Heston Blumenthal Precision Dual Platform Precision Scale by Salter, 10kg Capacity, Ultimate Accuracy Platforms, Easy-to-Read Digital Display, Measures Metric and Imperial Weight, Aquatronic Feature - Black | Stainless Steel Platform, Add And Weigh Tare Function, Aquatronic Liquid Mode, Backlit Display, Slim Design For Storage

We would like to think that we know quite a bit about kitchen scales in our household. We have certainly been through enough of them. Firstly, most modern scales seem pretty accurate on the weighing side of things (which is clearly what they are designed to do and so a bit obvious I guess). I think that the technology nowadays with digital measuring is kinda more than good enough for domestic usage. So that's the boring bit done with. Most scales we have had, thrown away, or which stopped working, were unusable etc all had plenty of design elements that either irritated or actually even annoyed. In most cases the display is too small, or not with sufficient contrast to read easily under kitchen lighting. Then often the display gets completely hidden by your food/container when placed on the scales! Another annoyance oft encountered is the insistence of many scales to decide they have been on for long enough and take it upon themselves to switch off! Very frustrating if the auto-switch-off is too keen. Then there are those scales which have so few buttons that you have to go through the same succession of repeated button-presses every time you use them. I could go on (and quite often do!)... Now, let's talk about the Heston Blumenthal Dual Platform Precision Scales: THEY ARE BRILLIANT! Well, I hope that has helped any prospective purchasers make their decision. Kind regards Mr Tester. Oh, you want more information? Okay, does this help: 1) Build and overall quality 10/10. These scales are simply beautiful in their design. They are elegant and I would imagine will spend pretty much all their life out on your kitchen worktop. Any nosy neighbours who pop round to borrow a cup of sugar will shrivel up in jealousy the moment they espy your beautiful scales. When they ask to borrow them too just tell them to go away and get their own sugar and scales. The build quality is top-notch with stainless steel surfaces. 2) Design 10/10. If anyone out there can design a better kitchen scale then you should be in manufacturing now. These scales have been so well thought out. The secondary smaller weighing platform may seem overkill but it isn't - it's a handy extra that you will almost certainly use at times. The main thing about the design is that you can pop a dish, plate, bowl, or even a bag of haggis-bits -- and you will still be able to clearly see the display. What more could a simple man (or woman) want eh? Sheer genius in my opinion that someone has designed some scales that are actually readable when weighing food!! Probably being a bit overly sarcastic here but hopefully you get my point. 3) Display 10/10. Actually - 15/10. What a stunning display. Large (very large) main readout and the type of LCD they have used is sort of reversed with pale numbers against a dark background. The bottom line is that they are wonderfully readable in pretty much any situation (haven't tried them when scuba diving as yet though). My wife's days of peering to see stupid small LCD readouts are a thing of the past. Heston has nailed it with this display. A total winner and this type of display ought to be made a legal requirement by the EU I reckon. You will not be disappointed. Apart from the stunning display the information is quick and logical to access. Very very good indeed. 4) Value for Money 10/10. They might not be the cheapest kitchen scales on Amazon but actually, for what you get I believe they represent very good value for money. Mainly because anyone receiving them will be so chuffed that they will have forgotten about the money the moment they plop a tomato on to weigh. Although arguably completely useless to some purchasers I feel I have to even mention the box they come in. I never thought I would rave about a box that a gadget comes in but this one is special. It more befits an item of jewellery. The box is unbelievably well made. If you want to keep you scales in their box then every time you put them away you'll have a 'special moment'. We keep our scales out all the time but, if you are in that situation, then the box is so lovely that I am sure you could find another use for it... please send suggestions to the address below! It's strange but the moment you get your hands on Heston's scales you know you have something special as the box is, after all, the first tactile experience you get when opening the package. 5) Functionality 10/10. They work, and they work very very well. They do not turn off every time you bend down to scratch your ankle. They are simple and logical in operation. What more could a person want (except for more money and better looks maybe)? You may have gathered that we like our Heston Scales. Yes we do. If you buy them, my humble opinion is that you will like them too. For the forseeable future we do not anticipate looking at any other kitchen scales. Our scale-quest is over. Ended. If you buy them, my humble opinion is that you will not need to look at any other kitchen scales. For those of you who think I am being overly-biased, well okay you may have a point. However, I have only bothered to spend the best part of 30 minutes writing this review because I do like to give credit where credit, I feel, is due. We have literally wasted time, effort, money and food on inferior kitchen scales over the years. This time we have got it right... ...or should I say Heston/Salter have got it right! (Please note that I do not have any association with Heston Blumenthal or Salter, other than that of being a very happy customer). Also, please remember that this is my personal and honest opinion, and ultimately you may have a different experience and thoughts should you consider purchasing the item.

I have now had three sets of these scales, do not be fooled by the name. Yes they are easy to use, yes they are easy to clean, but after a while the main platform fails, and does. It weighs correctly, this has happened on all three sets, Salter do not want to know and at the price they are they are not worth the bother. As I said , the main platform on all of them failed between 6-9 months after purchasing, they have been replaced once, but they will NOT replace again ! The platform shows in ounces 7, but if you want 8 , it won’t register at all, tried in grammes does the same thing…. At nearly £50, you would expect to get them working, you also need to keep the receipt despite them having a 15 year guarantee, this does not work unless you keep the receipt for …you’ve guessed it 15 years ! Who does that !!! The customer service people at Salter ( the ones I have encountered are rude and dismissive. Buy another set… you will not be disappointed…

Great scales. Very accurate. I bought these as a gift. They were very well received, immediately tested for accuracy!

