One Friday per month, I’ll write about my favorite diabetes products. These items make the cut because they’re functional, fashionable, or fun – but usually, all three at once!

One of the most crucial components of a T1D toolkit is the glucometer, also known more simply as the meter. This little device instantly measures blood sugar levels in a person with diabetes: stick a test strip in the meter, poke a finger, and wipe a drop of blood on the test strip in order to get a blood sugar check within seconds from the meter.

Ideally, a meter is used multiple times a day by a person with diabetes – the exact number depends on how often they prefer to check their levels. Personally, I check my blood sugar five or six times each day, so I’m using my meter fairly frequently. As such, it’s always been important to me that I have a meter that is accurate, user-friendly, and compact.

Fortunately, I found all of that with my Verio IQ meter.

The slim, bright white device fits nicely into my Myabetic case, making it easy to tote around with me everywhere. It’s pretty trusty and generates results commensurate with my CGM. It doesn’t run on batteries; rather, it can conveniently be recharged every 10 days or so. But my favorite feature of my meter is the back light: If I need to wake up in the middle of the night to check my blood sugar, I don’t have to switch on the lamp that sits on my nightstand. Rather, I merely stick a strip into the meter and it lights up on its own, making it easy for me to see where to wipe my drop of blood. After five seconds elapse, bam, my blood sugar reading pops up on the screen in bold numbers.

I can’t remember exactly when I started using my Verio IQ – definitely prior to college – but I’ve stuck with it for at least eight years now because it works so well for me. When I got onto the OmniPod three years ago, it never even crossed my mind to give up my Verio in favor of using the PDM to check my sugars. It might seem crazy to others that I carry around one superfluous device, but it’s what works for me.