HF Bauer tape measures appear to be Komelon

[dwasifar]

I bought a Bauer 12' tape at Harbor Freight, specifically to compare it to a Komelon I had already. They look identical except for color and sticker. I was planning to take them apart and compare the internals, because HF has a lot of knockoff stuff. But I don't think I need to, because both the Komelon and the Bauer have the same US patent number on them:



I know HF nicks other makers' designs, but I doubt they'd forge a patent number. And patent 6595451 belongs to Komelon. Or it did; it looks like it expired last year, but I still don't think HF would actually put someone else's patent number on their knockoff.

Thoughts? Is the patent number by itself enough to conclude the Bauer tapes are made by Komelon? If they are, Bauer may someday become my tape of choice, because I really like the Komelon design.

In a related question, I was wondering how the heck do you pronounce Komelon anyway? It could be co-melon, or comma-lon, or chameleon, or any number of variations. So I did some research and it turns out to be comma-lon. In case you too were wondering.

 

[Vwpower]

KO-ME-LEE-IN lol.
They are my favorite tapes. Are the hf cheaper?

 

[Bubba Fett]

Komelon makes Kobalt tapes, and others, so it's not much of a stretch to think they contract-manufactured some for HF.

 

[dwasifar]

KO-ME-LEE-IN lol.
They are my favorite tapes. Are the hf cheaper?

Compared to Lowe's, no. They're within a dollar of the Lowe's Komelon-branded tape, give or take. The ones they sell at Lowe's are not quite the same style but appear to be functionally the same.

Compared to buying the exact comparable style Komelon tape on Amazon, yes. By several dollars, typically.

So if I wanted that particular style I'd buy the Bauer, but if I just wanted a Komelon tape I'd go to either Lowe's or HF, whichever was closest, I guess.

The one difference I noted between the Komelon and the Bauer was that the Bauer lacked fractional markings:



Also, looking at that picture, it appears they beefed up the hook a bit.

 

[dwasifar]

Komelon makes Kobalt tapes, and others, so it's not much of a stretch to think they contract-manufactured some for HF.

Most of the Kobalt tapes don't use this tape stop design, though. I see one that maybe does, hard to tell from the website, but all the other Kobalt tapes are the slide-down-to-lock variety.

I'm kind of a tape measure geek. I have far too many tapes. Even when I was a little kid I was fascinated with my dad's chrome Stanley (and not Stankey as I first typed) Powerlock. I would sit and play with it; pulling the tape out, watching it zip back in, measuring random things, until he would notice and take it away from me so I wouldn't wear it out. The day I figured out why the hook was loose was an epiphany.

I like the Milwaukee tapes too, mainly for that finger control notch on the underside. Not a fan of the Stanley FatMax; it's too bulky. I like the Stanley Leverlock for a self-locking tape, but it's hard to beat Komelon's design and I think I like it better. That thumb button is right where your thumb naturally sits when you grip.

 

[dnschmidt]

I'm in the FISCO camp. But nothing against Komelon.

 

[dwasifar]

I'm in the FISCO camp. But nothing against Komelon.

Never heard of them, so I looked them up. Looks like a nice case design but all I see are metric, wouldn't do me much good sadly.

In the process of looking up Fisco, I saw this on Amazon:



I have not previously heard of Spec Ops tools, so I looked them up. They have a whole line of hand tools with similar military-themed appearance. The tape measure says "Military-Grade composite case," which I don't know what that is, or how it differs from what you'd get on an ordinary tape measure. They claim 3% of the proceeds from each sale are donated to veteran and first responder groups, which is nice. Still, it looks kind of gimmicky to me. Am I wrong? Anyone use this brand? How are they?

And then finally there is this, which I'm not going to post a picture or description of. You'll have to click the link for yourself. All I'll say is that you probably wouldn't want to let the customer get a close look at it.

 

[Jim greengo]

I've got a 40' komelon,I think I got it at Menards.
I was looking for another Stanley fat max,but they don't seem to carry them anymore.
Anyway,so far so good.

 

[dwasifar]

I've got a 40' komelon,I think I got it at Menards.
I was looking for another Stanley fat max,but they don't seem to carry them anymore.
Anyway,so far so good.

I think you've gotta go to Home Depot or Ace for a Stanley these days. Lowe's has Craftsman tapes, which are made by Stanley and supposedly pretty good, but I think 35' is the longest.

