Customer Reviews

Soehnle Rio Fat, Muscle, Water Analysis Scale

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I had been looking for one of these body fat analysis scales, but couldn't find anything that looked good enough to replace my nice glass tray scale, until the Soehnle Rio showed up in my Gold Box (thanks Amazon!).
I have been using it for a few weeks and couldn't be more pleased.

You will probably need to refer to the clear, multiple language manual the first time you use it so you can configure it for multiple people. The scale can remember up to 4 different users, and tells them apart automagically.

Unlike other electronic scales, which require you to power them up and wait for a beep before you step on them, the Rio works like you would expect: just step on it and wait for your weight to appear on the dial. Analysis then follows automatically if the scale "recognizes" you. It turns itself off automatically when you step off.

Don't let the low price fool you: this is a well made, very accurate scale with advanced features that looks gorgeous and couldn't be any easier to use. Nice work Soehnle.

As a nice looking scale, I'd rate this 5 stars. The weight measurement seems accurate -- very close to the scales at my doctor's office and gym as well as weight measurements that seem to accurately reflect my recent eating habits and exercise habits (ie, when I have eaten a lot and expect to weigh more, I do). I do question how accurate the other measurements are, though. The muscle, fat, and water measurements are highly interdependent which, to some extent, makes sense: If you're well hydrated then you should have a lower body fat percentage. I'm not sure why higher or lower hydration should have such an impact on the muscle measurements, however, and all three measurements can vary enough from weigh-in to weigh-in (even if done in close succession) that I simply think these measurements are more "ball park" guestimates (like the calories burned counters on various cardio equipment) rather than real measurements.

I bought this scale to replace a previous weight and fat measurement device made by Tanita, hoping that this would offer more accurate fat percentage measurements. After using it for the past several weeks, I doubt that it's any more accurate than my previous, considerably less expensive scale.

So my advice to prospective purchasers is that if you want a pretty looking scale that will give you a rough guide as to the other parameters this scale measures beyond body weight, this isn't a bad purchase. If you really only need a body weight scale, however, you can get something that looks as nice for a lot less money and then use something like a tape measurer to get an idea as to how your body measures. (Of course then you need to be honest with yourself as to whether that 18" bicep is mostly fat or muscle!)

Edit on 1/26/09:

I would downgrade this scale's rating considerably now. I had to have my scale replaced about one year after purchase because it stopped doing anything other than basic weight measurement. The first replacement scale sent to me from the manufacturer did not work at all. The second one has just died in the same way as my first scale, just over two years post-replacement. The good news is that the scale comes with a 10-year warranty and the manufacturer has, so far, been good about replacing defective units. The bad news, however, is that the postage to return the defective merchandise comes out of the consumer's pocket. Given that this item isn't light and given that this is the second scale I'm having to return to the manufacturer (they didn't even want back the totally dead one they sent to me), at this rate I figure that I'll end up spending over $20 over the life of the warranty to keep getting scales that work. Factor in the hassle involved in packing the item and taking it to USPS or UPS, I just don't think this scale is worth the hassle. The scale it replaced (I'm glad I still have it) still works fine. I should add that (a) I'm the only person using this Soehlne scale and (b) I have not done anything that could have damaged either scale that broke on me.

The scale is everything the manufacturer claims. However, with minimal use by one average sized adult, our scale lasted only about nine months. The balance part of the scale is very sound, but the battery clip that powers the electronics is poorly designed and built of very cheap components. I suspect that poor Q&A will result in a fairly high percentage of these units failing and recommend that you go elsewhere. Today, my scale will not function unless I hold the batteries by hand (not too practical when someone is standing on it...).

Conclusions:
* Scale design is nice--looks good.
* Construction of balance components is solid, glass is very strong. Design and construction of the power unit (battery) is rather poor.
* Scale functions as advertised for a normal sized (80kg/175lb) adult ... until the battery power clip dies.
* Buyers should avoid this scale in favor of something with more solid battery compartment and connections.

Hope this helps!

The scale is beautiful and easy to read. However, it is difficult to set up properly. Read the instructions through to the end before you begin setting it up. Make sure you use the "convert" button on the back to convert from Kilos to Pounds, BUT make sure you convert to American pounds rather than British "stone" pounds!

