Whether you work in construction or just want to see how much your kid has grown, you need a tape measure. Sure, you could grab whatever’s on sale at the local hardware store—but why waste your money on a tape measure that doesn’t work when you could shop smart and buy a better one?
That’s why we looked at all the popular tape measures on the market, chose five best-selling models, and put them through a series of tests. Without a doubt, we can say that the 25-foot Stanley Powerlock (available at Amazon for $12.64) is the best tape measure you can buy.
Stanley Powerlock 33-425
How We Tested
Other Tape Measures We Tested
We weighed each model, then tried it on for size.
We chose 5 of the top-selling tape measures from major retailers. We considered their price and warranty, we looked at user reviews, we weighed them, and we put them on our hips while walking around and crawling into tight spaces.
This is how we tested "standout"—how far you can extend the blade before it falls.
We looked at the locking mechanism—was it made of flimsy plastic and spring loaded, and sure to wear down? Or did it lock into place sturdily? Then we measured “standout,” or how far you can extend the tape before it crumples and falls. Finally we saw how tangled they got when we retracted them, and tallied up the final scores.
Keith was the Editor in Chief of Reviewed's appliance and automotive sites. His work has appeared in publications such as Wired, Car & Driver, and CityLab.
See all of Keith Barry's reviewsWe use standardized and scientific testing methods to scrutinize every product and provide you with objectively accurate results. If you’ve found different results in your own research, email us and we’ll compare notes. If it looks substantial, we’ll gladly re-test a product to try and reproduce these results. After all, peer reviews are a critical part of any scientific process.
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