Bow Scale

Calthulhu

New member
I seem to be on a big ebay kick at the moment, so I thought I'd round it of with this. Anyone seen the ?24.99 digital bow scales for sale on ebay?

Digital Bow Scale | eBay

Notice the striking resemblance to this item currently selling for a very competitive ?1.39?

50kg x 50g Digital LCD Handheld Luggage Baggage Weight Scale Thermometer | eBay

The hold function on these is a bit Heath Robinson, but I purchased a slightly different design from a UK seller for eight quid, and it has a more ergonomic design, and a screen you can see out of the corner of your eye as you draw allowing you to see the peak weight and holding weight as you go, or just the peak weight without having to let the bow down.

I always go for mechanical and metal over plastic and electronic, but for the price it was worth the risk. Might be worth checking out.
 

Strandline

New member
There is another style which you can buy from certain archery stores for a little under ?40 which you can get on that auction site for ?3.19 including postage. May well be copies, but they work just the same. I have bought a few now for club members who don't have ebay accounts.
 

Calthulhu

New member
They're definitely not copies - its more a case of someone 'repurposing' an existing much cheaper item and applying a premium price because it's now a 'specialised gadget'. To be fair, good luck to them if they can make a shilling, but let's make sure they don't make it from forum members, hehehehehehe.
 

Calthulhu

New member
Inorite? Now had they included an egg timer and some sort of tamagotchi I'd have understood it, but a thermometer? Chinese product designers seem to think that filling a space sufficient for some sort of additional function is far more important than the innate usefulness of said function. Hmmmmmmm, is the handle of that mop hollow?.....then let's install a whisk and an ignition timing light - that'll come in handy.......SAID NO ONE, EVER.
 

Calthulhu

New member
Claxon, I just clicked through to Merlin......what in goat's name are they thinking?!!! Don't get me wrong, I love Merlin - outside of ebay, they're my go-to toxophilite emporium of choice - but using that as a bow scale is asking for trouble. I guess the best solution is to hang the scale from the ceiling so it lies at eye level, attach the hook to the string, and then stand on the riser with one foot. That said, every permutation of how you could utilise that to check draw I can think of seems to end up with either buying a new bow/sight/ceiling/foot/head etc. and/or a visit to casualty.

Years ago I met someone who had a vicious duelling scar on his face (meh, chicks dig scars) and he confessed how he did it. Unbeknownst to me, he was an aspiring archer, and had decided to use a scale much like the one listed by Merlin to test the draw on his new bow - a bow he really wasn't quite up to pulling at the time. Unlike the Merlin version, both ends terminated in hooks (can you see where this is going?). The over ambitious attempt to draw a heavy bow, combined with the extra seven inches of draw length facilitated by the scale, caused him to release prematurely whilst simultaneously imbedding the hook in his cheek. He said that having experienced what your average carp goes through in any given day, he immediately gave up both archery and fishing. Oh, he also lost a tooth in the process. OWIE!!
 

Claxon

Member
Owch. Yeah when i use my scale i attach it to a rope and loop it around a pulley so I can at least stand back. It still makes me quite nervous when I use it though.

Sent from my HTC One X+ using Tapatalk 2
 

wingate_52

Active member
Read the post, found the same one at an archery shop on line at ?38.99 from whom I have just bought a Kaya bow press at a great price. Bought the ebay model and received it today. Will the hold function only work when the scale is under load? Seems a fine addition to my kit.
 

Calthulhu

New member
Glad the thread saved you some dosh. The hold function will only work under load, and will only give you the current rather than peak weight. That means that on a compound you'll need to keep your eye on the screen as you draw, otherwise you'll only get the let-off weight. The one I bought (the slightly more expensive one at eight quid) has a longer release like handle and an angled screen making it a breeze to use in this fashion. Is it the most perfect solution? Nope, but then as long as you're paying a fiver and not forty quid for the same thing, or ?20+ for the admittedly more reliable traditional manual scale, then it's no biggie. Let's be honest, do any of us tinker with our bows with such regularity to justify even ?20 on a scale versus as little as ?5 for the digital version? Meh, probably not if we're honest.
 

wingate_52

Active member
For ?3.19, I can pay someone to read the weight off the device whilst I draw the bow and still be in pocket. And then there is the temperature function, bonus!
 

Calthulhu

New member
As a bonus to the scale, and a handy accessory to the thermometer for budding weather forecasters, if you look on ebay under archery you should find a couple of anemometers (wind speed gauges) from yet another inscrutable Chinese seller. I think they're about a fiver shipped, and as much of a bargain as the scale. I purchased one and suggested the seller list them under archery, and I can endorse their excellent service - mine arrived in under a week and works flawlessly. If you search for 'wind gauge' you should find loads from various sellers starting from about ?2.
 
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