[Tom]

What's a gear shopping freak to do when he's run out of gear to shop for? Well, buy something to weigh all that gear with accurately, of course. Note: I was originally providing a link to Old Will Knott who I purchased my scale from. Unfortunately after sending him lots of business he started gouging folks $45 for this scale! If you want one of these puppies, click on this LINK to get it on ebay for $22.50 + shipping.

[Dante]

Is it mechanical or electronic? Portable? Can you bring it to the "teeth of the winter campout"? Then we could have a gear weighing party, too

[Tom]

Electronic (digital), very portable (6"x7"x2"), and it "tells ya' the truth, ALL day, EVERY day" according to Ol' Will. My digital scale arrived today and boy am I having FUN with this thing. What a great little scale. I highly recommend this scale to anyone serious about reducing pack weight. I guarantee you'll have a few surprises - I sure did! Here's my list so far. Manufacturer weights are listed [in brackets]. P.S. Before you kid me about all my gear, I don't necessarily own all this stuff!!! Sevylor Trail Boat: 4 lb 12.5 oz [vs. 3 lb 8 oz ] incl. boat (2 lb. 15.5 oz), oars (15.9 oz), bag (13.1 oz) Note: Randy Busch's trail boat weighed in 1/2 oz heavier, confirming 1 lb 4-5 oz. of manufacturer fibbing!!! Backpacks - Kelty Apex: 2 lb 2.7 oz [vs. 1 lb. 9 oz ] - Mountainsmith Ghost: 2 lb 7.9 oz [vs. 2 lb 6 oz ] - Jansport D3 External Frame: 5 lb 8.5 oz [vs 5 lb 3 oz] Rainwear - Moonstone Momentum Tech Parka (medium): 23.9 oz [vs. 21 oz ] - REI Alpine Lakes Pants (medium): 14.9 oz [vs. 15 oz] - Marmot Precip Jacket (medium): 12.3 oz [vs. 12 oz] - Heavy Duty Vinyl Poncho: 10.1 oz (incl. plastic bag) - Emergency Polyethylene Poncho: 2.0 oz (incl. plastic bag) Other Jackets - Trader Bay Fleece Pullover (large / tall): 21.1 oz - Nike ACG Fleece Jacket (medium): 17.1 oz - Nylon Windbreaker (large): 14.5 oz Shirts - REI Trekker Short Sleeve (medium): 8.0 oz Hats - Stocking Hat: 2.2 oz - Canyon Threads Microfleece Hat: 1.3 oz - Patagonia Microfleece Neck Gaiter: 0.9 oz Camera & Supplies - Canon G2 Digital Camera (incl. battery and 256MB card): 18.2 oz [vs. 18 oz] - Extra Battery: 2.6 oz - Extra 256 MB Compact Flash Card: 0.4 oz - Large Lens Pen: 0.7 oz - Small Lens Pen: 0.3 oz - Ultrapod II: 4.1 oz [vs. 4 oz] Lanterns / Headlamps / Flashlights (all incl. batteries) - REI Candle Lantern: 6.1 oz, 6.8 oz incl. case [vs. 6.7 oz] - Princeton Tech Solo: 5.9 oz (incl. stuff sack, alternate bulb & reflector) [vs. 4.5 oz w/o?] - Petzl Zipka: 64 grams (2.3 oz) [vs. 64 grams] - Mini Maglite Solitaire: 26 grams (0.9 oz), 24 grams (0.8 oz) excl. keychain [vs. 24 grams] Sleeping Bags / Liners (excluding stuff sack) - Moonstone 800 Zone 2 (Long): 2 lb 14.8 oz [vs. 2 lb 13 oz] - Moonstone 800 +2 Liner (Long): 16.9 oz [vs. 15 oz] - Moonstone 800 Zone 1 Ultralight (Long): 1 lb 15.6 oz [vs. 1 lb 15 oz] excl. 3.6 oz stuff sack - Marmot Hydrogen (Long): 1 lb 11.0 oz [vs. 1 lb 11 oz] - Western Mountaineering Megalite (Regular): 1 lb 9.5 oz [vs 1 lb 9 oz] excl. 1.3 oz stuff sack - Small Quallofil Camp Pillow: 8.4 oz (incl. stuff sack) - REI Pillow Air Bag: 4.4 oz Sleeping Pads - Therm-a-Rest Guidelite Long: 1 lb 13.5 oz [vs. 2 lb ] excl. 1.4 oz stuff sack - Therm-a-Rest Ultralite 3/4: 16.7 oz [vs. 16 oz] Tents / Bug Bivys - Walrus Zoid 1.0: 3 lb 5.3 oz (excl. footprint) [vs. 3 lb 5 oz], 20.6 oz (tent), 1.1 oz (tent bag), 18.3 oz (fly), 7.9 oz (poles), 0.3 oz (pole bag), 4.8 oz (ropes & stakes), 0.2 oz (stake bag), 8.0 oz (footprint), 0.5 oz (footprint bag) - Adventure 16 (A16) Bug Bivy: 4.6 oz, 6.4 oz w/ stuff sack [vs. 6.5 oz] - Repel Sleepscreen: 9.3 oz, 10.6 oz w/ stuff sack [vs. 10 oz] GPS / Altimeter / Compass / Map - Magellan Map 330 GPS: 6.7 oz incl. batteries [vs. 7 oz], plastic baggie (0.3 oz), spare AA battery pair (1.7 oz) - Alta Altimeter Watch: 2.3 oz - Suunto M-2D Locator Compass: 1.3 oz (1.2 oz excl. cord) - Green Trails Map: 0.5 oz (excl. 0.5 oz plastic bag cover) Books - Beckey's: Vol 1 (22.6 oz), Vol 2 (25.1 oz), Vol 3 (26.0 oz) - 100 Hikes: Alpine Lks (13.3 oz, 11.4 oz '85), S.C. & Olympics (13.0 oz), N. Cascades (13.1 oz, 11.8 oz '85), Glacier Pk (11.5 oz) - 75 Scrambles: 14.5 oz Stoves - Coleman 508 White Gas Stove: 2 lb 2 oz (excl. fuel) - MSR Whisperlite: 8.9 oz (stove) excl. pump assembly (1.7 oz), windscreen (2.2 oz), empty 22 oz bottle (4.4 oz), bottle cap (0.4 oz) - Coleman Xtreme: 11.0 oz [vs. 11 oz], 12.0 oz including stuff sack, full 10.6 oz cannister (14.0 oz) - MSR Pocket Rocket: 85 grams (3.0 oz) [vs. 3 oz], 4.2 oz including case Ignition - Piezo Stormy Lighter: 1.4 oz (excl. 0.1 oz cover) - Bic Lighter: 0.7 oz - Match Book: 0.1 oz Cookware - Coleman Stainless Steel (508 Stove Carry Case): 3 liter Pot (7.4 oz), Fry Pan / Lid (3.9 oz), Handle (2.3 oz), Total incl. Coleman 508 Stove (3 lb) - MSR Stainless Steel: 2 Liter Pot (9.5 oz), 1.5 Liter Pot (7.7 oz), Fry Pan / Lid (6.1 oz), Pan Handler (1.7 oz), Plastic Strap (0.5 oz), Total incl. whisperlite stove, windscreen, pump & empty fuel bottle (2 lb. 11 oz) - MSR BlackLite Aluminum: 23.5 oz [vs. 23.5 oz], incl. 2 Liter Pot (6.6 oz), 1.5 Liter Pot (5.2 oz), Fry Pan (5.5 oz [vs 5.4 oz]), Lid (3.4 oz [vs 3.3 oz]), Pan Handler (1.6 oz [vs 1.6 oz]), Mesh Bag (0.9 oz), Plastic Bag Seprator (0.3 oz) Kitchen Accessories / Utensils - MSR Alpine Kitchen (Complete) Set: 15.0 oz [vs. 15 oz] - Stainless Steel Knife / Fork / Spoon Set: 3.2 oz - Lexan: Fork (0.4 oz), Knife (0.5 oz), Tsp (0.3 oz), Tbsp (0.4 oz) Water Bottles & Carriers (empty) - Reliance fold-a-carrier: newer 2.5 gal (5.3 oz [vs. 7.3 oz]), older 2.5 gal (7.3 oz [vs. 7.3 oz]), older 5 gal (10.9 oz [vs 11.3 oz]) - Stearns 3 Liter ( 2.25 liter capacity) Sun Shower: 3.6 oz [vs. 3.5 oz] - 32 oz. Nalgene Bottle: 3.8 oz - Platypus Big Zip 2 Liter Hydration Pack: 3.9 oz [vs 4 oz] incl. resevior (1.4 oz), tube, bite valve, and clip (2.5 oz) Water Purification - First Need Deluxe Water Filiter / Purifier: 18.0 oz [vs. 15 oz )] - Exstream Orinoco (26 oz Squeeze Bottle Purifier): 7.9 oz [vs 7.5 oz] - Aquamira Water Treatment: 3.1 oz [vs. 3.0 oz] Miscellaneous - Mini Pliers, Knife, Screwdriver, Bottle Opener, Scissor: 2.2 oz - 2" Pocket Knife: 1.7 oz - 48' Nylon Cord: 2.4 oz (incl. 0.5 oz plastic holder) - 16" velcro strap: 5 grams (0.2 oz) - 42'" sleeping bag straps (pair): 36 grams (1.3 oz) - REI Sanitation Trowel: 1.9 oz [vs 2 oz] - Biodegradeable T.P. Roll: 1.1 oz (incl. wrapper) [vs. 1 oz] Emergency / First Aid - Moleskin: two 4"x3" strips (0.3 oz), bag (0.1 oz), folding scissors (0.5 oz), scissor case (0.1 oz) - Space Emergency Bag (3' x 7'): 2.9 oz [vs 3 oz] - Emergency Aluminized Blanket (51" x 79.5"): 1.9 oz (incl. plastic bag) - Repel StingEze: 0.8 oz Sunglasses: - Bolle Coach Whip Polarized: 0.6 oz (excl. 0.5 oz cover) - Bolle Strand Non-Polarized: 0.7 oz (excl 0.3 oz cover) Snowshoes / Tails / Ice Gear - MSR Denali Ascent: 3 lb 14.5 oz (missing saber tooth) [vs. 3 lb 12 oz] - MSR Denali Sherpa: 3 lb 13.2 oz (same as Denali Ascent, but with older 2 top lace "stand up" binding) - MSR Denali 26" Tails: 11.5 oz (pair 1), 11.4 oz (pair 2) [vs. 11.3 oz] - MSR Denali 30" Tails: 16.9 oz (pair 1), 16.6 oz (pair 2) [vs. 16 oz] - Stubai Ultralight Crampons: 602 grams (21.2 oz) [vs. 590 grams] - Ushba Altai Titanium Axe (70 cm): 404 grams (14.3 oz) [vs. 13.8 oz] excl. mesh grip (0.6 oz) and tip cover (1.4 oz) Helmets - Frendo "Crag Hat" Helmet: 412 grams (14.5 oz) [vs. 400 grams]

