TajimaTape Measure - 25 ft x 1-1/16 inch GS-Lock Measuring Tape with Shock Resistant Case & Acrylic Coated Blade - GS-25BW

I have just entered the tape measure market and quickly realized after dealing with about 10 different brands and models… no tape measure on the market today is perfect. But this tape measure has wayyy too many pros that out weigh the cons significantly in my opinion. This is my honest review after heavy use for 8 months in an industrial environment as an electrician building supports and running cable tray.Cons:¥No 25 ft option in this magnetic gs lock model w/ inches on both sides instead of the m/ft tape measure with different units on each side.¥The tape only has an 8-9 ft stand out if you are trying, so thats like 5 ft shorter than a 25ft cresent nite eye and fat maxs.¥Because of the lack of rigidity in the tape, it causes the tape to kink unexpectedly and cause kinks in the tape far easier than say a thick fatmax’s blade.¥The tether point flaps around and can become annoying as it does not lock in any sort of way. And cant be tightened. But thats minor tbh.¥Only 16 ft obviously. And a weird .. not round number that can make calculations a bit more haha.Pros:¥Double sided magnetic horned blade. Comes in clutch paired with the magnet on the bottom of the tape measure to allow your tape to hold the measurement while being magnetically suspended in the air on both sides of the tape, which frees up your hands for whatever.¥Strong magnet on the bottom comes in clutch paired with the blade’s magnets. For example: by yourself 40 ft in the air in a man lift and you have to have the tape measure towards the end of the break range to take the measurement.. the magnets on the outside of the blade are strong enough to where if you carefully extend the tape with both hands… you can actually extend the break range since the magnet is supporting the end of the tape. Then once you get your tape out to lets just say 13.5 ft, you can use the magnet on the bottom to suspend the tape and have your left hand supporting the middle of the tape *since the break range is only like 8 ft* and now you have a free right hand to mark the perlins with your marker.¥Vertical harness clip works beautifully. Not included but bought separately for like $23 from Tajima on Amazon. This clip is a game changer. Paired with the tether point.. it can give you one less thing to worry about while in stressful work situations. Keeps your tape handy, easily accessible, and safely locked in place. I was the best climber and manlift operator on the jobsite so I always had my harness on. Whenever anyone, especially foremen, super intendants, or project managers needed a tape measure on the spot.. I had the tape measure in their hand in less than a second some times. If I climbed to the top of a pipe rack and unexpectedly needed a quick measurement, I would always have it secured and handy at all times.¥Better yet, and arguably more valuable for the majority of owners of this tape measure… Do NOT sleep on the engineering of the pocket clip. Notice the radius of the bend on the metal at the top of the clip. This rounds off the corners of the clip just enough to not tear up your pants pockets, unlike other brands that have tighter bends and therefore some brands’ bends of the clip are actually tighter than the common pocket seam is thick.. which causes damage to the material as the tape enviably slides back and forth. That being said, you can also buy a belt clip that locks into place with the same action as the vertical harness clip. Multiple locking mounting options on your person is very useful. Can’t nerd out hard enough for how much I appreciate the engineering behind the clip alone.¥The clip is lowkey the best feature on the tape.On this amazingly engineered clip there is a piece of plastic with a rivet securing it to the side of the metal on the clip inbetween the clip and the tape. So this simple plastic piece that extends roughly 3/16ths off the clip and shortens the distance between the inside face of the clip and the outside of your tape measure. This is important because let me remind you back to when I told you about the larger radius bend in the clip to significantly reduce pants pocket wear and tear? Well that naturally brings the clip farther from the tape measure. This will lead to floppiness and slip-offs of your tape measure on your pants. You can bend the metal clip back in… sure… but then you will have the majority of the contact points at the end of the clip, which to be honest… majority of tape measure clips are like this. They have folded metal and a ridge holds it to your pocket, or Ive even seen cheap thin wired clips on decent milwaukee tapes. Tajima’s clip design is intriguing because they solved 2 extremely common problems with 1 very simple but surprisingly complex solution… and the only tape on the market to have this level of engineering into one single clip let alone a complete tape measure. I will now give you a rough mathematical view of the surface area of this plastic strip to provide some mental visualization. Roughly… it is 1.25“ long * 1” wide * (3/16)” thick. That amount of surface area is significantly more impressive than any tape measure Ive seen. This not so simple riveted plastic strip towards the top also rounds off a 90 degree turn to leave a small thin rectangular area sticking up about (1/16th) ..mayb slightly less like 1.5 32nds. This small detail allows the plastic strip to hang up on the inside of the seam inside your pocket while being wide and lengthy enough inbetween the top of the plastic strip and the bend… and the inside of the metal face on the clip and the outside of the tape measure…. To perfectly fit your seam without unnecessary pressure on it, while at the same time the top of the plastic strip grabs onto the inside of the seam. Because the inside of a seam normally has some length to it…. And when you apply upwards pressure it causes the seam to flip up(increasing the surface area of the bottom of the seam), so with the thin plastic lip and upwards slippage of the tape measure that pulls the seam of the pockets outwards… they grab each other and prevent the tape measure from falling out your pocket. It all works together masterfully to give us the best pocket clip on a tape measure ever designed. I’m telling you… genius. I’ve hopped on and off side by sides and golf carts around the jobside and not once ever did it fall off my m4 ariat lowrise bootcut fr jeans. Not many tapes on the market have a good enough clip design to prevent falling off while going from a standing to a sitting position. And as electricans (getting into tight places quite frequently) sometimes your hip will be lower than your knees at awkward angles crouching down… most tape measures will hit the floor 9 times out if 10 in this scenario. Not to mention the plastic on the clip is wider than the metal clip itself so it provides extra surface area to contact with the inside if the jean pockets. Absolutely brilliant.¥Reliable and consistent blade retracting speed. Has a good high quality spring inside.¥Reliable tape locking switch.¥This tape actually goes down to the 32nds for the first 12 inches on both sides which has came in handy and is much appreciated.¥It being a 16 ft tape means that it is smaller in size and weight (although still has significant weight for such a small tape. In my mind that means higher quality parts in exchange for weight, which im fine with carrying more weight for a superior tool of any kind) than standard 25 ft tapes. Which can add up in a very positive way while carrying this tool on your person all day everyday.In my humble opinion, I believe this is the best tape measure on the market. No tape measures are perfect…. So when you cant get it perfect.. I guess just engineer the shit out of it and get as close as anyone has ever gotten before.Don’t hesitate at the $45 for it. Or the extra $25 for the vertical harness clip if you take alot of measurements from a harness. Considering all of the game changing features on this tape, it is 100% worth a buy over anything else on the market.

