If your scale is giving you strange output, or you’re getting readings that seem truly inaccurate—maybe it’s time to replace your scale. Though digital scales are mostly very accurate nowadays, they do have a lifespan, and need to be replaced occasionally.
For the past couple weeks, my scale had been acting strangely. The first reading would regularly be 2 pounds up. Then all the readings after that were identical, and about 2 pounds lower. All the readings except for the first one matched my travel scale, too. That made me confident that it was the first reading that was off.
So, it was time to replace my scale. I had it for at least 7 years and it’s been through multiple moves, so it’s done good service. The brand was Tanita, and I looked at their current scales, hoping to just get the same one. But they no longer make it, and I didn’t like the scales they’re currently selling.
The Taylor scale in the picture is what I ended up buying. It’s just a bit more expensive than the cheapest (but still very accurate) scales available on Amazon. But I think it’s much nicer looking. I like the rounded corners, and the elegant chrome/glass finish. It’s also one of the scales recommended by Consumer Reports. There aren’t any bells and whistles, like Bluetooth connectivity or body-fat measurements. But I wasn’t interested in those features anyway (see my book Weigh Every Day for the reasons why).
