GeoPalz “Walk to Win” Review

ABOUT:

GeoPalz came about after the creators were sick of seeing kids glued to the tv and computer screens.  In an effort to motivate kids to get up and active, an idea that if children could convert their activity into points that can be redeemed for free stuff would be great motivation to get up!

GeoPalz is a simple 2-D pedometer that tracks users steps throughout the day.  The steps are then logged on their GeoPalz profile (future versions will not require manual logins.)  Coming soon, GeoPalz will send an email to the parent with the child’s progress.

How GeoPalz Works:

• Wear the GeoPal and it starts counting your steps
• At the end of the day log your steps on GeoPalz.com to earn points
• Each step you take moves you further along the map of GeoPalz world where you can see upcoming prizes and awards.
• Every mile walked is a point that you can then trade in for free Baseball Equipment, Hacky Sacks, Frisbees, Soccer Balls, games and more!

MY THOUGHTS:

I have always been fascinated by pedometers, because I am always curious how many steps I walk in a day.  When I remember I do wear a pedometer, even if its just around the house – it motivates to walk more because I want to beat my previous days count.  My boys are always curious about my pedometer and want their own.  GeoPalz is great for them, although the registration page does start at ages 5 and up.  The pedometer comes in a little case that has a belt hook to attach it to your pants or pockets.  I also love all the great designs for GeoPalz and that they constantly come out with new designs.

Using the GeoPalz is easy, just reset it each morning (or whenever) to zero by pushing a button and attach it to yourself.  At the end of the day you do (or your child) does have to input the steps the pedometer says onto the GeoPalz website.  I am not a big fan of this because it is one more thing for me to remember every day but I did read that future GeoPalz will eventually not require you to login every day to manually input your steps.

Each step counts and you accumulate points.  Prizes are small such as GeoPalz branded items (balls, frisbees, small toys) and go up to gift cards.  For example, 500,000 steps is a $5 Target gift card which when you click on the prize it does give a fact like “Did you know that you can win this prize in just 499,957 steps in 34 days?”  I also loved that I left the website open and when I went back it gave me, or should I say my son Gavin, a message about getting up and moving!

Overall, I think GeoPalz is a great toy for kids.  Well they think its a toy and parents can rest assure that their kids are moving about because really what kid doesn’t want freebies!  Gift cards and small toys are great motivators and you can even make it a game for kids to see how many steps they can walk or even healthy sibling competition.  Kids can even earn online awards for walking so many steps (Did you know that 250,000 steps is 100 Miles!)  Oh and the website even tells you how many calories were burned from walking!  Even if you didn’t want to use the GeoPalz website, they are still great pedometers for kids to use (especially if they want to copy mom and dad’s pedometer!)  Adults can use it too, I am actually sharing this will my sons right now!  I also don’t see anything from a kid lying when inputting the steps they took each day onto the GeoPalz website, but you could just make sure that no matter your kids age you have them give you the pedometer each night to input for them or just trust them.

BUY IT: GeoPalz can be purchased for $19.99 directly from the GeoPalz website.

Mom and More Disclosure: I was sent this product to review in exchange for my honest opinion. Please see my Disclosure Policy.