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Dewalt's Tapes


Hugh Jass

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A while back I was browsing the measurement section at HD and saw that Dewalt has made some tapes, pulled out the tape, had good roll back, ink was nice and bold, big hook, claimed 13' standout. So I bought it to give it a shot since my other 16' fatmax is getting worn out from daily abuse. 

 

What I didn't check for in the store is the tape's ability to tilt (I mean at all) and not fold over it's self. This has the floppiest focking tape I've ever seen. My tape rope has better stability. Anyone else experience this? I mean it's literally unusable. The 5th time I went to measure something around 6ft away on a ladder and it folded on me again and again without getting to hook it without it folding under it's own weight, I turned around and chucked that piece of crap about 40' into the woods. I'm not one to litter but that abomination deserves a few millennia of being buried by dead vegetation and animal shit. 

 

Also my buddy tested the 13' standout. It's true, it really can do 13' standout...if you point it straight up at the sky with no wind while holding your breath. Give me a break! (not you, shitty tape!) Straight out you might get half of that, and if you tilt the case 5 degrees it instantly turns into a wet noodle. Man I thought Dewalt's recip's were horrible...this has it beat. 

 

Fatmax I'm so sorry for cheating...come back to me. I promise it won't happen again. 

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I found the end to be way too big.  There were so many times it wouldn't fit where I was trying to measure.  The second day, I cut it down with snips.  The third day, I cut it down more.

 

As far as the stand out, it worked fine.  13'?  not sure, but a long way.  Then it started twisting to the side, whey you would extend it.  Would go about 6 to 8' then curl sideways and fall.  

 

That was the end of it.  

 

Stanley 35' powerlock, for me.  It's done everything I needed it to, for the last 25 years.

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Still using my Bostich Fatmax tape. Not sure how they got Fatmax in the name but I've had it for years and it's got forever standout, high viz tape, big hook but I was checking the Dewalt tapes out and they looked decent with easy to read tape. I wish my Milwaukee tape had the high viz tape, my eyes are getting crappy for reading up close and this helps a lot. By the way, the new Milwaukee tapes look cheap. Not like the magnetic one I have, rock solid.

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I am laughing about you buying a freaking brick. I don't own any of those cubes. The more standout a tape is supposed to have, the wider it is. Play with it in the wind and gravity will win every time. Kink up a tape just a little bit and it rolls over in a heartbeat.  I have no doubt that the Stanleys and the DeWALTs are made in the same place with most of the same materials, the DeWALT just has more rubber cushioning on the outside of the box. Most of the time I use some variation of the Stanley Leverlocks, but I do have a few DeWALTs at this point, I just bought a twin pack at Home Depot during the spring sale for @ $15, but those are the narrower tapes so they aren't supposed to have the 13 foot standout. I think they say it is more like ten, which in reality means more like five reliably.

 

The one serious oddball I have is a FastCap flatback. It is the opposite of what you are looking for. a perfectly flat tape the wraps around curved surfaces nicely and works ten times better than other tapes when you are measuring inside boxes, cabinets and drawers. I like a lot of FastCaps products, they are one off in a lot of cases, but the ones I have used do work.

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Still using my Bostich Fatmax tape. Not sure how they got Fatmax in the name but I've had it for years and it's got forever standout, high viz tape, big hook but I was checking the Dewalt tapes out and they looked decent with easy to read tape. I wish my Milwaukee tape had the high viz tape, my eyes are getting crappy for reading up close and this helps a lot. By the way, the new Milwaukee tapes look cheap. Not like the magnetic one I have, rock solid.

Bostitch is owned by SBD

love the fast caps great tape the flat tape is great for the shop


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 I totally disagree Dewalt has the best measuring tapes out. I can't believe you threw the tape in the woods like it was junk. I'd love to see a picture of your tools I'm guessing that a majority of your gear could probably be thrown in the woods.

 

I have been using their tapes for 2 years I think you just don't understand how to use it. The tape isn't designed to be tilted while pulling for a measurement. That's why the blade hook has large wings on the sides. The tape should be held level while pulling a measurement once you hook the wing to the workpiece you can pull the tension and roll/tilt the tape to better view the measurement. Having used this for 2 years I am very efficient with this method I couldn't go back to any other tape. Also you need the one with the black overmold. Dwht33924. It's a little more expensive but worth every penny. Most likely you bought the cheaper yellow one and threw a fit. Stop looking at the price tag. If I send you my measuring tape right now and a 20 min instructional video I can guarantee you wouldn't use anything else in the field.

If it was the cheap yellow tape you launched leave it and learn your lesson.

If it was the Black one get your ass in the woods 

 

I realize I was a little harsh in the beginning of this statement. But you did throw a dewalt in the woods and come to a Dewalt forum to tell us. 

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 I totally disagree Dewalt has the best measuring tapes out. I can't believe you threw the tape in the woods like it was junk. I'd love to see a picture of your tools I'm guessing that a majority of your gear could probably be thrown in the woods.
 
