$7.00 digital scales on Sale

[Anonymous]

I found the nexxtech scale on sale at circuit city outlet, for 7 bucks. The only catch is the shipping, but shipping is frre if you order more than $25.

How does the scale work? Does anyone have a scale like this? It meets one of my criteria inexpensive?

Thanks

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/NexxTech-Mini-Counter-Scale-631-3003-/sem/rpsm/oid/100458/catOid/-11827/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

[Jim Colten]

Don’t know how well it works but standard shipping to my zip is $5.50. $12.50 is still a PDG price.

[Steven Miller]

It works very well, and accurately measured against the calibrated scales at the lab I work in. But,it’s “deck” is very smal, about4″ square. I place a cheap plastic collander on it. It suporrts large items and it’s curvature lets me view the readings.

[Dale Wambaugh]

You can get inexpensive digital scales that go up to 35 pounds, so the only misgiving I would have is the 3kg/6.6lb. limit.

They all have small decks, so a little imagination helps. I have a small sheet of plywood that is helpful for things like sleeping bags and full packs. You can use stuff sacks, or stuff a jacket in one sleeve, etc to reduce the size. A scale with a “hold” feature is nice as you can reach under the object being weighed and capture the weight withour being able to see the readout.

I got my scale on Ebay and the game there is shipping. There are dozens if not hundreds of auctions for digital scales and most play the low-ball initial listing price with big shippping fees— they draw you in, and then they don’t have to pay Ebay percentages on the shipping. It’s a common game.

[Dale Wambaugh]

I don’t recall and I couldn’t find my record of te purchase. About $30 is what comes to mind.

The brand is a DigiWeigh. You will find a few auctions actually listing the brand name and dozens with just generic listings for digital postal scales.

I went quick and dirty on this purchase. The scale goes down to 1/10th ounce which was satisfactory to me, but it does limit comparing the small items that are just a few grams. It is adequate for the general UL hiker to get reality checks on weights. If I were writing reviews and comaring the weights of LED micolights, then it would be time to step up for a scale that goes one decimal point finer.

Other features to look for: switchable pounds/ounces weighing — that is the readout will read 2 pounds 4 ounces vs. 36 ounces. A larger platform makes it easier to weigh things like sleeping bags, but a stuff sacks usually take care of that. When I weigh something like a shirt, I just use the sleeve for a self-storing stuff sack (works good in the woods too). A rubber band can tame a floppy or slippery peice of gear too. The weight can be deducted, or some scales have a “tare” function, allowing you to automatically subtract the weight of a container. A “hold” button will allow you to reach under a larger object and hold the weight so you can remove the object to see the readout. Fancier scales may have remote control and readout on a cord. I have a Pelouze scale that does that, but one my kids stood on it and got it completely out of calibration.

These scales work via a strain gauge of some sort and they are relatively fragile. You don’t want to exceed the weight limit by much (35 pounds for mine). Never leave something parked on the scale– it may damage it over time.

It’s handy to have around the house for cooking and (DOH!) mailing packages.
Want to test the scale? Put an empty one liter wqter bottle on it, hit the tare key and go fill the bottle with exactly one liter of water. It should weigh 1000 grams– if the bottle is accurately marked.

You can cheat a little with small items by weighing a known quanity and dividing to ge the weight of a single item– not lab-quality work, but fine for “civilians.”

When it gets down to it, all my small items are carried in a silnylon stuff sack, so I can weigh them all together to see what my whole collection of essentials and grooming stuff weights. You’ll groan when you see that readout run up to a couple pounds!

All-in-all, I think finding the weight of my clothing items brought me more into reality than anything else. Start weighing tee shirts and shorts and you’ll get an eye opener!

The big three (pack, shelter, sleeping system) are paid a lot of attention, but I have spent more time refining clothing, cooking gear, water treatment and containers, and essentials. The scale has really helped there– making me face the facts and start chopping ounces. After weighing all the stuff like toothpaste, bug juice, sunscreen, and soap, I shaved 6-8 ounces for weekend trips just by decanting that stuff into smaller containers. You put your favorite multitool on the scale and get a full dose of reality when it swings over 6 ounces. I went for the 1.5 ounce pocket knife or a 1.8 ounce Micra instead. You keep chipping away and your base weight keeps dropping.

[Ethan A.]

Any other scales and purchase sources others have had good experience with? Both for small and large items? However, if I had to go with one range, I’d sacrifice the capability to weigh the very smallest and lightest items per Dale’s excellent points and suggestions. Thanks.

[Scott Harper]

I’m new to this forum so I thought I’d ‘weigh in’ with a recommendation on a good digital scale.

I’ve been using the Salter 3001 for a few years for measuring small batches of coffee beans to roast and grind and as an attractive kitchen scale. Lately it’s worked great vetting lightweight backpacking gear too.

It weighs in grams or pounds with 1 gram sensitivity from 0 to 1 kg and 2g from 1-2 kg and has a 5 pound capacity. It’s quick and easy to operate. You can re-zero it to set a tare and switch between grams and ounces with a single click. It’s powered by a single lithium long-life battery which I replaced after about 2 years of daily use. The top deck is 5 3/4″ in diameter.

I picked mine up at Sweetmarias.com for about $40. Pricey vs. the above NexxTech model but I’d do it again given the usage mine sees. See http://sweetmarias.com/prod.roastkits.shtml.

[Steven Hanlon]

i went on the hunt for a scale armed with my 20% off coupon at Bed Bath and Beyond and came home with this:

Salter 9v battery powered scale – 11 lbs capacity.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=13970270

it’s a tad pricey, but it has a large table that easily holds a large bowl, a printer paper case box, or a laundry basket (i weighed my pack in the basket). the .05 ounce increment is decent – but i’d like to have .005 ;)

my eye opener was the weight of my stuff sacks – a total of 8.3 ounces. ouch.

-steve

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