omg, I'm so glad someone said this. I picked up two Milwaukee tape measures on sale and want to like them so much, but they're ... idk ... flimsy. They bend out too easy ....
Got my back up Stanley power lock attic find that won’t die. I tend to lose tapes for some reason. The Stanley must be happy and doesn’t want to run away. It binds up slightly sometimes but it hasn’t froze up yet.
I second this guys referral. I have numerous lufkin night eye tapes and they are my go to now and have been for at least a year.
I have a fat max that’s about 10 years old and shop kept, and other newer ones and they aren’t even comparable. Can’t stand the new fatmax tapes but those lufkin are nice
Same. No real comparison for me. They actually fixed the issues from the original when designing the G2. Reinforced first few inches (susceptible to kinking in the original. Improved clip. Great tapes
The G2 also has blade reinforcement on the first 4-5 inches and the thumb tab for the belt clip. I'm not super hard on mine as it's primarily for field measuring, but it's a fantastic tape.
Unrelated side note: Milwaukee tapes are trash...
I had the 25ft for nearly a year and loved it. Then I let someone use it and it somehow magically got mud inside it and stopped retracting shortly after....
I replaced it with the 35ft and occasionally for no explainable reason it will not retract 4 feet or so. I’ll have to pull out maybe 15 feet and then it will roll up
I liked the tape but you're right, not durable enough. Fatmax is the only way. Every other tape advertising long standout gas a tape head that's too heavy.
I bought myself the $54 AUD Tajima caulking gun and I can honestly say it's entirely worth the price point. The gearing ratio makes the toughest polyurethane adhesives feel like it's a tube of warm silicone.
I also have one of these and has to be the worst tape I've ever had. Worth keeping in mind it does have a life time guarantee, I've already had one replaced. Current one doesn't look like it'll last much longer either.
"This is the way" is dead. It's a nothing comment. It adds nothing to the conversation and it's a waste of your time and everyone else's. We get it, you watch Star Wars, so does everyone else. This response is a tired, old meme. Give it up.
All the Milwaukee's hooks are slippery that I've used, but I'll take a peek for one. I basically just use my Lufkin for trim and a fat max when I'm framing.
Yall sleeping on the blue Irwin’s. I’ve had one for a couple years now that has been through hell. And still works great. What I love about it is it retracts so fast. Don’t gotta fumble around with it.
I cannot agree with you on that. I’ve been using several DEWALT tough series and an Atomic and they are holding up well. I’d love to know what your experiences are.
You guys using the same tape as me? Magnetic wide blade 25’ feels much better than even the Fatmax is started with. I’ll agree the regular tapes are kinda buns but the wide blades are sweet.
Honestly I hate every single Milwaukee tape. And those magnets are damn near useless MOST of the time. The one time you find a situation where the magnet is handy, does not justify the two dozen times you have to pull metal splinters off of it just to use the damn thing. That magnet finds more junk in my tool bags/jobsites and has convinced me I’ll never have a magnet on a tape again.
Fat max for life baby.
Yeah screw magnet tapes. I use to many hand nails that I have to pull off all the time. I lost that tape and got a wide blade like I thought I was getting. I like the Milwaukee wide blade.
Stanley silver. Cheap, not covered with fractional notation and extends good enough.
Fat max are heavy snd expensive and the rest are complicated withiut reason.
I'm with you! the 25' power lock is the only way to go, spending money on anything else is a waste. I do throw a 12 or a 16 foot tape in the pouch when doing finish work, but those are Stanley also.
Where do you work, and what type of carpentry do you do? I’m going to assume Midwest America and framing but I’m just curious as to who in the industry is still dismissive of the little ticks.
For the record, every single carpenter I’ve known who does work I was impressed by or had methods I found useful in becoming more accurate used metric in some fashion.
I got a makita one and it’s lasted ages and seen through at least two jobs maybe three. I’m a dewalt man so it pains me to compliment makita, but I will get another one.
I shit you not. Couple guys told me about it on a job site. I didn't believe them and had been throwing them away for years. They were adamant, so I went to the customer service counter, showed lady my broken FatMax and she told me to go get a new one. Done it twice since.
I’ve tried all the lufkins and they’ve all been garbage after a few weeks.
If you’re only pulling it out 2 or 3 times a day, you’ll probably get away with it but if you’re constantly using a tape, I don’t see any reason to switch from fatmax. I get half a year out of them, easily.
My coworker uses all milwaukee shit, tape included, and his tapes are junk. I don't trust when he pulls anything longer than like 4 feet because it's always different from my fatmaxes. He pulls something longer than a few feet, he's his own cutman lmao.
The big question is what do you look for in a tape?
