Ultralight Companies and misrepresentation on product weight

[Dochartaigh]

So I've been counting my grams for a while now, and wanted to talk about this: Have any of you experienced manufacturers majorly exaggerating the weights of their products? I'm not comfortable naming the specific companies (or even list the exact weights on their websites - go by my percentages) out of respect for their quality products and great customer service of these companies, but here's a couple examples:

Major ultralight backpack manufacturer. Like the kind that comes up in *every* single discussion about "which pack should I get". Claimed weight 30 ounces, actual weight ~33.5 ounces. 12.5% more than it should be (and they even specifically say they're listing the "average" weight of pack...as in they made it a point to show how they're notpicking their lightest one and listing the weight of that).

Tarp for a hammock, made out of that ~$250 space-age material we all know and love, from one of our most trusted companies. Claimed weight ~6 ounces, actual weight ~7.5 ounces. That's 22.3% over! That's over 1/5th of the total weight! Even the skins for it are 45% over what they should weigh somehow (which is miniscule in weight compared to the tarps' weight overage, but just listing that as another example).

I'm using a very expensive scale meant for measuring gold and silver which comes with calibration weights I use every time. Now I completely understand manufacturing tolerances can vary by a bit (I'm coming from a background in Industrial Design/engineering), these are essentially hand made built-to-order products, but these numbers (especially for the tarp) are crazy over. I mean, if we go by the price of the material alone on the tarp, that would be like $40 worth of extra tarp material (yet my tarp measures true to size). Something's just not right about that.

I mean heck, if my Honda Civic with it's listed 140 horsepower only came with 109 horsepower (same 22.3% difference as the tarp), you can be darn sure that car would be considered a lemon.

Hopefully this doesn't sound completely crazy to the people who aren't ultralight backpackers (and those ultralighters will probably know where I'm coming from), but I still wanted to know the opinion of like-minded people on this subject.

[kayak karl]

did you call the companies and complain? what did they say?

[Dochartaigh]

I'm composing a nice email to them as we speak, and will definitely post what they say. I've found this same problem with every type of gear, but never to the extremes of the two examples I listed (both of which happened to be 'cottage vendors', and not main-line outdoor gear companies which seem to be more exact since they mass-produce their items).

[kayak karl]

i've made a mistake on sizes: large, long, tall ...stuff like that. i would like to hear what they say.

[MAD777]

It's the same in fly fishing gear. Makes it hard to balance a reel to your rod.

[Dochartaigh]

i've made a mistake on sizes: large, long, tall ...stuff like that. i would like to hear what they say.

I emailed before making sure the weight listed was for the 11' length, with all plastic hardware to attach guylines to, etc. They confirmed the listed weight.

The backpack company (which I spoke to a while ago), told me the weight difference was most likely the density of the foam...but the entire piece of foam weighed exactly what they said it would...

[Otter1]

The product subscription should specify "weight is average, may vary +/- __%. If it does not, then they should change that.

You have a right to expect to get what you paid for.

Let us know the result, please.

[DanglingModifier]

I feel you on the misrepresentation thing. It bugs me when I encounter false advertising. I haven't really noticed much of it from the cottage vendors I've done business with so far, but it wouldn't surprise me if everyone wasn't accurate 100% of the time. Materials and specifications can change more often than documentation sometimes. I'm not certain how often it is a conspiracy versus just sloppy record keeping.

That said, I find it's worth stepping back once in a while for some perspective. At some point it becomes quite a bit easier and more affordable to lose 10 pounds off your body than 10 ounces from your pack. It's less fun than obsessing over gear, but at the end of the day which serves you better? I'm mainly finger pointing at myself here, so please don't take offense.

[QiWiz]

This problem is common enough that I've noticed many reviewers (for backpackinglight.com, for example) will list "claimed weight by manufacturer" or something similar and "actual weight".

[BrianWillan]

You'll also have to account for any inaccuracy in the scale the manufacturer used to weigh the item and under what conditions. Same for the scale you used to weigh the same items. If a tarp, it may be weighed without the stuff sack. For a backpack, it may be weighted for a specific torso length (ie the small torso length). It is within the realm of possibility that the two scales are off in opposite directions which would increase the amount the weight it is off by a large margin.

Long story short, there is going to be a variance in readings between any two scales. I highly doubt that anyone is going to spend the time and money to have a perfectly calibrated scale to weigh their gear. In discussion of gram weenie ultralight gear, I find it amusing that those who obsess over a couple grams here or there on a few items, have more than a few kilograms of body weight they can easily lose to vastly lighten their load.

Cheers

Brian