I know there are a number of ways to measure body fat and that they all vary wrt accuracy. But which method would you recommend?
1. Which method is deemed to be the most accurate?
2. Which method could work for someone with no gadgets like calipers and the like?
There are some internet sites that calculate for you too..with WIDE margins of error. But are there any fairly close? And what about scales?
What works?

This is an issue of much debate, but most literature points toward hydrostatic (submersion) as the gold standard ... But, a pair of GOOD calipers in the hands of an experienced fitness PROFESSIONAL is good as gold too.

I don't trust the scales that use electricity to test bf%. I know my bf is low but they always put me in the teens. I use calipers in one spot (bellybutton area) to keep track of trends, but it doesn't really tell me my %.

I have a Tanita Electronic. They are very sensitive to body hydration levels. I use it only for a fat loss trend. It only has two settings for regular and athlete. Set at regular I show 29-30 % BF and set at athlete I show 19-20 % BF.
I think I am somewhere in between actual BF.
Jag

I tried the calculator on the zone site below.
http://www.zoneperfect.com/site/content/calculator.asp

As an experiment, if anyone already knows their BF% and you have 5 minutes, how about trying this calculator and compare the results to what you know. It'll be interesting to see how they compare.
I don't have an accurate reading but it says my BF is 28.8%

I think I'm going to have to get a decent set of calipers. Or contact a nearby college about the procedure.

It put me at 26% I think that is what I said I was at in my opinion. The Tanita on athlete 19-20% and regular 29-30%
So I think that calculator is close.

Jag

It puts me at about 23%, which is probably close to accurate. It's hard to guage on my body, because I'm so lean in the upper and NOT in the lower.

IT depends on what you call expensive. Here at the local University they will do it for $25. SOmetime this month I am going to go get it done, then go back around the 1st of the year and see what kind of progress I made.

Wow, only 25. I was thinking way more. Cool.

That zone site said my bf was 22.48%, which means that I lost lean mass. Grrr.

red

It said 24%. Last time I had my body fat measured with a good set of calipers by an athletic trainer at the gym it was 16.5%, and if anything I think my body fat is lower now. The circumference-based estimates are highly inaccurate. There is no way to know how much of the circumference is fat and how much is muscle. On someone who is thick-waisted like me, they are completely off.

Methods of body fat testing, in order of accuracy:

1. postmortem dissection
2. hydrostatic weighing (in the tank of water)
3. calipers (used by a trained person)
4. bioelectrical impedence
5. measurements

I have found that bioelectical impedence gives me both an inaccurate and unreliable result. As Jag mentioned, very dependent on hydration levels. Usually majorly overestimates my body fat.

Jen

Yes, indeed. There's nothing like rendering the body to REALLY tell the % bodyfat.

Pity it kills the client...

ok i tried the zoneperfect link and the result's 20%

i checked my bf% at the medical centre both times using tanita (calculate water, lbm, fat etc). calculations were 21% and 3.5 months after 16.7%

LOL now looks like ive added some fat or somethin??

anyway will check out on real scale soon (20% bf???? duh)

The zone site tells me 25%.....which I guess is probably accurate. I am going to email the professor at the University of Louisville this weekend and try and set up a date for the hydrostatic testing. I encourage you all to check around at local Universities......you might be able to find reasonable hydrostatic testing as well. I happened to run across an advertisement in a local fitness magazine.

Postmortem dissection. LOL. Wow.

Personally, I tend towards what MPS is saying. I use calipers on 3 sites and just track the trend downward. If it goes down, I am losing bodyfat.

Periodically, I have a very highly respected trainer around my way to do a 9 site caliper test on me.