Traveling should be an exciting experience, but the stress of baggage fees and overweight luggage can quickly dampen your spirits. Imagine the anxiety at the check-in counter, frantically repacking to avoid those dreaded extra charges. Fortunately, there’s a simple and cost-effective solution: a Travel Weighing Machine. These portable, accurate, and versatile devices are the ultimate travel hack, saving you both time and money while packing.
With numerous travel weighing machines available in various sizes, prices, and designs, choosing the right one can be overwhelming. To simplify your decision, we rigorously tested 15 different models. Our tests, which involved weighing 10-pound and 25-pound kettlebells, revealed significant differences in accuracy. Some scales performed flawlessly, while others were completely unreliable, and some even broke during shipping to our testing lab. This highlights that finding a reliable travel weighing machine isn’t as straightforward as it seems. To help you travel smarter, we’ve identified the six best travel weighing machines that will provide peace of mind every time you pack.
Our Top Picks
Best Overall:
Travel Inspira Digital Luggage Scale at Amazon $10
Most Durable:
Etekcity Digital Luggage Scale at Amazon $12
Best Budget:
Dr. Meter 110 lb Luggage Scale at Amazon $9
Best Built-in Measuring Tape:
Kingon Digital Hanging Luggage Scale at Amazon $26
Best Battery-free:
Ozeri Twist-and-Go Kinetic Kitchen and Luggage Scale at Amazon $20
Best Manual:
Samsonite Manual Scale at Amazon $12
Best Overall
Travel Inspira Digital Luggage Scale
PHOTO: Amazon
$10 at Amazon View on Travelinspira.com
Why We Love It: The non-slip grip handle makes lifting heavy luggage for weighing effortless.
What to Consider: The screen backlight could be brighter in very sunny conditions.
Lifting heavy luggage to weigh it can be strenuous, which is why we appreciate the Travel Inspira Digital Travel Weighing Machine’s non-slip grip handle. This thoughtful design feature significantly eases the process of holding the scale steady while measuring your luggage weight. With a simple button press, you can power on the scale and toggle between pounds and kilograms. It even includes a temperature gauge displaying both Celsius and Fahrenheit. Attaching the loop to luggage handles and securing the clip was seamless during our tests, and we found this digital travel weighing machine to be remarkably accurate, with only minor variations of a few ounces compared to our calibrated kettlebells. The screen’s weight-hold feature is another user-friendly detail, giving you ample time to read the measurement. Its compact size is ideal for travelers, easily fitting into your bag for weighing on your return journey.
The Details: Digital | 110-pound capacity | Pounds, kilograms, Fahrenheit, Celsius | Backlit
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Most Durable
Etekcity Digital Luggage Scale
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PHOTO: Amazon
Why We Love It: Our Travel + Leisure team uses this robust travel weighing machine in our lab for countless luggage tests, and it remains in excellent condition.
What to Consider: While compact, its smaller size means it lacks an enhanced grip.
The Etekcity Digital Travel Weighing Machine stands out for its exceptional durability. Our Travel + Leisure team relies on this scale daily in our product testing lab to weigh hundreds of suitcases. Its continued excellent performance is a testament to its robust design. This scale is built to withstand frequent use and even rough handling, making it ideal for tossing into your checked luggage after ensuring it’s under the weight limit. Operation is intuitive, with just two buttons for power and unit switching. The fabric loop with a metal clip easily attaches to any luggage handle. While we found it mostly accurate, with weight differences of only a few ounces using various kettlebells, we always recommend leaving a bit of leeway in your luggage weight as a precaution. Its pocket-size design is highly portable, though the compact form factor slightly compromises grip comfort when lifting heavier bags.
The Details: Digital | 110-pound capacity | Pounds, kilograms, Fahrenheit, Celsius
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Best Budget
Dr. Meter 110 lb Luggage Scale
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PHOTO: Amazon
Why We Love It: It’s the most accurate travel weighing machine we tested under $10, offering excellent value.
What to Consider: Unlike some competitors, it lacks a non-slip grip.
For travelers seeking a last-minute, budget-friendly solution, the Dr. Meter 110 lb Travel Weighing Machine is an excellent choice, especially with Amazon Prime’s fast shipping. Our senior editor, Jasmine Grant, found it incredibly user-friendly with its straightforward design. This no-frills travel weighing machine has just two buttons: one for power and another to switch between pounds and kilograms, and to access the temperature gauge. Similar to our top overall pick, the Dr. Meter scale demonstrated impressive accuracy with both 10-pound and 25-pound kettlebells, showing only minor discrepancies. It’s remarkably lightweight and compact for storage at home or when packed in a suitcase. However, its smaller size does make it slightly less comfortable to hold when weighing heavier items. After six months of use, including a recent two-week trip to Croatia and Copenhagen, Grant reports no need to replace the battery and no signs of wear, highlighting its reliability and value.
