jeffas wrote:Yes, I know the ESP won't like 5v, but I welcome being reminded!
That 5V bit is part of my signature and was not directed at you directly.
I see two options: either you modify the break out board in such a way that VCC (pin 1 of the IC) is connected to 5V and VDD (pin 16 of the IC) to 3.3V: this way your data levels will be at 3.3V.
Or you use a level shifter like the ones you're proposing (I've used them for I2C communication in the past): it *should* work perfectly (although I haven't got any experience with the HX711 myself).