Komelon SL2912; 12' x 5/8" Self-Lock Speed Mark Tape Measure, Yellow

The measure is a good weight and comfortable to hold, opens very smooth, automatically locks and easy to read. Very happy with my purchase. Replaced a smaller one that would catch each time it was opened.

This is a pretty well built product as far as I can tell after playing with it for a few days now. It has a nice rubber outer coating which should help it sustain drops, makes it feel good, and makes it easier to handle. The tape itself is very easy to read, especially with the fractional parts marked off as fractions. That's actually a very welcome feature which prevents human error trying to count fractional ticks. And I love the automatic stop feature of this product. You press the button when you want it to retract, not to stop it like most of the other tape products out there. There's also a nice belt clip on it, so you can just attach it to your side and take it with you.Okay, great so far, but I deducted a single star for a few reasons...The biggest disappointment to me was realizing that it didn't have metric units on it. So that means you're going to need to convert from inches to centimeters and millimeters with this product. You only get feet, inches, and fractions of inches. I guess that's okay for most people, since you're probably not going to count in millimeters when you have a tape measure that extends to 25 feet. Still, there have been many times in the past where I've recorded measurements using millimeters, because it was more accurate and I needed the accuracy. I guess you can just estimate to the nearest 1/32nd inch with this, and you'll be about as accurate, though. I just feel that they could have figured out how to use the extra space to include metric units but didn't.The second thing I noticed was that this product is actually quite big and heavy. Bigger than I thought it would be. It weighs exactly 15 and 5/8th ounces, which is just shy of a full pound. (I weighed it myself.) It's about 3.25 inches wide and 1.5 inches thick. That makes this one of the biggest, heaviest tape measures I've ever seen. It gives it a serious, heavy-duty feel to it, which some people might find reassuring. But it also makes it more tedious to use and to carry with you when you go places.Now, keep in mind that I'm used to 12 foot tape measures, and this product is actually 25 feet. So that's probably why I feel it is so big. It could very well be that all 25 foot tape measures are this big. So I'm mentioning this for those of you who need convenience, who need to be able to take this with you everywhere simply by clipping it to your belt, tucking it under your shirt, and going places with it. You may want to think about getting a smaller length instead if you want to do that. The 12 foot tape measure is a much better choice for you in that case. This 25 foot product does have a belt clip, but it's going to be pretty bulky, and you may not be comfortable wearing it.I tried clipping it to my belt and sat down in a chair, and it was okay, not too bad. The rubber backing seems to help in that it doesn't dig into your thigh as much as a metal product would. Still, it isn't something that's inconspicuous. You will feel it. And others will see it.Lastly, I wanted to note the curvature of the metal tape. This is a minor quibble, and pretty much all metal tape measures have this problem. However, this product has it to a noticeably larger degree because the tape it uses is a whole inch wide. Most other tape measures only use half-inch wide tape, and so the tape curves less noticeably in the middle. And by "curve", I'm talking about the curve along the width, not the length of the tape. This curve is only somewhat of an annoyance, because it can distort your readings a little bit and makes it hard to get accuracy to within 1/8th of an inch. You just have to be more careful with it, that's all.So that's my review. All in all, I think it's an excellent tape measure that I expect will survive a very long time. And the automatic-stop feature makes it so much more useful to me than the other tape measures. I wish it had metric units, and I wish it was about half the size. But those are minor quibbles. For the price of this product, you can't go wrong getting it. I'll update my review if I happen to find anything better out there which addresses any of the critical points I mentioned.Hope that helps!

I wish the self lock was a little more dependable

I believe I have around 10 tape measures. I've never left a review for a tape measure before but this one deserves one.First of all, I love that the fractions are actually printed on the tape. I have some folks helping me with projects sometimes that simply cannot read a standard tape measure and this helps in getting accurate measurements.I also love the fact that I don't have to "lock down" the tape to get it to stay.I think it was ingenious to design the tape to stay extended and not retract until you push the button.I thought this would take a bit of time to get used to since I'm so used to pulling the tape out and sliding down the switch to get it to stay, just by habit since that's how I've always used a tape measure, but I picked it up after only a few times of accidentally retracting the tape and now out of all my tape measures, including the Stanley Fat Max which consistently is rated as the best tape measure, I use this one more than any other.The only time I fall back to the Fat Max is when this one is in use.It isn't the most durable or heavy duty but it still works with no problems after pretty regular use and after having owned it for over a year.A lot of other tapes in this price range crack and tear and are of no use after that.So that's the part that counts and that is still very ridged. The part that isn't as heavy or heavy duty is the outside case, but I've never had one of those break on any tape measure, so they put the strength where it was needed.The convenience features alone make this the best tape I've ever owned and I can highly recommend it to others.