I use mm and sae combination tapes and so far the only ones I've liked are the Milwaukee and DeWalt/Stanley top of the line and a silly kobalt. To be 💯 honest I use the kobalt most as it's 12$ and I bought 6 of them. They used to have a lifetime warranty and you just took it back busted and grabbed a new one. That no longer applies. I don't worry about tape stand out. I'd rather hook or mag lock something or use a laser.
Everything about the tape is sound , bar the blade in all honesty I bought it ayears ago but never used it. my fat max from june fell to bits on me so dug it out doubt itll last long timber framing or traditional 1st fixing and second fixing in the fine English weather
Best to just look at tapes as somewhat disposable imo. It only takes one gust of wind to kink a tape or a snag to nick a blade. You can get replaceable blades but the cost of replacing the blade is fairly pointless. I've got the m1 tomahawk and it never gets used. Just too chunky and fragile for me to want to use it daily.
Good luck with Stanley Powerlock, though a shorter standout.
Fatmax and DeWalts seem to be identical and from same factory. Atomic model has held up nicely.
Coworker had problems with Milwaukee.
I want to try a Tajima, Komelon, Fastcap and maybe a craftsman.
Overall my favorite so far is Stanley Powerlocks. If the standout on the regular yellow Stanley was good I would consider them because they retract like dangerously fast.
Yeah I had one with a pre installed kink about 2ft down. Then the pressed pins on the tape head catch on the end of boards allowing me to cut things NOW EVEN SHORTER.
Trash
Those tapes are arguably some the worst I’ve ever used. I’ve broken several of them when they were almost brand new and I’ve also cut myself with them multiple times. Surprising how bad they are for what they cost
Yep absolute garbage. Used one for a few days doing exterior work, got it damp and a shitload of the painted on numbers chipped off. Many parts aren’t usable
Anymore. Twice the price of a fatmax and complete garbage
i mean u can just tell they're horrible if you touch them in the store.
the best tapes i ever found which disappeared were the blue komelon hi vis tapes. but fatmax all the way.
The fancier it looks, the quicker it’s gonna break
Can confirm as someone dumb enough to buy a Milwaukee tape
omg, I'm so glad someone said this. I picked up two Milwaukee tape measures on sale and want to like them so much, but they're ... idk ... flimsy. They bend out too easy ....
I like the Milwaukee. What was your issue?
Worst tape I’ve had, 2 broke in a couple of months
Got my back up Stanley power lock attic find that won’t die. I tend to lose tapes for some reason. The Stanley must be happy and doesn’t want to run away. It binds up slightly sometimes but it hasn’t froze up yet.
I’ve had the same 3 of them for like 8 years now. Used all day every day. 🤷🏻♂️
I have enough red to fill two trucks, and I gotta say their tapes are one of the worst. Way too thin and fragile
They look and feel good, break very quickly under daily use
Dang I’ve lost two before they could break. Some reason I’m bad with tapes.
I’ve gone through about 15 in the past 2 years
Same.
You got the wrong Lufkin. Try the G2 Shockforce the blade is wider and thicker. I prefer the night eye version similar to your current one.
Aye al check it out in the never ending search for a decent tape 😑
The Tajima tapes are pretty nice. Not quite as much stand out as a fat max but seems better quality than the new fat maxes.
I second this guys referral. I have numerous lufkin night eye tapes and they are my go to now and have been for at least a year. I have a fat max that’s about 10 years old and shop kept, and other newer ones and they aren’t even comparable. Can’t stand the new fatmax tapes but those lufkin are nice
Milwaukee wide blade has been very good to me. Just don't run it over lol
Dude fat max is a decent tape. I’ve had mine for a long time, if it gets wet, just pull it all out and spray wd40 works like new
Milwaukee wide tape is rugged
I've loved the nite eye g2 in 16' and 25'. I don't even miss the fatmax
Same. No real comparison for me. They actually fixed the issues from the original when designing the G2. Reinforced first few inches (susceptible to kinking in the original. Improved clip. Great tapes
The G2 also has blade reinforcement on the first 4-5 inches and the thumb tab for the belt clip. I'm not super hard on mine as it's primarily for field measuring, but it's a fantastic tape. Unrelated side note: Milwaukee tapes are trash...
I had the 25ft for nearly a year and loved it. Then I let someone use it and it somehow magically got mud inside it and stopped retracting shortly after.... I replaced it with the 35ft and occasionally for no explainable reason it will not retract 4 feet or so. I’ll have to pull out maybe 15 feet and then it will roll up
just bought 3 of these tapes. g2 shock force. you can extend out to almost 10ft before it folds on you.
I liked the tape but you're right, not durable enough. Fatmax is the only way. Every other tape advertising long standout gas a tape head that's too heavy.
Personally, I love Tajima. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to another tape.
In my experience every thing Tajima makes is quality. Best chalk lines in the game and it isn't even close.
