Travel

December 24, 2015 By Nick Giustina

Scrubba, Washing Machine in a Bag Update

Scrubba, world's smallest washing machine — Scrubba

This past summer your peripatetic COGgers enthused at length over the Scrubba, Australian-made Washing Machine in a Bag. Five-star rating: flat-out best performing, most useful product innovation we’ve seen in years. Anyone who wants clean clothing needs a Scrubba. For back up, if nothing else. Overnighting: trail, dorm, hostel, RV, hotel, boat, trailer, back-seat of your dad’s crew-cab? Ten minutes (max): clothes fresh as any automatic washing machine could make ‘em.

But our COG team testers reserved judgment on the Scubba Bag for white fabrics. Only white fabrics. Early wash loads showed slight but noticeable color transfers from the Scrubba’s lime-green, “dry” bag, coated-nylon exterior to white tee-shirts. As we admitted, our COG tests ranged well beyond the manufacturer’s suggestions as to detergent concentration and wash-load soak times.

Further testing, however, put our initial concern to rest…without reservation!

After six-straight weeks of forced nightly washings, our COG Scrubba cleaned clothes like a possessed launderette AND left no traces of color transfer whatsoever!

What happened between our first tests and this summer’s coursing after Aeneas? (Our team spent some time sailing the Mediterranean.)

Our COG team traveled 3000+ surface miles by ship and car. Long hours and many miles afoot produced heavily “used” clothing and little time for coin-ops along the way. COG’s Scrubba bag rendered service every night: two sets of underwear/person, three times/week, each. Jeans and R1 sweaters took to the wash-bag every three days. Our reporters averred their ensembles remained fresher throughout their six-week, death-march tour than at home, using their regular washer/dryer.

Particularly as to color transfer: our team’s Scrubba bag started to “break-in.” After three weeks, the white graphics printed along the bag’s side began fading. Then the lime-green bag took on the look of a life-jacket (PFD) left a couple summers on the dock, in direct sunlight. By this time the bag’s graphics were mere shadows (of themselves); the Scubba bag’s color dyes (i.e., the Scrubba product’s actual color) had totally stabilized. COG’s team washed white cottons, polyesters and the full array of white performance fabrics with no color leaching at all. Problem solved!

That is, the Scrubba’s performance improved the longer and harder it was used!

And that white, silk, Armani blouse? Our COG gal rinsed hers repeatedly in the Scrubba with a mild, silk-oriented solution: whiter and cleaner than ever!

Now COG’s only problem with the Scrubba? Who gets to keep it in their travel kit?

$64

October 1, 2015 By Chas Bruce

Travel Umbrellas Without Compromise

Example of an umbrella in use in Great Britain — Umbrella in Great Britain

British PM Neville Chamberlain travelled to Munich for a 1938 Agreement, appeasing fascist Europe before WWII. Contemporary observers noted, “I wish [Hitler] had to deal with someone stronger than Chamberlain. He brought his umbrella with him you know? Bloody little bank manager…” (The Pale Criminal, Philip Kerr, 1990.)

Well. This early umbrella review seems a little harsh….

One the other hand, umbrellas sheltered English explorers for decades as they suffered steamy rainforest approaches to Mount Everest. For these adventurers, beset by leaches, swollen streams and constant drizzle, umbrellas were an expedition essential. (Everest the Hard Way, Christian Bonington, 1976.)

Unless you’re dealing with fascists, COG recommends keeping an umbrella with your traveling kit at all times.

But which umbrella tests best? We’re rejecting the nine-dollar umbrellas that pop up with the first shower, mostly at drugstores. These units are invariably heavy and flimsy: OK, but only if you’ve ignored our testing.

COG first reviewed trekking umbrellas last summer. These specialized units excel for a wander up to base camp: wide canopy coverage, study construction and stouter weight displacement.

However, with this current review we’ve the tested the lightest-weight umbrellas we could find: umbrellas less sophisticated than your diplomatic mission might require and probably not “up” for high winds at altitude. Here we’re looking at “urban” cruisers so lightweight that you can’t leave them at home.

