What do you use for a scale?

[David Lewis]

Hey all… I searched the site but could not find this info. Just wondering… what kind of scale do you use to weigh your gear? It’s easy enough to weigh my full pack with a bathroom scale method (i.e. wearing my pack and subtracting my own weight), but it would be nice to have individual weights for everything I own… esp. since I often make small modifications to my gear. I’m really curious to see how much weight I trimmed off my Komperdell poles for instance (removed straps and plastic trim collars)… just to ’cause I’m a gram weanie :P

So do you just use a postal scale? Will any postal scale do or are some more accurate than others? Where would you buy such a thing? At Office Depot / Staples or something?

[David Lewis]

Sorry again… answering my own post :(

I found a few on the Staples.ca website… all Pelouze brand. There are 3 scales ranging in price from $50-$100 (Canadian) with increments of 1 gram up to 5 lbs, 2 grams up to 4.4 lbs and 5 grams up to 10 lbs. I guess any of these would be fine. The most accurate one is the cheapest… which seems odd.

Anyway, I’ll probably just get one of the ones that goes up to 5 pounds. If I have any one item that weighs more than 5 pounds… I’m on the wrong website!!! LOL. You know… I may laugh… but if you go to any big outfitter… half the packs in the store probably weigh 5-6 pounds!

So since Pelouze is the only brand Staples sells… I guess it must be a good scale.

[Tony Burnett]

I use a Royal Ex5 (5# limit) I bought from an office supply store for ~$30. The Ex3 (3# limit) can be found at Wal-Mart for $20 in the mailing/office supply isle. It can be hard to locate, as it is usually buried under padded envelopes, etc.

Sometimes you’ll need to take items apart (like packs) to get their total weight. I had an Arc’Teryx Bora 80 which I had to weigh in 4-5 parts! Total weight of almost 7#!

[David Lewis]

Cool. I’ll check WalMart as well. 7 pounds eh?! Jezz… once I replace my old heavy 3+ pound sleeping back… that will be the base weight of my entire kit!

[David Lewis]

Cool. I’ll check WalMart as well. 7 pounds eh?! Jezz… once I replace my old heavy 3+ pound sleeping back… that will be the base weight of my entire kit!

[David King]

I’ve been using an Ultra 50 which I found on ebay. I particularly like the detachable display which lets me weigh my whole pack, as well as individual components with .1 oz accuracy.

It didn’t come with the AC adapter when I bought it, which is now included.

[David Lewis]

I bought a Pelouze SP5. Weighs in 1 gram increments up to 5 pounds. Cost me about $45 CND at Staples. It doesn’t have a hold feature or a detachable readout… but for big things that may cover the display (i.e. sleeping bag), I figure I could just put it in a compression stuff sack to make it a small package and then subtract the weight of the stuff sack.

So this is going to be fun! Geeky as this sounds (and *is*)… I’m excited to start weighting all my bits and peices of gear!!!! First thing I weighed was my Komperdell C3 DuoLock Women’s poles with the straps and plastic trim caps removed… they come in at 145 grams (5.1 oz.). So I trimed an ounce from the pair.

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