Using the DeWalt, you have to add 3¼ inches and the Snap-on makes you add 3⅛ inches. They resist breakage and damage under the toughest field conditions. This added level of processing makes for a spring that is tougher and longer lasting. The tape is covered with the same coating that encases the PowerLock, but it also has the additional “industrial thermoplastic” covering over the first 4½ inches. For one thing the digital screen allows for incredibly accurate measurements. Best Uses for Fiberglass Measuring Tapes. We need to note that Stanley sells another version of this tape measure that they refer to as the PowerLock with Blade Armor. In our testing, we found that the 1-inch blades were the easiest to use overall, even if it meant sacrificing some stand-out. It is in the iconic Stanley Powerlock shape, and provides a superb degree of high impact protection to the inner workings of the tool. Keep it clean.”. A lame blade lock can be intensely frustrating. The Tape Store is the UK's No.1 Retailer of Long Tape Measures stocking an incredible selection of steel and fibreglass tapes. Source . I spent 10 years in construction as a carpenter, foreman, and supervisor, and I've been writing about tools since 2007, with articles appearing in Fine Homebuilding, Popular Mechanics, This Old House, The Journal of Light Construction, Popular Science, and Tools of the Trade. A large factor in stand-out is the width of the blade (wider blade typically means longer stand-out). For the most part, these oddballs are geared to the trades. Most tangs also have a ¼-inch slot along the front face that allows you to hang the tool off a nail or easily mark a circle with the tape. Milwaukee close reel long tapes deliver onMilwaukee close reel long tapes deliver on best in class durability. This length is attained with the PowerLock’s 1-inch-wide blade and was the third furthest stand-out of the 1-inch tapes (the Milwaukee had 9 feet, 2 inches, and the Starrett has a bizarro-long 10 feet, 5 inches). On some tapes the coating and printing came right off, but others held up admirably to the abrasion test. Stanley has a 25-foot auto-locking version of our upgrade pick FatMax with a unique tang-extension system. DeBoer also picks up on the cost analysis in the PTR piece. The Compact Tape Measure is a perfect size, but the blade lock is really difficult and we often had to use two hands to operate it. A pretty standard construction there then, but one that should be nice and hardwearing. Some tapes have markings on the underside side of the tape as well as the top, but Clement sees this as a “solution without a problem.” For myself, in a decade of construction work, I don’t think I ever used or felt I needed markings on the back side of the tape. Instead, the tang needs to have a smooth back-and-forth movement so the tape will be accurate both on pull measurements, where you hook the tang over something like the edge of a board, and on push measurements, where you press the tang against an inside surface. Larger tangs can cause other problems as well. One (potential) improvement is the fact it is that much bigger than the Powerlock. There’s nothing worse than a cheap tape measure. Also, one of the FastCaps was off 1/32 inch in the accuracy test, and the blades of both tapes barely made it across the 7-foot mark when I tested stand-out. After dropping, extending, and scrubbing the blades of 19 different tape measures with 60-grit sandpaper, we found that the best one is the classic 25-foot Stanley PowerLock Tape Measure. Well, the answer to that is a yes. DeBoer had a similar experience with the DeWalt 16-foot version, but he didn’t test the Big J. 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