Excellent piece of equipment lacking nothing, January 28, 2002

As weight scales go, it's more accurate than the average bathroom unit. Most scales seem to fluctuate anywhere from 3-5 pounds each time you step on them after only a minute.

I was surprised at how accurate the body fat measurement was. I purchased this not expecting a true reading, but rather just to have something that would allow me to see if my fat content was rising, maintaining, or lowering.

Although I have been strongly active for years, I decided in November to make a real commitment towards pushing my athletic ability to the best it could be at my age (31). Part of this was getting my body fat content measured in the tank test, currently the most accurate method used by sports physicians.

My scale arrived in the mail before I my scheduled appointment for the tank test. Would that I had known beforehand how accurate the scale was -- measuring myself only 1 hour before my appointment, the scale gave a reading that was only 0.5% off of the results of my tank test. One hour after getting home, I checked the scale again, this time the scale gave me the same reading.

It should be noted that if you are serious about your fitness, I would still recommend the tank test as you learn a lot about your body's overall composition and have the opportunity to review your results with a physician.

Readout is large enough and easy to read. A friend commented that the readout has no backlight, and although this is true I don't see why I'd want to see my weight and fat percentage in the dark.

The unit also ships with plastic feet that can be mounted on the bottom of the unit for use on carpeting up to 1" thick. For me this was a nice bonus as I prefer to use this scale where my workout equipment is (carpeting), rather than the bathroom.

Overall a fantastic unit and a must-have if you're serious about improving or maintaining your physical conditioning.

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Two thumbs up for TBF-622, October 4, 2002

By	Simon Waddington (Oakland, California) - See all my reviews

Eschewing style for function, and starting a diet I was persuaded by the glowing reviews and a recent price reduction to go with this scale. I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed.

After two weeks of use I can say this is a very accurate scale. This scale weighs to .2 pound resolution which is close to 0.1 percent of your typical body mass. Because its so accurate even slight movement (swaying, muscle movement) while on the scale can cause some variation hence you can expect to see a +- .2 variation from one weighing to the next. That's not really a problem for me and don't be deterred thinking the scale is inaccurate. If you stand very still you'll see the same value time after time (until you loose or gain weight of your own accord!).

I can't really comment on the body fat measurement since I've never had a third party measurement to compare with. I've experienced about a 5-10% variation either way between successive measurements. I suspect its not getting my feet accurately on the pads or moisture. However that accuracy is within the daily variation you'll see anyway from varying water levels in your body. Just measure at the same time of day and keep a record and you should be able to detect a steady change if you're dieting or doing something else that will change your body fat.

The scale has two kick buttons at the front which allow you to select from two body profiles. The profile includes your height, body type (normal/athletic) and gender. The profile only affects your body fat measurement anyone can wiegh themselves - they just have to know to kick one of the switches first to turn on the scale. After measurements stabalize you can step off the scale and they will flash for several seconds - this allows those vision problems (I can't read the figures without my glasses - but they are plenty big enough to see with them) to stoop down and take a close look.

This scale uses 4 AA batteries (included) so no expensive lithiums to buy and you could even use rechargeables if you really wanted. I've no idea how long they last, I'll update this review if they ever run out.

Unlike the Health-o-meter I've had no problems with tipping on this scale, it does not have separate feet - the base sits directly on the floor.

In short - a functional, well designed and accurate digital scale, well worth the purchase price.

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