Cons: potentially inaccurate inside measurements; suitable for light duty
The Bottom Line: A Komelon SelfLock tape measure may be fine for light duty where precision isn't an issue, but has a potential error when used for inside measurements.
scmrak's Full Review: KOMELON USA CORP. #SL2816 16'x3/4" GRN Lock Tape
I can't swear to it, but I think my 12-foot Stanley Powerlock® tape measure is around forty years old. It's old enough to say "Made in USA" instead of "Assembled in USA of Global Materials," or whatever new ones say. Regardless, it's given long service and I had no intention of retiring it; so when the ¾-inch tape split down the middle from 33 to 37 inches, I figured I'd just wander down to the hardware and buy a replacement "blade." That's what Stanley calls the measuring thingy.
Yeah; right. Stanley may sell replacement blades, but nobody carries them, except one place on-line that wants twice the cost of a replacement tape measure plus shipping. So I sucked it up and bought a new tape measure at my local BigBox - which, curiously, didn't have any 12-foot Stanleys available (I don't need a long one with two 25-footers and a 30-footer around the shop). So I grabbed what was available, figuring that it'd suffice. What I got was a Komelon SelfLock 16-foot Tape (stock number SL2816). Komelon SelfLock tapes are also available in a 25-foot length.
At first glance, the Komelon SelfLock seems like a great idea: it's a spring-loaded system that automatically locks the tape in place when extended, and a thumb release to let the tape retract - the tape re-locks whenever the button is released. The case is a neon-green plastic with a wraparound black rubber bumper to protect against drops and bumps. The rubber's molded with an indentation two fingers wide at the bottom for improved grip. The length's marked on one face, and there's a spring-steel belt clip on the other.
Komelon's ¾-inch blade is nylon-coated to improve durability. It's marked in feet and inches with highlights every foot; minimum increment is 1/16th inch. Sixteen-inch intervals are marked in red, and there's a subtle black triangle every 19.2 inches for "economy" stud spacing - the triangles seem to be an afterthought. Like any reasonably good tape, there's a sliding hook that corrects for inside vs. outside measurement; the hook has a notch and a "pinhole" for tacking it in place.
Like other tape measures, the case length is stamped on the outside as a correction factor for use in inside measurement. It's 3¼" - or at least it says it is (I needed strong light and a magnifying glass to read the lettering; maybe your eyes are better). In point of fact, it's only three inches at the bottom edge, with an extra quarter inch coming from a bulge at the midline - so the correction factor is not accurate for inside measurement of shallow indentations.
The quality of the blade appears relatively low, and unlike the old Stanley lacks any portion marked in 32nds. Overall case quality appears to be aimed toward occasional use; it's lightweight and fairly soft plastic.
Though Komelon claims their product is "revolutionary" and is "the ideal measuring tool for anyone from the do it yourselfer to a professional tradesmen," I disagree. Professional tradesmen and advanced DIYers will probably fling the tape in the trash the first time they run afoul of that inside measurement error.
While the self-locking mechanism might make the tape attractive to a casual user, it appears that whoever designed the case had never used a tape measure for an inside measurement. Reasonably well-suited to light use where precision isn't an issue; but not recommended for detail work.
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