TAJIMA GS-SC16/5MBW - 16ft/5m x 1in white tape marked with black numbers in feet/inches and mm/cm on both sides with the usual markings. This is a very solid, well made, made in Japan tape measure (not sure if any of the other available Tajima tape measure models are MIJ). The body is compact, but not “small," measuring about 40 mm thick, 80 mm tall and 75 mm deep (metric - get used to it!). It has a nice thick rubber outer protective cover. The hook end is secured with three rivets. It has two Neodymium magnets, one at the hook end (260 mT) and another on the bottom of the tape measure body (360 mT); I extended the tape and it “broke” at about 260 cm (8.5 feet), I checked the hook magnet against a metal tool chest from 94 cm (@ 3 feet) off the ground and it held to an average of about 380 cm (@ 12.5 feet). The bottom magnet sticks very well and I don’t think it will fall off of anything unless it is hit or bumped off. The tape lock held well and was easy to use one handed and engage with my thumb. The belt clip is a thick strong metal (not flimsy) and easily clips onto/off of a belt. The belt clip is also capable of locking into the optional Tajima quick release belt holder system (called “Clip-n-Hold”). It has a tethering loop at the back which is made of plastic that looks to be OK but might be susceptible to breaking if dropped and the tape lands on it (probably not something I will ever use anyway). Other reviews I have read all noted its accuracy, excellent function and build quality and so far I would have to agree with that assessment. This is a 16 foot / 5 meter length tape measure, so it may be more suited to homeowner use, which is all I need it for, but Tajima makes longer ones that I’m guessing would be just as well made and accurate that building trades professionals would find to be perfectly suitable. If I were to change anything, it would be the black color - I would have preferred a bright high visibility color, but it seems that Tajima only offers the GS and G series of their more rugged tape measures in black only, so this will have to do. I have included some pictures of this tape compared side by side to an old basic 16 foot STANLEY Powerlock II tape measure for size reference. I chose this Tajima model tape measure for its features and because I am trying to transition to metric only (finally!), but still need the old standard inch/feet markings to help me reference.

I’ve been building cabinets for 16 years and have used and abused every tape measure out there. I’ve been using this one for about 3 months and there’s not even a kink in the blade edge yet. I cut a lot of molding and always bend and drop my tape. This one has held up very well.Only problem I have with this tape measure is you can’t hook and pull the tape with one hand. The rubber guard around the plastic case is thick and doesn’t allow the blade hook to hang down. You have to pull the tape out a few inches and then hook and pull. Minor.. but still annoying at times.

I previously used Milwaukee tapes and heard about Tajima so I wanted to give it a try. Very light weight but the build quality feels great! Easy to old in your hand and very easy to read. The hook on the end of the tape is a really nice design and the magnets are strong!

I've had the 16 foot Tajima for a number of years for use in the workshop and it's my go to tape measure. Smooth action, easy to read, reads on both sides. I recently started a deck project and was using a Lufkin Nite Eye 25 foot, but every time you lay out the tape it wants to roll over itself making it infuriating to try and read. Since I like the 16 foot I ordered the 25 foot Tajima in the hopes it would be better and I think it is. Doesn't have as much standout but that doesn't bother me and 'd recommend.Pros:Well madeVery smooth actionWhite with black lettering is so easy to read and no glareDoes not twist or roll when doing long lengthsCons:Stand out to only about 9 feet

These are my favorite tape measures. They have great stand out reach for a cabinet shop sized tape. I find it easier to read the matt white tape and was suprised to find the numbers on the back came in handy already. I think the fancy clip will be good in the summer when it becomes to warm to wear my apron.

I swear these are the most consistently accurate measuring tape there is.I'm a perfectionist cabinet maker. I've used many other tapes and they all have things I don't like about them. (probably things other people love.)But I find some in short time don't hold their measurements.The tape is the tape. The claw is the only part that can lose tolerance and I find the claw on the tajima holds tolerance better than any other brands.I also like the cheaper hautmec.I've used every brand I can find.. Stabilia, Stanley, milwaukee, dewalt, home depot's hdx brand, mastercraft, craftsman, skil, komeleon, Irwin.... I'm sure I've forgotten a bunch.The Stanley Fatmax is also great. Very durable, reliable, good standout, seemingly good tape marking longevity, dewalts is good, stabilia is great but I dropped mine a few times and it broke.I've dropped my tajima dozens of times and it's still mint. Same with the hautmec.Those are my 2 favorite brands and I recommend them to everyone.One is around $40 the other is $25.I have 4 tajima and 3 hautmec. Best brands. Tajima is better. Worth the money.The hautmec has a weak brake, because it's autolock.

Great measure tape but quite heavy.