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  1. #1
    Registered User ChuckT's Avatar
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    Default Scale to weight "stuff".

    I have a postal scale to weigh my stuff, OCD of course. But I'd like to weigh the whole pack minus water.
    Anybody know of an accurate "hang" scale (one with hooks top and bottom) they'd care to recommend?
    Miles to go before I sleep. R. Frost

  2. #2

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    This is a scale I got last year via Amazon and works great.

    http://American Weigh Scale American... X 0.05-Pounds

  3. #3
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    You could always do a bathroom scale. Weigh yourself with and without the pack and do the math.

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    Theres this thing called math...its infallible.

    If you weigh the items individually and add them up, you will get the same answer. Subject to accumulating round off errors.

    Items too heavy for your scale, like pack and tent, can be weighed at the post office on their scale. They even have these big plastic bins laying around

    for this.

    Most hanging scales are pretty innacurrate. They are made for luggage and fish. If you get 1/2 lb accuracy you are probably doing good.
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 01-09-2016 at 10:34.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by MuddyWaters View Post
    Theres this thing called math...its infallible.

    If you weigh the items individually and add them up, you will get the same answer. Subject to accumulating round off errors.

    Items too heavy for your scale, like pack and tent, can be weighed at the post office on their scale. They even have these big plastic bins laying around

    for this.

    Most hanging scales are pretty innacurrate. They are made for luggage and fish. If you get 1/2 lb accuracy you are probably doing good.
    "Math" will not suffice for a person with OCD. I am not going to look at my list right now (other priorities). I am not going to guess (OCD prohibits such actions). Suffice it to say, I have too many items to insure that the sum of the individual weights will accurately reflect the actual total. Every individual item will be off by an amount that is beyond the scales ability to measure. By itself, this is not relevant. Every person weighing their gear decides on a degree of accuracy they are willing to accept. For me, it is 0.1 grams. If every item was inaccurate by 0.04 grams in the same direction, collectively that would represent a possible inaccuracy that the person is unwilling to accept. Yes, the law of large numbers predicts that this possibility is extremely unlikely. Yes, the hanging scale is very unlikely to have accuracy that approaches the possible error of the combined inaccuracies. None of this is relevant to a person with OCD. The OP says he has OCD. He is seeking accurate scales. What he is willing or I am willing or what anyone is willing to accept for accuracy is not subject to anyone else's opinion.

    Here is the short of it. "Math" is not sufficient for a person with OCD. A person with OCD requires a way to compare the math. A person with OCD will add the item weights up. If the totals are not very similar, one of the scales will be tossed.

    Don't try to understand it. It is not entirely logical. It is what it is. If the OP does not suffer to this level, I am sorry, he does not have OCD. Having said all this, I do not have a hanging scale. I cannot advise. I use bathroom scales (several). I would not have given my irrelevant answer had you not provided yours. Don't take that wrong. You are normal. Your answer is good... for those without OCD.
    Last edited by BirdBrain; 01-09-2016 at 11:11.
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  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by BirdBrain View Post
    "Math" will not suffice for a person with OCD. I am not going to look at my list right now (other priorities). I am not going to guess (OCD prohibits such actions). Suffice it to say, I have too many items to insure that the sum of the individual weights will accurately reflect the actual total. Every individual item will be off by an amount that is beyond the scales ability to measure. By itself, this is not relevant. Every person weighing their gear decides on a degree of accuracy they are willing to accept. For me, it is 0.1 grams. If every item was inaccurate by 0.04 grams in the same direction, collectively that would represent a possible inaccuracy that the person is unwilling to accept. Yes, the law of large numbers predicts that this possibility is extremely unlikely. Yes, the hanging scale is very unlikely to have accuracy that approaches the possible error of the combined inaccuracies. None of this is relevant to a person with OCD. The OP says he has OCD. He is seeking accurate scales. What he is willing or I am willing or what anyone is willing to accept for accuracy is not subject to anyone else's opinion.

    Here is the short of it. "Math" is not sufficient for a person with OCD. A person with OCD requires a way to compare the math. A person with OCD will add the item weights up. If the totals are not very similar, one of the scales will be tossed.

    Don't try to understand it. It is not entirely logical. It is what it is. If the OP does not suffer to this level, I am sorry, he does not have OCD. Having said all this, I do not have a hanging scale. I cannot advise. I use bathroom scales (several). I would not have given my irrelevant answer had you not provided yours. Don't take that wrong. You are normal. Your answer is good... for those without OCD.

    The bigger scale is ....WAY..... less accurate, you are actually far worse off, to each their own.

    you can add up 100 items that could at most be .05 gram off, and your total possible error IF all in same direction is.....5 grams . You are going to put that on a scale with 1/2 lb accuracy and claim to be better?

    hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahaahahahaha hahahahahahahahah................................. ..

    learn math.

    Everything in my pack, down to a rubber band is weighed and on a spreadsheet. Im not OCD, I just manage it.
    Then when I hike, I carry whatever extra I want. Extra 5 lbs food for 200 miles. Extra 3 lbs water and only drink at sources. Because Im light enough it simply doesnt matter. But theres a process to get to that point. You must know what everything weighs, and eliminate whats unnecessary. If its not on the list, you cant eliminate it.
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 01-09-2016 at 11:18.