Umbrella in use in front of a cathedral — COG tester at Il Duomo de Firenze

Check out the photo of COG tester Patricia Crawford enjoying a first look at the Renaissance architectural masterpiece, Il Duomo di Firenze (1436 AD). While less severe than the Khumbu icefall, Florence presents unique challenges. September rains overmatch Gore-Tex rain suits in seconds, driving thronging tourists inside. Notice the snapshot’s few, high-season background figures bent-over against the downpour? Their shell-jacket hoods permit zero visibility beyond rain-soaked shoes. Patricia’s GoLite Half Dome Umbrella frames unobstructed views of the Duomo’s unique, early Gothic, white marble facade.

GoLite’s Half Dome

GoLite HalfDome umbrella — GoLite HalfDome

Featuring a 41-inch canopy-arc, 6-ounce weight and super-compact size (just larger than a men’s wallet), GoLite’s Half Dome is easily the never-leave-it-at-home winner for travel umbrellas. Such convenience requires user effort, however. The umbrella must be deployed and closed by-hand: an occasionally less than graceful maneuver. Also, the 6-ounce, lightweight unit employs a skeletal framework that’s a bit unstable in brisk wind. Patricia turned her GoLite inside-out a time or two with no ill-effect: she reversed the process by facing the umbrella’s crown back into the wind. But it’s best for GoLite’s lightweight wonder to deploy crown-forward, toward the wind, with a firm grip high-up on the handle/stem.

$30

See a comparable, if slightly heavier, Trekking Umbrella from Sea-to-Summit (8-ounces), $40.00, (COG review, August 15, 2013).

REI’s Travel Umbrella

REI Umbrella — REI Travel Umbrella with vents

At the other end of our review’s strength-to-weight scale is REI’s vented, Travel Umbrella: 43-inch canopy-arc, sixteen-ounces (1lb.), push-button open/close and, folded, about the size of a compact police baton. Besides its self-defense capability, REI’s umbrella features a vented, wind-tunnel-tested canopy: the vented, double-covering allows trapped wind (when gusts force you into a horizontal, Marry Poppins configuration) to pass through the inverted canopy-arc without turning the umbrella inside-out.

Your COG testers found the REI’s umbrella’s vent and study framework resisted even the eponymous “typhoonal flow,” a weather pattern unique along Australia’s northeast coast. Less euphemistically, Americans would call this sort of weather an hurricane’s outer edge: in this part of Australia, wind-driven rain courses over roof-tops in forty-foot long, horizontal “mare’s tails” spray. Our REI umbrellas didn’t keep your COG testers dry down under, of course, but the umbrellas fought the local Coral Sea typhoon winds to a stand-still. If you’re looking for the toughest, compact umbrella we’ve ever used, REI vented Travel Umbrella.

$37.50

Totes’ Lite N’ Go Travel Umbrella

Totes Umbrella open — Totes’ Lite N’ Go Travel

COG’s favorite umbrella tested to date: Totes’ new Lite N’ Go Travel Umbrella. The Lite N’ Go has two major defects:

It’s got a “gimmicky” flashlight built into the handle;
You can’t buy the Lite N’ Go until spring.

Of the pair, #2’s most serious. Outside of that, Totes’ travel umbrella tests best for our COG reviewers stationed in Western Europe, Northeastern Australia and, most exotically, Utah.

Side-By-Side Comparisons

Here’s the side-by-side comparison so far: our COG guy appreciates most that he can’t find his tiny GoLite umbrella until he needs it because it’s so small (it hides in his back pocket). Our COG gal likes her REI umbrella because no matter how hard the wind blows, she can make like Mary Poppins with no worries of canopy collapse. But the Totes umbrella does a great job mediating the trade-offs.

First, weight: at eleven-ounces (11 0z.), the Totes Lite N’ Go is dead-center between REI’s bomb-proof wind shedder and GoLite’s barely-there whisper. Second, strength: the Totes’ unit is tested to the same wind tunnel standard as REI’s but does without the wind-vent. COG thinks this results from Totes’ better, structurally integrated framework: frame cross-sections are closed hexagons and jointed members appear double-butted. Or something.

Weight-wise: the Lite N’ Go might discourage a small dog but is too lightweight for self-defense. 12” x 1½“ closed-size doesn’t fit in a back pants pocket, but Totes unit’s noticeably lighter in the day pack than REI’s. Also, the Lite N’ Go canopy opens and closes with a push button like REI’s. Totes Lite N’ Go Travel Umbrella, $49, maybe available spring 2014.

