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Cuffs
11-21-2006, 11:39
Either Im seeing things or my digital postal scale is messing with me. I have ALLLL my gear on a Word table, broken down item by item, weight (in oz & #), description or other notes.

When I weigh all my first aid & personal items individually then add them up, I get one figure. When I put all the items into their stuff sack and put that on the scale, I get a different (but lighter!) figure.

Whats going on here? Am I missing something? Hmmm, wonder if I put alllll my gear into the pack then weigh the whole thing it will be lighter than the item by item weight total?

And one last thing... I read about all the different ways to calculate weight (big 3, skin-out, base weight...) and Im still confused!

As of right now (well, its going to change, because I just ordered a new pack) With everything (pack, pad, bag, tent, 1st aid, personals, kitchen) Im at 15#. Whats not in that weight is clothes carried, food & water. How does that 15# compare to everyone else?

What more can I do to lose some weight? HEELLLLPPPP!!!

Just Jeff
11-21-2006, 11:58
The only weight that matters is how it feels on your back.

Scales are only accurate to a certain precision...after that it's rounded. So when you put everything on the scale together, it might be a bit different b/c it adds ALL of that rounding error together for the final measurement. Is it off by 2 lbs or an ounce or two?

Alligator
11-21-2006, 12:16
Either Im seeing things or my digital postal scale is messing with me. I have ALLLL my gear on a Word table, broken down item by item, weight (in oz & #), description or other notes.

When I weigh all my first aid & personal items individually then add them up, I get one figure. When I put all the items into their stuff sack and put that on the scale, I get a different (but lighter!) figure.

Whats going on here? Am I missing something? Hmmm, wonder if I put alllll my gear into the pack then weigh the whole thing it will be lighter than the item by item weight total?

Are you sure you have everything listed on paper in the pack?
How far off are you?
Did you drop decimal parts on paper?
Have you ever tested your scale to see if it is accurate?



And one last thing... I read about all the different ways to calculate weight (big 3, skin-out, base weight...) and Im still confused!

As of right now (well, its going to change, because I just ordered a new pack) With everything (pack, pad, bag, tent, 1st aid, personals, kitchen) Im at 15#. Whats not in that weight is clothes carried, food & water. How does that 15# compare to everyone else?

What more can I do to lose some weight? HEELLLLPPPP!!!While that sounds reasonable, it's difficult to say without knowing exactly what is in your pack. You'll need to post your gear list:p .

It's ok though to not be an ultralighter. Really.

SGT Rock
11-21-2006, 12:27
Probably fractions of ounces. If you weigh things in ounces, do your speadsheet, and calculate the weight to something you are happy with - then it ends up you are actually 6 ounces ligher than you planned - it is a good thing.

Or you could weigh in grams and be slightly more accurate.

Appalachian Tater
11-21-2006, 12:51
Sounds like the accuracy of your scale is limited at smaller weights.

The best way to lose weight on your gear before hiking is to post a list here and let people critique it.

Cuffs
11-21-2006, 13:24
I am sooo afraid to post my list here! You all can be sooo brutal!

As for the weight loss, its only in 10th's of ounces. (ex: total of individual items = 12.5 oz, but total in stuff sack would = 12.2 oz)

I'll (think about) posting a gear list once Ive received my Osprey pack and have weighed it. I dont even want to think about posting my Shasta info!!!!

Big Dawg
11-21-2006, 13:25
pounds,,,, to ounces,,,,, to grams...... the grams are probably messing up the total calculation.

Gaiter
11-21-2006, 14:56
i wouldn't worry about it too much, you are light weight already.

as far as your postal scale, thats probably just inaccuracies w/ larger amounts, unless you spent alot of money on it, i wouldn't stress over it. if you are worried about it then find someone else w/ a different scale to compare on.

highway
11-22-2006, 08:32
It is expensive finding a scale of sufficient accuracy where the sum of all the individually weighed components on one equal exactly the lumping of all of them weighed at once. Rounding up/down to the nearest 10th on a scale in ounces & tenths is only part of the problem. The scale itself may not be designed for such accuracy and may be 'off' on one end or the other of its scale. Even the very good (expensive) scales 'designed for trade' and calibrated for free by the Departments of Agriculture of the state you reside in are usually not 100% accurate-but they are close. These include the scales at post Offices, supermarkets, gas pump meters, etc., which must be calibrated & certified yearly and a calibration sticker affixed thereto. And the cheap postage-type scales from Office Depot type stores most of us normally use dont even approach that.

I guess it all boils down to just how close you want to be-or how much you want to pay to get there. I have decided that a few tenths of an ounce is close enough for determining backpack weight.

But I agree, it is exasperating when the separate components don't add up to the total on the spreadsheet. You keep wondering just where the error is:D

overcame
02-09-2007, 14:25
What are the best type scales (digital, spring, etc) to use for weighing all your gear? Open season for input!!!!

Jaybird
02-09-2007, 14:35
What are the best type scales (digital, spring, etc) to use for weighing all your gear? Open season for input!!!!




digital POSTAL (U.S.P.S.) scales

Wolf - 23000
02-09-2007, 14:55
I am sooo afraid to post my list here! You all can be sooo brutal!

How true. Some member here just like to jump on others because they travel different.

To answer your question, the weight can be a little different depending on how your placing it on the scale. How you pack things - weight on favoring one side vs the other can throw things off. If I want to find out how much I'm carrying, I just ask the Post Office to weigh my pack and go with that. Just my .02

Wolf

Frosty
02-09-2007, 17:11
What are the best type scales (digital, spring, etc) to use for weighing all your gear? Open season for input!!!!Not sure about weighing in tenths of ounces. I hadn't thoukght of going that precise.

But for about twenty bucks at WalMart I got a digital scale that measures in eighths of ounces. It zeroes when you turn it on, so you can put a box on it, turn it on and it will be zeroed and you can weight hard-to-weight stuff like packs and things that flop around.

It goes up to about 5 pounds, but you can get creative because it zeroes when turned on. I measure a 2-liter soda bottle with water (about 5 pounds) turn the unit off, then on. It reads zero with the soda bottle on. Now take off the soda bottle and put on your 5-10 pound item. The shown weight will be its actual weight minus the 5 pounds of the soda bottle.