Hand Tools: MaxSteel Tape Rule

Reviewed by:
Scott Gibson, Contributing Editor

This steel rule represents a good compromise between tape length and portability. Its 26-foot length (8 meters) is useful more often than it might seem, but the tape is not too bulky to carry easily in a tool belt.

Stanley says the 1"-wide blade will support itself for nine feet. This is an important consideration for anyone who often works alone and needs to hook the end of a tape on a distant window casing or rafter tail. Narrower blades wont reach nearly this far.

This tape shows both millimeter and more familiar fractional graduations, and its three-rivet hook slides so the tape can be used for inside and outside measurements.

It sold for about $21 in September 2004.