The Flashlight

Totes Umbrella folded with flashlight — Lite N’ Go umbrella with flashlight handle

Now about that flashlight built-in to the Lite N’ Go umbrella handle? First, distinguishing the open/close button from the flashlight switch requires close attention. If you accidentally switch-on the flashlight during daytime rambles, the light’s hard to notice since the handle/flashlight points down. By the time daylight fades, you’ll likely find your flashlight “dead.” Guard against accidental discharge by taping a spare battery (it’s dime-sized) to the umbrella handle. Secondly, the flashlight-in-the-handle concept seems weird in our outdoor (lightweight-is-right vs. function) gear-head world. Our COG guys have multiple flashlights stashed away: dashboard, sun visor, glove box, daypack (x2), shoulder bag, carry-on, bedside drawer, bathroom…so the fellows think the umbrella’s built-in flashlight’s over the top. But the COG gals think the flashlight-in-a-handle’s a neat idea…if you routinely have six flashlights at hand, how can one more hurt? Especially in the rain, at night, pointed (by default) at your footpath? Thirdly, an extra $7.00 at retail.

Auto open/close umbrellas (like REI’s and Totes’) require a two-handed maneuver to force the unit into its fully compressed position. This means wet hands every time you stow your umbrella. Guys! Don’t expect your mates to do this digit-numbing task themselves. If you find a gal so inclined, would you let COG’s HR department know?

Slipcovers and Carabiners

A note about travel slipcovers for travel umbrellas. As you can see with our product photos, both the REI and Totes umbrellas sport sleek, carabineer-carrying slipcovers. GoLite does the same, but without the carabineer. Besides looking cool, the carabineers secure umbrellas while you’re slumming around town or the backcountry in the sunshine. But it’s Murphy’s Law that, as soon as the clouds open, your umbrella won’t be where you left it: handy to have your umbrella secured by its carabineer. However, those umbrella slipcovers, empty and loose in a daypack, are certain never to be seen again. So, hang on to that little ‘biner: hook the umbrella handle. But let those slipcovers find their own special place in the universe; you won’t miss the extra weight while you’re dodging liquid sunshine.

July 22, 2015 By Nick Giustina

Scrubba, World’s Smallest Washing Machine

Rubba dub dub,
three men in a tub,
and the cow jumped over the moon…

Scrubba, World’s Smallest Washing Machine.

COG offers several obvious leads here. But check out the pics: this story’s clear as this simple photo sequence.

First: Australian vernacular idiomatic speech: the non-rhotic accent in Australian English renders “scrubber” as “Scrubba.” This non-rhotic accent among certain English–speakers marks presumed social ascendancy.
Second: What are those men from the nursery rhyme doing in that tub; what kind of tub is it? A washtub.
Third: Beta-testing hand-washing device available for a year in Australia, the Scrubba made the rounds of travel reviewers, April 2013.

However, reviewers love the Scrubba for the wrong reasons.

COG’s over the moon for the Scrubba Wash Bag. Maximum star rating.

And we read the six American gear reviews we found online: Capable reports, correct and mildly enthusiastic. But what the heck? Those early Scrubba reviews miss two salient features. (And if you’re washing whites, please check our suggestion at the end of this review.)

Even Scrubba president, Ash Newland, an outdoorsman, intellectual property attorney and great admirer of Sea-to-Summit owner, fellow-Australian Tim Macartney-Snape, seemed slightly reserved re our COG analysis. We spoke at the Scrubba booth, OR Summer 2013.

So, first things first. As every RV-er knows, anyone can fill a five-gallon bucket with warm water, throw-in detergent, add a proportional volume of dirty clothes and drive down the highway for a few hours. Rinse and voila! Clean clothes. If you’re driving a rougher road less traveled, thereby increasing agitation (of clothes, if not passengers), your (auto!) wash-cycle will be shorter.

A dry-bag of water, soap and clothes on the rental car’s rear-window shelf or a zip–lock, similarly outfitted atop a backpack, renders some measure of the RV-er’s trick.

Which is to say, this Scrubba idea is not so brand new. But Scrubba’s iteration certainly merits intellectual property protection. Scrubba’s great! And here’s why: it’s cool, clever and works better and differently than any reviewer to date has noticed. Marketing department may also take note.

To wit: hands and sink plugs.

If you’re like our COG testers, traveling for months by foot, auto, boat and beast, usually remote from your favorite launderette, you hand-wash a clothing-set every night (naturally we travel with only two clothing sets, saving space/weight for dive mask, climbing shoes, organic coffee, et. al.). If you get our COG-style, get a Scrubba for your travels; you may end up using this hand-washing marvel at home as well. Your $2100.00 German Miele automatic clothes washer can’t get normally soiled clothes cleaner than a Scrubba. (The Australian manufacturer can produce a major university’s comparative, double-blind study as proof.)

