Review by M. Furlong:

I would prefer to write this review after some time has passed, but I want to make sure I get my thoughts out here early on.

This is my third kitchen scale. I bake all my own bread at home and good baking requires weighing the ingredients rather than volume measuring.

This scale feels very light which made me nervous at first, but I’ve used it for three weeks now, through a lot of baking over the holidays, and my concerns seem out of line.

This scale fits all my needs. Here is what I look for:

1. CAPACITY – AT LEAST 10 LB (this has 11 lb, or 5 kg). This is required to be able to tare out a glass bowl which can weigh near 5 lbs empty. 11 lb is still borderline when I’m making bread in a 6 qt kitchenaid bowl, but I just weigh ingredients separately in another bowl if it becomes a problem.

2. PRECISION – DOWN TO 1 GRAM – Another scale I have was only good to 5 grams and, although this was probably good enough, it drove me nuts not to be able to go down to 1 gram

3. STABLE PLATFORM FOR VESSELS — My previous scale had a platform that sat on top of a pillar and eventually came detached. After that it was a balancing act to weight anything

4. ORDINARY BATTERIES — I liked my old scales fine, but it drove me crazy that I had to keep buying overpriced CR2032 batteries for the things. These batteries don’t last long and cost too much to replace. I can’t figure out why they use these “button batteries” rather than the more common higher capacity AAA, AA, C, D, etc cells. It’s not like these scales are micro-sized. In any event A BIG BIG PLUS for this scale is that it uses standard batteries! Don’t sell this point short.

5. PRICE — , , for a scale to do this is crazy. the circuitry in these things is cheap. It’s not rocket science. All these scales that have “features” are a waste of money. This scale does what needs to be done for .

6. FEATURES — Zero the scale, read negative numbers, switch between metric and English weights, tare a bowl….that’s it…that’s all you need. All the rest of it is a waste of money and a further chance for failure. this does what is needed and no more.

7. EASY TO READ — big numbers. this scale is good….Not so good about this scale (and the ONLY problem I have so far) is that big bowls tend to cover the read out a little and make it hard to pick up the weight. So far it hasn’t been a big deal, but it can be a slight annoyance.

BOTTOM LINE:

This scale gets 100% on items 1-6 and about 50% on item 7 for a 93% grade overall…enough for me to give it 5 out of 5 stars.

The only remaining unrated item is DURABILITY….I’ll report back in a year. My old, scale only lasted 3.5 years. I’m betting this one goes at least that long…plus I won’t be forking over for new button batteries every month and a half.

Review by Eric Law:

** This review has been edited ** I now give the product 5 stars (stupidly, Amazon doesn’t allow changing the rating when editing).

Originally I wrote a bad review indicating the unit eats batteries. We didn’t use it frequently and every time we did, the batteries were dead.

About a day after I submitted the review, Bill from EatSmart Products emailed me indicating he had seen the review and short battery life is not typical of the product (he stated they should last ~1 year). With no prompting from me, he sent out a new scale along with some batteries to replace the ones the original scale consumed. Although it hasn’t been very long, so far the batteries in the new unit are holding up well.

So as I stated above, I now give this scale a 5-star rating due not only to its good performance, but the great customer service from the manufacturer!

Review by Southworth:

This scale functions perfectly, is easy to read, reaches a reading quickly, switches readily to the desired graduation or to tare with just one or a few button pushes, and is EXTREMELY accurate–I tested it against a laboratory balance. Its error was under 0.5 gram at 250 grams, or less than 0.2%. Two things to watch for: 1. The instructions say it must be stored horizontally with nothing on it, so it takes up more space than I had planned; 2. The auto-off occurs after one minute of no activity, which is sometimes inconveniently quick. However, you can simply tap on it to keep it going for another minute. Just a note–the CR2032 batteries are a one of the very common lithium coin cells and you can find them quite cheaply on eBay, often with free shipping. I haven’t had the scale long enough to determine what the battery life might be.

Review by Dale Miller:

The Kintrex scale more than meets my expectations. I work as a cook and use a kitchen scale daily. I was wondering how the electronic scale would handle tare weights? Couldn’t be simpler. Just place the container on the scale before turning it on and the scale subtracts the container weight and zeroes itself automatically. Switching from grams to pounds/ounces is equally easy. At this price, the Kintrex scale is an incredible bargain.

