Scales for weighing gear and where to get them

[>> Bender <<]

E J I have found the MyWeigh 7001DX to be accurate throughout its entire range. I have calibration weights and it is dead on even if you put all the weight on a single corner. FYI I have never had to calibrate the scale! If I had to choose one do it all scale I would get this but it would also be nice to have a hanging fish scale for heavier weights. With my bike stuff I have each component weighed but I also weigh the bike chassis and then wheels to verify total weight.

[Ethan A.]

Bender, thanks for the helpful info, what do you use for your hanging scale?

[>> Bender <<]

E J I guess I wasn't clear that I do not have a hanging scale. I weigh my bike in 2 main pieces, wheels and chassis, on the 7001DX. That is until I break the 15 pound barrier but that isn't happening on this bike!

[Jay Wilkerson]

I got my hanging scale at Big 5 Sporting Goods—It was about $25.00 and goes to 75 lbs… I actually weighed a pack that was heavier then 75 lbs—-wow! Bass Pro Shop online has a good variety also…

[Ethan A.]

Jay, remember the brand and model? I've yet to visit Big 5 but looks worthwhile.

[Mary D]

For the individual items on my spreadsheet, I have a Pelouze postage scale that weighs up to 5 lbs. to the nearest 0.1 oz. or to the nearest gram. I got it on sale for about $25 back in 2005, but I notice that the current price at Office Depot is about double that. (Inflation at work!) In the interests of multiple use, I also find this scale very handy for cooking from European recipes or otherwise weighing food (weighing out the gram equivalent of 300 calories worth of nuts for my backpacking snacks, for instance). And, of course, it can be used for postage, which (by getting postage online) saves standing in line at the Post Office. The scale's accuracy gets checked every year at tax return time–I weigh the Oregon state return (which includes a photocopy of the Federal return so is right at 1 oz.) at home and at the Post Office (don't want it returned for insufficient postage on April 16!).

My bathroom scale is a Taylor digital scale, and appears accurate (i.e. I go straight home from the doctor's office and weigh myself on it) to the nearest 0.1 pound. That's certainly more than accurate enough for weighing the total pack! I weigh myself with and without the pack and do the necessary subtraction. Most people have bathroom scales anyway, so why not go for multiple use?

Last summer I went into a last-minute panic just before leaving for a trip because my total pack weight was almost 2 pounds less than what my spreadsheet said. I immediately unpacked and checked off every item, thinking I had forgotten something. It turned out that my food was the difference–I was using an average weight which turned out to be a bit high, and for 10 days it added up to the difference. Since I had leftover food every day, I certainly took more than enough!

[Keith Selbo]

I think we can cut it too fine sometimes. I weigh items on the kitchen scale, which is accurate to 0.1 oz. but I round for my spreadsheet. The last thing I do before I leave the house is hang my pack from my Wal-Mart fish scale which is graduated to half pounds. It doesn't have a calibration as far as I can tell, but I'm only interested in relative measurements at that point.

[Jake Engel]

My "Simple" kitchen scale from DX arrived last week. I have to say, for the money I'm very impressed. It seems to be accurate and consistent. oz and g modes and a max range of 3kg. I haven't found a better option for the price of under $16.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2563

[Scott Bentz]

I have 2 scales. One, is from Office Depot. It's a digital postal scale. It weighs up to 11 lbs. The tare feature is useful. Some items are hard to weigh. Using the tare feature, I place a small plastic bucket on the scale and then zero it out. I can then drop items in the bucket. It seems to work nicely.

Also, I have a hanging scale from American Weigh. I think it can weigh up to 44 lbs. I figure that I will not have to weigh a pack heavier than that. http://www.americanweigh.com/

Having scale(s) is extremely important if you really want to get serious about the weight of your packing systems.

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