Stanley 33-725 25-Foot FatMax Tape Measure
by Stanley Hand Tools
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List Price: Our Price: $9.95 You Save: $20.04 (67%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Stanley 33-725 25-Foot FatMax Tape Measure
Customer Review: Solid Tape Measure
Summary: 5 Stars
Excellent prices. Beats ANY stores prices. Solid product capable of withstanding the abuse of a metal fabrication shop.Customer Review: Plastic, Plastic, Plastic
Summary: 2 Stars
I own a couple Stanley measures and now that I've had this one for a couple months I can say with some confidence that even though the extra width of the tape allows you to extend the tape further than a narrower tape, the other drawbacks exceed this benefit.
So, the cons:
1) the end of the tape is not firmly riveted to the tape, so you won't get accuracy to the 1/16, probably not to the 1/8th hooking or pushing the end to anything. You would have to start at 1" and go back from there.
2) The body is plastic. I don't drop stuff unintentionally often. But sometimes my hands are full and I need to drop something a foot or two. With the metal case stanleys, it's never a problem. This tape, as other reviewers have said, is not strong enough to take much typical construction wear and tear. The case, after a couple months, is already a little loose, and that's just from frequent home use.
So, all in all, not a real good buy for the frequent tape user, sorry to say.
Customer Review: a tape with great standout but with tradeoffs
Summary: 2 Stars
As a cut man my tape measure is perhaps my most important tool. It enables me to accurately make measurements to be cut. I purchased this tape due to my previous good experience with stanley products and the stand out feature sounded nice. My previous tape that I actually started my job with was a 30' stanley maxsteel, so a lot of my opinions are based in direct comparison to that.
On the good side, the fatmax tape does have an excellent standout, which is really nice when you are working alone or dont have someone near by to hold the other end and you are trying to hook a good distance away. I cant give you an exact measurement of the standout and really I wouldn't be disappointed if it was a little less then advertised as it is substantially more then the maxsteel tape. The tape case has been very durable, its survived falls off roofs, scaffolding, etc with no problems. Another feature I really like is the rubber bottom. I can place the tape extended on a board and the rubber will grip the board enough that I can take my hand off the tape to make multiple marks where the tape would be out of reach. Of course I could use the lock feature but as mentioned the lock is noticeably hard to engage, so just running the tape down and letting it sit upright has been nice.
Now the bad "features", as mentioned the lock is difficult to engage, but more importantly to the tape itself, there are several things I don't like. To get such a long standout the tape is wider and is curved more on each side, this creates some problems for me. One is to actually get an accurate measurement I need to twist the tape a good deal, especially on shorter measurements, for the edge of the tape to sit down on the board. This sometimes causes the hook at the end to jump off the board. Also when bowing the tape into a corner to get a measurement, some creative twisting is needed to again try to get an edge to sit flat to get a measurement. While with all tapes you will have to do this to some degree, with the fatmax it is to a level that is annoying and in a lot of cases takes more time to get a measurement then would be required with a thinner tape.
In conclusion the fatmax tape does have its advantages, its long standout can prove useful in some situations (working alone, reaching the end to a helper across an abyss). The hook is nice as it can hook on both the top and bottom sides. The extra curve will be annoying at best though. Id recommend this for framing but for finishing you are better off with a powerlock or similar standard width tape that isn't curved as much.
Originally rated **, would now rate *** after going back to a powerlock and missing some of the fatmax features when framing.
Customer Review: Contractors use this
Summary: 5 Stars
I work for a very large commercial general contractor. Very high quality tool and a must have for any DIYer or contractor. Everyone on the job site has one of these. If you are using it constantly every day, yes, your tape will break. But, for most people, it will last a very very long time. Customer Review: Not tough enough(Updated)
Summary: 2 Stars
I'm with the other 2 star guy . I use mine many times a day . I wear them out fast. If you bend it to read the tape, its nick city, then tape tear, then new tape. I'll be getting the cheaper one myself. UPDATE
Whatever problems they had they are fixed I tried all the other tapes (I got a pile)they are not worth the effort. At any rate I kept using my last tape and am still using it, changed the case (old broken tape) because the lock quit working, but still the same blade all this time, and I measure a lot.