Tape measure

[Sparktrician]

I moved to the Fast Cap tapes a few years ago, have many and so far have withstood the abuse.  They have them in lefty or righty, imperial and metric, and so on....

+1

The Festool tape is junk. 

Also, I found Hultafors to be a very nice tape measure.

Eric

I, too, am delighted with my 3M and 6M Hultafors tapes. 

 

[Motown]

love my Fastcap

 

[erock]

I moved to the Fast Cap tapes a few years ago, have many and so far have withstood the abuse.  They have them in lefty or righty, imperial and metric, and so on....

+1

The Festool tape is junk. 

Also, I found Hultafors to be a very nice tape measure.

Eric

I, too, am delighted with my 3M and 6M Hultafors tapes.

I have the 3M and 6M Hultafors.    The 3M is too small for my mitts.  But the 6M.......that's a mans tape!  [wink]    [tongue]

Eric

 

[JCLP]

I've use fastcap measuring tapes for years now and have found that there are accuracy issues between their different models. I found that the ProCarpenter auto lock tapes are the most accurate and consistent and tha is the one I use. When you do a distance measure between it and other Fastcap tapes you do get different values. One thing that baffles me is why do we have different measurements when using different tapes. I thought 10" was 10". It seems that tape manufacturers are using a different standards to fabricate their tape measures. I guess and inch/centimeter is defined differently depending what country the tape is manufactured in. In any case, if possible, never change your tape during a project, especially if you are looking for accuracy and consistency.
Another tape I use is the 2M Hultafors that I received from Henrik in Sweden. It has come in handy when measuring spaces for built ins.
Cheers.
JC

 

[Alphonse]

Mine too doesn't retract.  Is essentially new and almost in unused condition.  I trusted the brand and bought it without reading the reviews!  I will chalk it up to "learning by doing".  By the way, I don't find it very easy to read either.

 

[BMH]

I have a dozen tape measures in, imperial, metric, or a mixture of both. I have gone metric now and I use three tapes measures 90% of the time. Festool for small projects especially for inside measurements. The Talmeter tapes 3m and 6m, these are just great tapes, so reliable and easy to use. The added marking combine marking edge are great. I use it to mark pieces, score drywall or foam panel. I had a little learning curve with them but now they are my go to tape measure and they are true metric so they line up perfectectly with the festool tapes and UG stand

 

[vkumar]

I moved to the Fast Cap tapes a few years ago, have many and so far have withstood the abuse.  They have them in lefty or righty, imperial and metric, and so on....

I must have been quite unlucky with Fastcaps.  One 3 foot drop on a hard floor broke the tape measure. I opened it and found that the center spindle had broken. It was made out of plastic about 1/8" or 3 mm in diameter.  Very wimpy.

So although I like the Fastcaps design features ,  am not too impressed with the robustness.

Vijay

 

[bonesbr549]

I like my fastcaps and have many.  I drop mine all the time on concrete and no issues. 

As to the festool tape, piece of junk.  Mine stopped retracting shortly after purchasing.  That's when I found out, there is no warranty on the non power tools.  Took it as a 25$ lesson learned.  Got a lot of FT already, but not bought another FT since/yet. 

Just sayin. 

 

[Paul G]

Interesting how many report the Festool tape is a piece of junk. Brilliant low budget way to erode the reputation of the brand. Better to not even offer it.

I've been happy with Stanley and FastCap, but I suspect I'm not as hard on the tools as others. Sounds like I should try a Talmeter as well. As for accuracy I typically use the same tape in a project to minimize the impact of tape inaccuracies. Haven't even looked for an accuracy spec on a tape, I just assume they aren't that good to begin with. Perhaps that's due to my frame of reference in other work where we use steel rules with 1/100" marks and when needed use glass scales.

 

[Greg M]

Festool tapes are a novelty.  They're a way to siphon more money from those who want everything Festool.

 

[Sparktrician]

Sounds like I should try a Talmeter as well.

