View Full Version : Where to buy a scale?
ATX-Hiker
12-10-2008, 12:12
Where can I get a scale to weigh all my gear, preferably not too pricey?
corialice81
12-10-2008, 12:12
do you have an outfitter nearby? they could do it for free.
Where can I get a scale to weigh all my gear, preferably not too pricey?If you want a scale that gives you tenths of an ounce, etc, try using the scales you can get at Wally World to weigh out food. If they don't have it, try one of those big home mega marts like Bed Bath and Beyond or the like.
Dances with Mice
12-10-2008, 12:20
Where can I get a scale to weigh all my gear, preferably not too pricey?What's another sport that is really concerned about pounds and ounces?
Right! Fishing! Fishermen want to know exactly how much they need to exaggerate.
And cooking.
Go to a bait and tackle shop. Or the fishing area in Wal-Mart. They'll have digital scales with a hook that reads in pounds and ounces. That'll handle most, maybe all, of the stuff in your pack.
For small items, if grams / fractions of an ounce are important to you , a small kitchen scale works.
max patch
12-10-2008, 12:29
Bathroom scale is all you need.
Weigh yourself with pack.
Weigh yourself without pack.
Subtract.
Done.
A bathroom scale is all you need for overall weight and big items. But a postal scale is better if you insist on weighing a lot of little stuff. Most larger post offices have a public scale that you can use. Smaller post offices with friendly postmasters will weigh stuff for you. I simply bought a spring loaded scale at Staples that weighs up to a pound in ounces and five pounds overall. That is close enough for most of us.
Modern digital scales are coming down in price. You can get a spring loaded scale for $10 or so. Pretty good Digitals can be had for around $30 the last time I looked.
Weary
Bear Cables
12-10-2008, 14:18
I got a decent digital postal scale at office depot for about 35.00. Between that and my bathroom scale I could manage my pack weight well.
hammock engineer
12-10-2008, 14:19
ebay postal scale. Got a great deal on one there.
get one that weighs to .1oz accuracy if you want to make anything down. If not .5.oz might work.
I have a postal scale I bought and used on Ebay. It weighs up to 13.5 lbs and as low as a gram.
Only on occasion will I weigh gear.
Here's the Ebay seller, Old Willknott
http://stores.ebay.com/www-OLDWILLKNOTT-com
U can purchase a Salter brand scale accurate to 1/8 oz. at Bed, Bath, and Beyond or Linens and Things for about $15 to weigh the small stuff(I think up to about 8 lbs.). Anything heavier or bulkier do what others have already suggested.
The question was where to buy a scale, not inconvenience PO customers or use PO scales for what wasn't intended.
The question was where to buy a scale, not inconvenience PO customers or use PO scales for what wasn't intended.
On the rare occasions when I feel it necessary to weigh something at my post office, I wait until no one is around and slip it on the scale. It takes about two seconds, per item, at most.
I consider it a PO customer service. The three organizations I do newletters for, pay the USPS about $6,500 for mailing the newsletters.
BTW. MOst of the office chain stores sell the same items at similar prices. I mostly trade at Staples because it is the nearest. That's where I bought my scale.
Weary
To get a rough pack weight, I use a fish scale from WalMart.
For weighting individual items, I usually go to either UPS store or post office. If I didn't want to inconvenience the PO, then I would probably look to buy one at an office supply store for weighing letters and packages.
buckwheat
12-10-2008, 18:01
Watch out for the food scales at Wal-Mart. I bought a 7-pound scale there (weights stuff up to 7 pounds) and out of the box the thing didn't work worth a crap. On the plus side, it was like $5, but I'll end up returning it.
On the other hand, you can't go wrong with Wal-Mart drybags and some of the other gear in their outdoor line. A lot of it is Coleman stuff that isn't suitable for your pack due to weight, but some of it is very high quality, and you'll pay a fraction of what you'd pay elsewhere.
I've learned to check Wal-Mart first, but be prepared to go elsewhere, and occasionally you get a dud, but what you save by going there is usually worth it.
Secret Squirrel
12-10-2008, 18:27
I got mine from Bass Pro Shop. It is a Rapela Fish Scale (50 Lb).
It works great. I think I paid about $20.
Jack Tarlin
12-10-2008, 19:50
Scales at the Post Office are there so staff and customers can weigh mail, period. Asking the staff to weigh your hiking gear seems a bit over the top.
And considering their size, weighing stuff like backpacks on a P.O. scale could get interesting.
If you really need a scale, get one at Wal-Mart, like people have mentioned. Also, be aware that the weights of a lot of major gear (packs, footwear, bags, pads, tents, clothing, stoves, etc.) can be found at the websites of the individual manufacturers; Backpacker Magazine's annual Gear Guide also contains the weight of hundreds and hundreds of items.
I bought one online @ target.com http://www.target.com/gp/search/188-4431691-6576556?field-keywords=digital+scale&url=index%3Dtarget&ref=sr_bx_1_1&x=11&y=13 comes up when you type in digital scale to their search. $25 for the ones on top.
You can't weight your pack with that, but you can get the individual component weights in grams or oz. It also has a tare feature.... so you can stick your bigger stuff in a larger container and be able to not count the weight of the container.
For your loaded pack, use a bathroom scale.
And while all that gives you interesting info, you can nuts weighing everything!
Scales at the Post Office are there so staff and customers can weigh mail, period. Asking the staff to weigh your hiking gear seems a bit over the top.
And considering their size, weighing stuff like backpacks on a P.O. scale could get interesting.
If you really need a scale, get one at Wal-Mart, like people have mentioned. Also, be aware that the weights of a lot of major gear (packs, footwear, bags, pads, tents, clothing, stoves, etc.) can be found at the websites of the individual manufacturers; Backpacker Magazine's annual Gear Guide also contains the weight of hundreds and hundreds of items.
While I would never tie up PO staff and customers for weighing hiking gear, some post offices do have self service postage scales that I have used on occassion. And I'm frequently in and out of the local UPS store for various reasons, so I do use their scales on occassion.
If you look at most of my backpacking gear, you will see that the weight has been marked on it. I just wish that vendors and manufactures would do a better job of publishing weights on all gear. Everything else equal, weight is frequently the deciding factor when purchasing equipment.
Johnny Thunder
12-11-2008, 13:51
Well, since both of my posts were removed I'll say it again...
If you're looking for the most gram-sensitive scales just stop on down to where they smell like patchouli and sell pipes. Jeeze. The Hippie store, people. What's so offensive about that?
i found a really good scale at one of my local thrift store
go up to 30lbs. only paid $2.00 beat paiding 40 to 50 it wprk great
If you really want to weigh something and haven't bought a scale yet you can make one out of a yardstick and a nalgene bottle.
Flush2wice
12-11-2008, 22:36
This one will weigh your gram weenie stuff down to a tenth of a gram. It's about $30, and it doubles as a kitchen scale. You can't weigh your big stuff on it, but that info comes with manufacturer's info.
And the colors are cool.
Mine is Volunteer orange.
If you are a uber gram weenie and need to measure stuff way down then a gun powder scale is what you want. www.midwayusa.com (http://www.midwayusa.com) has them to start with
kayak karl
12-12-2008, 07:30
Well, since both of my posts were removed I'll say it again...
If you're looking for the most gram-sensitive scales just stop on down to where they smell like patchouli and sell pipes. Jeeze. The Hippie store, people. What's so offensive about that?
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