The tape measure is fine, but the marking lead is hard to get to work. The first piece I put in the slot fell out right away, the instructions for use were not real good. So far I haven't been able to make a single mark on anything I've cut. Most likely I am not using the tape correctly, but I gave up on the self marking feature

With my experience so far, I would strongly advise against buying this tape. Its a good concept, but poor implementation. I ordered this tape measure about 40 days ago. When I received the tape measure and pulled out the tape for the first time, there were some defects (though minor and wouldn't affect performance). Almost not worth mentioning at all... except that they seemed to indicate I had been shipped a used (not new) product. See attached pictures. There were graphite smears and a few dark marks that were perhaps printing issues or paint chips... not entirely sure? I used it a few times and it seemed to be promising device. As I continued to use it... the first piece of graphite got ate up pretty quickly. Definitely not 100 marks and certainly not 1000 marks. When it stopped marking and the indicator showed empty... I refilled w/ a piece of the included graphite. It started out working and functioning fine... but then ... even though the indicator showed it had lead left... wouldn't mark. I had to pull up on the indicator and let it back down and then graphite would begin to feed again for a few marks. Again, it ate through the graphite pretty quickly. When i put the 3rd piece of graphite in, the indicator slid right past where it should have stopped... so no tension on the graphite. Tried to get the piece of graphite back out to no avail. So I went ahead and stuck a 4th piece in there and the indicator slid right past it. **Note: at no time did I ever let the indicator go so it could snap down on the graphite.. figuring that If I did that... it would most likely result in broken graphite.**

I received 3 total requests by email from the Amazon seller requesting feedback and or product review. The email requested that I respond directly to the email if I felt I was not satisfied enough to give a 5 star review. I received the product on Apr 8th, and the requests for feedback on Apr 13th, 20th and 28th (each a week apart). I responded to the last 2 of the 3 requests providing my feedback and the problems I was experiencing. The aesthetic issue is hardly worth mentioning in a review or feedback to the supplier... except for the fact that it may indicate the product is not new and was possibly returned... so I did mention it as well as the issue I was having w/ graphite not feeding. Never have heard back from seller (thus this review). I definitely like the concept of the way this works... and I would be willing to keep working with it given a replacement device... but so far... no reply. Please contact me.

The concept and advertisements are in the right place, meaning it's a good idea. But, the design falls short when it comes to the lead track. I have tried to load the lead and it appears to crack and jam. The groove/track is not very constraining allowing the lead to tilt and eventually brake as the pressure of the advancer is pushed on it. It has worked since unpacking. I notified the manufacture and they contacted me once. I emailed them back with my number and have not head anything back. Product support is lacking as well. Did I get a dud? Possibly, but after posting questions, this seems to be a common issue. The actual tape measure appears to be of good quality, but that's not why i bought this one.

Ok. Honest review here. We are building a house and I thought this would be great to speed up the whole measure/saw process.

It looks great out of the box. Fill up the pencil lead and you are good to go. Until you try to use it. The lead breaks easily and runs out way faster than I think it probably should. But, even that wasn't the bad part. The bad part is it twists and bends and will not stay straight. It got wavy within the first week of use. We could not even use it to measure one 10 ft board without having to hold it down on both ends and use a real pencil to mark with.

save your money. buy a real tape measure not a gimmick.

Bought 3 for Christmas gifts and DH got an early gift since he was working on a wood project. He said it was well-made, good quality, easy to read numbers, and will work well for flat measuring and cutting. Pencil lead easy to load and will be easy to replace/refill. Love not having to pull the pencil out of apron/pocket to mark. The reason for 4 stars, we like to use over an extended time and see how it holds up. Will check back in six months. Easy transaction, fast delivery. Two more will be gifted at Christmas, so will also review in six months.