RapalaScale, Touch Screen, 50 lbs

Awesome easy to use scale that matches our weigh in scale

I have owned a few of these rapala scales and will say they are easily the best scale money can buy, especially if youre a tournament angler like myself. The only thing id say that could be better is the clip that it comes with, I usually replace it with a heavier duty clip i bought for a few bucks. Other than that the scale is amazing, easy to use, easy to make quick accurate culls on tournament day, and very accurate. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good scale on the water.

Easy to use

First off, I bought this straight from Amazon (not a marketplace seller) & paid under $50 for it. For those wondering, it DID come with the standard stainless steel hook AND the updated lip gripper (like pliers, NOT the older spring loaded clip which is shown in the main product image at the top at the time this was written). It also comes with a soft, lightweight & cheap drawstring storage bag with instructions sewn into the inner seam of the bag opening as well as a separate folded paper with instructions in the packaging which I recommend reading prior to operating. The entire black colored area of the scale body is a no slip rubbery feeling material to assist with a little extra grip.After installing the 2 AA batteries (not included), I weighed a 15lb anchor & it matched the weight I was seeing on an old Berkley digital scale as well as a digital bathroom scale, so the accuracy is there (somewhat - I’ll get to that in a moment). Storing weights & general operation of the scale is easy enough once you’ve read the instructions & fully understand what to press in order to set units, hold, store & remove weights. The backlight automatically shuts off, sometimes annoyingly at the wrong time (simply push power button once to turn backlight on again). Units available are decimal pounds (X.XX lbs), pounds/ounces (X lbs Y oz) or decimal kilograms (X.XX kg). What I didn’t like was that the reading of the measured weight would vary depending on how straight you held the scale. If you tilted the scale towards you or away from you or side to side too much, the reading would vary up to 5 ounces or a bit more. You have to make sure the scales & object being weighed are lined up as vertically straight as possible. Another thing I found a bit odd is when the scales are set to lbs/oz the running total of stored weights is displayed in decimal pounds (X.XX lbs). Not a deal breaker for me, but just a bit inconsistent to me. There also is no automatic hold function that I’ve noticed - you have to press it on the screen. The scale beep "notifications" can be annoying to some users & can be shut off but will come back on after a power off/on cycle (no permanent off for the beep).The fish lip gripper is on the smaller side but quite sturdy (it held the 15lb anchor just fine) but it’s quite difficult to change from the gripper to the hook without a screwdriver to pry apart the split ring ends wide enough to spin it off the metal attachment, as the split ring is wrapped 2 full turns at one area, making it quite thick. Rapala should have stopped just shy of 2 turns so the ring was thinner & able to spin more freely - refer to the attached image to see what I’m trying to describe (closeup of ring attached to gripper). The gripper is all plastic except for a few metal pins at various hinge/pivot points & it measures around 4 1/4 inches (4.25 in) in overall length. I feel a 5 or 6 inch gripper would have been more suitable & easier to use for people with larger hands. Also, this scale is water resistant which means keep it as dry as possible & do not let water get into any openings or around the battery compartment, which does NOT have a seal or gasket around the cover. All in all, a very nice scale & seems to be consistently weighing inanimate objects quite well if vertically straight & all the metal parts aren’t kinked due to the thick area of the split ring. Simply make sure things look normal between the scale & gripper (metal components) before storing weights to help ensure accuracy & consistency/repeatability. I wouldn’t pay the $60-$70 retail prices I’ve seen elsewhere due to the above shortcomings & lack of gaskets around the battery compartment. The hole at the base of the scale is also quite large compared to a cheaper set of scales I have & are 10-12 years old - easier for unwanted moisture to potentially enter.EDIT TO ADD: Used it on the water for the first time & it worked just fine. Weighed a nice 5lb 13oz largemouth my dad caught. Lip gripper was solid & little variation in measured weight when weighing a live fish which didn’t flop around.

It's design and features rival other $100+ units, and the $60 I paid was in a more reasonable investment for my "duffer" level hobby.

I've used 7 different scales and this one is by far the easiest to use and has the best brightness to read the screen. The backlit display really makes this the best scale on the market.

Was just what i needed

I know why the pros use it. Very easy to use. Seems to be water resistant/proof (been poured on and no issues). Very solid clip keeps feisty bass from coming off. Very accurate, too.