Also be very careful when you are setting up the machine to "zero" the scale properly. It is the final button push and if you press the button too hard, you will throw off the scale. I thought the scale was broke (it was weighing me ten pounds light) until I realized this. You have to pinch the area where the button is rather than just push the button or else you are pushing on the scale and causing that pressure to be zero'd. Hope that makes sense, but it is essential to getting the scale to work properly.

I do love that you only have to step on it to cause it to activate and find the right person and that it's accurate to .2 pounds.

Maybe my unit was just defective, but here's my experience with this scale:
First impression: It does look beautiful.
Closer inspection: Although it's a German company, the manufacturing is in China. The legs and the body are cheap plastic.
After switching to pounds, I placed the scale on the floor. With noone standing, the scale started displaying weight measurements that were quickly changing in the range from 1 to 30 lbs. I figured it was trying to calibrate itself and zero itself out (the manual does not mention anything about calibration or zeroing the scale out, so I am not sure). A couple of times it did display 0.0, but then it would change again. After a couple of minutes of doing this, the scale turned off.
The manual says that after programming, with the last keypress, it should show 0.0, and then you have to immediately get on the scale so it recognizes you next time. For me, with the last keypress, it went back into "calibration". To make the story short...

The scale showed my weight as being from 150 to 230 lbs on different measurements! (My real weight is around 210 lbs)

At first I thought it was the problem with "calibration", so I tried resetting the scale and catching 0.0 reading before getting on it. Then I tried waiting, hoping it would eventually calibrate itself, but it would always turn off with the last reading not 0.0, and depending on at what point the calibration stopped, you would get a different range of readings. Getting on the scale, locks in the calibration, but even then on consecutive readings the measurements would vary within 15 lbs range. According to Soehnle website, the accuracy tolerance of those scales should be within 3 increments of .2, so even assuming it was a calibration problem, the accuracy is still unacceptable.

The warranty is 3 years, not 10 as stated on Amazon website.

All the features that others rave about, are there (auto-on, auto-recognize your settings), just hold your fingers crossed that it's not defective.

P.S. Amazon's return policy is that it pays for the return shipping if the product is defective, if you just don't like it, you pay for the return.

Purchased this scale about a year ago. Worked awesome and we very close to the body fat% a caliper gave me without all the work. The scale as many others have stated stooped work after replacing the batteries. I called Soehnle at 1-866-695-3434 and informed them of the problem. Unlike other reviews of their poor customer services they apologized for the defective scale, gave me a RA#, and told me i would have a new scale in about 2 weeks. I would give this scale 5 stars if not for the defect and aggravation. I will bump my review up to a 4 once I receive my new scale. for those of you having issues use that number above, and don't waste your time dealing with amazon. hope this helps

It worked quite nicely until after about 9 months the display just stopped working. Changed the batteries to no avail. It's very pretty, but I have a less attractive old Tanita that does body fat measurements which has been working for 5 years.

Stopped working after one day! Show scrambled characters on the LCD. This scale was probably made for aliens since its reading is not legible to the human eye. Returned it.

This product was great while it lasted, as in many reviews already written. However after the battery (which when I originally ordered it was one of those circular batteries) ran out (approx. 1 yr after purchase), the product never fully recovered.

I went to the hardware to purchase the replacement batteries and I put them in. Then whenever someone stood on the scale, it displayed garbage characters on the screen. I tried contacting Soehnle via email, no response. I tried contacting Amazon, citing the "10-yr warranty" mentioned on the description page and was told since 30 days had elapsed my only option is to return it for a partial refund. This product would have gotten 5 stars from me if: 1) the batteries were standard AA or AAA when I originally bought it, and 2) when I replaced the batteries it functioned as it had originally. It was a great scale that helped me monitor my progress while trying out various diets and exercises. But if I'm left with a dead piece of glass and plastic after only a year and I originally paid $76 for it? 2 stars...

this was probably a good scale, I used it for a few mins and it seemed accurate, but it arrived broken in the box, the buttons at the top of the scale were loose in the box and the plastic clips to secure it were broken, I shouldn't have to super glue a new item so I didn't use.