  8. #8
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    Use a "Weight Watchers" digital bathroom scale that seems to be consistent and has 0.2 pounds of resolution. Good enough for me when dealing with packs weighing more than 20lbs.

    I also have a digital kitchen scale for weighing individual items.

    What I would like is an inexpensive - pocket size - hanging scale to weigh cloths when I'm shopping. But most hanging scales I've seen are expensive or designed to weight heavy things, not find the oz difference between this shirt v that shirt.

  9. #9
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    I asked the same question and finally just purchased a food scale at Wallyworld instead of my normal Amazon method. Shipping is an added expense on items under $10. The scale is an Ozeri Microban Touch II. Usually matches or is slightly lighter than advertised manufactured weights listed for items. I am happy with the purchase. When added together I am between 16 to 18 pounds on paper. I then weight myself without and then with pack on family scale and they seem to work out close to the same weight. Close enough in horseshoes and cornhole.
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  10. #10
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    I'd check out Northern Tool +Equipment ; www.northerntool.com . They sell quality stuff and have an assortment of scales. My hiking buddy uses one he bought from there.

    The Roughneck is under $100 and probably all you need. Me...I use the bathroom scales sans the pack, then with it.
    Getting lost is a way to find yourself.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by MuddyWaters View Post
    The bigger scale is ....WAY..... less accurate, you are actually far worse off, to each their own.

    you can add up 100 items that could at most be .05 gram off, and your total possible error IF all in same direction is.....5 grams . You are going to put that on a scale with 1/2 lb accuracy and claim to be better?

    hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahaahahahaha hahahahahahahahah................................. ..

    learn math.

    Everything in my pack, down to a rubber band is weighed and on a spreadsheet. Im not OCD, I just manage it.
    Then when I hike, I carry whatever extra I want. Extra 5 lbs food for 200 miles. Extra 3 lbs water and only drink at sources. Because Im light enough it simply doesnt matter. But theres a process to get to that point. You must know what everything weighs, and eliminate whats unnecessary. If its not on the list, you cant eliminate it.
    Laugh all you want. It is you that does not understand math. The 0.5 pound inaccuracy on a 30 pound weight might actually represent a greater degree of accuracy than what the 0.1 gram scale can offer. If you have a scale that measures at 0.5 pounds of inaccuracy, your scale is worthless (to me). It is easier to insure accuracy of a large object than it is of a small object. Anyone that has worked of a large object (say a ship or building) understands this. Laugh all you want. You are wrong. You might want to familiarize yourself with the concept of a percentage error. Adding a bunch of possibly inaccurate weighs only repeats an error many times. One way to insure the accuracy of the small scale is to compare the totals against an accurate large scale.

    Any engineers out there want to tackle this one? I am off.....
    Last edited by BirdBrain; 01-09-2016 at 12:25.
    In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by MuddyWaters View Post

    . If you get 1/2 lb accuracy you are probably doing good.
    If you get 1/2 half pound precision, you are doing quite well enough for this purpose. no?
    Last edited by Feral Bill; 01-09-2016 at 12:29.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by MuddyWaters View Post
    Theres this thing called math...its infallible.

    If you weigh the items individually and add them up, you will get the same answer. Subject to accumulating round off errors.

    Items too heavy for your scale, like pack and tent, can be weighed at the post office on their scale. They even have these big plastic bins laying around

    for this.

    Most hanging scales are pretty innacurrate. They are made for luggage and fish. If you get 1/2 lb accuracy you are probably doing good.
    If you are weighing a loaded pack that is 20 lbs, who cares if you are off by 1/2 lb?

  14. #14

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    Order a digital fish scale on line or just go to Walmart and buy one in the sporting goods section for about 20 bucks.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  15. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Feral Bill View Post
    If you get 1/2 half pound precision, you are doing quite well enough for this purpose. no?
    If the error is the same every time then it's no big deal to me. I just weigh the pack before each trip just to see where it's at.

  16. #16
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    From an engineering perspective, most digital bathroom scales have 4 significant digits. +/-.1lb is all they are capable of. Gram scales, likewise, only display 4 significant digits (three with small masses). Regardless of the scale, you are stuck with the number of significant digits. For an xx.xxlb pack, I believe one would be better off with a single measurement from a precision beam balance physicians scale than the sum of dozens of 4 figure measurements.
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  17. #17
    Registered User 78owl's Avatar
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    I would say if you cannot add all together to get total, then go out of town to a feed and seed store, they will have a hang scale you could use!

  18. #18
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    I'd like to weigh my pack just before getting on the trail. I'm always adding things after I've packed.

  19. #19

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    Kitchen or postal scales are fine for measuring and comparing the weight of small stuff. But for the bigger and heavier stuff you really need a hanging scale. Bathroom scales can vary by a few pounds depending on how you stand on them and aren't calibrated very well at low weights but are good enough to give you a good idea what the pack weighs in at.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  20. #20
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    Go to your local Veterinarian and ask to use their digital dog scale.
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