Review by Merkin:

Excellent scale, even for double the money. The tare feature works like most others, but the three real goodies are:

… the FOUR MINUTE before auto-cutoff. Not like the Taylor scale I had that cut off after one minute of nonuse. It was always cutting off on me before I was finished with it.

… and NO DEFAULT SCALE It’s the same as when you last turned it off (if you were using grams, the next time you turn it on it’s still in grams, OR ounces at OFF then it’s ounces at ON). Tap the button to change g/oz on the fly.

… AND it holds A FULL ELEVEN pounds (5kg). I put a bag of flour on it, set tare, and scoop out until it reads xx-ounces (virtually impossible with a 6# scale).

Yeah, I was a chef for many years and more interested in utility over aesthetics in my equipment. I buy flour in 5# or 10# bags now instead of 50# or 100#. I used to have to have several scales — one for portions and and one for weighing things like yeast and salt, and bigger ones for things like flour and meats. Now 11# is sufficient and this is still accurate enough for yeast and salt.

… Okay, so it’s plastic instead of yuppie glass and chrome. It’s accurate and well designed — not heavy, temperamental, or hard to clean. It just works.

… Oh, and it doesn’t use strange batteries (regular old AA batteries so you don’t go into conniptions when you need replacements)

Review by Joesab:

I was looking for a reasonably priced scale and I don’t believe you should have to spend to get a decent scale. Based on some good reviews here I chose this one and am very happy with it. If it was lost or stolen I would buy another one without hesitation. I would have given this scale 5 stars rather than 4 if it weren’t for a serious omission of a “feature” in the documentation that can cause large accuracy problems when dealing with the tare feature. It’s not a problem with the scale as long as you are aware of it, it’s a problem with the documentation. This problem could explain why some other reviews stated this scale is inaccurate.

The problem is that when this scale is zeroed it goes into an auto-zero mode where small changes (1g or so) in weight cause the scale to continuously re-tare and stay at zero. I discovered this when I put a dish of almonds on the scale and hit tare. I removed almonds 1 at a time and the display always returned to zero. I had removed 15 and it still read zero. I put the 15 back in all at once and it read 15g!. Almonds conveniently weigh between .8 and 1.3 grams.

If you zero out a bowl and try to add a few grams of salt by slowly pouring it in or weigh out some small garlic cloves, you could end up with significantly more than you think you have, depending on how you pour or add. Pouring continuously and quickly instead of dribs and drabs works better.

There are several ways to work-around this “feature”:

1. Make your first addition or subtraction to the zeroed scale large enough to get it to register, add quickly (not slowly as the directions state). With the almonds, if I first took out 2 or 3 at one time, the display went to non-zero and then went down by an avg. of 1g for each almond removed after that (sometimes 0 sometimes 2) and the total weight remained correct.

2. You can also put 2 nickels on the scale after tare then subtract 10g from the weight (2 nickels weigh 10g).

3. You can also just press down on the scale with your finger until you’re sure you added or subtracted more than 2g or so.

The only other con about this scale is that it might display a reading that seems stable, but 1-2 seconds later it re-adjusts to the correct value, don’t be in a rush. If you put an object on it and press tare it may go to zero then 1 second later it has some value displayed, just press tare again and it will zero. Never assume it is zeroed unless you wait 1-2 seconds for the display to stabilize.

I’ll try to give you some info here that I didn’t find in the 400 or so other reviews:

I’ve verified the accuracy with calibration weights from 2g to 200g and the scale is accurate and repeatable within +/-1 gram ( a digital display of *any*device can’t be more accurate than +/- 1 unit)

The scale has 3 weight modes, grams, ounces and pounds & ounces. Resolution for pounds/ounce mode is .1oz, for ounce mode it displays to .01oz but the resolution is usually .04oz (sometimes it increments .02oz, it depends what weight you are at).

This scale works fine near a running microwave, my old Salter would go crazy within 5ft of a running microwave.

I don’t know what people are saying about how small it is, I think it’s big, but just the right size. It’s 6″ W x 8.5″L x 1.6″H. Any smaller would make it hard to use with large bowls and any larger is unnecessary.

It would be nice if the display faced forward or at a slight angle for large objects. If you measure a lot of bulky objects this could become a problem for you. For medium size objects like large bowls or boxes just put something like an empty box or container on the scale first and tare it, this will effectively elevate the platform. The display will be easier to see when bulky objects are placed on the elevated platform.

