Anyone who’s had to measure anything with a tape measure knows the annoyance of losing your grip because of that infuriatingly small hook. So why not make the hook bigger? Why did it take so long to think of this?
The Stanley FatMax line of tape measures adds only a slight adjustment to one of the most banal of all tools – but what an enormous functional difference it is. The FatMax’s hook is 138 per cent larger than typical tape measures, allowing you to hook to surfaces from above, below or the side, without worrying about the damn thing collapsing or tangling up. This will be a must for handy people anywhere and will prevent the utterance of a large volume of curse words. [Stanley Black & Decker via Core77]
woodsdog
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at 12:31 PMNext all they need to do is put a damn calculator on the side…
StevoTheDevo
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at 12:52 PMThe side grips are a nifty idea.
The best feature I’ve seen though is the auto-lock
Instead of the lock mechanism locking the tape, the switch on the Auto-lock tape measure activates the rewind. you pull the tape out to a length and it locks to that length automatically. Press the button to retract… Easy and simple.
James Mac
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at 2:02 PMThe biggest problem with tape measures is still the inaccurate first few millimetres… they expand as the tape gets older.
Ward Paterson
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at 2:13 PMWho even uses tape measures anymore? Laser range finders FTW!
Adz
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at 3:43 PMI can just see me measuring behind something in a confined space and then not being unable to unhook it.
Khonan
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at 5:08 PMNo good for measuring sheet metal – lacks the centre slot.