Meter Reports

More interesting, I think, is the meter model that the magazine rated excellent in consistency and accuracy. It's LifeScan's OneTouch UltraMini. The biggest surprise for me is that this inexpensive meter rates higher on consistency and accuracy than the two other LifeScan meters, the OneTouch Ultra2 and the OneTouch UltraSmart, that the article evaluated. All of these meters use the same test strips and technology.

The UltraMini looks like a great value, because the "approximate retail" price of $20 is a lot less than the $70 or $85 that LifeScan wants for the other two meters in this evaluation. Only two other meters that Consumer Reports looked at, the ReliOn and the TrueTrack, retail for less than the UltraMini.

But here comes the most interesting and valuable part of the article -- the approximate retail price for each blood glucose test strip. Most expensive are the strips for the FreeStyle meters, $1.30 each. Then come the OneTouch strips at $1.14 with the Accu-Chek and Bayer (formerly Ascensia) strips close behind at $1.10 each.

Behind these "big four" meter makers, strips for smaller companies sell for less -- as little as $0.44 each for the ReliOn. That, however, is still 39 percent more than you would have to pay for a Maxima test strip.

Consumer Reports rated four meters excellent in ease of use and features. They are Bayer's Contour, LifeScan's OneTouch Ultra2 and OneTouch UltraSmart and Roche's Accu-Chek Aviva. The article offers no detail on how they arrived at this conclusion, which was not an easy call, considering that ease of use doesn't play well with a feature-rich meter.

All told, should you run out and buy a OneTouch UltraMini? On the strength of this Consumer Reports review, such as it is, I don't think so. But if you like the small size of this meter and its attractive choice of colors and if your insurance rather than you gets stuck with its expensive strip price, you could do worse.

And depending on what you are looking for in a meter, you probably could do better.

Wondering which meter David Medoza thinks is the most beautiful blood glucose meter is? Click here to read his post on the Bionime Rightest GM100 Meter.

Read expert Amy Tenerich's view on the failures of blood glucose meters here.

Check out this article on why blood glucose levels are important in diabetes-free people.