If you’re wondering what our COG super-lightweight, elite-traveler attitude is about, we’re sorry. Hand-washing in a sink is fine! The COG team’s done this for thirty years. First we stop-up the wash basin (if we can find one), add clothing and warm water. Next we lather-up our hand soap, scrub, soak and rinse. Or we use soap liquid or powder specially designed for hand washing.

So far so good. Except now, we run out of hand-washing soap. So we clever COG guys substitute shampoo. OK, but now our undies aren’t getting the washing they deserve/need. So we start using packets of regular machine-washing detergent. Bingo! In slightly more time than brushing our teeth, your COG team can sport perfectly fresh clothing every morning. Soak times being crucial here.

However, all cleaning soaps feature surfactants as their most active ingredient. Laundry detergents max-out these “surface-active-agents” (“surfactants”) with a chemical structure that grabs dirt and grease with a hydrophobic molecule-end while an opposite, hydrophilic molecule-end, draws the grime into the wash water and keeps it there. Agitation rounds the surfactant molecules into tiny balls that wash cleanly down the drain. Does this double-ended, hydrophilic-hydrophobic molecule sound familiar? (Think of the push-pull, capillary-action moisture management of today’s performance undergarments.)

But this is exactly what the less-traveled reviewers and PR folks have missed: hand washing clothing for extended periods with any detergent designed for maximum soil, dirt and grime removal will dry your hands quicker than Joshua Tree (NP) in July.

Our clothes may be super-clean but our palms are bleeding. Milder hand-soaps might leave our natural skin elasticity more lovely, but our socks not so clean.

(COG’s tested hand washing soaps and detergents for clothes extensively: our fair-skinned, Scandinavian tester split her fingernails after three weeks of nightly hand laundry washings; our olive-skinned, Mediterranean type cracked his finger skin after five weeks. Over time, the cleaner our hand washing laundry, the more wrecked our hands. Don’t try this at home: leave the gritty stuff to COG.)

Now if bleeding palms don’t annoy you enough while scrubbing your nightly wash-up, what about your hotel’s washbasin? According to our pragmatic studies of hundreds of hotels, motels, hostels, caravan parks, huts, refuges and communal shelters, the stoppers provided with basin or tub work at thirty-five percent efficiency. For the rest of your hand wash jobs, the water’ll leave the washbasin within minutes. As detergents (or greener products) work better with longer soak times, lousy or absent stoppers will leave your clothing “greener” than your traveling companions may tolerate. COG travels with several basin stoppers. And, unlike our Black Diamond Stoppers, often we can’t find a good placement in even the swankiest hotel sink.

Bleeding hands and leaky sinks for soaking dirty clothes? COG guarantees that if you travel fast, light and long, you’ll find the Scrubba more useful than a Eurail pass when you’re dead-broke.

Instead of hassling with sieved sinks or chapped hands, toss water, detergent and clothing into a Scrubba bag, bleed-off excess air trapped in the bag (there’s a handy, built-in vent for this), agitate (we roll ours around on the floor with bare feet), let soak and rinse. Pictograms printed on the side of the bag prompt memories challenged by late nights.

But naturally, our COG testers ignored the printed instructions. Where Scrubba recommends a maximum-load of two tee-shirts, two-pairs socks and shorts, we jammed-in a well-used pair of jeans (four days, August, SLC): way overloading the compact, hand-washing system. Two minutes’ agitation and a ten-minute soak: perfectly fresh jeans.

Cleaner clothes than hand washing. Less active time required than hand washing. Ease of use. No sink or tub hassles. No bleeding fingers. 5.6 ounces.

What’s not to love? We also see a clear window along the bag’s cylindrical side-panel for monitoring those surfactants darkening the wash water (as clothing gives up dirt and grime) and a pebbled “wash board” on the interior, facing side-panel: the Srubba may be the most useful product introduction we’ve seen in years.

COG’s only reservation is this: no matter how carefully the user folds down the Scrubba’s (dry-bag) top and bleeds extra trapped air through the neat, one-way value, a small amount of wash water may escape the bag. No problem…

Except, with our new bag, the wash water (with regular, automatic washing machine detergent) turned very pale green and carried the color of the Scrubba Wash Bag onto a white cotton bath mat. Normal machine washing removed the transferred color immediately.