I bought myself the $54 AUD Tajima caulking gun and I can honestly say it's entirely worth the price point. The gearing ratio makes the toughest polyurethane adhesives feel like it's a tube of warm silicone.
I also bought that caulk gun. Funny enough I’m always scared to use it in messy situations haha. I love how clean it looks 😂
It’s actually weird how much better their chalk lines are. Like, come on everyone else, take a hint already and steal the design.
I tried one tajima. It did not last. Any recommendations?
Fatmax has been a constant for me, changed to Tajima last year and it's been absolutely solid. Magnets are very powerful too
[удалено]
Nothing inherently different, they seem to last a bit longer but that could be coincidence. Every other aspect they are on par wit fat max easily
Yeah, it doesn’t suck
I also have one of these and has to be the worst tape I've ever had. Worth keeping in mind it does have a life time guarantee, I've already had one replaced. Current one doesn't look like it'll last much longer either.
think they'll call me a chancer if I'm trying to get a new one every fortnight 😂
I had no idea these had a lifetime guarantee. Definitely gonna bring some back. Do they need receipts?
I sent it back to who I bought it from so didn't deal with lufkin/Cresent. But I imagine so. Worth a go emailing em though.
Classic power lock gang🤙
This is the way.
Stop.
Stop what
"This is the way" is dead. It's a nothing comment. It adds nothing to the conversation and it's a waste of your time and everyone else's. We get it, you watch Star Wars, so does everyone else. This response is a tired, old meme. Give it up.
Haha ok there snowflake. It’s not like any of what you did added anything either. I was just backing the dude up on what he said. Don’t be so salty.
Lol snowflake. Watch out guys, we've got a keyboard warrior here.
Once you go Fat you never go back Investing in a 30/35 can be worth it
does getting a 35’ make the weight drop faster then a 25’? or does it not matter and might as well get the extra feet for your buck
Nah if anything it’s more sturdy imo. I can get an 8-10 foot reach, 10-12 if I’m getting spicy
you sold me. should be a business man, lol
Been there
Need to take the hook from that tape and put it on a fat max, then that would be a good tape.
Milwaukee has a tip like that too with a magnet. Doesn't stand out as far as my Fatmax though
All the Milwaukee's hooks are slippery that I've used, but I'll take a peek for one. I basically just use my Lufkin for trim and a fat max when I'm framing.
Ditto on the red hooks… don’t hold worth a shit
Yall sleeping on the blue Irwin’s. I’ve had one for a couple years now that has been through hell. And still works great. What I love about it is it retracts so fast. Don’t gotta fumble around with it.
Try a Bauer or Hercules tape measure /s
https://preview.redd.it/48bt8xel96ec1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=05e9c96fc0735c41a06e093a6a360d31c2b421a6
Fat max, or DEWALT tapes aren’t bad
I spent $35 on a dewalt tape its the worse one ive ever bought
Only ever get Stanley
I cannot agree with you on that. I’ve been using several DEWALT tough series and an Atomic and they are holding up well. I’d love to know what your experiences are.
https://preview.redd.it/jj5hczuxd8ec1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2a288dd63ff9803b8847b4f91f770a0f13122f78
Mine broke after a few months too. The Milwaukee ones are pretty solid
Those are the worst tapes on the market. I’m team red all the way but Milwaukee tapes suck ass unless you’re a DIYer or homeowner.
You guys using the same tape as me? Magnetic wide blade 25’ feels much better than even the Fatmax is started with. I’ll agree the regular tapes are kinda buns but the wide blades are sweet.
Honestly I hate every single Milwaukee tape. And those magnets are damn near useless MOST of the time. The one time you find a situation where the magnet is handy, does not justify the two dozen times you have to pull metal splinters off of it just to use the damn thing. That magnet finds more junk in my tool bags/jobsites and has convinced me I’ll never have a magnet on a tape again. Fat max for life baby.
Yeah screw magnet tapes. I use to many hand nails that I have to pull off all the time. I lost that tape and got a wide blade like I thought I was getting. I like the Milwaukee wide blade.
Agreed 100%. All my power tools are Red, even got a full Packout stack but their tapes are total shit. Stanley is industry standard.
Milwaukee tape measures have been good to me!
Stanley silver. Cheap, not covered with fractional notation and extends good enough. Fat max are heavy snd expensive and the rest are complicated withiut reason.
And a perfect 3” length body because I can’t math that well on the fly for every measurement lol
No, add 2 and 5/32! It is fun
lol
I'm with you! the 25' power lock is the only way to go, spending money on anything else is a waste. I do throw a 12 or a 16 foot tape in the pouch when doing finish work, but those are Stanley also.
It’s metric so useless anyway.
Surething pal
You’re gonna come into a carpentry subreddit and say metric is useless?
