I'm reading in the reviews that the Zip may only have a two month battery life?

I replace the batteries about once every six months. I can't give you exact times since I don't record the dates that I change the batteries, but I'm pretty sure I've never changed more than twice in any calendar year. When I thru-hiked the entire Appalachian Trail (immediately followed by the Tour Mont Blanc and GR 20)--about seven months in all--and only had to change it once the entire time.

Since you take the Zip on your long hikes I'm guessing you find the clip strong enough to keep the device firmly attached to you.

I just put it in a pocket. I don't use the clip at all, but it does feel pretty strong. If it's been attached securely, I'd be surprised if it would just fall off, but I can't really vouch from personal experience since I've never used it that way.

And how about that tool for opening the battery compartment.

Throw it away. You don't need it. =) The slot it goes in to open the Zip is the size of an aircraft carrier, and I just use a coin to open the device when I need it. Usually a dime or a penny. Nickels and quarters are thick enough that they'd be more difficult (though not impossible) to open the device with.

But reading the reviews it seems it may be actually counting steps. Is this your experience?

No GPS. It just counts steps then converts them into distance based on the stride you set. If you don't set a stride, a default stride will be assigned to you.... =) The only two things the Zip can do are count steps and tell you the time. It'll display distance traveled and calories burned, but those are calculated numbers based on step counts each day (which is probably the only reason it has to know the time).

-- Ryan

It does not have a lanyard like the other one but I either keep it in my pocket or clip it on my waistband. It has been very much like the first one we used.

Thanks for the replies. I'm feeling so much better about a Fitbit now and the Zip is really my style.