Hey,
I've been going through my lifestyle change now for 5 months.

I use a scale with impedence measurement for % fat day to day, and once every 2 months I have my trainer use the calipers.(sum of skin folds) My trainer has a hand held %BF measuring tool, and a scale with impedence. I'll post my actual caliper measurements (sum of skin folds) in another post, but in short, my question is:

What is the most accurate tool (aside from hydrostatic weighing) to measure BF?

The calipers have shown that I have lost 3 % more BF than the impdence tools. Basically, there's less skin to grab onto, but perhaps there's more visceral fat now???

Impedance is notoriously inaccurate. Mine is probably high by 5-8% at times. It can vary by 5% throughout the day.

Maybe they aren't all that bad, but I think just the logic behind the way they work could lead to fluctuations caused by changes in hydration, etc.

To be honest, I only bother checking it for a laugh now :)

What is the most accurate tool (aside from hydrostatic weighing) to measure BF?

Smart ass answer: Your eyes, the mirror, and in photographs. Eyes look at body, mouth says "yuck" - you have too much body fat, eyes look at body, mouth says "sexxy" - you have enough body fat. (This can be flawed when we have an unrealistic opinion of what we should look like, or low self-esteem and believe we look worse than we do.)

Real answer: Calipers used correctly.

All I can tell you is the Tanita is worthless for bf% (scale for weight is accurate though). I tracked my bf% with it on my cut and then bulk every 2 to 4 weeks. I tested myself at the same time in the day and was properly hydrated.

The results: At the same weights, cut on the way down and bulk on the way up, I had the same bf% which was ridiculous as I had very nice progress under my SUP2 bulk. I finally stopped using it as it is worthless.

I also tracked bf% with the calipers. With the calipers, I don't know if the calcs are correct, but the incremental changes in mm were in-line with my progress.