If you’re tired of looking for that perfect piece to add to your tool box then you’re in the right place. We’ve found the best scales around and brought them to you, along with some helpful hints to make sure you get the most out of them.
Below are our recommendations for the 4 best drug scales on the market:
American Weigh Scales AWS-600-BLK Digital Scale
For herbs, the AWS-600-BLK is pretty much ideal. The lower resolution of 0.1g makes it a bit harder to rely on for powders but for those who don’t need to quite measure down that small, it’s a godsend. It’s precalibrated and comes with a 500g weight for calibration as well.
It’s also pocket-sized, making it easy to use on the go. All in all, it adds up to a fantastic little piece of machinery. Try it out and you won’t be disappointed with the pinpoint accuracy and it’s definitely easy to dig up the AAA batteries that power it.
American Weigh Scales GEMINI-20 Portable MilliGram Scale
When you need to measure smaller amounts of powders, it’s a good idea to make sure that you have a scale with two things: a 0.001g resolution and a windshield to keep it accurate. The GEMINI-20 has both, and it’s probably the most affordable scale with a decent amount of accuracy in that range around.
It also comes with tweezers to move smaller stuff around (see full specs) and a handy carrying case which will hold all of the parts and pieces involved in one convenient place. It’s great all around, but keep in mind that, like most reasonably priced scales, it’s not quite accurate under 10mg. With that caveat in mind, though, this is easily one of the best drug scales for the money.
American Weigh Scale Ac-650 Scale
For quickly measuring multiple batches of herbs, the Ac-650 from American Weigh Scale is excellent. The entire surface of the scale is flat as well, so if you weigh directly on it you’ll be able to move things along as you go.
Add in a protective cover which doubles as a tray to ensure you can get closer to the 650g capacity and you’ve got a clear winner whether you need to measure an ounce or a gram.
Digital Kitchen and Food Scale 600g 0.01g
0.01g scales definitely have their uses, particularly if you need to ensure the weight of powders in the half-gram range and above. This one also has a protective cover which functions as a great tray to keep everything in one spot (see full specs).
Of course, the main draw here is accuracy. While it’s not quite up to measuring super sensitive compounds, for the average person and common things that might necessitate a scale, it’s pretty much perfect. Give it a shot and you won’t be disappointed. Hands down, this is one of the best drug scales around.
Using Your Scale
It’s important to know how to use a scale in order to make sure you have accident readings and don’t spread any of your stuff around.
The biggest thing people neglect is ensuring they have a stable, flat surface to place the scale on. When you fire it up, you should have a 0.0g reading. Anything else and you’re going to have a problem.
Whenever you’re measuring anything under a gram, you should probably also re-calibrate the scale. Most of them will have included weights, which makes things a lot easier on you, but if not then you’re going to want to snap one up when you get your scale.
For readings under 0.01g, you’re going to want to use some kind of shield. You’d be surprised at just how much wind and air can disrupt your readings during the normal course of things and it can make for a rather drastic error. This is particularly important when you’ve got compounds which are active at super low weights.
You should also make sure that you always use something as a contact point between your herb or powder and the scale itself. This will help to ensure more accurate readings and keep things clean, since many scales have small crevices where things can build up.
What You’re Looking for in a Drug Scale
There’s only a few things you need to look out for to ensure you get a great experience with your drug scale.
The first is the resolution. That’s just a fancy name for how precise the scale is, they generally come in 0.1g, 0.01g, and 0.001g configurations. The latter isn’t really necessary for most of the common things you might use one for, but if you’re into things which are exotic then you’re going to want to take the plunge and spend that little bit of extra money.
The second is accuracy. Whatever your reasons for needing measurements, you’ll want to make sure that the scale is accurate. The biggest problem here will come in with milligram, or 0.001g, scales, which are notoriously inaccurate beneath 10mg. There’s not much you can do about it other than make sure the container you’re measuring in weighs more than that, which will help keep things level.
The last is ease-of-use. Most pocket and kitchen scales are remarkably easy to use, but you want to keep things simple. You don’t want to accidentally measure in the wrong reading, for instance, since that can cause some pretty serious problems if you were to, say, accidentally switch to grains instead of grams.
Conclusion
They’re common items, but finding the best drug scale can take some serious work. Give your choice a little bit of extra thought before you take the plunge, and make sure that you’ve got the right scale for your needs rather than just something you hope will work. Good luck!
