Wintape1M Heavy-Duty Engineer's Mini Steel Tape Rule with Metal Case

Here's my initial review, written upon receipt of this tape measure:"I have always seemed to find a need to measure something when I didn't have anything with which to measure. Now, if I need to measure something that is 3' or less in length, I can do it...'cause I always have this with me on my key chain. This seems to be well-made, but I'll update in one year, OR less - if it breaks before then."I'm glad that I did NOT write my review "...in one year, OR less..." Why? Because I would have written that it was a quality product, and that turns out NOT to be the case. I was sitting here at my desk, and noticed that one of my computer's cooling fans had slowed down quite noticeably. So I opened the case, removed the fan, then dug into my pocket to pull out my key chain, to which my 3 ft, steel case, tape measure was attached. Imagine my surprise when I felt a wad of slender, flexible metal in my pocket. I removed the mess, and discovered that the case had split down the middle, and was now two, unconnected halves/sides! Apparently it was "held together" by pressure with one side/half of it having a raised ridge, and the other not having one. Supposedly, the two halves were designed to stay together due to the pressure of one side being "seated" into the other due to the tightness caused by pressure of the milled ridge fitting into the other half/side. No glue residue was found, no small screws held it together, and no solder or welds were present. It was just kept together by pressure, which (obviously) gave out. Other than that one important aspect, this was a well-designed tape measure, and the steel case was thick/sturdy: it just needed a more reliable/rugged manner of connection. Oh well. I'm almost certain that it was made in China, national headquarters for almost all of the shoddily made products of the world. The sad thing is that - as I wrote, above - the steel is heavy, thick & sturdy, and if two, small screws had been used to hold it together, or just a tiny solder joint or weld had been employed, this item would most likely have given me YEARS of service - not just the 14 months I've had it. I never had any problems with the tape being difficult to pull out, or with its retraction. Admittedly, I only used it maybe once every couple of weeks during that time period, but it WAS quite convenient when I was in a store purchasing items and needed to know their size to ensure they would "fit" before spending my money on them. This convenient, key chain model, measuring tape was just what I needed.That said, I still MAY purchase another of these IF a friend of mine - who has a welder & a soldering iron - takes a look at this case & says he could solder, weld or somehow connect the two halves/sides together utilizing a screw(s). If none of those "fixes" are possible, I'll just go with a cheap, plastic model, and I'll purchase three of four so that I'll have replacements available as they fail/break.Cheers,zenovice

Wintape1M Heavy-Duty Engineer's Mini Steel Tape Rule with Metal CaseSold by: Fashion Measuring Tape and Fulfilled by Amazon.I just got this today, so can't speak on longevity yet. Note that it does not have a locking mechanism. It is heavier than I expected. The chrome on the middle section is somehow incomplete. It also has several scratches right out of the box. Even the matte metal appears scratched. As Sergey said in a previous review, it appears to be used. The metal tape pulls out easily enough, and does retract all the way, but seems to bind often while retracting. I expect I'll be able to use it and will update if it fails.On a side note, I was surprised to also receive a leather(ette?) covered cloth measuring tape. It does lock and retracts very smoothly with a light press in the center. It is embossed with a polo player, and feels like a superior product, though for a different purpose.

The polished disc came pretty scratched-up at its edge, and the tape has a fair amount of trouble retracting. It's also quite heavy for a pocket tape. It uses a metal ruler, as mentioned in the description. I prefer a tailor's ruler for things this small, but I knew what I was getting into, where that's concerned. The discs, although they may look like it, cannot be used to lock or retract the tape -- they're purely decorative. The chain mount at the top of the apparatus is more firmly attached IRL than it appears to be in the picture. It's too cheap to be worth returning, and it technically works, so I'm going to stick with it. Sed caveat emptor.

It didn't even last three months. It fell apart one morning as I was heading out the door. The tape measure didn't stay in very well. It pulls out very easily by accident and needs some sort of lock. It caught on all sorts of things.

When the previous tape measure (different brand) broke off my husband's key chain, there was only one thing to do: QUICK! PURCHASE A NEW ONE! (Had to be Steel with a Metal Case). My husband is delighted with this replacement. Well-made, sturdy

A little beauty. Well made, good materials. The tape fairly stiff, which is VERY helpful - in contrast to cheaper versions. Limp things are generally not so useful. Only problem is that it's on the heavy side. Add a bunch of keys, and you really feel the bulge in your pants.

I love this little tape measure, I use it all the time. It has weight to it so it makes it feel expensive, the only thing I wish it had was a strong recoil spring but it doesn't fail and serves it's purpose

Was Happy with it. Barely even noticed it in my pocket and that's what I was going for on my key ring. After 2 days though the metal snapped that held the key ring.