ReliOn Micro

If you need a good, cheap blood glucose meter -- for example, if your insurance doesn't pay for your diabetes supplies -- reviews recommend the ReliOn Micro. This glucose meter sells exclusively at Walmart and Sam's Club for half the price of the top-rated Bayer Contour (*Est. $20), and its matching test strips (usually the real cost demon) cost $20 for a box of 50. That's a $5 savings over a box of Bayer Contour test strips, which can add up when you're using an average of four strips a day.

The ReliOn Micro blood glucose meter is more basic than the Bayer Contour and other midpriced meters. Its smaller memory stores fewer test results (50 versus 480 for the Bayer meter), and it doesn't offer computer software to help you track your blood sugar over time. It allows only fingertip or palm testing. It can't broadcast test results aloud like the Prodigy Voice (*Est. $65). The ReliOn Micro also works a bit slower than most blood glucose meters on the market (seven seconds per test versus the usual five seconds). Still, it's compact -- the size of a pack of gum -- and testers judge it extremely easy to use, with no test-strip coding required. We didn't find any expert tests of this meter's accuracy, but individual users report that the ReliOn Micro matches their actual lab-test results or pricier meters' readings fairly closely. Users also appreciate that the ReliOn Micro works with only 0.3 microliters of blood -- a tiny droplet that would get them an error message on just about any other glucose meter.

ConsumerReports.org conducts comprehensive tests, ranking several glucose meters (including the ReliOn Micro) for ease of use. Individual users at Walmart.com -- and one very thorough user review at DiabetesDaily.com -- report on the ReliOn Micro's accuracy. DiabetesWellBeing.com posts a handy chart showing the differences between the ReliOn Micro and ReliOn Ultima glucose monitors.