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)
Showing posts with label Helping Hand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Helping Hand. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Tool Review: Helping Hand 10000 Zip-It
The Zip-It is one of those simple products that when you come across it, you kick yourself for not having invented it first. It's a handy little tool that makes use of a remarkably simple idea. The Zip-It is great at unclogging sink drains, and it only costs a couple of bucks.Made of a thin strip of sturdy plastic about two feet long, the Zip-It has barbs that run down both sides. When it's inserted into a pipe or hose and pulled slowly back out, the barbs will snag whatever is causing the clog (hair, dirt, plastic army men, etc.) and drag it out. It has a finger hole on one end for an easy, comfortable grip.
I bought a Zip-It from Home Depot when I was looking for something to unclog the hose leading from my dishwasher to the garbage disposal. I'd never heard of the Zip-It before -- I just happened to see it sitting on the shelf, and it looked like it might do the trick. It was only two or three bucks, so I didn't have much to lose (and nothing else I'd tried so far had worked.)
When I pushed the Zip-It into my dishwasher hose and retracted it, it came back covered with a bunch of black gunk. I was surprised how well it worked. My only problem was that it wasn't long enough to clean the entire length of hose. I shaved off some of the plastic around the finger hole to make it thinner so I could insert it farther, but it still wasn't able to reach the end of the hose. I finally duct-taped a thin screwdriver to the handle and was able to make it reach that way.
Offering Zip-Its in several different lengths would be a nice improvement, but as for the tool itself, there's really nothing to be improved upon. It's flexible enough to bend when following the curve of a hose, and at the same time tough enough that it won't break easily.
One advantage of the Zip-It being so cheap is that it can be disposable. Once you've stuck it down a few clogged pipes, it starts to get that dirty water stink. If the smell gets too strong (mine's not quite there yet) you can just throw it away and buy a new one.
The Zip-It is a great tool for homeowners. It's simple and easy to use, and it can prevent a costly service call from your plumber. I give it a strong 4 out of 5 stars for its combination of simplicity and effectiveness.
The Zip-It is available from Home Depot, Lowe's, Sears, and several other stores. It may be branded as Helping Hand, or Cobra Products, or some other brand, but it's all the same tool. Amazon lists the Helping Hand version for $8.73 and the Cobra Products version for $4.77 -- both of which are over-priced -- but the Helping Hand website currently has the Zip-It for $2.49. Home Depot recently offered a deal where you could get a two-pack of Zip-Its for about a buck fifty.
(Originally published on Helium.com, July 2009 -- review has been updated)
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