Calorie Jump skipping rope review

10 June 2004 17:46 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Skipping can be one of the best aerobic exercises you can do. But counting the skips and then working out what that means in a calorific sense can be a pain. Likewise if you're not very good at skipping, trying to work to a training schedule when you keep on hitting the rope can be frustrating.

In steps the Calorie Jump skipping rope from scales giant Tantia. Imbedded into one of the hands is a small computer that will track the number of jumps you do per workout and calculate the calories burned, and skips made. All you have to do is enter your weight in at the beginning and the rest is done for you.

How does it know how many skips? The handle containing the computer has a rotating end, for every revolution this goes through one jump is added to the counter, of course this means that you can if you want cheat quite easily, but then as the saying goes you will only be cheating yourself and you won't look like Lennox Lewis anytime soon.

The handles are made from blue transparent plastic giving them a lightweight but cheap feel. However the LCD is clear enough and large enough to be read at a glance. However the 10 meter rubberized rope means that this will suit the tallest of people looking to get fit.

Verdict

As we said at the beginning, skipping is one of the best exercises there is - boxers don’t do it for fun - and this rope will allow you to quantify how well you are doing without having to worry about skipping for a set time and then worrying about calculating the amount of time you were stopping and starting because you missed a jump. Great for counting the jumps but not so sure about the need to count calories unless you had an accompanying diet plan. That would tell you how many calories you had to burn off in the first place.

This unit was kindly loaned to us by www.paramountzone.com

Score

Review Recap

Made by: Tanita
Price as reviewed: £15
The good: Adjustable rope, ability to count jumps, cheap
The bad: Can easily cheat, handles feel cheap
Quick verdict: Great for counting the jumps but not so sure about the need to count calories.
Score