What's a good inexpensive 25' tape measure with at least 12 foot standout?

EddieWalker · Jul 8, 2020

I use a 12 foot tape almost all of the time. I find the bigger tapes to be too bulking for most jobs.

Diggin It · Jul 8, 2020

Funny thing ... I got a five pack of assorted sizes from a 6' pocket type on a key chain to a 35' from Big Lots quite a few years back. Paid less than $10 as I recall. They've been as good as any of the brand names or HF units I've had. Yeah, a few are trashed now, but I'm not easy on tools. Lost track of the 35 footer for a while. Found it inside a concrete block a few days back, covered in mud. Haven't tried to clean it up yet to see if it still works.

Fuddy1952 · Jul 8, 2020

Here's a Craftsman at 11ft. which seems like the limit.

fidowanttobe · Jul 8, 2020

Fatmax Xtreme is the BOMB! However they quit making them and now the NOS supply is metric only and ridiculously expensive.

aczlan · Jul 8, 2020

I was at Lowe's the other day and they had a DeWalt one which claimed 13 ft of stand out for $20.

Aaron Z

dragoneggs · Jul 8, 2020

aczlan said:
I was at Lowe's the other day and they had a DeWalt one which claimed 13 ft of stand out for $20.

Aaron Z

I would sure like to know how they test them because I have yet to see a tape measure do what it claimed.

deezler · Jul 9, 2020

I tested my own basic dewalt 25'er last night and can consistently get 9.5' standout, but rarely hold a full 10'. Plenty good for my purposes!

Diggin It · Jul 9, 2020

dragoneggs said:
I would sure like to know how they test them because I have yet to see a tape measure do what it claimed.

Saw a couple of clerks at Lowes testing one in the middle of the main aisle with customers everywhere. I didn't pay attention to the brand or length as I was trying not to get poked by it.

Fuddy1952 · Jul 9, 2020

My Craftsman 25ft I tried 11ft was it. 11ft 1in. and POW! in would collapse. If I supported tape with index finger you could go 12 ft.
This Milwaukee 25ft is supposed to have a 17ft standout !

joefromga · Jul 9, 2020

I have never found a tape measure I have been happy with. They all have one feature that the other one doesn't and none have all the features.

Standout is great unless you're measuring walls or anything on its side. Then, the tape just flops over.
Magnets make it worse because they're heavy and they don't have a removable one.

The new tapes are so wide they snag on every thing you walk past. I keep one on my belt all the time so it's a big issue for me.

The hooks are too small and have no grip. The ones that do don't have other features I want. Even within the same brands the features don't cross over.

Some have nothing printed on the reverse side, wasting valuable real estate. Some have fractions but not big or bold numbers. Some have dark colors but none have all the features! I've spent hours looking at tapes and can't find the perfect one. So I have about 8. They all disappoint me in one way or another.