Over at Lowes, they’re kicking off Early Black Friday 2018 with many Craftsman tool deals. What would be a holiday tool deals season without tape measure 2-packs?
This bundle (CMHT82597) features (2) of the new Craftsman CMHT37525 25′ foot tape measures, featuring a slide lock, 1-1/4″ blade, large markings, and 11 foot standout.
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The tapes measures are made in the USA with global materials.
Price: $15
Buy Now(via Lowes)
I visited a nearby Lowes and bought both styles of tape measure 2-packs of Craftsman tape measures for review. I think they’re definitely good DIYer tape measures. (If you have questions about either style, ask away and I’ll try to answer.)
The blade is indeed nice and wide, and I was able to get 11 feet of standout. The spring isn’t weak, but it’s not as strong and fast as on the pro brands’ latest and greatest premium tapes. It’s a good DIYer tape measure, and a great deal.
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Spend a little more, and there’s the CMHT82600 bundle with (2) CMHT37825 25-foot tape measures.
The tapes are also 1-1/4″ wide, and feature a magnetic hook. Standout is said to be 13 feet, and the tape features some extra protection to help it better endure jobsite conditions.
This one is also made in the USA using global materials.
Price: $25
Buy Now(via Lowes)
The lock is different, the blade is a little more reinforced – at least at the end near the hook, and the hook is magnetic.
This one’s a step up from the other Craftsman tape. I think the other 2-pack is the better bargain, but these are also good tapes. I couldn’t quite achieve 13 feet of standout, but I’ll try again when I start doing more controlled testing for the review.
There is one other Craftsman tape measure bundle pack, although I didn’t see it anywhere in stores. It’s only online (for now?), and showing zero availability for my area. Given the timing, I’d say that this will be a Lowes Black Friday 2018 Craftsman deal.
Check back on this one in a few weeks.
I purchased a Stanley PowerLock tape measure 4-pack a few years ago, and also a hi-visibility 4-pack similar to this one. These tapes are not made in the USA.
If they’re as smooth to use as the Stanley’s of similar design and style, I’ll be ordering a set as soon as they’re available for home “parcel” delivery. I’ll then give the 25-footer away and keep the two 12-footers and the 16-footer. I find that I’m liking shorter tapes more and more.
Price: $9.98
Buy Now(via Lowes)
See Also
This Stanley FatMax tape measure 2-pack is always popular, and happens to be priced in between the two Craftsman options. It’s a tried-and-true model.
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Home Depot also has a 2-pack of Milwaukee Stud tape measures, priced at $25, giving you two for the price of one.
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
The yeti
Not sure why they are not putting Craftsman at the top of the heap.
Also. Please do lots with the lawn and garden half of Craftsman. They are market leaders and could remain so. My 2 cents. I would like to see a small front end loader on a garden tractor.
Craftsman brings a nice warm holiday feeling. SBD has huge upside to this purchase. It may take time. It will be worth every penny
Matt
I went into Lowe’s today looking to buy the Craftsman brushless drill & impact (again). They still don’t have any. Just the regular brushed line was available. They do have a Craftsman presence right as you walk in though. A bunch of these tape measures, drill bits, saw blades and even a few t-shirts and hats. Seeing the clothing (though the display was small with very little) gave it a very Sears Christmas vibe. I loved it but they need more. I did notice some Craftsman sponsoring on this past weekends race in Texas. I also saw a Lowe’s Craftsman tv ad on Velocity this weekend too. First one I’ve seen… Aside from a few toolboxes and that display right inside the door, our Lowe’s just doesn’t have much yet. I did see 1 snowblower I guess.
As for the tape measures, I’ve been waiting for a review before purchase. The only review I’ve been able to find was a youtuber who bought a metal cased one that was a Stanley re-label. It wasn’t much of a review though. I can’t wait for Stuart to review a ton of this stuff!
Eric
Craftsman was never at the top of the heap. It’s always been a mid level brand, with a few really high quality tools mixed in.
Travis
The print quality on the Craftsman tapes that I have looked at is suspect. Not good quality at all.
Mike
Lowe’s also has classic-style Craftsman acetate screwdrivers, in sets, and some loose. They look pretty much like the Sears line, but with slightly different markings. The tips seem to be pretty well machined. Only problem: Made in Taiwan, but they look better than the Pratt-Reed ones I have.
