Don’t trust the airport scales – weigh your own luggage with the Balanzza Ergo

Last year, Jeffrey wrote about faulty scales at Tuscon airport, the month before that it was JFK airport. Bottom line is that airlines don’t always have their scales calibrated as often as they should, and airlines sometimes even use condemned scales in their daily operations.

Of course, the big issue here is that a bad scale could end up costing you money. If you weigh a bag at home, and think it weighs 45 lbs, but the airline tells you it weighs 55 lbs, who are you to argue? You’ll hand over your credit card and pay the difference.

Of course, smart people do argue with the airline, and smart people come prepared.

This is where the Balanzza Ergo handheld scale can help. This little device can weigh bags up to 100 lbs (or 44kg) and runs off 2 (included) AA batteries. To weigh a bag, you simply hook the strap onto your bag, turn the device on and wait for “the beep”. Once it beeps, you put it down again, and check the weight on the display.

The Balanzza Ergo handheld scale costs $24.95 and ships for about $6. Alternatively, you can find it at many travel product retailers for as low as $17. When you realize that airlines will charge as much as $125 for each overweight bag, you’ll understand the need for a portable product like this.