The Details: Digital | 110-pound capacity | Pounds, kilograms, Fahrenheit, Celsius | Backlit
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The 15 Best International Carry-ons, Tested and Reviewed
Best Built-in Measuring Tape
Kingon Digital Hanging Luggage Scale
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PHOTO: Amazon
Why We Love It: This travel weighing machine includes a built-in measuring tape, perfect for on-the-go luggage dimension checks.
What to Consider: The metal hook could be larger to better accommodate thicker luggage handles.
With airlines increasingly strict about luggage dimensions and baggage fees, the Kingon Digital Hanging Travel Weighing Machine, with its integrated tape measure, is exceptionally useful. This feature is particularly beneficial for expandable luggage, allowing you to quickly verify if your carry-on meets airline size restrictions for overhead compartments. Beyond its measuring tape, this scale impressed us with its highly durable design, feeling robust enough to withstand even rough airport handling. The handle is constructed from steel coated in rubber for superior grip, and the display is larger than most scales we tested, making weight readings in kilograms or pounds easily visible. In our accuracy tests, it was no more than five ounces off when weighing kettlebells. The hook design facilitates easy lifting from most luggage handles (though very thick handles might pose a challenge). T+L testing editor Jackie Cucco also appreciated the friendly “hi” and “bye” greetings on the scale’s display when powered on and off. While useful and durable over six months of testing, Cucco noted its heavier and bulkier nature, making it less ideal for travel. She recommends using it primarily at home before trips and packing a smaller, more compact scale for travel itself.
The Details: Digital | 110-pound capacity | Pounds, kilograms | Backlit | Built-in tape measure
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Best Battery-free
Ozeri Twist-and-Go Kinetic Kitchen and Luggage Scale
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PHOTO: Amazon
Why We Love It: Simply twist the device to power up the screen – no batteries needed!
What to Consider: The loop lacks a clip, making luggage attachment slightly less convenient.
The Ozeri Twist-and-Go Kinetic Travel Weighing Machine is brilliantly designed to eliminate battery dependency, a huge plus for frequent travelers. Just a few twists activate the digital screen, which includes a helpful battery icon indicating charge level and the need for more kinetic energy. Like other top-performing scales we tested, it showed only minor ounce-level differences from our kettlebell weights, confirming its accuracy. Its small, circular form factor makes it exceptionally easy to store at home or slip into a pocket of a carry-on backpack due to its compact size. While it lacks the ergonomic handle of T-shaped scales, its superior portability is a notable advantage. One minor drawback is the loop design; without a clip, you need to thread the loop through itself to secure it to luggage handles, which is a bit less streamlined.
The Details: Kinetically charged | 77-pound capacity | Pounds, kilograms
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Best Manual
Samsonite Manual Scale
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PHOTO: Amazon
Why We Love It: This travel weighing machine was the only model we tested with perfect weight accuracy.
What to Consider: It’s slightly larger and heavier than digital alternatives.
The Samsonite Manual Travel Weighing Machine stood out as the most accurate in our tests, providing exact readings for both 10-pound and 25-pound weights. While all digital scales we tested had minor ounce-level variations — typical for such devices — we were impressed by the Samsonite’s perfect “10” and “25” pound readings. The scale is large enough for quick reading, though deciphering it can be slightly challenging with shaky hands when lifting heavier items like a 50-pound suitcase. However, the handle is comfortable to hold, and the hook securely attaches to luggage handles once maneuvered underneath. It’s bulkier than digital scales, but its durability and flawless accuracy, combined with battery-free operation, make it worthwhile. After six months of testing, we observed that it doesn’t feel as robust as some other models, particularly when handling 50-pound suitcases, although it has remained intact. Also, solo travelers might find it less convenient as the display faces away from you during weighing.
The Details: Manual | 80-pound capacity | Pounds, kilograms | Built-in tape measure
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Other Luggage Scales We Liked
Among the 15 travel weighing machines we tested, several others were commendable but didn’t quite reach our top recommendations due to minor drawbacks detailed below.
Travelon Stop & Lock Luggage Scale: Similar in accuracy to our best manual scale, this model was spot-on but suffered from an uncomfortable handle and a less premium feel in materials.
