I have flown over 5 million miles in the past 20 years. 2 million on United; 1 million on American; 500k on British Airways; 500k on Virgin Atlantic and 1million + on various other airlines around the world. I have traveled for business, for pleasure, for family requirements and sometimes, just because I needed a change of scenery to fuel my creativity and energy. Trips have ranged from a couple of day mini-break to 6-week excursions exploring a continent. And in all of this, I have never once used or felt the need for a digital luggage scale.
Understandably, my family and friends frequently give me travel related gifts. They take pleasure in finding the latest gadget and know that whatever they give will get used (at least once). Recently I was given my first ever digital luggage scale. A Travel Inspira 110lb/50kg scale that is available on Amazon for under $8. And I have to say, I have used it more than I ever expected and have started to think about all the times I could have used it in past adventures. Perhaps it really is a great travel gift…
Recently, I have used this little scale to:
- Weigh ingredients to bake a cake. We were staying in a VRBO in a beautiful little town in NSW Australia. It was one of our group’s birthdays and I wanted to make a cake but there were no scales in the kitchen (one of my pet peeves is a poorly equipped rental house kitchen). Rather than having to go buy a scale or guesstimate the ingredients, I just attached a food storage bag to the scale and it worked perfectly.
- On a long trip in Europe I used the scale to figure out how much a laundry service would cost. I had an Ikea bag full of laundry and saw a sign in the laundromat advertising E1.50 a kilo for wash and fold. But how much will it cost for that full bag of laundry? Easy, just flipped the scale from Lb to Kg and had the answer immediately.
- I bought a beautiful antique serving dish in a market in Chaors, France. It was obvious that it would fit in the carry-on bag that I had and if I packed it carefully with clothes as padding I was confident that it would make the trip home intact, but would it push the bag over the weight limit for carry-on? The answer was easy with the Travel Inspira scale and that meant I could show up at the airport and check-in without worry.
- Distribute items between backpacks on a long day hike to make sure the loads were fairly distributed between the group and end that “mine is heavier than yours” scenario once and forever. Made for a harmonious and stress free hike!
- Getting ready for tax season and clearing out paperwork from the home office. Our local FedEx Office charges $1.15 a Lb for shredding. Is it worth me standing at our puny home shredder for hours or should I go drop it at FedEx Office. Out comes a trusted Ikea bag and the Travel Inspira scale and the answer is clear – $30 at FedEx or a few hours at the shredder, that’s $30 well spent in my mind.
So my conclusion, a digital travel scale makes a great gift for yourself or for the traveler in your life. It may seem like a one-trick pony but it can actually be surprisingly versatile and is something that has earned its place in my travel gadget line-up. You can check it out on Amazon here.
