At NPS18, Milwaukee introduced their new Stud tape measures with two dramatic demonstrations. In the first demonstration, the rep stepped on a competitor’s folded-over tape measure blade. This crimped the metal and caused the blade to break.
Then he performed the same stunt with a Milwaukee Stud tape. The blade just snapped back into shape and retracted into the tape measure without incident. It was an effective demo, and I added a video of the presentation below so you can see it for yourselves.
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The new blade coating that allows this kind of abuse is called Exo360. It is a nylon coating that wraps around the entire blade (thus 360), and not just the front and back. This coating also makes the blade more abrasion resistant, which keeps the markings legible through more abuse.
The second demonstration was pre-recorded because they didn’t have a 60 foot drop available in the building, but they showed video of the Stud tape measure being dropped from 60 feet onto grass.
To survive drops like this Milwaukee says the tape has a “fully reinforced frame and impact-resistant overmold.” The tape measures are actually rated to withstand an 80′ drop on “packed soil.”
Other features of the tape include a 10 foot standout, a finger stop for the blade, lanyard hole, and wire belt clip.
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There are two models of the Milwaukee Stud tape measure that will be available September 2018: the 25 ft tape (48-22-9925) for $25 and the 16 ft tape (48-22-9916) for $20.
Available: Sept 2018
Price: $20 – $25
Buy Now(25′ via Home Depot)
Buy Now(16′ via Home Depot)
Here’s the presentation video from NPS18 that I mentioned before:
First Impressions
Right after I submitted this post for Stuart to publish, I received a box from Milwaukee containing two 25′ Stud tape measures, so I thought I’d add an addendum to the post with my first impressions.
The first thing I noticed when I pulled out the blade was the weird noise it makes — almost like rubbing your fingernails over corduroy. This is most likely due the the nylon coating on the blade and the diamond pattern shown below.
The second thing I noticed was how smooth the blade lock engages. On many tapes I’ve used, the blade lock moves easily then gets harder to push as it begins to lock the tape. The Stud blade lock starts out with a slightly higher resistance and continues at that resistance until it stops. It is a minor thing, but it is obviously engineered to be that way.
The third thing I noticed was a little troubling at first and still confuses me after using the tape a bit. If you hold the tape measure level and pull the blade out past 4′, the blade won’t retract. I’m used to this happening with some other tapes, but it usually doesn’t happen until the blade is extended much further.
I just tested a bunch of other tapes I own and the only other tape measure that behaves similarly to this is the Milwaukee 25ft Magnetic tape measure. It seems to have a similar coating and also has the same corduroy rubbing sound when you extend it.
At this point I’m guessing that the diamond pattern nylon coating on the Stud tape measure creates enough friction against the mouth of the tape to overcome the force of the retraction spring much earlier than other tape measures.
With over 4′ of the blade extended, it stays put without the engaging the finger or blade lock, until you point the tape measure downward to reduce the friction of the blade against the mouth. Then the blade will start retracting. Both of the Stud tape measures I received behave this way.
Again, I’m not sure if this lack of retraction with so little of the blade extended is a feature, a consequence of the design, or an oversight. I can see that under some circumstances this could be handy, and in others frustrating.
The tape itself is pretty fat, despite only having a 1″ wide blade. It feels a little large in my hand, like I’m a kid again playing with one of my dad’s tools, but it is still functional.
Original First Thoughts
While the first demonstration was effective because it was in person, the video of dropping the tape wasn’t as convincing. We we basically had to take their word that the tape survived and operated properly.
And while I can understand that it is certainly possible to drop a tape measure from 60 to 80 feet while framing or working on a commercial site, what are the chances it is going to land on “packed earth.”
If the tape measure is really that tough, I think a more realistic test would be dropping it onto concrete or plywood from a 16 foot ladder. I think the expectation is that if you drop your tape from 60 feet, you’ll be buying a new tape, whereas if you drop it off a ladder, you should be able to pick it up and use it again.
The 10 foot standout seems underwhelming for a tape of this class. I wonder if they had to sacrifice stiffness for tear resistance.
Rcward
10 ft stand out? Not good
Framer joe
Milwaukee is the only company that grossly over exaggerates every demo..
Watch closely ..how and where…he stepson the competition and the Milwaukee…..it’s so ridiculous.
Second ..a 10ft standout is pathetic, the most important thing is the standout.Size? Holly crap that thing is huge,wide,long..I presume,heavy also.
Demo the tape drop onto concrete, like dewalt does……it seems the editor absorbs
the Milwaukeee reps BS as gospel,sad…
OhioHead
Folks……remember where most of the MKE leaders came from (DW), remember how Joe G was responsible for the marketing of DW (96 – 00) and how it was just re-branded B & D Industrial tools, remember JG’s attempt to make Irwin a household name in hand tools (& the failed attempt to make Newell-Rubbermaid brands a household name w/ marketing……)
The same thing is taking place @ MKE today…..MKE finally jumped ahead of DW w/ Li-Ion batteries & brushless motors 10 & 5 (or so) years ago & I commend MKE for this (I own MKE 12v tools & love them).
Be “dubious” of the marketing hype w/ a 60 foot drop video (OHSA violation anyone…..) w/ limited standout…….a lot of companies make nice tapes w/ more standout w/ less drop resistance……real world pays the bills w/ better ergonomics.
Just saying & I do not work for a tool company.
