Two features set the Viso tape measure apart from the other ten tapes laying around your shop already: it has asite window on top to make it easy for you to measure “through” the tape, and it also turns into a variable-length compass. Cleverly designed tool or super-gimmick? Read on.
The Viso shows internal measurements through the top window, which gives you an extra incho or so of length in a pinch. Of course, with longer and longer tapes becoming common, I’m not sure this feature is signficant in actual use.
Then there’s the compass feature, which consists of an integrated swing-out arm and a steel point. Deploy the point and stick a pencil through a hole near the end of the tape and you can draw radii up to about ten feet — or however long you pull out the tape.
The bottom line: It’s also a 3 meter — just shy of 10′ — tape, which might be a bit short for some use. If you draw a lot of large circles, though, it might be handy. For $15 plus shipping I’m inclined to think it’s not worth the cash to check out, but then again I don’t have a ten foot compass either.
BMI 405 Viso Tape [BMI Tools]
Street Pricing [Google Product Search]
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2 Responses to Viso’s Tape Measure/Compass
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Toolmonger on Flickr
I just use string for drawing large circles.
And here I thought it was a combination tape measure and the other sort of compass, for finding your way around a Home Depot without help from the impossible to find staff 😉
I’m a string user for large circles, too.