weighing my gear

I think I found what I need. A kitchen scale. Is that what others use?

You can get a digital postal scale that has a range up to 5lbs.

Pelouze makes the DYMO Model SP5. It's a digital scale that measures in ounces or grams and it runs off a single 9v battery.

Ebay has a gazillion scales! Get a digital one with a range of 0-30 lbs – in 1/10th ounce gradation and switchable to grams. Anything over 30lbs, use a digital bathroom scale.

If you go the Ebay route, be careful that some sellers post very low cost but ridiculously high shipping fees. Don't just look at the selling price.

Check office supply stores and kitchen (cooking ware) stores. Watch for sales!

A digital or balance scale that weighs up to 5 lbs. to the nearest 0.1 oz. is best. If it also weighs in grams, it's nice for communicating with folks from other countries (since the US is about the only country not on the metric system) or for cooking from European recipes. A tare function, it saves some math. The tare function lets you zero out the weight with a box or a stuff sack on the scale so you can weigh bulky items (sleeping bag, for instance) that won't stay on the scale by themselves. Neither the gram nor the tare function is strictly necessary. You can convert to grams (lots of tables available on the internet) and you can do the math to subtract the weight of (for example) the stuff sack from the sleeping bag.

I can't recommend mine (Pelouze) since in the 5 years since I bought it the price has almost doubled! It's an excellent scale, but hardly an economy model! But there are many other brands.

I got some cheap mechanical scales at either Walmart or Target…I think. They were dirt cheap. They may not be calibrated, but it's still very useful for comparisons.

Thanks for all the help. I have been putting a lot of thought in lowering my pack weight. One little thing I am curious about is how I pack my sleeping bag. I would put it in the stuff sack it came in then putting it in a dry bag. I am going to ditch the stuff sack. I want to see if a pack liner is lighter than the dry bag.

Maybe I can make a pack liner out of cuben?

. . . . .

Lots of choices out there. I just acquired a new scale a few days ago. I went with the My Weigh 7001DX. It has really good reviews and has all the functions I need.

http://www.oldwillknottscales.com/my-weigh-7001dx.aspx

Runs about $35 and worth a look.

Chuckle.

I have a Sartorius Beam Balance accurate to better than 5 milligram (with matching sets of masses). Rescued from the lab when they went digital. Fully functional (of course), but also a most elegant ornament.

Cheers

That's not fair Roger : ). I have a Sartorius (laboratory quality, and likely expensive) digital scale in the lab here too, and I have used it in my earlier backpacking days. I did finally get another small one for home.

I would also check out Amazon.com – they offer for $25 a scale called EatSmart Precision Pro, runs on 2 AAA batteries, displays grams and oz. up to 11 lbs with graduation .05 oz / 1 gram.
It is important for the diameter to be big enough to carry a large plastic bowl or such (for weighing larger objects)and still be able to read display.

I bought a digital postal scale on Ebay for $.99 and then paid $16 for shipping… the bottom line… a digital scale that goes to 35 lbs, in either g/kg or oz/lbs, accurate to within .1 oz, has a TARE feature, includes batteries and an A/C adapter. Brand new in the box for under $20. They are available by just looking up digital postal scale. I think the vendor I bought from was named something like "pounds and ounces" or something like that.
It works great, and I can not only weigh individual items, but also weigh my entire pack. Hope that helps.

I think an accurate scale is the most important piece of "backpacking gear" one can own, and it should be the first piece of equipment to be purchased. I don't know who coined the phrase (probably Fletcher), but watch the ounces and pounds will take care of themselves.

I use the ubiquitous 6 lb. digital kitchen scale to weigh individual pieces for my gear list. I use a fishing scale with a hook that I hang the pack from for that final reading before heading for the door.

I think I got the same one as Steve Silva. Handy in the kitchen as well as for postage also. I like the tare feature. I've had it over a year and it sits on my frig plugged in for anything. You don't need a scale for over 35lbs anyway.
Cheers.