Why it issues: If you have ever fumbled round with a measuring tape, you may respect all of the performance that the T1 Tomahawk has to supply. Whether hanging an image or marking the place to chop a chunk of wooden, each professionals and hobbyists can profit from a measuring instrument that does nearly every little thing.
On Tuesday, building instrument startup Reekon Tools launched a Kickstarter marketing campaign for its latest gadget, the T1 Tomahawk. The T1 is a considerably cumbersome tape measure, nevertheless it makes up for the majority with so many useful options that it is arduous to complain.
At its coronary heart, the Tomahawk is a high-end skilled tape measure with all of the options you’ll count on, like an omnidirectional hook, a blade lock, and replaceable blade. Where the T1 shines is its virtually overwhelming checklist of options. Seriously. There is a lot this machine can can we’re solely going to say the performance we discover probably the most intriguing.
The T1 Tomahawk is a bit of over 6-inches lengthy and weighs a few pound and a half. It has two digital screens—a top-mounted OLED and a side-mounted E-Paper show. The OLED is primarily used to point out a digital readout of the measurement. The E-Paper display screen has numerous capabilities, together with itemizing latest measurements and displaying previously-stored measurements.
The instrument has eight buttons, lots of which have a number of capabilities. For instance, the button used to toggle between metric and imperial measurements additionally flips the orientation of the highest show when long-pressed. Other buttons embrace seize (a measurement), cursor up/down, absolute measure from entrance or again of the chassis, clear, and laser.
Yes. Laser. One of the Tomahawk’s major promoting factors is a laser-line projector, which creates a shiny inexperienced line to both aspect of the rule. The laser might help with scoring a measurement or fixing a horizontal or vertical alignment. Speaking of scoring, the T1 has a clip for a pencil or pen, so measuring and marking is nearly a single step.
The Tomahawk comes outfitted with Bluetooth to speak with an upcoming cell app. The app provides additional performance by having the ability to file workflows and different pertinent details about a job. Presumably, issues like recording lower lists and sending them to different crew members will be facilitated by way of the app.
The machine shouldn’t be with out its downsides. For one, it is comparatively fragile for a measuring tape. Standard skilled tape measures can stand up to drops from nice distances. The Tomahawk is barely drop rated for one meter. However, it has a number of mounting factors for wrist straps or different securing gadgets to compensate for this weak point.
The value level can be a deal-breaker for the informal person. It retails for $260 however will be pre-ordered by way of Reekon’s Kickstarter web page for a pledge of $199. Both costs lower the machine’s desirability for house use, nevertheless it’s not unreasonable for hobbyists or building professionals when put next with different digital tape choices. Plus there’s a lot extra that this tape can do, you actually ought to take a look at the Kickstarter description.
Reekon began its funding marketing campaign on Tuesday with the modest objective of elevating $10,000. It shattered that goal in lower than 24 hours and, as of publication, sits at $1.28 million with 58 days left within the fundraiser. Those ought to act quick if they need one for $199. There are solely eight left earlier than the minimal value bumps as much as $229.
