Tool Review: Helping Hand 20600 12' Tape Measure

It's always good to have a tape measure around the house.  You never know when you'll need one.  A tape measure comes in handy for many normal household tasks, such as hanging pictures, centering a sofa on a wall, or measuring how much space you have for a new piece of furniture.  While brands like Stanley or Craftsman are well-known and respected, you can save a few bucks and buy a cheaper tape measure, like the Helping Hand 12' Tape Measure (model #20600).

The Helping Hand 12' Tape Measure is lightweight and small (it can fit in the palm of your hand).  Like many tape measures it has a locking steel blade and comes with a belt clip.  However, the fractions on this tape measure are better-marked than many other tape measures; the number is written for every eighth of an inch, making it easier to read and quicker to take measurements.

The tape measure comes wrapped in a black rubber casing, which gives it better grip and helps protect it if it's dropped.  The blade extends and retracts smoothly, and it is fairly rigid when locked -- as rigid as an average tape measure is -- even when extended out several feet.  At 66 inches the blade can still support its own weight without buckling.

25' tape measures are nice because there are a lot of times you'll need to measure something longer than 12 feet, but they are also more expensive, bigger, and heavier.  It's hard to walk around with a 25' tape measure in your pocket, or even clipped to your belt, but this smaller 12' one is very portable.

Helping Hand products are often sold at grocery stores and drug stores, so you may be able to find it in a local store.  If you can find it for around $2 or $3 (it was $2 at the drug store I bought it from, but that was several years ago) it's a very good deal.  You can buy it from the Helping Hand website, but it's currently listed for $5.99 -- way too much for this tape measure.  For a new homeowner or someone who just wants to have a tape measure laying around, this one will fit the bill, if you can find it for a fair price.  Amazon.com used to sell it, but it's unavailable right now.

This tape measure is great to keep around the house or even in a tool bag.  If you don't need a longer tape measure for your project, the Helping Hands tape measure should do the job.  I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

(Originally published on Helium.com, October 2010)