 

[whateg01]

I have komelon, Stanley fatmax, and a masterforce. The masterforce is nice except the dark green which sometimes doesn't stand out. It has great stick out though.

 

[neophyte]

Never heard of them, so I looked them up. Looks like a nice case design but all I see are metric, wouldn't do me much good sadly.

In the process of looking up Fisco, I saw this on Amazon:



I have not previously heard of Spec Ops tools, so I looked them up. They have a whole line of hand tools with similar military-themed appearance. The tape measure says "Military-Grade composite case," which I don't know what that is, or how it differs from what you'd get on an ordinary tape measure. They claim 3% of the proceeds from each sale are donated to veteran and first responder groups, which is nice. Still, it looks kind of gimmicky to me. Am I wrong? Anyone use this brand? How are they?

And then finally there is this, which I'm not going to post a picture or description of. You'll have to click the link for yourself. All I'll say is that you probably wouldn't want to let the customer get a close look at it.

Nowadays Fisco only seems to make Inch tapes in dual scale versions with one edge Inch and the other Metric.

 

[velocipede]

...And then finally there is this, which I'm not going to post a picture or description of. You'll have to click the link for yourself. All I'll say is that you probably wouldn't want to let the customer get a close look at it.

Before retiring, I kept a few of these measuring devices (calibrated RCH) in my tool kit and would set up prank measuring disputes just to see the look on peoples faces when I pulled one out to settle things. Everyone wanted one.

 

[captain14]

Before retiring, I kept a few of these measuring devices (calibrated RCH) in my tool kit and would set up prank measuring disputes just to see the look on peoples faces when I pulled one out to settle things. Everyone wanted one.

The inventor of that tape measure is a member of GJ and mentioned his merchandise here.

 

[dutchgray]

Nowadays Fisco only seems to make Inch tapes in dual scale versions with one edge Inch and the other Metric.

I would think 99% of their market is metric countries, they probably only still make the dual scale because there are so many stubborn old guys in the UK who buy them who still use inch.
I don't think I have ever picked up a tape in a builders merchant here un the UK that wasn't dual scale.

 

[engineer2]

I got a $7 25 foot Komelon at Menards for $2 after a $5 rebate. Couldn't resist.

 

[Bockscar]

Compared to Lowe's, no. They're within a dollar of the Lowe's Komelon-branded tape, give or take. The ones they sell at Lowe's are not quite the same style but appear to be functionally the same.

Compared to buying the exact comparable style Komelon tape on Amazon, yes. By several dollars, typically.

So if I wanted that particular style I'd buy the Bauer, but if I just wanted a Komelon tape I'd go to either Lowe's or HF, whichever was closest, I guess.

The one difference I noted between the Komelon and the Bauer was that the Bauer lacked fractional markings:



Also, looking at that picture, it appears they beefed up the hook a bit.

The tapes with the fractional writing....I hate them....they make it harder to read a tape...at least for me

 

[Farmall450]

I'm surprised it's so hard to find MM ones in stores. Farm & Fleet probably has 30 inch ones and maybe 1 MM one. At work, I need MM more than inches lol (we get the Stanley/Cman MM ones online).

 

[Half-fast eddie]

The tapes with the fractional writing....I hate them....they make it harder to read a tape...at least for me

I have one, 12 ft i think. I like to use it when working with kids.

 

[whateg01]

and then finally there is this, which I'm not going to post a picture or description of. You'll have to click the link for yourself. All I'll say is that you probably wouldn't want to let the customer get a close look at it.

Was checking to see if they were on Amazon and found This one.

 

[dwasifar]

The tapes with the fractional writing....I hate them....they make it harder to read a tape...at least for me

I have one, 12 ft i think. I like to use it when working with kids.

Is 1/8" precision that important when measuring kids?

 

[JeepYJ]

I'm surprised it's so hard to find MM ones in stores. Farm & Fleet probably has 30 inch ones and maybe 1 MM one. At work, I need MM more than inches lol (we get the Stanley/Cman MM ones online).

I was in Lowes yesterday and they had Komelon tapes that also were marked with metric on the top of the tape. For a pure metric tape I’d check Amazon or one of the Amazon EU sites that ships to USA.

 

[iagsxr]

Over the last couple years I've gotten several Bauer tape measures. 6', 12' , & 16' in multiples of each. Mine don't get used every day but I feel like they're good tapes irregardless of brand or price.

 

[Steve_P]

Project Farm did a good tape measure test; IIRC it included both the Bauer and Komelon, and I don't think either did that well.