I love the 4 minute auto off, most scales are 1 minute and that is too short when using the tare feature.

One issue is that if you power it on with more than 120g or so on it, it gives a cryptic (undocumented) error of “0ut2″, if you remove the object it then zeros out without having to power cycle it.

I’m a geek so I measured the current consumption of the scale, 3.5ma when on and negligible (2ua) when off. The scale still turns on even with batteries as low as 2.6v (maybe even lower). What this means is that you should get around 800 hours of “on” time before needing to replace the batteries. For the casual user this could be 5 years when used for 30 minutes a day!

My old crappy (discontinued) Salter burned through 2 expensive 2032 lithium cells every few months with very light use (and you couldn’t turn it off, you had to let it time out!). I would never buy a scale that uses expensive lithium cells again.

I like that this scale can be turned off (hold the on/tare button for several seconds), although with this kind of battery life, I don’t bother.

Review by Food Prep Fanatic:

OXO’s newest addition to the kitchen counter is this well-designed, practical food scale. The pull-out display makes sense if you have ever used a scale and cannot see the readout with a large container on top. As cool as the design is, the scale is extremely accurate, so much that we use it for a postage scale at home, and it weighs anything from an envelope of under one ounce, to a good sized package for the mail (up to 11 pounds). Weighing ingredients in food is the European way of measuring while cooking, and so much more accurate than volume measurements. Of course it is bi-lingual so you may measure ounces or grams, and it is perfect for converting European recipes

Review by NWChef:

I couldn’t agree more with the other reviews thus far. This unit is sleek looking, and the pull out diplay is another ingenious OXO idea. The numbers are large and easy to read. It zeros for weighing multiple items with a simple button push, and the metal surface of the scale can be easily removed for clean up.

I’ve found this little machine to be quite intuitive, you can set it up with the included batteries and get right to work without so much as a glance at the instructions.

Review by San Berdoo:

When used correctly, this little scale works superbly in my estimation. The instructions are almost impossible to read as they are apparently written by a non-English speaker. That said, if the top plate is hand tightened onto the scale mechanism, it is very secure and works well.

By pressing “ON” and then “TARE” with the provided bowl in place, the unit returns to zero for measurement of whatever you wish to weigh. My bowl, by itself weighs in at 2.8 oz.

The provided bowl has an integral bottom rim which fits over the top plate making the bowl wobble free and easy to use.

I recommend this unit highly. I made sure the unit was correctly calibrated using known value gram weights of 20 and 100 grams and the unit is spot on.

Great unit for the home.

Review by gestroud:

I’m very dissatisfied with this product.

1. The 3-part construction is flimsy

2. The weight it displays are never the same twice.

3. Metric weights are only displayed as whole numbers. If you have a recipe that calls for 7.25 grams of a seasoning, you have to “guesstimate.”

4. The platform that the bowl rests on isn’t attached to the main unit. It’s a separate piece that jiggles back and forth while you’re weighing, even when the platform is locked in place.

5. If you’re not careful picking the unit up, it can easily separate, drop to the floor and break.

Design 1 star

Functionality: 2 stars

Review by Brian:

I did some shopping and comparing, before taking a chance and ordering this one. I found it listed in several places, but the descriptions of the size were not the same, and none of the descriptions mentioned what type of battery it used. Anyway, I rcvd it, and it appears to be a quality product, worth paying a little extra for. I dont know why all the descriptions say it measures in increments of 0.125, I thought that sounded a little weird; mine obviously displays the weight in pounds, ounces, and 0.1 of an ounce. It comes with (2) 3V lithium batteries (CR2032) which I presume are long lasting, and can be replaced. The size is: 6-1/2″ wide X 8-1/2″ long X 1-3/8″ high. It seems to be very responsive; and the large tilted display is easy to read and wont be blocked by large bowls. I wanted to buy a cheaper one, but they sounded like junk, whereas this one doesnt have any drawbacks that I can tell

Review by John Schaffer:

Looked at many scales and at Food Network’s Alton Brown’s recommendation tried to find a scale to weigh up to 11 pounds. Did not like those that did for various reasons, mostly large size. The Polder weighs up to 6.5 lb. and has proven to be just fine. My main purposes are to weigh flour and other dry ingredients for baking, and for smoothies. My glass blender jar is 3.6 lb and the 6 smoothie ingredients, at 4 oz. each, are another 1.5 lb so well under the max device capacity. Scale is easy and quick to tare as each ingredient is added. Only concern is that when adding liquid ingredients, there is sometimes a delay for the added weight to actually change the display, so add slowly or stop for a second or two until display catches up, otherwise you could easily add too much. As other reviewers mentioned this scale is compact, absurdly simple to use, very easy to clean, works well.

