How do you weigh your bags for the flights home?

[DandyDon]

Just wait until you get to the airport, take your chances, and have your credit card handy? I hate that approach; used it once when I was on the lower limits and it hurt. :shocked2:

Even with Elite baggage limits I have had to move things from one bag to another at the ticket counter, and without Elite - if one knows what the bags are weighing, it can be tempting to forfeit some weighty items to avoid the overweight charges.

I was about to go to Wallyworld to look for fish (weighing) scales and see if they went up to 70# but on a hunch checked Ebay. Three weeks later got this little $5 gadget that weights 1/2 pound to 88 pounds and seem rather accurate. 40Kg 20g Digital Hangging Luggage Fishing Weight SCALE - eBay (item 320435840144 end time Jan-12-10 02:39:03 PST) I think you'll want a small bungee cord or similar with hooks on the ends to loop thru the bag handles as the hook on this one is a bit small. It may take over 3 weeks coming from Hong Kong in December but those suppliers have been very impressive about keeping customers happy and Positive Reps on ebay.
[C

be careful of the one with a 20 Kb/44 pound limit = worthless!

 

[vladimir]

Thanks, Don. How much does the scale itself weigh? I don't have much leeway for new gadgets in my luggage.

I've been using the bathroom scale at home, and then working under the assumption that the same stuff will weigh the same on the way back if I let it dry properly.

 

[tregrrr]

vlad.. about 1/4 lb for them gadgets??... think the size of a retractable dog leash

Balanzza :: Home of the Digital Luggage Scale is the one I have seen most often when guests pack up...

 

[hydropunk]

Vlad,

I had the misfortune of having to travel without the benefit of drying my gear last month.

I went to the Big Island from Oahu with all my divegear.

On my flight to the Big Island I was 1 pound UNDER.

On my return flight with wet gear I was somehow 10 pounds over... that means somehow I was carrying 11 pounds of water in my wet gear... dry gear weighs significantly less than wet gear, learned my lesson the hard way.

The worst part about it was that I only had two bags: my dive bag and my laptop backpack... there was no way I was going to put wet gear into my backpack so I just had to eat the weight penalty which was pretty pricey...

$$$$$$$$$

 

[DandyDon]

Yeah, this one weighs 3 oz with batteries. There are other models on ebay, but the 20 Kg/44 pound model is worthless for weighing bags - and the price vary to over $30 on some models - with a lot of variance on the same models.

This one weighs up to 50 Kg/110# with other features for $10.69 50kg DIGITAL HANGING LUGGAGE FISHING Clock SCALE #377 - eBay (item 170409562862 end time Dec-20-09 07:32:00 PST)

The Balanzza model mention can be had for $24 and may be a good value: NEW Lewis N. Clark Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale v2... - eBay (item 350293457877 end time Jan-13-10 16:29:59 PST)

Vlad,

I had the misfortune of having to travel without the benefit of drying my gear last month.

I went to the Big Island from Oahu with all my divegear.

On my flight to the Big Island I was 1 pound UNDER.

On my return flight with wet gear I was somehow 10 pounds over... that means somehow I was carrying 11 pounds of water in my wet gear... dry gear weighs significantly less than wet gear, learned my lesson the hard way.

The worst part about it was that I only had two bags: my dive bag and my laptop backpack... there was no way I was going to put wet gear into my backpack so I just had to eat the weight penalty which was pretty pricey...

$$$$$$$$$

A helluva a lot more than a second bag fee, huh? If your backpack was no larger than my laptop backpack, in which I stuff all sorts of valuables & breakables, you could have had a roll-on for free with the extra stuff. You're allowed a roll-on and a personal bag each free.

 

[JBRES1]

Don,

Thanks for the find.
I just purchased 3 of these scales.

When I pack up at home I use a scale I got from the Mettler Toledo scale company.
The Mettler Toledo scale is accurate to 1/2oz., so I don't expect these $5.00 scales to do the same, but close will be real good.

Side note, the scales at the airport aren't always on the mark. On our last trip I found the scale at the airport to be off by almost 4#s. I try to keep my bags at 40 to 45#s +/- and on the last trip they tipped the scales at the airport at 50#s. They let them pass, but made the comment to me to watch the weight. I responded that I had, and that their scales needed to be checked.

Thanks again Don,

Jim Breslin

 

[diversteve]

Amazon sells about 43 different models. If this link doesn't work, just search for luggage scale.

 

[TSandM]

I went down to the boat dealer at the bottom of our hill and bought a fish scale -- top end is 50#, but that's enough. It weighs almost nothing and cost me $9.99.

 

[DandyDon]

Don,

Thanks for the find.
I just purchased 3 of these scales.

When I pack up at home I use a scale I got from the Mettler Toledo scale company.
The Mettler Toledo scale is accurate to 1/2oz., so I don't expect these $5.00 scales to do the same, but close will be real good.

Side note, the scales at the airport aren't always on the mark. On our last trip I found the scale at the airport to be off by almost 4#s. I try to keep my bags at 40 to 45#s +/- and on the last trip they tipped the scales at the airport at 50#s. They let them pass, but made the comment to me to watch the weight. I responded that I had, and that their scales needed to be checked.

Thanks again Don,

Jim Breslin

I'd be interested in an accuracy comparison if you would in time...?

Here is the scale I used to weigh the new gadget. Says between 3 and 3.5 oz but it hasn't been calibrated since January 2001...
[c]

[/c]

 

[fisheater]

Looks good. Light & cheap.

So, I bought 5. One for each member of my immediate family.

Thanks for the tip.