Healthometer 402KL Physician Beam Scale w/ Height Rod (390 lb / 180 kg)

What beats counterweights? I’ve had for 3 years now and still works like a pro. Legit scale for my gym.

The scale just sits there and works. That's all I ask of a scale. Unfortunately, all too many digital scales don't. Oh, they look nice. But they don't work reliably. This one does. It's too simple to not work. And you don't have to worry about batteries.Sometimes, the analog old ways are best.

I just received the Health O Meter Physician's Balance Beam Scale ($157 including shipping) yesterday. It required very little assembly (four nuts and one hook) that took less than 5 minutes once I read the instructions. There is a tool included that looks like a bracket that fits the nuts. The scale was well packed and arrived in good condition and it was delivered from Amazon in three days, which was quicker than I expected.Once set up the scale was off zero about a 1/4 of a pound. There is a simple screw adjustment on the left side that took about 15 seconds to zero the scale out.So far the scale is accurate and reliable. I can get off and on the scale and it weights me the same each time. I put known weights on the scale and it correctly weighted them.I was actually hoping for a little heavier construction, but for normal home use this should hold up several decades or longer. Also you need to put it on a solid floor, not carpet. Mine is on carpet which was not a solid enough base so I put a heavy wood board down on top of the carpet to form a hard surface base for it which took care of making it a solid base on which to rest.Overall I am very pleased with this scale for this price and I would recommend it to anyone needing an accurate home scale. For a medical office, or for very heavy usage, I would go with a balance beam scale that is a little heavier construction, but which of course will cost substantially more.I have been using or trying to use a very expensive digital bathroom scale for years and it would give almost random reading in a range sometimes as much as 20 pounds of variance on my weight from one minute to the next and only occasionally would it be accurate. It gave general information but nothing of value to someone dieting. The old spring style bathroom scales I grew up using were more reliable than that digital scale. After those scales, this medical scale is a real joy to use. I think a simple (non-digital) balance beam scale is the only way to go if you want accurate and consistent weight readings.Also at age 65 and after two major spinal surgeries it was nice to find out I only lost 1/2" in height from my youth.

Very simple to assemble

I bought this scale in 2009 because I was tired of the inconsistencies of electronic scales. I could weigh myself on an electronic scale, step off, then step back on immediately and get a different weight or get a different weight by shifting my feet slightly. Doing the same with the Healthometer gives me the same weight every time and isn't affected if I shift my feet. I've had it now for 15 years and it still works perfectly. In that time, I adjusted the counter balance once to get it re-calibrated. Its only negative is its size, but for me, it's worth putting up with that to get a 100% reliable and accurate scale. I keep it in our guest bathroom and move it out when we have company.

I definitely should have looked closer at the negative reviews. Someone correctly pointed out these scales LOOK like the scales you used to see in gyms and doctor's offices. But they don't come even remotely close to the same quality.The item, as described at the Health O Meter web site, is nowhere close to what you'll receive. They provide information on a scale that is no longer being manufactured. Here's what the description says: "Hardened steel pivots and bearings; heavy-gauge enameled steel base and upright. The base alone weights over 21 lbs. The entire unit weighs 50 lbs."50 lbs? Heavy gauge steel? Not the scale I got. The box the scale came in said the weight of the scale was 29.7 lbs. I put it on a bathroom scale and it was in fact just over 29 lbs. So they've shaved off around 20 lbs from the current model. There's no longer any heavy gauge steel on these scales.As another reviewer pointed out, the scale numbers you read are on a plastic strip glued on rather than permanently etched onto the bars. On both ends of those strips they were already lifting. Mine was to be in the bathroom where the humidity is regularly higher. It wouldn't have been more than a week before those strips started peeling off. That alone was a deal killer for me.If you notice, all the positive reviews with the highest numbers of "helpful" votes all date back to around 2006. Back then you got a nice scale made of heavy-gauge steel, etched numbers etc. They were also still made in the US at that time. But the company was bought out sometime after 2006, production was shifted overseas and now what is being sold is completely worthless. And so you can see a growing list of negative reviews that date from 2007 on.Another thing someone pointed out is that the sliding weights don't fit firmly into grooves like the older high quality ones did. You have to fiddle with the weights to get them to stay in place. Besides being annoying, this is an issue that negatively effects accuracy.One of the most obvious signs of the poor quality of this scale is the platform you step on has a paper thin plastic "no slip" cover glued on. It's every bit as flimsy as those throw away paint roller trays you buy for .97 cents. These scales used to have a HEAVY rubber pad on the platform that would last nigh unto forever. Besides the fact that the plastic is so thin, it's also a brittle kind of plastic. That cover won't hold up to any kind of regular use.The upright post on the one I got had a twist in it from top to bottom. That can only come from the slipshod work of unskilled workers. These scales just scream "POORLY MADE JUNK" the longer you look at them. No pride of workmanship whatsoever.