Review by Jason Richter:

Couldn’t believe the price for this Ozeri scale as most scales were double the price. Glad I took the chance as it works great and didn’t even need to read any instructions. Simple to use. Makes weighing and taring easy.

Review by Marie Helmuth:

After looking around for different kitchen scales I thought I’d go with this one since it looked the same as other brands ( but not as expensive#. I’ve been using this scale almost daily for a few days now and there isnt anything negative to say about it, but here are the pros:

1 – Its super easy to clean becuase of its chrome coating # you can easily wipe most things off with a rag )

2 – Its consistent- a nickle weighs exactly 5 grams and this scale gets in on the dot every time.

3 – Its a bargain compared to other scales around this caliber

4 – And its easy to use. Even the tare function.

Review by Z. G. Standing Bear:

We rescue hedgehogs and use this as our field scale. It is compact, accurate down to 1-gram intervals and easy to use (nice postal scale in ounce fractions, too). Very reasonably priced, the company is exceptionally courteous and fast in responding to orders. We have recommended this scale and firm to all of our small animal rescue colleagues. Z. G. Standing Bear at the Flash and Thelma Memorial Hedgehog rescue,Inc., in Divide, Colorado USA

Review by E. Fischer:

I just got it and my only issue is a lack of a diagram of what the buttons do. But it is REALLY easy to figure out and wonderfully easy & accurate to use! My old scale had a wobbly needle & was hard to read. This is great!

NOTE: right button on/off, left button changes from grams, ounces, etc.

Review by Tim Skiba:

I know my wife was looking for a kitchen scale so I decided to surprise her with this one, cuz from what she tells me, “little stuff” like this makes her happy. On the day it was suppose to arrive, I walked up to my door after a long days work, wondering how happy and surprised she would be, and hoping she would be nice to me like BEFORE we got married. I casually walked in with a smile on my face only to be welcomed home by my lovely wife and what I can only describe as a noise concoction of a chainsaw, jackhammer, and a wailing cat in heat all in one(anyone ever hear a cat in heat before?). Here’s the highlight of that civil conversation:

” OMG WHY DID YOU BUY THIS, I JUST BOUGHT ONE TODAY! ”

” Oh, I didn’t know. Thought you’d like this one…”

” OMG I SPENT ALL THIS TIME RESEARCHING, AND I BOUGHT THE ONE I DID FOR A REASON !”

” Oh, well I researched it too. Lets check it out…”

I figured I didn’t want to completely forfeit any dignity I had left so I chose to defy the odds and defend the scale I purchased against my wife . We kept it civilized as we both calmly opened up our respective scales and set them down next to each other on our dining room table to juxtapose and compare. Right off the bat, we both agreed mine looked better–mine was contemporary, sleek, thin, and sexy. The specs were nearly identical but the wifey’s was some gargantuan amalgamation of cheap plastic and glass that she picked up at Bed Bath & Beyond. And not to mention that she paid almost double what I paid for my scale even with shipping. I thought it was a homerun , but she decides to pull a “looks aren’t everything” card on me. So I reach in my pocket and pull out some change that I had. From what I know, Nickels are exactly 5 grams so I put one on both scales. So far so good as they both read 5 grams. I then put 3 Nickels on her scale but the scale read 16 grams. Sensing victory is near, I quickly put 3 on my scale. With a big smile on my face, I read out 15 grams. Not wanting sleep on the couch that night I quickly refrained from any victory dancing and humbly and respectfully asked her to return her scale, which she made me do…

In a head-to-head faceoff with another scale, The Ozeri Ultra Slim scale was the victor, and so far, its been perfect. As a scale, it is accurate, consistent, and easy to use and clean. I feel like this review has rambled on a little too long, but overall, its a great scale that works and looks fantastic!

Review by Dan Higgins:

I am into decor and wanted a scale that I could leave on display instead of storing in a cabinet. Looked through what felt like hundreds of scales online and picked this one. My expectations were high based on the pictures, and I have to say it really is styling. Recommend this to anyone who cares about style and function.