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Say "Goodbye" to Your Measuring Tape!
 
Back at AWFS 2007, I first got my hands on a cool new product from Bosch : the DLR165K Laser Rangefinder. I'm happy to say that it's now available for sale! A vast improvement over rangefinders utilizing cheaper (and significantly less precise) sonar technology, laser rangefinders are incredibly accurate, even over significant distances. In fact, Bosch claims the DLR165K is accurate to 1/16" from distances from two inches to 165 feet!
The DLR165K is supremely easy to use: I've been playing with the tool for the better part of the morning, and without even reading the instruction booklet, I've been able to figure out how to do pretty much everything on it. For basic distance measuring, you just point the laser at something, push the big red button, the unit makes a soft click, and the measurement is instantly displayed on the DLR165K's large LCD display. If the Imperial Measurement System isn't to your liking, don't worry! With the DLR165K, it's a breeze to take measurements in metric values or decimal feet, simply press a button to switch between the three units of measure.
The Bosch DLR165K can also compute Square footage or cubic footage just as easily. The LCD clearly indicates which measurements (length, width, or height) you need to take to compute these sizes. In just moments, I was able to compute the volume of my office: 2245 ft³, which according to Google's handy unit conversion calculator , would hold 16,793 gallons of water.
 While the usefulness of being able to calculate how much liquid my office will hold is negligible, the volume calculator has all sorts of practical uses. The square footage calculator is particularly useful for quickly and accurately measuring the size of a room.
the DLR165K has one more nice ability: continual measurement mode. Let's say you want to know how far 80 feet is from something. You simply turn continual measurement mode on, point the laser at your target, and walk away. The display will continually update with your current distance from the target, making it a breeze to find out how far 80 feet is without having to continually stop and take measurements. This could be viewed as the 21st century equivalent to hooking your tape measure to an object, walking away and hoping the metal end of the tape doesn't come flying at you should it inevitably become dislodged. To really get the most of of this feature, you do have to have a fairly steady hand or have the unit resting on something to stabilize it.
Smartly, Bosch included a standard 1/4" tripod mount hole on the bottom of the unit and a flip-out extension pin (for measuring distances from corners. Smart!). You can also easily adjust the measuring reference point; that is, the point the DLR165 counts as the "zero point". You can choose from four different reference points: the front of the DLR165, the tripod mount hole, the back of the tool, or the back of the extension pin. This way, Bosch ensures accurate measurements regardless of the physical situation.
At only four inches tall and weighing just over 6oz (with batteries), the tool itself is surprisingly compact. Part of the body is rubberized, which not only feels nice in your hand, but also makes it easier to grip (and thus less likely to drop!). The buttons are easy to push and feature a nice "tactile" feel when pressed. To protect the insides from dust and moisture, the buttons are all sealed.
The laser is rated at having a power output Level of less than one mW, yet is still bright enough to clearly see from a considerable distance away. In case you need to use the DLR165K in exceptionally brightly lit environments, a reflective laser target and "view enhancing goggles" are available as separate accessories.
This tool would be invaluable to contractors, remodelers, real estate agents, appraisers, or anybody else who wants to quickly and accurately measure distances. For less than $200, you could easily and accurately make whatever measurements you need without having to find someone to hold the distant end of your measuring tape. It comes with a nice soft carrying case and the required 4 AAA batteries (which should last almost 30,000 individual measurements according to Bosch).
I'm excited to use this tool in conjunction with Google Sketchup, Google's free 3d modeling program. With the DLR165K, I'll be able to easily take dimensional measurements of building, input that information into sketchup, and have a dimensionally-accurate 3d model within literally minutes.
The Bosch DLR165K is now available from ToolKing.com
for only $159.99 as of this writing. After getting to play with the tool for a few hours, I think it's quite a deal. With the upcoming holiday season, it'd make a great gift for the tool lover in your life.
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