Dewalt Announced a New Tape Measure

Dewalt recently announced a new tape measure on social media, a compact 25ft model, DWHT38125S.

They advertise that it has 13ft of max reach, and a finger brake.

As a reminder, “reach” is max standout plus 3 feet. Dewalt and Stanley introduced “reach” as a replacement for “standout” a few years ago.

Dewalt says their new tape measure has an improved grip and is 20% more compact than a bunch of their other models.

Wait a second.

That’s where I know this tape measure from – it’s the Dewalt Atomic tape measure but with a new label. See: Dewalt Pulls Atomic Branding from Home Depot Hand Tools.

Okay, so it’s not new, it’s “new.” I guess what’s old is new again now that Dewalt has ditched the “Atomic Compact Series” branding.

Or maybe there’s more to it, with updates beneath the surface, but I don’t believe so.

Amazon has it for surprisingly cheap – $12.25 but temporarily out of stock (but still orderable). Home Depot has it for $19.

Personally, I’d go for the magnetic 2-pack tape measure deal which is $19.88 at Home Depot (I bought one for a little more than that over the summer). You can remove the magnet.

I stopped by local Home Depot the other day, and they still have dozens of the Dewalt magnetic tape measure holiday deal still in stock. If you don’t need both, give one to a friend.