We contacted Scrubba and note that they don’t recommend harsh detergents or long soak times for white clothes. Good advice.

COG says: wash that white, $300 Armani blouse as usual, in a clean sink. Wash everything else in a Srubba. Bring your BD Stoppers but leave the sink stoppers and bleeding-hands balms at home.

$64

March 29, 2015 By Chas Bruce

Trekking Umbrellas

In the Sahara Dessert with an umbrella — Umbrellas in the Sahara Dessert

A hundred and five in Moab and no rain in sight for weeks. Why are we thinking umbrellas?

Mary Poppins with her umbrella — Mary Poppins and her magic umbrella

Not because we like the Mary Poppins look, but you’ll find umbrellas, well, incredibly and comfortably shady. Even a compact umbrella can shade most of your upper body, and the breezes will find you–just hang on tight. Ultralight gear guru Ray Jardine considers an umbrella an essential item. He of course strips them, discards unnecessary parts, reduces the weight by half, and discards the junk along with his toothbrush handle. Several manufacturers now offer umbrellas with silver reflective fabric, to ward off the hot rays of the sun. Much cooler.

Needless to say, a long stay in Portland convinced me that an umbrella topped any sort of rain gear in all but gusty conditions. Often in the drippy forests that contain the wind, the umbrella rules. The best part is the open ventilation. Rain hats and hoods just seem to divert rain down my clothing, and even with the best rain gear you can be steaming.

What if you are a two handed trekker or out to shoot photos? It really is no trouble to attach the umbrella shaft to the front strap of your pack or in some combination of pockets and straps on the pack itself. Simply take velcro straps and attach the umbrella at two points on your strap and make sure to attach through the looped cord of the umbrella, in case gusts do come up.

Telescope Handsfree Umbrella

couple with trekking umbrellas — Telescope Handsfree Umbrella

The TeleScope Hands Free Umbrella does just that. It can be easily attached on the shoulder straps and hip belt on nearly all kinds of backpacks. It can be also attached via a carrier-belt-system made by EuroSCHIRM. Both hands remain completely free which is ideal for walkers who don’t want to go without trekking poles in rain, either. Also the perfect umbrella for nature photographers, map readers, etc.

$70

Helinox Trekking Umbrella

red umbrella — Helinox Trekking Umbrella

The Helinox Trekking Umbrella is a tough Walkabout unit from our friends in Australia. Big enough for a crowd, it opens to 39 inches, with a 24 inch shaft. Even the bright red fabric offers UPF 25 of sun protection. Weighs only 200 grams. Not easy to find in the US.

$60

Ginkgo Umbrella

We’ve been keeping our eye on an Indiegogo project called the Ginkgo Umbrella. Not necessarily made for the rigors of the outdoors, it is however made of entirely recycled plastic that snaps together. No metal parts or springs to bend and break. Best news is if it every goes south on you, caught in a gust and busted, you can always heave it in a No. 6 recycling bin and call it done. They raised their goal, so it should be on the market soon.

GoLite Umbrella

Chrome Dome Trekking Umbrella — Golite Umbrella

The GoLite Umbrella is something I will use when I’m out hiking, both for rain protection and to hide from the fierce sun at higher elevation. The GoLite Chrome Dome weighs in at 8oz, but does not collapse. When I’m hiking in the backcountry I slip it in a side pocket. It’s tall enough to provide shade from there. GoLite offers a collapsible version, but all the extra parts add 3oz to the weight of the GoLite Collapsible Chrome Trekking Umbrella. The big Canopy of the Chrome dome measures 45″ (114 cm) edge to peak to edge / 39.5″ (100 cm) edge to edge. Length is 25″ (63.5 cm). Frame features high-density fiberglass ribs and a highly flexible and nearly unbreakable full stick handle. Grip is high-density EVA hard foam with grooves that ensures a dry feeling on the handle when wet. The top is lightweight, waterproof and tear-resistant polyester UV Reflective Coating (UPF 50+) that Blocks Harmful Rays and Keeps you cooler on hot days. Now I’m trying to figure a way to reverse configure this so I can concentrate the sun for a little solar cookery.