OhioHead
Meant to say Joe G was behind DW in 92 -98/99’ish. B&D Industrial was killed in 96 in favor of DW.
Nick
What a joke. Basically a Powerlock for triple the price
Stuart
The Powerlock has a 7 foot standout.
Rami
I would not give much credit for the demo video (the blade snapping video), as they are not telling what that other tape is. If they really believe in their product, they should tell what they are comparing it against, and compare their product against the best ones on the market. That other tape could be anything.
Mahalo
I don’t think Milwaukee should be penalized for the 10′ standout, as it most certainly is related to the durability (flexibility?) of the blade. There are always trade offs and compromises in engineering and design depending on the priorities of a particular design. If you want a blade that can be folded over without kinking/denting, you get the 10′ standout (for now). If you don’t mind the blade kinking or straight up breaking in this scenario, you might find a tape with a much longer standout to be more suitable.
Stuart
With the blade coated all around, the blade is going to be heavier, and that’s going to affect the standout too.
Nathan
someone explain to me why standout is important as I must use a tape differently. Might be a question for the forum instead.
What I don’t need, I don’t think, is the indestructible tape measure that seems to also need to cost a lot and is made in china anyway. Let me explain – I don’t drop my tapes from 60 ft. If I did – I’d be amazed it still worked but I’d be prepared to get another. 60 ft 80ft, don’t care still absurd. 60 ft – so you’re dropping in from a what 3 story house balcony or roof, probably a 4 story. Hell OHSA would have a field day with that but another comment for another hour.
SO maybe what I really need – is a tape that is durable, can take some abuse sure – but is I don’t know 20 dollars – visible clearly, has useful markings, good hold on the clip, positive lock, and is made in america.
In fact you know what would be nice – reasonably priced and I might well buy a set of tapes that have different extra markings like a 25 ft with markings for US carpentry (like most tapes today) is 20 bucks and hey next to it is a tape made the same way but it’s 10 meters and marked metric. I’d buy both – why because the metric one will be useful on my car or when I want to work on anything not made here. (even your domestic sourced car is designed in metric today – FYI)
Oh and did the same marketing team from Bosch come up with the naming for this or is it someone specially marked for laying out studs?
Koko The Talking Ape
360 degree coating? I’m glad they have the technology now to coat even the edges of the tape!
Maybe they just mean the coating is thicker, which should increase wear. On the other hand, maybe the thicker coating requires the diamond texture to preserve flexibility, while increasing friction. That might be a mixed bag in actual use.
ToolOfTheTrade
Is it me, or does every Milwaukee product video come across as a snake oil demonstration? There’s nothing realistic about the way they present their products. The entire demonstration is a pitch that is based on a gimmick. Nobody else presents their products like they’re trying to pitch you. If this is supposed to be for framing layout, then where was the lumber in the video and why weren’t they marking a top or bottom plate? They call it “stud”, but there wasn’t one piece of material in the video. The only thing I saw was a piece of concrete block used for a snake oil prop that ain’t got shit to do with layout. Who does what that guy did with a tape measure and a piece of block? More importantly why would anyone think that is a plausible application for a tape measure? Who’s the idiot in charge of training these guys? They need to be fired before the next event. How can you comprehend an intelligent evaluation of a product based on a video like the one you included in this post? Is this really what takes place at the Milwaukee symposium that you attend each year? Very unprofessional approach to presenting products.
glenn
No, it’s not just you. Despite owning quite a few Milwaukee tools I find Milwaukee’s advertising extremely annoying and borderline childish. 10 x this, 3x that and 30% more whatever’s. Blah blah blah blah………..and on it goes without change. The advertising exec’s need the boot.
Stanley’s Fatmax extreme tape has a 4m/13ft standout and the one I have has worked just fine for the last 5 years.
Chris
Milwaukee marketing it’s by far the most annoying in the tool industry but the YouTube and Instagram crowd eat it up every day… It’s frigging sad. Watching their ads and videos makes me feel like I’m watching an ad for slick 50 or something. 30x more red pigment in the plastic, 5x more expensive…
Charles
Milwaukee also seems to be the worst for shills. Every blogger YouTuber etc is getting MKE tools to test.
Not bad tools and they get their share of critics but it sure seems any tool reviewer has boxes of their stuff at their door
OhioHead
See my post above…..
Brian
So you would like real world demonstrations? You’d rather watch a guy just measuring random stuff? It may be rigged but it’s a demonstration of the extremes of what it can do. Sheesh, I cant believe I needed to explain that.
Corey
I’d be pretty confident any of my dozen off tapes would be fine hitting grass from 60’… If they’re claiming packed earth, why wouldn’t you demo the claim? Oh, yeah. Because it’s bs. Milwaukee makes good stuff, but I’m legitimately turned off by their marketing free-for-alls, and the propoganda style advertising.
Curtis
I’ve got a bunch of tapes in my truck, Fat Max, Milwaukee and three or four budget tapes. They pretty much all do the same thing and all of them work just fine. The next tape I get will probably be a good one, but it’s hard for me to get excited about it.
AARON
I hope this one isn’t like the last version I’ve had 4 Milwaukee tape measure and the hook always bends and throw my measurements off
Terry
Show me a video of it falling off a 2 story house, landing on the drive, the Lull tire or banging down the scaffolding to the ground… 3 times, cause I’m having a clumsy day. I’d be pretty impressed by that