ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Mileseey Xtape1 is on sale now for $239.
- It is a mixture of an old-school measuring tape and laser rangefinder, with super-accurate measurements even over lengthy distances.
- It is costly, and probably overkill for some customers.
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I like my instruments, and after I get the prospect to take a brand new piece of equipment for a check drive, I leap on the probability. If it is filled with high-end options, a lot the higher.
So when the Mileseey Xtape1 — a tape measure that is been supercharged with lasers and electronics — landed on my desk, I could not wait to begin doing a little DIY with it.
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The Xtape1 is a really totally different tackle the laser tape measure. This one has a laser, sure (three, truly, a pink one is used for measuring, and two inexperienced aligning beams) that is good out to 330 ft and correct to ±1/16-inch. However together with the laser rangefinder, this additionally contains a 12-foot conventional metallic tape measure correct to ±1/32-inch.
This makes it a really versatile device, as a result of whereas laser measuring instruments are nice for issues like measuring rooms and such, they can not be used for issues like measuring lumber.
The Xtape1 solves this with the mix of outdated and new.
However the tape isn’t any customary tape, as a result of whereas it has the imperial/inch measurements that you just count on to see, the tape can be good, with the digital show removing the necessity to truly learn what’s on the tape. You may change the background coloration of the show in addition to flip its orientation. The font is large and clear, even for my growing old eyes, and it is quite a bit simpler to learn than a conventional tape, particularly in low mild or awkward spots.
On prime of the Xtape1 is a two-inch IPS multi-color digital display that exhibits the measurements and settings, and likewise has buttons for controlling the interface.
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There’s a lot packed into this gadget that you just positively must learn the handbook a minimum of as soon as. Actually, I counsel grabbing a beverage and spending a superb half-hour with the Xtape1, working via the settings and options.
Primary size and distance measurements are fairly easy, however the extra superior options resembling engaged on areas of partitions, quantity of rooms, and point-to-point measurements contain a bit extra digging into the interface.
The laser measurements are correct to ±1/16-inch.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
And as soon as you have found out the {hardware}, there’s an app to obtain and play with for each iOS and Android. The app acts as a secondary show and can be utilized to log measurements, augmenting the built-in reminiscence within the Xtape1 that may maintain 3,000 measurements.
One other fascinating and progressive factor concerning the Xtape1 is that it is a two-part unit, the place the tape half is removable from the rangefinder, so not solely are you able to substitute a broken tape, however you possibly can select from imperial, metric, or imperial/metric mixtures, and swap between them as wanted.
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The unit is powered by a 1,500mAh battery that is good for eight hours of use or round 30 days of standby, and it may be recharged by way of USB-C (it takes two to 3 hours to cost the unit from flat to full).
The Xtape1 is a superb little bit of equipment.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
The equipment comes with a carry case, a charging cable, together with a few laser reflectors for long-distance measurements on low-reflective surfaces.
The Xtape1 has a 1/4-20 screw thread on the underside for attaching the unit to a tripod to make measuring rooms simpler and extra correct as a result of you’ve a hard and fast reference level. The unit can be powerful sufficient to face up to the kind of remedy it is prone to see throughout a DIY mission or on a worksite. It is IP54 rated so it has no downside with mud and water splashes, and it has been constructed to face up to drops and impression.
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One other function I discovered fascinating is the “1/N Line Cut up” mode that lets you shortly discover the middle level of a selected size, or lower supplies right into a set variety of equal lengths. Lastly, I respect the truth that I can use the Xtape1 to take inside measurements inside cupboards or shelving — locations which can be tougher to succeed in with a regular tape measure.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
I’ve to confess that, at the same time as somebody who has used various laser tape measures, I discovered the Mileseey Xtape1 to be so feature-packed that it took me a while to determine use it. There are lots of options packed into this device, however the extra you utilize it, the better it will get. A few of the options, resembling the power to level the laser at two factors on the wall and get the size between them, are actually like magic. I performed with this one quite a bit, satisfied that it was going to be inaccurate, solely to be proved mistaken.
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However a measuring laptop like this is not going to be low cost. At present you may get 40% off on Amazon, which brings the value right down to a extra cheap $240, but it surely’s nonetheless a really high-tech, premium little bit of equipment.
However the time it will save somebody who does lots of measuring means this may pay for itself very quickly. But when that is overkill for you, perhaps one thing a bit of extra primary just like the digital%2Fdppercent2FB092MG3DVG&app_deeplink=1″ rel=”noopener nofollow sponsored” goal=”_blank” data-aps-asc-tag=”zd-buy-button-20″ data-aps-asc-subtag=”__COM_CLICK_ID__|null|dtp”>Mileseey DT20 could be extra your cup of tea, because it’s extra like a conventional tape measure that may nonetheless do superior issues like work out areas of partitions and volumes of rooms.
