Office Depot and Staples has them!!!!

Got mine in the kitchen store on clearance for ~$25 (missing box or instructions). They have a nice system to calibrate and zero the scales, large flat weighing area and are accurate to 1/100 oz. Heaviest thing I've weighed is about 4 lbs, not sure how much higher they would go.

7001DX looks like a good choice - good accuracy and wide range to 15 lbs, also making it more useful as a postage scale. Do you find it accurate even at low weights?

Finally getting around to picking a scale up, so this is very timely.

Do you all rely on just tallying your individual weighed items or do you also use a hanging scale for a final pack weigh? Think I'd pass on a hanging scale - if you are careful about weighing all the individual items should be no need.

I have a small scale for home and the small stuff....And I have hanging scale to tally the total pack weight..Me and my friends always like to see who has the heaviest pack at the start of the hike and MOST importantly the weight when we get back to the car after the hike----Scientific Data!!

Jay, which hanging scale do you use, how much was it and where did you get it from?

Yes, that's very important scientific data - maybe we'll see a Google Maps mashup for it soon, with visualization tools showing concentrations of the most traditional heavyweight backpackers and the backpackers eating the most on the trail.

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.

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

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!

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...

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

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!

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.

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

Edited by jakeismoney on 12/02/2009 08:34:48 MST.

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.