Tom Bellemare has the Talmeters.  You'll love them. 

 

[theplanesaw]

I bought the Festool tape measure several months ago, but haven't used it much until this past week on a project.  Had some problems with things lining up and, after comparing the Festool tape measure to others, discovered the Festool tape measure is significantly not accurate. 

Did a search here on FOG and discovered this has been known to Festool for several years.  Why would Festool continue to sell this, given all the marketing they put out as to how perfect their tools are?  Does anyone know if there are any intentions of correcting the problem and putting out a new one that is accurate?

It can be amazing how a small, inaccurate tool like this can create a poor quality image for some potential customers. 

(Please know, I like the Festool tools I have.  Haven't had a problem with the several I do have, with the exception of the tape measure.)

 

[DB10]

Strange indeed, but what I find even more strange is how Festool Aus can justify charging $45 for a 3 meter tape! Obviously aimed at the Fan merchandise market.

 

[Bob Wolfe]

Here is my 2 cents. I find it easier to read a white tape rather than yellow tape. I had a white Lufkin that I really liked and used until it was totally done, could not find a replacement anywhere. Big box stores here all have yellow tapes, likely all made in the same factory with either a Stanley of Lufkin  or ?? name on them.

After reading the article on tapes in 'this is carpentry" I got a Tojema. Really nice tape but pricy, have used Fastcaps mostly lately, white rule and seem to last fairly well. I have only checked the fastcap against my cabinet saw and they matched.

I suggest that you use a metric tape or imperial tape but don't use a combination tape.  It just confuses things and then you don't have a decent tape for either. I have to read from both sides on my tape often. If the side of the tape you need is the wrong scale, your beat and inaccurate.

 

[Kev]

Strange indeed, but what I find even more strange is how Festool Aus can justify charging $45 for a 3 meter tape! Obviously aimed at the Fan merchandise market.

I think it's irksome that these promotional products become priced for sale.

They should be free and generously included (the "promotional" bit) [mad] This isn't just a gripe with Festool.

I can understand Festool rebranding and selling the odd item when it's part of a system (like a clamp, etc) but I don't think these things really do much for their brand image ... if the first "Festool" you're exposed to is the cheap tape measure at $45 you're probably not going to jump at their proper stuff!

 

[DB10]

  It would be intersting to know which make of tape measures they use at the Festool training sessions. I only use Lufkin tapes now as they are easy to come by and last well. You are right about the white tapes being easier to read, although I prefer the release mechanism on the yellow one.

 

[Holmz]

Strange indeed, but what I find even more strange is how Festool Aus can justify charging $45 for a 3 meter tape! Obviously aimed at the Fan merchandise market.

I think it's irksome that these promotional products become priced for sale.

They should be free and generously included (the "promotional" bit) [mad] This isn't just a gripe with Festool.

I can understand Festool rebranding and selling the odd item when it's part of a system (like a clamp, etc) but I don't think these things really do much for their brand image ... if the first "Festool" you're exposed to is the cheap tape measure at $45 you're probably not going to jump at their proper stuff!

It is a  excuse for a tape measure, and if one started with that they would not buy another green tool ever.

How one can make such a bad tape measure is mind boggling... when almost no one makes a bad anymore.
I keep it solely for doing circles and radiai as it does that well (providing that the tape stays in it).

 

[KP80]

Love my fast cap. Had it for almost a year and it is dead on and seems impervious to all of my abuse!

 

[overanalyze]

Love my BMI Meter tape. I bought the dual scale one.

 

[Timtool]

I bought a Festool tape when i placed an order as it was relatively cheap some years ago, lasted a few days. When i pulled out the measure completely the coil inside exploded. tried reassembling it but it wouldn't work properly after. Binned the damn thing.

Other then that the features on it were really nice, screen, circle jig etc... but the quality is just awful. I wouldn't want my company name on that, don't know why they keep it in their line.

Plus i hate the double unit marking, makes one side of the tape unusable and in Europe there is pretty much no use at all in having inches on a tape.