[Backpacker Joe]

Great job Thomas. Think I'll pick up one of those!

[reststep]

I see they have scales at REI now. I mean ones for shoppers to use while they are in the store to check the weight of stuff before they buy it. I was thinking of taking my own scale with me but won't have to now. Tom, that sounds like a really nice scale you purchased. You will be able to weight your fuel canisters now to see how much fuel you have left.

[Randy]

Tom, you have a lot of gear! I suspect you have less than several others on this board. I have a single down bag from the early 70's. It was my dads and it still works well enough for me and I have no idea how much it weighs! In fact, I have no idea how much any of my gear weighs. My pack is just always around 60 lbs day hike or multi-day, off-trail trek.....or at least that's what I tell people Obviously, I haven't contracted gear-freakitus!

[Dante]

I can't hide the symptoms of gear freakitus, but I still don't have as much gear as Tom. I'm pretty sure Backpacker Joe has him beeat though

[Tom]

Actually, not all of that gear is mine, per se. I ordered a lot of stuff at Christmas from REI, Campmor, and The Snow Leopard - a good portion of which I plan to return (particularly a few of the sleeping bags). I was waiting for the scale to help me decide on a few. I thought folks would be interested in the weights. In any case, that Sevylor Trail Boat was a real eye opener. I don't know how a manufacturer could miss the weight by that much! Randy, you might want to consider an inflatabag and paddles from Mr. Curtis when old age catches up to you .

[Randy]

I'm actually going to sell my Sevylor to Beave for $300 (shhh, don't tell him it's only $60) then buy myself a Curtis raft. I'll put the profits toward a helmet cam for next summer!

[Tom]

Beave needs two trail boats to slow him down on the trail . Then again, I need something to weigh down my young nephews when they visit in the summer.

[Jonathan]

Will Knott is out of the Green ones but he's got Blue ones, mine is on the way. You guys are costing me to much money I will have to go hide for a couple days before the wife finds out I've been spending money again. I have been using a spring scale that I use to weigh fish for my WDFW surveys and it works well but only to 2 lbs. I just 'clip' their little lips and swing them around until they stop long enough to get a reading, if they don't weigh enough I just tug on their tails until I'm happy. http://www.balances.com/pesnet.html

[Benjamin]

Ha ha ha Johnathan!!! I think I just scooped up the last green one. I ordered it yesterday, and as you know green is much better than blue. Why do you think they sold out first>

[Benjamin]

By the way Johnathan, why did you buy the scale that has a 2 pound max. limit for weighing fish? You'll never even use 15 percent of its capacity! In your case the 10 ounce version would have been adequate for your fist weighing needs, plus it is a bit cheaper!!!

[Tom]

Heck, I would have sold you my translucent green one if you like that color. I'd rather get one of the (less expensive) non-translucent models on ebay (see link at top). In addition to being $10 less, I think they are better for weighing gear due to the rubberized platform. The translucent (i.e. 3001T) model is to make it look nice in the kitchen. Hey, just tell the wifey you got it for her .

[Benjamin]

Tom, how did you overlook such big savings before buying your scale? And from Ebay of all places. This does not seem like your style. Perhaps you are spending too much time on the computer and need to get some rest!!!