$20

Sea to Summit Trekking Umbrella

The Sea to Summit Trekking Umbrella is made of waterproof 30D Siliconized Cordura, weighs only 8 oz. The 9.5 inch package opens out to 38 inches of rain and sun protection. I like the sturdy feel of this unit. The flatter crown is more compact and offers minimal protection, but is less likely to hang up on trail obstructions. It hangs easily on the shoulder without fancy attachments. The shaft is aircraft grade aluminum with a rubber handle. Solid brass rivets lash it all together. Comes in Black Gold and Gray.

$40

March 21, 2014 By Chas Bruce

J. Peterman Counterfeit Mailbag

“The secret thoughts of an entire country were once carried in leather bags exactly like this one. Except this one, a copy, isn’t under lock and key…”..yada,, yada, yada…

J Peterman Mailbag — J. Peterman Mailbag

When I first came across this bag I was concerned that I had heard after years of being parodied on Seinfeld, the J. Peterman Company had gone under. As it turns out there is a story there. J. Peterman was started in 1987 by a Lexington Kentucky native and second baseman for the Pittsburg Pirates, John Peterman. With $500 and a lone product, the iconic J. Peterman Duster, the J. Peterman Company was born in the pages of the New Yorker with a simple ad. The ad, of course, used a battered drawing and cozy familiar copy to sell these dusters to New Yorker readers that never went near a horse nor sagebrush. Success came to J. Peterman and they regularly issued their clever catalogs with the hand drawings and the digressive and quirky writing. Things purred along until 1995 when Seinfeld and friends got their hands on the whole smarmy concept and began to satirize it. Sales skyrocketed and J. Peterman decided to go the bricks and mortar route. Even with sales of $75 million, the growth was too much, too fast. They did go banko in 1999. The name was bought up by another retailer. J. Peterman folded his duster for the last time. But like a Larry David script, that was not the end of it. The retailer who had forced John Peterman out then himself went bankrupt. The name was there to be recaptured. John Peterman called in Seinfeld’s J. Peterman, the actor John O’Hurley, and with some other investors, brought the fabled J. Peterman company back to life.

So needless to say there is still a J.Peterman Catalog for you to peruse and dream of your African Safari wearing, of course, your well worn J. Peterman Safari Jacket. I was disappointed to find no mention of a duster, though.

Oh, the Mailbag. Not a bad carryall. Truly a good copy of the now discontinued US Mailbag. Made of heavy cowhide with a raw finish that ages quickly.

15″ long x 12.5″ tall x 7:” wide. One cavernous interior pouch and a small 5 x 8″ zippered pocket. Nice sturdy leather strap with heavy duty buckles.
Sling it on and make your rounds.

$295

February 25, 2014 By Chas Bruce

Thule Crossover Rolling 38L Carry-On

Just like its sleek aerodynamic cousins the car-top carriers, the Thule Carry-On is a designer’s delight. With it’s molded exoskeletal exterior you feel safe with this luggage at 80 mph. Lash it to the roof!

It’s tough molded polypropylene shell will protect delicate electronics and even sunglasses. Plenty of raised rails on all sides give extra protection to the bag and gear within. My favorite element is the hidden shoulder straps are away from the hard handle and wheels and on the softer front side of the bag. This reviewer pulled it on and hot-footed it through the terminal with a lot more maneuverability than dragging a roll-on. In the wheeled mode, the oversized, heavy-duty wheels really make for smooth running.

Thule Crossover showing backpack straps — Thule Crossover with backpack straps

The downside in actual use is the almost-hardshell sides constrain you from really stuffing this bag. And as it sits it is just a hair over airline regs. It measures 23.2 x 15. 4 x 9.1 inches (United and Delta, for example list 22 x 14 x 9 inches as their carry-on limits). The bag alone weighs 7.7 pounds. Stylish, good looking in black and comfortable to wear or roll.

$300

July 26, 2012 By Chas Bruce

Balanzza Mini Scale

Balanzza Mini Luggage Scale — Balanzza Mini Scale

The Balanzza Mini Scale is one of the smallest and lightest scales available in the market. Simply strap it to your backpack, bag, package or luggage and lift it like the handle that it is, wait for beep, set down the object and and view the digital readout.

Scale itself only weighs 1/3 of a pound yet it will weigh objects up to 100 pounds. This handy scale will save you on fees and charges and help you keep track of your loads and/or shipping weights. Operates on 2 CR2032 batteries (included).

$22

Scrubba, Washing Machine in a Bag Update