TC-890 Digital Tally Counter, Electronic Up Down Clicker Counter, Add/Subtract People Counter, Handheld Pitch Counter for Golf, Lap & Knitting (1-Pack)

Good quality, comfortable, easy to use, and durable (have had for over 3 years)
I really like this tally counter and bought a second one to use in a different location. It–is accurate with a beep to confirm a successful press,–is comfortable to hold and easy to press the low-travel, moderate-resistance buttons,–is easy to operate the basic functions (press any button for on, the large button to increment, the smaller button under it to decrement, and double-press top right button to reset),–has large 3/8″ digits that are easily visible in either bright or low light,–takes an LR44 battery that lasts a long time and is cheap to replace, and–it’s durable (one has lasted over three years with constant use and still works fine).It’s made in Taiwan and is made by a company that specializes in timers and counters. Based on my fairly extensive research, it’s the best available apart from very expensive specialized ones.Here are a few details:–It’s roughly 4″ long by 2″ wide by 1/2″ thick size and has curved sides that allow it to fit very comfortably in my hand. There are five notches or ridges on each side to help prevent slipping and a lanyard so you can let it hang on your neck if you get tired of holding it and don’t want to put it in a pocket. It’s plastic but feels solid and doesn’t feel like thin, cheap plastic.–There are four buttons. The larger, 5/8″ x 1/2″ black main button is plastic and the three others are gray and seem to be silicone. So it’s very difficult to accidentally hit the wrong button and miscount. All the buttons are low travel and have just enough resistance so that you won’t accidentally press them but don’t require so much pressure that your fingers tire (unless maybe you’re doing many hundreds or thousands of presses in a short time).–Operation is very simple. Pressing any button turns the counter on. Pressing the big plastic black button increments the count. Pressing the smaller gray silicone button under it decrements the count and is useful if you need to correct an accidental press. A double press of the small gray top right button resets to zero. The buttons are clearly marked with symbols or words if you need help figuring this out the first time or need reminding. I’m pretty bad at figuring out how to operate devices and managed to figure this one out just by fiddling with the buttons.–There are some more advanced operations you can access with the buttons. You can turn the display off with a double press of decrement (-) button. But the LCD display is low power and there is a 2-hour auto-off, so I don’t bother. A long press of the increment (+) button silences or restores the beep sound. The beep isn’t obnoxiously loud and I find it useful to confirm a successful press, so I just leave it on. There are a few more advanced functions, but I couldn’t figure out exactly what they are even after reading the instruction sheet.–It has a 7-segment LCD display with letters that are 10mm (3/8″) high. The numbers are very visible, even in bright or very low light (under 0.25 foot-candles) but not in the dark. The LCD display uses very little power so the battery lasts a long time.–It takes LR44 batteries, which are cheap ($1 each for name brand and as little as 20c for no-name brands in bulk) and easy to find. I haven’t had to replace the batteries on either of my counters, one in over three years with maybe 20k presses). It has an auto-off feature to conserve batter life and you can also turn it off manually.–It’s more expensive than most other tally counters by a few dollars but I think that’s justified by the design, build quality and durability. (I have two that still work, one after 3 1/2 years.)–You can buy a two-pack and save a little money. They also make a dual tally counter (model TC-895) and a dual timer-tally counter (TC-875, so-so ratings) and a countdown timer (TC-820), all with the same form factor. I’d recommend sticking with a single-function model unless you really need the other function combined with a tally counter in a single device because you may sacrifice easy of use.–Typical uses include counting laps, number of finishers, occupancy, inventory items or even prayers. There are also unconventional uses like counting number of glasses of water you drink in a day (if you have a problem with getting sufficient hydration). You can also use it as a time-management tool along with a Pomodoro or study timer that beeps after each 30-minute (or whatever length) study session so that you have a count of the total number of sessions and thus total time spent.–Most handheld tally counters seem to have a thicker, more rectangular design compared to the thinner and more elongated design of this one, and many have mechanical buttons with a larger travel but don’t require a battery. I can’t say which is more comfortable. If I needed a tally counter for hundreds or thousands of presses during an event, I would check out which design is more comfortable. If you have a large budget or are using a counter for business use, you might look at the TallyFi Cloud Connected Counter, which has wi-fi connectivity and analytics, but it costs $600 per year for the least-expensive configuration.

Light and easy to carry in your pocket!
So far, I like this Digi 1st TC-890 digital hand counter. I use it to count walking laps and it is easy to use. It is lightweight, 3-3/4″ in height, 2-5/16″ wide (at its widest point) and 3/4″ deep or thickness. Easy to follow instructions come with the device. It has a lanyard built into the case that is approximately 23-1/8″ long from the plastic case. The lanyard also has a safety clasp built in so that if the lanyard does get hung on something while it is being worn around the neck, the safety clasp comes apart (can be re-attached) to prevent a choking hazard. The hand counter comes with a battery which is easy to change by using a small coin. It is pretty easy to use, as just pushing any button on the face of the device will turn it on. Turning it off requires you to push and hold the ‘minus’ (-) button (the lowest button on the face) for about three seconds. There are four digits on the face, so if you want to start at a certain number (ie: 4589) you would use the ‘set’ button to set two digits at a time. By pressing the ‘Set’ button, you would set the last two zeros to ’89’ first, then press the ‘Set’ button a second time to set the first two zeros to ’45’. This allows you to set any number relatively quickly instead of scrolling thru 4588 numbers to get there. The add button is in the very middle (largest button on the face), but instead of having a plus (+) sign on the button, it has a vertical line enclosed in a box imprinted on it….go figure? The reset button will clear all digits to zero with two pushes. The beep can be turned on or turned off easily by holding the add button for 3 seconds. The beep is not real loud, but can be easily heard within about 3 foot of the device…..unless you have a hearing impairment. But, again, the beep can be silenced if needed. I would have liked to have had a slight (palpable only) click to the buttons so I would know if I had added a number if the beep was silenced, but it doesn’t have this ‘feel’ to it. Also, since I use this infrequently, a quick reference guide (ie: ‘Off: hold the minus button 3 seconds’) on the back of the case would have been nice, but I had to make my own reference. Turning off the device does not clear the current count on the screen…..you have to clear by hitting the ‘Reset’ button twice. So, it isn’t hard to use, but you do have to remember the particular button sequence to press, hold, or how many times to press to accomplish your need. Buttons are very easy to press and can accidentally be pressed, adding or subtracting from your existing displayed count, rather easily and unnoticed (as by placing the device in a pocket or purse while ‘on’). Also, since any button can be pressed just once to turn the device on, it is EASILY turned on while in your pocket or purse too, meaning it can discharge your battery while, unknowingly ‘on’! I like the device but would have enjoyed these additional improvements, noted above, to make it easier to use.

Perfect
No complaints. It’s sturdy, accurate and overall everything I NEEDED. Love how it saves count as well no matter how long it hasn’t been used last.

Good product
Size

I like this product . It work vary nice.