Customer Reviews

OXO Good Grips 5-Pound Black Food Scale with Pull-Out Display

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Storage real estate in my kitchen is at a premium so I bought this scale instead of the larger eleven pound capacity version, Oxo Good Grips Food Scale with Pull-Out Display. The small size tucks away nicely but the directions say it will ruin the scale's accuracy to store it on its side or with weight on top. I found a nice home for the scale but it would have been nice to see that information in the item description. I think the smaller capacity of this scale is an excellent trade-off for its smaller size compared to its larger sibling for nearly all home kitchens.

It is a total joy to have a truly reliable scale so I can use weight instead of volume measurements for my baking as it is more accurate, particularly for flour, as well as being faster and neater. You can Google "convert (ingredient of choice) to ounces" to get volume-to-weight conversion charts for ingredients for all your recipes. The gram option makes following European recipes where quantities are often indicated in weight instead of volume a breeze.

The scale works perfectly and is intuitive enough to use without reading the directions. It is accurate compared to the postal scale at my post office. Some reviewers of the larger scale mentioned inconsistent readings when weighing the same item at different times. The scale I have shows no signs of this. I checked with both very light and heavy items placing them in the center and towards the edges of the platform. All readouts were consistent with all items even when they were not centered on the scale. The scale does have a smidge of a delay when adding ingredients but I found this easy to handle by using a light hand when I was getting close to adding the weight I needed.

The readout only pulls out three inches although it retracts to two inches unless you hold on to the readout. However, the two inches is more than enough to prevent shadowing for most anything one would want to weigh under five pounds including using a large dinner plate. The LCD readout is large enough that even the fractions are easy to read although this scale does not have the backlighting option that the larger model has. In using the scale I haven't felt the need for any backlighting but someone who has a particularly dark kitchen might feel differently.

Unlike the larger model the platform on this scale is not removable for cleaning. The platform is easy to clean but that might be a feature that some would find important. Also, this model does not display pounds in decimals which was a criticism that was brought up in reviews of the larger model.

My old scale that I never trusted an inch is now in the Goodwill pile. This is a product I would readily recommend highly to family and friends.

I use this scale to weigh every meal that I eat. I also own the larger version of this scale. For my purposes (weighing meals), this smaller scale is ideal. It can only hold up to five pounds, but even with a heavy china plate and a pound and a half of food, I am not even close to the five pounds. The on/off switch also acts as a zero switch so that you can zero out the scale before adding additional foods or ingredients. It can read imperial and metric units. The display can be pulled out slightly so that you can read the weight of a dinner plate without playing peek-a-boo or resorting to using a bowl underneath. One word of warning: as with all digital scales, you should take the plate off the scale if you need to cut a piece of meat or other food -- adding the extra pressure to the scale will cause it to malfunction over time. The smaller size of this scale and the lower cost make it an even better option that the larger version. Great low profile and compact size for small kitchens.

UPDATE: I wanted to add a comment about battery life in response to another customer's negative review. I've used my scale daily now for two months and have never replaced the batteries. I find with my older, larger version of this scale that I only need to replace the battery every 9-12 months with daily use. I don't find that bad at all!

I put off getting a scale for a long, long time. However, this scale has made me a permanent fan. It calibrates itself when you turn it on and is super easy to use. The pull out reader makes it a cinch to be able to read weights if you're, for example, using a large bowl to house the ingredients. It also has a handy little indicator on the righthand side to let you know how close to its max weight you are... but at 5 lbs, I have yet to get near its limit. Also, readjusting the weight to zero as you add each ingredient is its best feature, making measuring by weight easier than any inferior method. This is now one of my favorite kitchen gadgets.

I purchased this item for a quick service pizza restaurant. It's pretty hard to find a decent scale for pizza portioning, but this seems to do the trick. The pizzas tend to cover up the lcd screen on most traditional scales, and pizza scales cost a bundle and a half.

It does eat thru some batteries, fairly fast. We use it off and on for about 4-6 hours per day, and it usually takes about 6-9 days to go thru them, but we use it a lot more often than a home user would.

The extension cord is about 4 inches long, I definitely wish it was longer.

Overall Score 8/10

P.S. It's totally saving me a bundle.

I first saw this scale on America's Test Kitchen on PBS. It was rated the best and I have found that to be true in my using it. The feature that allows you to zero the scale after the bowl or plate is put on it is great. I don't have any problems with the scale and it is easy to clean and store. Highly recommended.

I bought 2 Oxo Good-Grips Food Scales recently - one for my place and one for my parents'. These scales are great!

Measurements are given in either metric or English quantities. The metric quantity measures down to the gram and the English measurement gives a reading to a fraction of an ounce. I didn't think I'd need the metric measurements at all since I live in the US but I've learned that most food products give English volume serving sizes with equivalent metric weight serving sizes. So the metric measurements are helpful when I, for ex, make a PB&J sandwich. I just put bread & plate on scale, zero the scale, scoop out the gram equivalent of a serving of peanut butter, take plate off scale & spread PB, put plate & stuff back on scale, re-zero scale, & then measure a serving of jelly by metric weight amount. That saves getting out the tablespoons, cleaning them, getting the food off them, etc. Much better!

The scale is very easy to clean - the 2 buttons are embedded in the face plate so there aren't any cracks between buttons & display plate for food to slip into. The magnets that hold the display are strong enough that the display doesn't become detached when the scale is moved but are sensitive enough that, if a plate is on the scale, the display pulls out without moving the scale itself. The scale is low profile & doesn't take much room at all - very useful when living in a small apartment. One thing is that the scale is not, per the instruction manual, to be stored on its side or with other things on top of it - to preserve the accuracy of its measurements. I also really like the display indicator that shows how much of the scale's 5 lb capacity is occupied. That way I can re-zero the amount shown as often as need be to get precise amounts of multiple items on one plate and I don't exceed the weight capacity of the scale when doing so - also to preserve the scales measuring accuracy.

All in all, I'm thrilled with this scale and would buy them again in a heart-beat!

The general function of this scale is fine and usually I have liked OXO products. But the auto shut off function on this scale, at 3 minutes, I believe, is too short, not adjustable, and so therefore repeatedly interferes with weighing items sequentially. I'm returning mine and will try another.

i purchased this scale based on the recommendation of cook's illustrated magazine. i trust their research & findings. this scale proves their decision to be right on. this is a wonderful, versatile little scale. i love how compact it is yet can weigh up to 5#. would highly recommend.

This scale gets the job done. It's so easy to read and portable. Haven't had a bad batch of soap yet,thanks to the accurate measures. Measures in grams and ounces so whatever your choice things will work out.Planning on buying a second one.
Also shipping thru Amazon was quite speedy. Over all this product helped me start my business with ease.

This is a great product. It's very handy. I bought it to measure portions, etc... so 5 pounds does the job. It's a great tool for baking as well if your using metric measurments.