Is an expensive scale worth it?

My scale meassures bf%, but unless really expensive, it's not too accurate, but shoves a trend. The biggest plus for me, is that it autosyncs to my phone, mfp etc.

I don't think it's worth it. It's just a gadget created to make you consume more products... Spend more money. How is it going to change your life? Probably not very much LOL.

I am not sure how a fitbit scale could change someone's life, maybe these people are just really easy to please.

Presumably you just want to know what your body mass is, your $10 scale will tell you that.

The body fat reading on scales is generally pretty inaccurate, particularly for women who carry more fat on their lower body.

https://www.livestrong.com/article/354963-how-do-body-fat-scales-work-are-they-accurate/

My scales just show my weight. Every now and again, when I get to a weight loss milestone, I use the more sophisticated machine at the gym to see % body fat etc. I don't find I need that information on a daily basis.

I've bought a $14 scale from Walmart about a year ago when I started tracking my weight. It's take 2 seconds for me to enter the number into MFP so I didn't see the value of a $100 + scale. I did invest in a Garmin tracker which I love and would recommend.

Not necessary, I have a cheap set of Salter digital ones and they do the job just fine.

It depends on you.

I have a fairly expensive and accurate scale for body fat (it is always 0.3%-0.4% higher than Dexa every single time when taken on the same day). I've never used another that was anywhere close to as accurate as they are usually several percentage points lower than Dexa and my accurate scale. But to me, that accuracy is incredibly important.

If your goals are based on how you feel or how you look, you don't really need a scale at all.

Then there are the majority of people in between people like me who demand accuracy and reliability of objective data and those who seek more subjective results. Within that group, there is still quite a range. Figure out where you fall within that range and then you have an answer.

I bought a Withings Composition Wi-Fi Scale last year (the company has since been acquired by Nokia) for about $100 and I think it was totally worth it. I weigh myself 5-6 days a week and having the data automatically transmit to fitness apps instead of manually entering it saves a few minutes per day. It also gives me other stats like fat and lean muscle measurements - these aren't precise, but they provide relative changes, that I think are useful.

Also, the scale can calculate who is being weighed by the previous weight data, so my kids weigh-in a few times per week and I can monitor their weights (plus they think it is fun).

It's only worth it if you see worth in it. I have an expensive scale because I'm lazy and don't like to log my weight, so I saw worth in a scale that automatically logs weight for me. On the other hand, I have very few expensive clothes because I don't see worth in them. I'm more about comfort than labels, so I don't see worth in paying for a high end brand. Others may and do see the worth in high end clothes so they pay for them.

What is it that you're looking for in a scale, and do you feel the price is worth it?

Bry_Fitness70 wrote: »

ritzvin wrote: »

Azercord wrote: »

I also have a scale which I use about once a week. I have a kitchen scale (to track down to .00g cause I'm a nerd) that I use constantly. And I have an expensive Garmin watch that you can pry off my cold dead arm.... It really depends on what is a priority to you and what numbers are important.

me too.

Not having to type in the morning weigh-in number daily → not worth + to me (will reconsider if scale dies and I find one that will send data to both Withings or Fitbit (for Trendweight) and Garmin). And I definitely don't need a daily (inaccurate anyway) BF% reading.

Longer battery life on mountaineering trips, turn cues, custom data fields, custom fairly intricate training intervals - totally worth .

Anything to make fitness more interesting (or at least less tedious) catches my attention and is totally worth the money if it keeps me engaged. I also have a Garmin Fenix 3 HR watch, which is several hundred more dollars than your average fitness tracker, because I love fitness gadgets and data.

Do I need all of this data? Probably not, I could get by without most of it. However, I've been in maintenance for over 4 years, and honestly, it is a grind and very boring at times -my PRs and weight are as good as they are going to get at this point, so anything to take the edge off of that is welcome.

PS - the Nokia (Withings) WiFi scale automatically transmits to other apps (including Fitbit and Garmin)\

Yes, this is the one I have. I chose it because I read the Aria can have finicky bluetooth and some found it hard to set up, at least back when I bought my scale.