps, in a reasonable sized pocket-ready shape, with just one reset button on the back. It manages data very simply. You accumulate steps until you hit reset. You can then choose your own reset interval (10,000 steps in a day is a common benchmark, while others will do better with a weekly count). Most looking for this sort of motivation will hit reset and give no more thought to yesterday's performance.
Some will want to keep a hand-written journal of each day's count. If you want more automated step count, other products in our review are likely more suitable. App-enabled devices, for instance, automatically and digitally organize your daily step count, examples include the Fitbit Flex 2 and Bellabeat Leaf.
If you want a non-app-enabled device that tracks a more robust array of data — the 3D TriSport records distance, steps and calories burned on a daily basis, and records step data for the previous 30 days at a great price point. However, for absolute simplicity, the 3DFitBud and its doppelgänger the Top Pick award winner CSX Simple Walking 3D take the cake.
The large display of the 3DFitBud is clear and clean.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Depth of Data
The FitBud has one of the absolute smallest depths of data in our test. It records steps and only steps. The Simple Walking 3D is similar in this regard. Every other device records some other sort of data, whether it is mileage, sleep information, or user-entered categories like diet and menstruation. Again, this pedometer is among the simplest in terms of data tracked.
Accuracy
All the devices we tested, at a wide range of price points, use essentially the same step-counting technology. Compact digital accelerometer technology is fairly well-proven at this point. Each device uses a different algorithm to translate the raw movement information into a step count, but all seem to do so with reasonable accuracy. That being said, the objective Outdoor Gear Lab test of the accuracy of all our products revealed that the 3DFitBud had an average, to slightly above average accuracy rating.
With a step count that only varied from the actual by 2.7 percent, only three products exceeded the accuracy of this simple pedometer. Interestingly, one of those that bested the 3DFitBud seemed otherwise to be exactly the same construction and design. In most ways, including visual appearance, the CSX Simple Walking 3D was the same as the 3DFitBud. However, in side-by-side testing, the Simple Walking 3D proved to be much more accurate. It is for this reason that the 3DFitBud did not receive any awards in our review. It is as simple as the Top Pick Simple Walking 3D but not as accurate.
Testing the accumulating step attribute of the 3DFitBud on a day trip to Grand Teton National Park's Middle Teton peak. This is the step count just halfway through the day.
Credit: Jediah Porter
In terms of accuracy, other online reviews of the 3DFitBud are mixed. Some consumers report that their device counts way more steps than they actually take in a given time period. We had no such experience.
Ease of Use
A pedometer couldn't be easier to use. There is one button, the battery lasts a long time (we didn't test long enough to verify the manufacturers claimed one-year battery life, but we have no reason to believe it won't last that long) and the display is large and easy to read.
Portability
There are smaller devices, and there are devices with more carry options. However, the 3DFitBud is small enough to disappear into most pockets, and that is all that counts. Only those wearing tight clothes most of the time will notice these bulkier products and will want to opt for something smaller.
Even the tightest of pockets have room for the svelte shape of the otherwise relatively bulky Simple Step Counter.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Best Applications
This is an awesome product for someone with very simple data needs and a little pocket space to spare. If you want to know how many steps you've taken today, and nothing more, the 3D FitBud is perfect for you.
Value
The 3D FitBud is reliable and inexpensive. The battery is easily replaced, and the electronics will surely last a long time. We consider this a good value.
Conclusion
This is largely a great product. It is exactly tied in our scoring with the award-winning CSX pedometer. The only advantage the CSX had in our testing is a slight edge in accuracy.
—
Jediah Porter and Mary Witlacil
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