This is a good-looking scale and boasts of being a 'Precision' instrument, endorsed by Heston who profiles himself as a science kind of chef. The scale is fine for general use when it is first used and generally for the first 1-2 years. I found two key problems: 1) after some time, the scale's auto-zero mechanism becomes unstable and the scale starts "drifting". It manifests itself by the measurement changing, by itself (up and down by 10-20%) for a period of time (up to 30 seconds) before it stabilises back to where it started (it appears to remember the correct weight). This is very frustrating, particularly when in mid-weighing (e.g. adding weights by using the manual zero in between - suddenly having the scales showing numbers all over the place) when the last thing you want to do is stop and wait for the scale to settle down... Sometimes I walk away from the scales giving it time to settle, only to find the power-saving has then turned the scales off all together, leaving me without knowing where I am with my ingredients measure. I have had this happening twice on two different scales around 1.5 years after purchase. 2) When weighing very small amounts (e.g. for molecular gastronomy where you sometimes measure 0.1-0.5g), even on the small "precision" scale with max 200g limit - The scale's software is over-aggressive in resetting the 0.00g, meaning the scales does not show the correct measure as you carefully pour ingredients onto the scale - until you have poured much more than you need. For example, you can pour slowly onto the scales and the scale will maintain 0.00g all along and if you then remove what you poured on, it will then reveal -1.5g as thge software had a quick and sizable change on the scale, it showed on the display. This is not what I expected when buying a "precision" scale. The scale is hard to keep clean, if you have an over-spill as liquids can get under the weighing platforms. The metal covered scale platform is great for keeping clean, but they are NOT heat resistant for taking a pan directly from job to scale! Overall the scale is a good average kitchen scale that will work for 1-1.5 years but it is NOT a serious Precision scale, not will it last forever. probably a bit expensive for <2 year life-cycle.

OK - the replacement came in a few days, no fuss and luckily as I had the packaging, sending the old one back was as easy as taping the box up and sticking the Amazon RMA labels on. Oh, and driving 3 miles to my Collect+ point - but I needed to do shopping there anyway... The new unit works perfectly as far as I can see. Love the fact it has a proper hard storage box to keep them nice and protected in - oh that was one of those 1950's things you seldom see these days! Proper box... OK in 1950 the box would have been mae of wood, embossed with the maker's name and varnished. This is not wood, but it's pretty heavy duty - full marks there. One thing I missed is these scales don't just to lbs and kg, but fl.oz and ml too - for liquids with the same density as water, obviously. Nice feature. OK litres to kg conversion is hardly difficult but the fl.oz is nice. Other than that, nice build quality and the mini scale looks useful (for letters if nothing else) with the larger scale going up to 10kg. I might edit this review in a year or two to say how they are doing... --- Original comment, Sept 2014 ----- Looks really nice and packaged well. Sadly the buttons don't work. Having to return for a replacement. Will revise this comment based on whether the replacement works.

Failed after about 4.5 months of light use (typically I'd use it each morning to measure out 2g of supplement to put in my coffee). In fact as a guide to how much use it was getting, we'd only just needed to change the original cheap unbranded batteries. I replaced with new branded batteries, and all was well. And now suddenly after a couple of days of new batteries it's completely dead. I'd just bought a few new packs of batteries but I can't get this set of scales to come back on with new Duracell or anything else. When the old ones were on the way out, I was getting a warning that battery life was low - but no warning of low battery life; no warning at all in fact. Nothing. Dead as a dodo. What's most annoying is that it was only last week that my wife and I wondered if we really needed to keep the box. I mean - it's a set of scales, right? It's not going to go wrong, surely? So last week (not kidding - actual last week) we threw away the box, and now we're stuck with e-waste. For the £30 we paid for the scales, I'm not sure it's worth the stress and heartache of trying to argue a case with the Amazon seller given that we now don't have a box. I think we're just going to put it down to experience and avoid this model in future. It's a shame because it seemed like a decent set, and I liked how compact it was. But I can't give it more than two stars if it gives up the ghost so quickly. Sigh.

This set of scales are the most expensive scales that i have ever bought but i have to say that they are the best scales i have ever had,the digital display is very clear and having 2 plates for weighing on is so handy,the main plate weighs the larger amounts like flour but the small plate you can weigh up small amounts of spices and herbs,you can measure out fluids and you can use grams or pounds and ounces,you can zero down to add onto a bowel of already weighed items.The scales are really quick and responsive when weighing out lots of items which is what you need when making cakes,i have found these to be one of the most accurate sets of scales i have had for digital. The scales come with batteries in a presentation box which you can store the scales in when not in use,the box has a magnetic catch to so just closes down the box also has a plastic protection plate over the scales to keep the scales clean,the scales are black and stainless steel so are really easy to clean so all in all are of very good quality,they are well worth the money i paid,i would recommend for the kitchen, a must have.

At first sight these precision scales from Salter certainly look the business: robust, well made and attractive they even come with an impressive 15-year guarantee. The specification is equally impressive, boasting two weighing platforms, a zero/ tare function and support for various units of measurement. So what's there not to like? Consider this. As soon as I unpacked them, I tested the scales with a small packet of drinking chocolate, declared net weight 35g. The larger platform recorded 37g, about what I expected allowing for the packaging. The smaller platform, however, returned 34.1g for the same item, a discrepancy of nearly 10%. And so it proved with other products, all my tests returning similar results. The smaller platform consistently weighed less. A change of batteries made no difference. Thinking I might have missed something, a hidden switch for example, I contacted Salter customer services who duly pronounced the scales defective. Needless to say, said item is now on its way back to Amazon for a refund. Shame, really, as I was initially very pleased with them. Interesting to note that the Amazon reviews currently score this item at 4.2 whereas on the Salter website they only get 3.2 a third of which are 1-star. Not surprising, really.