They also have a new bi-material drivers. These have the new color scheme, and remind me of the DeWalt/Stanley Fatmax drivers. Made in China, so hard pass from me.
I don’t know if this is a stop gap until their American facilities come online – or if this is permanent. I guess we’ll see.
Zoe
I would like to point out something about the BOGO on Milwaukee 25ft tape measures that I discovered last weekend. I purchased two of the BOGO packs at HD (early Christmas shopping). Upon returning home and pulling the tape measure blades out I noticed that one tape on each set had a noticable wabble while retracting. They seemed to vibrate upon retraction while the other tape measure in the set did not. I had previously purchased a 16ft Stud tape measure and it did not have this same issue. I promptly returned the sub-par tape measures and went to find replacement BOGO kits where both tape measures functioned correctly (in my opinion). I settled on replacement kits that seemed like they were up to par after extending and retracting about ten set of BOGO tape measures (and probably looking like a crazy person). A majority of the BOGO sets seemed to have the same problem of one normally functioning tape and one with an unbalanced retraction. I also checked a few of the non-special, single Stud tape measures and they all seemed to function normal.
So my theory is the BOGO kits contain one “Grade A” tape measure and one that failed the “Grade A” quality check. So a note to potential buyers is to check the function of both tapes before you purchase a set, save yourself a trip back to the store.
I am interested if anyone else experienced this same issue and if there is any truth to my theory.
MICHAEL J GORSKI
Made in “usa” with global materials? Made in China . Assembly in usa. Still made in China
R
Only some plastic components are made in China and other countries. The steel blades of the tapes are made in new britain connecticut where they are heat treated, painted, and coated all in house.
MICHAEL J GORSKI
Made in China embarrassing that they say made in America with global materials put together here but made over there
Framer joe
I’m sure for the.people that have jobs here in America working on Craftsman tools greatly appreciate their jobs……. assembling something is as important as providing the parts….it’s called quality control.
Gary
Is the second Craftsman tape measure (the better one) the same as the Dewalt XP?
Stuart
I don’t believe so. I don’t have the Dewalt in front of me, but from memory, it’s a much better tape, even though the recoil hurts my pinky finger the way I grip 25′ tapes.
Razma
No. Its equivalent to a fatmax premium or dewalt premium. The dewalt xp has the dual spring design
Toolfreak
My local store actually had a box of the 12 and 16 in. green Craftsman tapes weeks ago, I checked them out and they seem to be pretty much the same as the green Stanley tapes they are replacing.
I might consider getting a set if they ever come out with a lever lock version, but as mentioned, the quality on these is pretty low, you’ll want to be sure and check the quality of the marking on each tape before buying.
Evadman
According to the Lowes spec page, all of those craftsman tapes, even the set of 4, have limited lifetime warranties.
This is my happy face.
Toolfreak
Which usually means they might replace the whole thing if there’s a manufacturing defect, but not if you broke the tape or busted it dropping it off a roof.
SBD is big enough they could replace stuff all day long under warranty and not make a dent in the profits, but abused & busted tape measures seems to be one area where retailers and manufacturers are tired of buyers abusing a product and then abusing the warranty.
Also, SBD is new to the Craftsman warranty game, so I expect if they are flooded with warranty replacements over the next few years of owning the brand, they might change their stance on the lifetime warranty/lifetime guarantee.
evadman
the green 4 pack for $10 was in stock at my nearest store. It’s also in stock at every store around me, 55 of them. I’m guessing that is a quarter pallet display or something. They were not on the floor, but they pulled 2 packs out of the back room for me. I haven’t had a chance to use them yet, I’ll post something quick over the weekend once I use them on if they are worth the $2.50 each.
Evadman
The green ones are definitely lower quality tapes. The 25′ one has a 6′ standout and won’t unspool past 24 feet. The 12′ and 16′ are both perhaps 3′ standout. The tapes are thin, and the locking mechanism feels cheap in your hand.
Having said that, they are certainly worth $2.50. I wouldn’t have a problem paying $6 or $7 for them, that’s about their quality. I do like that the tape itself id white with black markings, it is much easier to read. The tape appears to be mylar coated, it is not just painted steel.