Weigh it all up and decide for yourself (Salter Slim Design Electronic Kitchen Scale)

Member Name: abbadabbado

Product:	Salter Slim Design Electronic Kitchen Scale
Date:	18/06/09 (95 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: slimline, cheap

Disadvantages: function buttons are but hit and miss

My younger daughter decided to break my set of kitchen scales late last year when she discovered the utensils cupboard. I was therefore in need of a replacement and was looking around for some digital ones as mine were the old fashioned style handed down from my Mum.
I didn't really know what I wanted, but it needed to be small and space saving, as well as being able to measure in grams for when I wanted to weigh my Ebay parcels.

Browsing on Amazon I came across a few, mainly all being made by Salter which I have since realised is the main manufacturer in scales generally.
The set I chose were on offer late last year at just under £10. This seemed like a great bargain and even now they are only just over £12.
I also chose them because of their appearance. A lot of the scales look quite space like and futuristic which wouldn't fit in with my kitchen style. I wasn't going to be leaving them out on the worktop all the time, but I wanted something that would blend in if only slightly.

When my scales arrived I was impressed with how small they were. They are only about 20cm square and not very deep at all which meant they were going to be able to sit neatly in the corner of my cupboard and not take up a lot of space at all.
The scales come with batteries already inside them, but due to low usage this should last you a long time if you remember to turn the scales off when you've finished with them each time.

Using the scales is simple. I liked the fact they have a large digital display straight away. With my old set I was always guessing where the dial was sitting, but this set tells me automatically. There are only two buttons on the set, one for on/off/reset, and the other to change between ml, grams, lbs and ounces.
I find that I really do use all three weighing measurements, depending on what I am doing. Cooking usually gets me flitting between all three and weighing my parcels usually means I am using the grams button. To change between functions, the button needs to be pressed only once and it'll change on the screen. The display for the function is quite small and sits in the top corner, but after frequent use of the scales you'll get used to which is which without peering to read the screen.

The on/off/reset button requires more thought, but not a lot. To turn the unit on it's a simple press of the button, to turn off you need to press and hold the button until the display goes blank. I have put the scales away a couple of times and realised later that I didn't turn the unit off properly. This could run my battery down quicker so you do need to watch this function. If you don't press and hold for long enough then the unit will just reset itself to zero but will stay on.
When cooking however the reset button is great. When I am making cakes, I can put a large bowl onto the scales and press the reset button once to deregister the weight of the bowl, weigh my first ingredient and press the reset button again to deregister the weight of the first ingredient. This way I can weigh everything that needs to be mixed together at the same time without faffing about with spare bowls.

To clean the scales, you are advised not to use liquids to preserve the life of the scales. I find that a quick wipe over with a kitchen towel generally keeps my scales looking in tip top condition.

Overall this is a great budget set of scales that if looked after properly will last you a long time. Salter obviously has faith in their product as it comes with a 15 year guarantee as well.
My set gets used on an almost daily basis, and they are so easy just to slide back in the box to put in the cupboard when I have finished again. They also don't look out of place in my kitchen which is great.
If you're looking for a new set of scales you can't go wrong with these.

Summary: a great economic set of scales