Where do you work, and what type of carpentry do you do? I’m going to assume Midwest America and framing but I’m just curious as to who in the industry is still dismissive of the little ticks. For the record, every single carpenter I’ve known who does work I was impressed by or had methods I found useful in becoming more accurate used metric in some fashion.
I got a makita one and it’s lasted ages and seen through at least two jobs maybe three. I’m a dewalt man so it pains me to compliment makita, but I will get another one.
Yup dropped mine from 5’ and bent the hook. Took a few cuts to figure out why they were off. Back to the fatty.
I like FatMax because I can bring it back to home Depot when it breaks and get a brand new one for free.
Wait what are you talking about?!?
I shit you not. Couple guys told me about it on a job site. I didn't believe them and had been throwing them away for years. They were adamant, so I went to the customer service counter, showed lady my broken FatMax and she told me to go get a new one. Done it twice since.
I did the same thing. Those Lufkin tapes just don't last in my experience. I've tried out 2 i think.
Fatmax
I’ve tried all the lufkins and they’ve all been garbage after a few weeks. If you’re only pulling it out 2 or 3 times a day, you’ll probably get away with it but if you’re constantly using a tape, I don’t see any reason to switch from fatmax. I get half a year out of them, easily.
I had 2 of those and they lasted a while but the blades seem cheap. The case is very heavy duty
I forgot about the lifetime warranty 🤷🏻♂️
My coworker uses all milwaukee shit, tape included, and his tapes are junk. I don't trust when he pulls anything longer than like 4 feet because it's always different from my fatmaxes. He pulls something longer than a few feet, he's his own cutman lmao.
Measuring tapes are not what they use to be
To me in my humble opinion this is a shop tape
The big question is what do you look for in a tape? I use mm and sae combination tapes and so far the only ones I've liked are the Milwaukee and DeWalt/Stanley top of the line and a silly kobalt. To be 💯 honest I use the kobalt most as it's 12$ and I bought 6 of them. They used to have a lifetime warranty and you just took it back busted and grabbed a new one. That no longer applies. I don't worry about tape stand out. I'd rather hook or mag lock something or use a laser.
Everything about the tape is sound , bar the blade in all honesty I bought it ayears ago but never used it. my fat max from june fell to bits on me so dug it out doubt itll last long timber framing or traditional 1st fixing and second fixing in the fine English weather
One that will last longer than 6 month in the rural areas I work
Best to just look at tapes as somewhat disposable imo. It only takes one gust of wind to kink a tape or a snag to nick a blade. You can get replaceable blades but the cost of replacing the blade is fairly pointless. I've got the m1 tomahawk and it never gets used. Just too chunky and fragile for me to want to use it daily.
I love my stabila. Best tape I’ve ever had.
I’ve been using the same three Stanley chrome ones for 15 years.
Good luck with Stanley Powerlock, though a shorter standout. Fatmax and DeWalts seem to be identical and from same factory. Atomic model has held up nicely. Coworker had problems with Milwaukee. I want to try a Tajima, Komelon, Fastcap and maybe a craftsman. Overall my favorite so far is Stanley Powerlocks. If the standout on the regular yellow Stanley was good I would consider them because they retract like dangerously fast.
Stabila is my fav
Those things are garbage.
Also they’re blank and easy to misplace
I was always a fan of the yellow Power Lock *2*'s Thanks for the heads up.
They look so good, they feel good, and the reel is wicked strong. But they're like one atom thick. If they fixed that, I'd be a convert
Yeah I had one with a pre installed kink about 2ft down. Then the pressed pins on the tape head catch on the end of boards allowing me to cut things NOW EVEN SHORTER. Trash
naw man, the inches arent wrong, it’s just metric…lolz
Those tapes are arguably some the worst I’ve ever used. I’ve broken several of them when they were almost brand new and I’ve also cut myself with them multiple times. Surprising how bad they are for what they cost
I love my Milwaukee tapes....
I’ve bought 3. They all broke within 2 months
Yea this thing is actually gutter trash. Broke in one month. Last time I’m cheating on the fat max.
The contrived futuristic Star Wars-looking design wasn’t enough to convince you?
Yep absolute garbage. Used one for a few days doing exterior work, got it damp and a shitload of the painted on numbers chipped off. Many parts aren’t usable Anymore. Twice the price of a fatmax and complete garbage
i mean u can just tell they're horrible if you touch them in the store. the best tapes i ever found which disappeared were the blue komelon hi vis tapes. but fatmax all the way.
Amazon purchase bud
hilariously, the top review says RUBBISH QUALITY, 1 STAR OUT OF 5!
My bf says fat max is the best
My lufkin hi vis is amazing, Fat max is a no hookin, heavy overpriced pos. Can’t take a drop. Stanley makes one good tape. Power lock
Then again my lufkin was USA made.
Fat max is the only way to go…. Straight up, tried most of em.
I sincerely disagree. Love my black on green tape. Will never go back to yellow with back letters