Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I bought the 16 foot version of this, which I find an ideal length for me. I'm not a pro contractor, but a very busy weekend/evening handyman type.
Here's how I formed my opinion:
PROS:
I like any tape measure that locks automatically, like these do - as opposed to the powerlock's etc where you have to manually lock them to hold them open. 99% of the time if I'm pulling the tape out, I want it to stay out until I'm done with it. In fact, I can't really even think of any application where this would be a disadvantage.
The rubber coating on the body, combined with curves in right places give you a very confident grip, even when it's wet. It fits very comfortably in your hand.
I like the bright green color so the tape isn't camouflaged when I put it down somewhere. They manage to do the obnoxious color in a good way without trying to make it look like some kind of space aged sneaker. A trend I just never understood.
I hate a tape with too powerful a return spring. This one isn't bad, I don't get the same "man, I'm glad my fingers were clear of that!" feeling that I get with some others. Yet it's strong enough to know for sure that it's coming all the way back.
The weight of the whole thing is just about right. This of course may be because I got the 16 foot version - so I should explain why I like 16 feet better than 20 or 25. I do mostly remodeling/finish carpentry work, and 90% of my measuring is done under 10 feet. 9.9% is done under 20 feet, and that final .1% is over 20 feet where I can just grab a larger tape.
One advantage to a smaller tape measure is that you don't have to wrestle with them too much when when you have to put it down on an even surface while you mark something. They want to fall over and slide. With a light one, you can control the whole body of the measure fairly easily through the tape itself if the thing tries to move. A heavy one will just yank the tape from your fingers if it falls off the board you're laid out on, and it's hard to nudge around just by the tape if you need to make some adjustments in that laid out position.
I drop tested the tape the first day I used it, only from about 4' onto a paved driveway. It wasn't even scuffed, and it didn't make the painful noise a less-well-ruberized tape would have made. It just bounced. I drop things - a lot - so that made me happy.
I like the plastic coating on the tape itself. It makes me hope that it's not going to get all rusty - but only time will tell.
CONS:
The return button is just a little too small. I guess maybe I'm so used to an old lever-lock, and I expect to be able to just grab from any angle and squeeze the thing to get it to return the tape. I think I'll eventually get used to it, but at the moment I do prefer the (old) stanley lever lock in this regard. Unfortunately the quality of the stanley leverlock has dropped off the charts. Following the manufacturing trend in the US, Stanley now only makes toys that look like the old leverlocks.
There are other tapes out there that use that leverlock design - so I may have to check them out someday, but as of yet, I haven't. This button isn't horrible, it's just marginally less convenient.
Size - it doesn't fit well in my toolbelt's tape holder. I normally clip tapes to my jean's pocket, and this one works well for that, but when I do use my leather tool belt, I like to use that belt's tape holder. This tape only fits into it in one direction, making it too inconvenient to use. My toolbelt's kind of old, and seems to be designed almost specifically for a stanley tape, so that is what I leave in my toolbelt now. I'm not sure if new toolbelt makers have awakened to the fact that there are other tape measure's out there now. Maybe they have.
That's a lot of talk for a $5 tool, but if you made it this far, looks like I'm not the only one who over thinks these kinds of purchases!
You'll be happy enough with this tape. It's not perfect, but you're not going to regret owning it either. I've tried some others, and this one is my favorite so far. I'll update here if that changes.
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Komelon SL2825 Self Lock 25-Foot Power TapeSteel blade with nylon coating. Self locking blade allows you to pull blade out and it locks itself, push button to retrieve. Impact resistant ABS with molded rubber grip. Built in rubber bumper. Ergonomic Hi Vis green case and black rubber grip. No. SL28
Click here for more information about Komelon SL2825 Self Lock 25-Foot Power Tape
