STANLEY Tylon 8m/26ft Pocket Tape Yellow/Black, 0-30-656

Stanley is something of a household name in the field of all kinds of tools, and Ive found their instantly recognisable yellow and black colour scheme has become an indicator of a certain standard of quality. Im happy to say that this extendable metal tape measure lives up to that reputation. Sporting the traditional yellow & black Stanley livery this item has a very robust and durable plastic and rubber casing held together with metal screws, and measuring 8cm x 8cm x a surprisingly hefty 4.5cm width. It is also rather weighty - in fact it has about the same dimensions as my dual steel tape & laser measure and weighs even more. This I assume to be the result not only of the superior and more robust build materials, but also of the length and width of the metal tape, extending as it does to 8 metres (26 feet). It has the same width as my laser measure because of the Metres and Feet/Inches measures marked on either edge of the tape. The tape itself is Tylon coated for protection, though I cant imagine this contributes much to the weight. The markings are clear and precise, and it is accurate; indeed over longer distances it is more accurate than my laser measure, albeit only marginally. The terminating metal tab is configured so as to allow it to be used to measure externally or internally, taking the width of the tab into account for more precise measurements. It extends freely and smoothly It also features the standard belt clip on the back. At only 3.5cm long it wont clip fully onto wide belts but the clip is stiff enough to secure it nonetheless, and while the clip is held by a central screw, it wont accidentally and annoyingly rotate around it if it loosens, as it is cleverly recessed to prevent that occurring. Having said all that, it does fall a little short of perfection; a minor irritation for me is the lack of carrying strap/loop or even a suitable hole to utilise one of ones own, but the major irritation is the stiffness of the locking tab, which requires undue pressure to lock and release, and when it does release it does so very suddenly with a jerk, thus exposing the user to the danger of having fingers caught by the metal tape as it spring-zooms back into the case. To be fair, this is all too often a property of spring loaded retractable metal tapes in general and not specific to this particular brand or model There is however a halfway position on the switch that allows one to keep the tape in position without actually being locked, just by keeping ones thumb held in position as a kind of brake, and this I find particularly useful for making fast, smaller measurements which dont require the tape to be greatly extended. Overall, I have to say that this product is as well built and efficient as I have come to expect from Stanley, and at the currently advertised price of £7.90 I deem it particularly good value for money.

After many pound shop tape measures I got this o e in hope for a little better quality. Well this is miles better than any of the cheap nasty ones I ever had. I am sure this is still not up there with the professional ones but works for me. It has a good weight to it so I imagine the materials are good and the retracting mechanism wont give in anytime soon.

Easy to read with great durability.

Simple and easy to use, with clear markings. Just be careful when letting go of tape which has been extended out since it does wind back quite quickly I reserve the right to revisit and edit this review as appropriate after further testing of this product

Other than that fabulous! Can’t understand why it needs to be this heavy though!

Did not realise it would be so big and heavy. Its not something you would keep in your pocket. Perhaps it is an illustration of buying on line some thing which, if you had seen it and felt the weight you would have rejected for a less bulky one.

It arrived when i needed it most , very happy

A quite large, very sturdy feeling, well built, heavy tape measure. Perfect for when you need to ascertain how far away two objects are, or indeed, where to place an object in relation to one, two or even three others. So far I have measured several different distances and have no reason to question its accuracy.

Seems fine. For a few pence more, a tie could have been added to hang it up.

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