So happy we found those here

Update: March 2018 - after owning this for a little while under light-duty use, the tape now sloooowly retracts so if you set it down next to something at a specific length, so you have to keep on making it longer again. Quite annoying.I own a few tape measurers, but the one I liked the most was the Stanley Fatmax tape measure. I liked that the weight and the rigidity of the tape itself. It is my go to tape measure.My wife wanted a tape measure with fractions so we searched and landed on the Komelon tape measure. It is a nice tape measure and the self lock is definitely nice for short runs, but for longer runs, the self lock does get in the way as you constantly have to pull on the tape and re-adjust. The other issue is that the tape itself is a little thin and not as rigid as the Fatmax so it is a little cumbersome to have it lay flat on longer runs and it does tend to twist.It is the best option in my opinion out there if you want a tape measure w/ fractions marked, but could be a little better.

In case you missed it from the title and description, this tape measure works opposite of a "regular" tape measure. When you extend the tape on the Komelon, it stays out until you press the button to retract it. I have found this sometimes useful, and sometimes annoying. It is useful when you are alone and measuring greater than a few feet. It is less helpful when you have a small measurement that follows a long measurement. When you press the button to retract the tape, it is difficult to guess when to stop it. I've found that for me, it works best if I let it fully retract and then pull out just the small section I need.Overall I am happy with the tape. It fits in the front pocket of my tool belt, which is an absolute requirement for me. It is snug, but that's a good thing - I don't worry about it falling out when I am in an awkward position. The 25 ft Stanley Powerlock fits very loosely in the tool belt pocket, and has fallen out more than once when I'm scooting around under a deck.

I needed a small light but durable tape for woodworking that have easy to read fractions markings.I owned a Komelon larger tape and was impressed with the quality so I decided on this model.Again excellent quality,easy to read fractions,auto locking tape,very slick release button that felt great,rubber grip and the tape itself has a thin protection film which prevents nicks and rusting.When the tape retracts its not a quick whipping motion which I like for a workshop since some tapes retraction is so quick if your finger is hit its very painful.Only slight negative the tape claws is pretty small so it may slip once in a while if not hooked properly.

OOOPS! No centimetres. Wish it was stated a bit clearer on product description (it IS stated though so no complaints) but besides that it is a tight useful little tape measurer. I used inches most of the time anyway. The self-lock thing is surprisingly convenient - literally - I'm always forgetting that I don't have to stretch and jumble it to lock it at a certain length. Just pull it out and it locks and can be easily shortened if needed.Despite small size it is clearly more well built than some larger, more 'heavy duty' style tape measures.If you're like me and use your tape measures as basically extendible / compact rulers (you aren't changing length of it non stop or just need a good 2 or 3 feet to work with) the self lock becomes pretty convenient.UPDATE: After a year the tape won't actually lock anymore. Slowly retracts all the time now. Disappointed.

Sep 2016 UPDATE:Not very durable, 2 of the 4 purchased already broke...the hook broke off on 2 of them already....I think I used them less than 5-6 months before they broke....taking away 2 stars.... 3/5Original review:Nice and light, perfect for my job as a joiner/cabinet maker. The inch fractions on it makes my job easier.Love the self lock feature, super handy.I bought 4 of these for myself....might get the 16ft version later

Great tape easy to read so light and easy to handle,big numbers easy to read heavy duty tape. So glad I ordered this on Amazon and will be getting another one,excellent price as well. Excellent product all around.

Why is this only in feet? That's not ok in 2017. I'm docking it a star for that reason and another because it makes it's just so useless unless you're working solely in imperial units. Would not re-buy but the quality itself it about right for the price so I can't give it a full fail.