Looking for bathroom scales that actually ARE accurate!!

The answer, stated more simply than my previous one, is that the load cell feet are too stubby to prevent the underside of the scales "Beaching" on the floor covering (which allows a small fraction of the upthrust to bypass the load cells).

And there are designs that are totally immune to this effect (seperate sub pan with the load cells between the underside of the scales and the sub pan which will have non-slip rubber feet for use with hard, potentially slippy, surfaces).

The sub pan will stop any of the soft floor covering from bypassing the load cells regardless of whether or not it is "Beaching" onto the deepest of deep pile carpets (the deeper the pile, the greater the 'weight loss' with mere mortal scales).

Read the new scientist article - it's not just the trivial problem of bypassing the load cells which is relevant, it's the distortion of the entire thing.

I think you may be right but you can usually force it to properly re-weigh you by waiting for it to auto switch off, followed by the brief tap of the (with ours, the right hand proximal) corner designated to 'waking the scales up' which will initiate a fresh zero calibrate cycle.

Most of the day to day variations in body weight are down to hydration level. I've been hovering between 12St 9Lbs and 12St 12Lbs (fully clothed - bollick naked reduces the reading by 4Lb) the past 6 months or so. I'd rather I was at least another stone lighter, preferably another 1 1/2 to 2 stone lighter.

I weigh the least, first thing after getting out of bed, having a good piss and getting dressed (before having any breakfast - usually just a mug of tea).

I realise that this 3Lb variation only requires a 2 and a bit Lbs actual change in my weight to register on the scales which only read to the nearest Lb on the imperial setting.

I think the Kg setting shows to tenths of a Kilo but I'm used to the imperial measure of weight. If I were to switch over to the Kg scale, I'd see a little more accuracy in the day to day weight changes but I don't think it will really be much benefit considering I can already see up to 3lb daily variation anyway.

The entire Mechanical thing. Electronic scales are a different thing.

I've got a scales like that. It has a WeightWatchers logo on it which seems ironic to me. What I do after weighing myself, is to put one foot on steadily pretending to be a lighter member of the family, then put both feet back on. The scales do not have a big enough brain to remember two weights.

I have my Lidl scales on a thick piece of glass (a little larger than the scales) on the carpet, and they seem to weigh pretty accurately. They don't seem to remember the weight, as my weight differs slightly from day to day. I can compare the weight with one on a tile floor, and they seem to be pretty close (possible 0.5kg difference).

I tap the scales to turn them on, then step on holding a 2kg weight. Re-weigh without the weight and get a reliable reading. Otherwise, they do exactly as above - tell me what yesterday's weight was.

Don't have to muck about like that with my Soehnle

Its very reproducible and pretty accurate too, gets the same result as the GP's scales.

Our bathroom scales seem to behave like that but, in order to 'leave no stone unturned', I'm going to keep a 2 litre bottle of water handy to repeat Grimly's test.

I dare say that the absolute accuracy is probably no better than +/- a couple of pounds (or 1 Kg). It's the repeatability that's the more important parameter since the main desire is to monitor changes in weight in order to avoid those going in the wrong direction (for almost every middle aged adult in the UK, the 'wrong direction' is the upwards one).

However, in view of my experience where it seems my weight can vary by as much as 3 Lbs day to day (probably just over 2Lbs in reality), an absolute accuracy any better than +/- 1Kg would probably be a waste of accuracy for most of us provided the scales have good 'repeatability' (i.e the error remains a consistent one each time we use the scales).

Mine is actually very reproducible to +/- 0.1KG even when you do that test with say a 2KG weight you hold.

And is very reproducible with say a

would probably be a waste

Yes, but its only the best of them that have that repeatability at the +/- 0.1KG level.