Recommended laser tape measure besides Bosch?

Off Topic
1

So, this is the typical one most people go for… but have you guys had any luck with other brands? Tempted to just go for it, but felt silly to not ask this crew :slight_smile:

2

I have a bosch,
It works ok, I’m not personally impressed by the laser tape measures. I always have that feeling of the measurement isn’t accurate or better said not accurate to the fractions of an inch. But, that might also be my issue and not an issue of the tool.

3

I have the Bosch GLR225 and have been pretty happy with it.

https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/boschtools-ocs/measure-distance-glr225-31878-p/

That said, my use case doesn’t require terribly accurate measurements (generally estimating cabling runs). I will say that the results displayed have been very consistent, however what I have not done is compare it to a known measure, other than counting off ceiling tiles.

4

So far, I haven’t tried one, because I can’t convince myself to trust one I could afford to be better than an estimate, and the few times I’m estimating distances, I wouldn’t have it with me.

5

I’ll be at the space tonight teaching the vinyl cutter. I’ll try to remember to bring it along and we can run some tests if anyone is interested.

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6

Cable runs, lighting throw distances, and rough models of stage spaces are my primary uses, so mm precision isn’t a huge deal. I’m going to try out the GLM 35 and will let you guys know :slight_smile:

7

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00K5UDI5O/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1481307702&sr=8-3&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=leica+disto&dpPl=1&dpID=41pX3LNu9HL&ref=plSrch

I use this guy or maybe an older version. It’s pretty accurate, probably to within +/- 1/16" at around 20ft and it could load the measurements right into my laptop or phone which was my main sway. It only measures straight length and will calculate area. No fancy trig functions or anything for angles

8

lol…from the Amazon URL: “Extreme accuracy, measures to within 1/16”. Wow…1/16"? That’s AMAZING!

9

As an update, I took our 100 foot measuring tape and with the help of @photomancer stretched it from the wood shop door all the way to the back of the interactive classroom for a shot of about 83 feet. I made a number of repeated measurements at various points along the tape measure. Some were DEAD on, a few showed 1/16 variance, but, honestly the floor of the makerspace isn’t perfectly flat, meaning that I had to hold the thing in my hand to get a little up-angle onto the door of the woodshop.

Note that 1/16 is the minimum variance that it will display, but I would call it at least as accurate as a steel tape.

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