I did a quick search here and didn't turn much up. The title of this thread says it; can anyone offer advice or personal experience with portable pulse oximeter products?

I feel that such a device would be well worth the sub $100 investment for the roughly objective measure of acclimatization which it can provide.

I dont know about pulse-oximeters. They can help rule out altitude related illnesses but they can also cause some people to fixate on the number and not the symptoms.

I have been using a pulse oximeter for about 15 years especially on Himalayan expeditions. They are very useful tools once you learn what they can and cannot do. On one expedition, we were able to detect a case of pulmonary edema early on one climber. After confirming the pulse oximeter's findings by listening to breath sounds with a stethoscope, we sent him down for a couple of days to recover. He returned to complete the expedition without incident. Since I live on Colorado and many of our hikes are above 10,000 feet I carry a pulse ox in my first aid kit. I have always preferred units made by Nonin. Early on, they were the only ones availably. Today, I carry one of their newer units and have been very happy with it.

I use a pulse oximeter in a hypoxic chamber when pre-acclimatizing. I am not sure how accurate they are but they certainly help you track trends in term of blood oxygenation. I am not sure of what circumstances you plan to use the oximeter but the one I use gives false readings if held to close to electronic equipment i.e. the readout for a treadmill, spin bike or elliptical trainer.

Been using this one for years.
http://www.amazon.com/Concord-BlackOx-F ... s=pulse-ox