I have been using their tapes for 2 years I think you just don't understand how to use it. The tape isn't designed to be tilted while pulling for a measurement. That's why the blade hook has large wings on the sides. The tape should be held level while pulling a measurement once you hook the wing to the workpiece you can pull the tension and roll/tilt the tape to better view the measurement. Having used this for 2 years I am very efficient with this method I couldn't go back to any other tape. Also you need the one with the black overmold. Dwht33924. It's a little more expensive but worth every penny. Most likely you bought the cheaper yellow one and threw a fit. Stop looking at the price tag. If I send you my measuring tape right now and a 20 min instructional video I can guarantee you wouldn't use anything else in the field.
If it was the cheap yellow tape you launched leave it and learn your lesson.
If it was the Black one get your ass in the woods 
 
I realize I was a little harsh in the beginning of this statement. But you did throw a dewalt in the woods and come to a Dewalt forum to tell us. 

I'm sure Hugh takes great care of his tools, I know all of us have had some products from every company that have become projeciles, I know I have lol


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2 hours ago, JimboS1ice said:


I'm sure Hugh takes great care of his tools, I know all of us have had some products from every company that have become projeciles, I know I have lol


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i totaly agree, i smashed a 1/4 sheet dewalt "perform and protech" sander about a month ago, i was so disappointed in the performance that i got more pleasure putting it out of its misery than taking it back

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My favorite tape measure is the cheaper Dewalt 25'. I have 6 or 7 of them which should last me the rest of my life. I find them on sale all the time like 2 for $14.99. I like the fractional markings, especially when I have someone helping that can't read a tape.

 

IMG_7440.JPG.ae8265479fee97e15269e84bcaf56fc2.JPG

 

 

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My favorite tape measure is the cheaper Dewalt 25'. I have 6 or 7 of them which should last me the rest of my life. I find them on sale all the time like 2 for $14.99. I like the fractional markings, especially when I have someone helping that can't read a tape.
 
IMG_7440.JPG.ae8265479fee97e15269e84bcaf56fc2.JPG
 
 

Love that tape, too bad I ruined it putting vinyl tile down


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Ah, Dewalt....well being a framer for 30 plus years,,most framers use fat max .no 25' tapes allowed on the job ..of course a 30ft tape is minimum,,a 35ft tape is preferred ...can't square a normal wall with a 25ft tape...and no definitely not getting out the big 50 or 100 to sq a wall ,foundation yes.......no fat max or any other tape works well after being in the rain all day or all week, sand and water ..is your enemy....ya wipe em off,....in the real world if I watch a guy cleaning his tape 50 times a day in the rain...well bye bye.guy...

.       .....I bought 4 craftsmen 30ft tapes 30 years ago and never bought a new one untill about 5(?) years ago  when craftsmen stopped replacing tapes for free....so ever since it's been Dewalt,,free replacement every 90 days....no tape will last framing outside ...so I trade in my damaged tapes for a brand new one ...

.           ...Dewalt 30' (19.99$) yellow fits right on my belt,not heavy,not too big,..is it the best ..No..is fat max? Maybe..Milwaukee? Their fine...other brands ,not really................feel free to send me any Dewalt tapes with a receipt and I'll go get a new one.....thanks...( just gotta be 30' lol).

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21 hours ago, mohawkdec said:

i totaly agree, i smashed a 1/4 sheet dewalt "perform and protech" sander about a month ago, i was so disappointed in the performance that i got more pleasure putting it out of its misery than taking it back

Lol I had a good laugh at that, I may have lost my temper with a phone or two myself oops

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18 hours ago, JimboS1ice said:


Love that tape, too bad I ruined it putting vinyl tile down


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Keep your eyes open at HD. They have them on sale all the time. They had the 2 for $14.99 deal when I was there a couple days ago. You could probably get one cheaper than I could ship you one. 

 

I need to to grab a couple 16's really. For most of my project a 16' would be ideal and much less weight

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Keep your eyes open at HD. They have them on sale all the time. They had the 2 for $14.99 deal when I was there a couple days ago. You could probably get one cheaper than I could ship you one. 
 
I need to to grab a couple 16's really. For most of my project a 16' would be ideal and much less weight

I need another tape measure like another hole in my head


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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/23/2017 at 10:01 PM, Cr8ondt said:

Here's Stuart's preview of the XP...

http://toolguyd.com/dewalt-xp-tape-measure/

He's spot on about the spring bringing the tape back in quickly

 

DeWalt sent me a couple of the XP tapes to try, yeah can you actually believe they sent this Milwaukee man a dewalt item lol

 

I'll just give you the Tl;dr upfront: I like it... a lot!!

IMG_20170421_122521769

..

 

There's only one downside that i've grown accustomed to having on my Milwaukee tapes: no markings on the back, i'm overhead often and wish this had it

 

.

IMG_20170414_142024587

..

 

 

 

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..

 

I know i'm gushing about the blade lock design in my description in this post, but i've never seen anything this nice... Toolguyd talks about it being perfected in this XP tape and that's my take on it too, hard to explain, i'll just have to do a video..
It's weird, i've never thought about how nice a tape measure could be until i had this in my hands....

 

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