Weighs Up Nicely (Salter Slim Design Electronic Kitchen Scale)

Member Name: Zmugzy

Product:	Salter Slim Design Electronic Kitchen Scale
Date:	18/09/09 (119 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use, superb design and easy to store away .

Disadvantages: Display panel is a little dark .

This is a stylish compact electronic scale designed for use in kitchens where it can weigh food ingredients of up to 5 kg. I actually bought it to weigh postage items and it works fine for this.

I really like the look and design of this Salter scale. The scale consists of a circular stainless steel platform set in a shiny black plastic surround. I guess the purpose of the steel disc is for weighing wet food directly without a container. The whole unit measures 16x18cm and stands about 2 cm high. It is quite heavy at roughly 800g. The scale rests firmly secure to the kitchen table top on account of 6 small rubber feet that stop it from sliding over smooth surfaces. Its simple shape makes it easy to store and it takes up very little room. However, the scale looks so good and stylish I don't want to put it away and prefer it to lie exposed adorning my table top.

The scale comes supplied with 1 x CR2030 battery (one of those larger silver round ones). I've only had the item for a few weeks but judging by other reviews I'm expecting the battery to last at least 6 months. The packaging is simple and there is no interior hard plastic packaging or polystyrene. There is just one plastic bag, paper instructions and some cardboard protective supports, which along with the box, can all easily be recycled.

The scale is very simple to use. There is a large LCD display that makes it easy to see the numerical weight and the graduations of 1 g / 0.1 oz / 1 ml allow you to weigh items accurately. The only possible downside here is that the display does not light up but I guess this saves on battery life. On either side of the display are two silver buttons: the left one for on/off/reset, and the right one to switch between ml, grams, lbs and ounces. To turn the unit on you simply press the left silver button and to turn off you need to press and hold the same button for about three seconds until the display goes blank. The same button allows for resetting - this enables you to add and subtract to items already being weighed. For example, if you have to weigh food in a bowl you can weigh the bowl first, press the reset button to send it back to zero and then add the food to measure its weight. Don't worry about leaving the scale switched on as it switches itself off after three minutes if left unused.

Another important thing to note about weighing items and something that concerned me before my purchase is that it seems that the whole of the surface acts as the scale and not just the silver disc part which is set horizontally level with the black surrounding frame. I was concerned that larger parcels and letters might not weigh properly because they hang over the edge of the silver disc part and rest on the black frame but this is not a problem because the frame itself is also part of the scale.

The scale comes with a guarantee of 15 years so the manufacturers obviously have faith in their product. I bought my scale at Argos for £15 because I had some vouchers to use up. I didn't realise it was on Amazon for just under a tenner. Nevertheless I still consider this to be one of the best little gadgets I've bought in a long while and I highly recommend it.

Summary: A stylish scale from Salter