This is a great level and extremely easy to use. It costs me a lot of money ($799) but I think it is worth every cent. The tool rental company recommended this level to me when I had difficulty using the conventional laser levels on my own with the grade sticks and receivers. I liked it so much that I bought one for myself. With Ziplevel, testing for level becomes a simple one-man job, with little or no setup time. I used it to test the level of my 20x30 foundation. First, make sure you unroll a sufficient amount of the hose to cover every aspect of the area you are testing. Then put the level on an initial spot and set this to zero. After this, you simply have to move the level around to different areas, and the digital level will tell you whether you are higher or lower than the starting point. It is amazingly accurate. My next project will be to measure the grade of my new driveway, and the altimeter feature works great for that too. I'll never need to use those conventional laser levels again.

I got this because i'm obsessed with finding out how my foundation is moving with the seasons (especially the rainfall), since cracks have started to appear in parts of the house due to the recent record droughts in Texas. This device is really easy to use, just as it says. I have been using the regular-resolution mode (1/10 of an inch) and it has been giving very reproducible readings in the three times I've checked my house foundation with it. (As a double-check, i've calibrated it at the start of each measurement session and I always end the traverse back at the starting place to check the calibration again. After an hour of use, it's never off by more than 1/10". This is in a situation where the elevations don't vary by more than 9", however. The manual says that greater elevation changes give it greater problems.) My hope is to monitor fluctuations in the foundation year-round to understand where my problems lie. One problem with it, was that I can't open the compartment where the instruction manual is supposed to be. Instead, I had to read it on the Web at their site, and print parts of it off for reference.

Works well. Technidea is in no rush to ship even if you pay 35 bucks extra. Not convinced it's any better than the much cheaper smart leveler.
It does require recharging. Smart leveler does not.
The zip level stick is literally a monopod you can get for 10 bucks at Walmart
The metal pieces to hold it down could be made and replaced with just about any long stick

We've been using the Zip Level Pro-2000 for a couple years now at my company. It was a nice alternative to self leveling laser elevation equipment which requires a line of sight. Of course with the ZipLevel you're tied to the base unit via the cord, so it also has it's drawbacks. Ideally one would have both types of equipment and choose which option to use based on site conditions.

Overall the ZipLevel has been a high quality product. I have damaged one cord (a thorn punctured the cord) which was easily replaced by the manufacturer. And I have damaged multiple (~4) of "unipod" stick which holds the receiver. The unipod is made from four sections which collapse in on each other like the legs of a tripod. You loosen a collar and then the next section slips out, then you tighten the collar to secure the section in it's extended position. The problem here is that the collars use too fine of a thread and are extremely prone to stripping, only made worse by the fact that the material is a soft aluminum (good for weight, but bad for fine threads). The worst part is that the unipods are expensive, about $75 if I remember correctly. I have now made a habit of saving the broken unipods. Usually only one collar will strip meaning that I can take it apart and save the remaining 3 sections of the unipod to repair others if need be. This has already saved me from needing to buy 2 unipods.

Additionally I feel I should say that the manufacturer is really easy to deal with. Parts, service, repair... has always been very easy directly through the manufacturer. They ship out very quickly and since they are local (Escondido, CA) the packages arrive very quickly.

Great tool! Simple to use and allowing the in depth analysis of a foundations condition!