Tumi Electronic Luggage Scale: Sleek and compact, the Tumi scale, while stylish, lacked top-tier accuracy and carries a significant price premium at $75.
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Travel + Leisure
Our Testing Process
While a travel weighing machine might seem like a simple purchase, our experience shows that quality varies significantly. After extensive research and acquisition of numerous luggage scales, we shipped them to our New York City testing facility. Disappointingly, some arrived damaged—broken, cracked, or even leaking oil. However, from the 15 usable scales, we identified six that excelled for several reasons. While precise numerical accuracy is crucial, we didn’t penalize scales with minor deviations of a few ounces from the 10-pound and 25-pound kettlebells and the 50-pound suitcase we used for testing.
Our evaluation also included ease of use, operational intuitiveness, and the durability and functionality of components like buttons, loops, hooks, screens, and handles. Given the variety in sizes, materials, and shapes, we assessed comfort when lifting heavy weights and the overall build quality and longevity of the materials.
Tips for Buying Travel Weighing Machines
Decide if you want something digital or manual
Our testing highlighted the distinct advantages and disadvantages of both manual and digital travel weighing machines. Digital scales generally offer lighter weights and easier-to-read backlit LCD screens compared to bulkier manual scales. However, manual scales excel in accuracy and battery independence, ensuring they won’t fail you during travel due to power issues.
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Look for preferred units of measurement
While the U.S. primarily uses the imperial system, the metric system is standard globally. Ensure your travel weighing machine supports your preferred unit. Since international airlines often specify weight limits in kilograms, a scale offering both kilograms and pounds is beneficial, eliminating the need for quick mental conversions when you’re trying to weigh your bag. Additionally, some digital models include temperature gauges in Fahrenheit or Celsius, which can be a helpful feature for travelers.
Pay attention to additional features
Travel weighing machines may seem single-purpose, but some offer extra functionalities. Features like built-in tape measures and temperature gauges are available, and kinetic-powered scales utilize motion to charge their digital displays, negating battery needs. Always verify the weight capacity of travel weighing machines, as it varies, and overloading can damage the scale.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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How do you use a travel weighing machine?
Instructions typically accompany a travel weighing machine, but generally, you attach the scale to your suitcase using its hook or loop, power it on, and lift the luggage. Hold until the weight stabilizes on the display (digital models) for an accurate reading. Many digital scales offer a tare function for specific weight measurements.
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Are bathroom scales accurate for weighing luggage?
Bathroom scales can be used at home to weigh luggage. However, if your hotel or accommodations lack a scale for your return trip, you’re left guessing, which is risky. A key advantage of a travel weighing machine is its portability, designed specifically to eliminate luggage weight uncertainties and associated fees.
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Are travel weighing machines accurate?
Most travel weighing machines are accurate, especially reputable brands. To verify accuracy, compare its readings against another scale if available. Regardless, it’s prudent to pack a pound or two under the maximum limit to account for slight inaccuracies and prevent overweight baggage at the airport.
Why Trust Travel + Leisure
Anna Popp, an associate editor at T+L, specializing in travel product reviews, learned the hard way about overweight baggage fees—over $500 on a single flight. This experience led her to invest in a travel weighing machine, which she now considers an essential travel companion. Anna participated in our testing, bringing her personal insights from dealing with luggage restrictions to recommend the best travel weighing machines we evaluated.
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Edited by Jackie Cucco
Jackie Cucco
Jackie Cucco, Testing Editor at Travel + Leisure, designs product tests and writes/edits travel product reviews based on rigorous testing. Her background includes travel agency experience, a journalism degree, and over eight years covering consumer products and gift guides. She has appeared on TV over 100 times discussing consumer products and shopping trends.
Updated by Anne Taylor [:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Untitleddesign-2024-05-03T054054.989-4e594b20ba2244d8b3918cc70c66074a.jpg)](https://www.travelandleisure.com/thmb/Pgdi2QN5Qrk1GblE513hBlMNWR0=/75×75/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Untitleddesign-2024-05-03T054054.989-4e594b20ba2244d8b3918cc70c66074a.jpg)
Anne Taylor
Anne Taylor, Updates Writer for Travel + Leisure, ensures articles are current and accurate. As an avid traveler to 23 countries, she constantly tests new products to enhance her travel experiences. She holds a bachelor’s degree in news media and has been a writer and editor for over seven years.
and Asia London Palomba
Asia London Palomba
Asia London Palomba, a trilingual Italian writer from Rome now based in Boston, focuses on food, travel, and history. Her writing spans from travel products for India trips to medieval judicial duels.
