Expensive vs Cheap Calipers | Are They Worth the Money? 

After reading the comments, I bought a brand new Pittsburgh caliper last night to see if they're any different now. The new one is DREADFUL. It's nothing like the old one I showed in the video. It looks like it was ground by scraping it on a brick. Even after disassembling, cleaning, and deburring, it still doesn't slide smoothly and I can't get it to repeat consistently within .03mm. The fit on the beam is so bad that the inside jaws often get hooked on each other and they have to be separated to get it to open.

That was a guiding principle of quality control in several shops I've worked in. Keep taking measurements until you get one you like, then ship it.

I used to work at a waterjet company doing QC. One way I tried to avoid confirmation bias was to have someone else measuring the part without knowing what the correct dimension was supposed to be while I was checking the blueprints and verifying if it was within tolerance.

All my cheap callipers actually retain their position when off. Thats also why their batteries die so quickly, because they need to keep track off their position when turned off. The more expensives ones do this to, only they consume much less energy when turned off.

Mitutoyo has/had a patent on a battery saving feature for calipers etc, so the batteries on Mitutoyo calipers last significantly longer than the cheapies. The battery saving feature alone to me makes the Mitutoyos always the best choice for calipers. Nothing sucks more than needing to use calipers and having dead or dying batteries. Also the accuracy will drop as the batteries die (but it's usually pretty obviously off). There are some solar powered ones out there now as well, not sure how they are. The accuracy of the scales is typically pretty similar among digital calipers as they're made via lithography and cheap to make accurately. Jaw fit/finish can differ, but accuracy is typically pretty similar among calipers. When in school for machining years ago, calipers were generally considered to be acceptable on ±0.005" tolerance parts. Anything tighter tolerance required micrometers or better. Not sure how much I agree with this, but I usually use it as a reference point if I'm questioning a measurement. Also, great videos! Super informative and interesting!

For work, I've always purchased the cheap ones as they tended to disappear from or get broken in the toolbox drawer for some strange reason. I bought some when Harbor Freight had them on sale at $9.99 years ago. I think 7 was the maximum number that could be purchased with the coupon and I still have some of those. I had the same problem keeping track of tape measures until I started buying ones marked in tenths of feet. I knew who had one when I'd hear them swearing as they tried to measure something.

I have a homemade yardstick made from a willow branch, graduated in feet. Works just fine for sawing firewood.

For a nicer caliper you can't beat the Coolant Proof caliper from Mitutoyo, it's adds dust and coolant protection, and auto on/off. Also as someone who has done measuring tool calibration, the Mitutoyo will measure accurately longer, when properly cared for I've seen them measure within +/- .001 for over 25 years, and that's with daily use.

I still use my 6 and12" Mitutoyo calipers I bought in 1998, I check for calibration every 2 months with gauge blocks. My previous 6" Mitutoyo calipers I bought in 1981 were still good when I gave them to my dad after I bought the newer ones. They bought some cheap ones at work, several have failed but I would not trust the workers to treat a Mitutoyo with the same care I do. Quality lasts.

"Or you like nice things and it makes you happy...". Thanks mate, I needed that! I do like nice things. I'm going to put the cheapies on the back shelf and spend a few bucks on some nice toys. Just needed a gentle prod down the right path for me.

I’ve used calipers a long time and all you’ve said about pressure is worth paying attention to, especially if you are a reloader, which I am. Bullet feed is dependent on cartridge length as is pressure-deeper seating raises pressures. When pushing the upper limits use a gauge, not calipers, just like using a micrometer for exact readings.

Lots to think about. I love picking up the mititoyu to measure because it works and feels nice in the hand. Good tools are hard to beat, and even harder to find nowadays. I understand however that some people don’t have the budget for the best tools, but something I have always done is budgeted and saved so that I can buy the nice tool once and be happy, instead of the cheaper tool multiple times and be unhappy.

One thing I'll do if I'm trying to be as accurate as possible with calipers like this is grip it by the blades. I find that this minimizes the differences if you use a little more or less force. It also helps lower the amount of leverage you are exerting on the tool - helps you align the caliper for the most accurate measurement. Obviously, this isn't always practical or necessary. I worked in a production guitar shop for a decade - I did a LOT of things with a pair of cheap calipers that it wasn't supposed to do ... :D

As you said: The battery drain is often a problem. I compared a cheap and a Mitutoyo once in detail. The cheap one drained 10 times the current than the Mitutoyo. And just for kicks: I turned off both and realized the cheap one didn't changed the current. It just turns off the display, that's all. The Mitutoyo dropped down to nearly nothing. About 200 times less the cheap one had. And another thing I noticed: The measurement consistency and stability. The cheap one is hopping around a lot on the last digit and repeated measurements often differ more or less a lot. The Mitutoyo shows very fast a bang on value without hopping around. I am happy with my Mitutoyo and the cheap ones I use for scraping stuff. So I do agree with you. You don't need the expansive once. But it's just a pleasure to work with. So, it depends...

I've used the same HF calipers for 15 years now.. I bought a set of $50 metric dial calipers a couple months ago to match my imperial dial calipers and I love them. No batteries, no zeroing and I just love the analog "display". The digitals are cool, but if I'm gonna spend big bucks on measurement tools, then it'll be on analog ones..

Years ago I took my cheap Hornady set to a USAF lab I was in as a part of an inspection I was in charge of. After BSing with the airmen they checked the calipers on ceramic blocks and to everyone's amazement they passed. There is more user induced error than caliper error most of the time.

I've had a Mitutoyo for 25 years. Still works flawlessly. You get what you pay for.

Like all things, it just has to answer to your needs. Excellent no nonsense review !

I buy Mitutoyo for multiple reasons. At the price it is amazing we are able to get such a finely made tool. They set the bar to which others aspire and I like to support that. I don't ever have to wonder if I got an accurate measurement.

"Moore & Wright" are up there with Mitutoyo. I'm a (retired) Engineering Inspector, CMM & all that, Loads of Engineering companies have gone bust & are almost Giving mics away. Can even get say 0-6" Mics (One frame with different sticks) Don't be fooled by the resolution (the, half a thou' hype) with ANY digital calliper - what you are really paying for is the smooth, linear running & the parallelism of the Jaws.

Always keep backup cheap tools in your box as loaners. Never, ever loan your quality tools to anyone!!

I used to work for a calibration company. I've handled and tested just about every type of tool there is. Mitutoyo has the best quality control of any company in the industry hands down. Their calipers are the best. Do I still use my (cleaned, stoned and polished) HF caliper? Absolutely!

😍 Straight from the Mity' vs fake to this one. Liked this vid. Good, pragmatic comparison between price points. Totally agree with your points about having a tool that just works, is a pleasure to use and is trustworthy. I do more electronics then mechanical, but the same thing applies to multimeters. Using a cheap meter may be accurate enough, but having a good meter that I can trust without second guessing the results all the time is most definately worth the extra dosh.

Great video, before I retired as an engineer, very precise measurement was achieved with micrometers. The verniers are great for quick assessment but not really the end result particularly in precision engineering.

James, thank you for your insights. My psych professor always warned us, "You tend to find what you're looking for." Now, I'm off to buy a Pittsburg caliper and looking forward to having a beautiful Mitutoyo one day :)

I am about to buy a caliper for a hobby of mine and didn’t know what to get. I’m glad I found your video. Thank you for putting the time to make it. Very useful.

One thing I’ve noticed that you didn’t mention is how parallel the jaws are between brands. Close the jaws and hold them up to the light. I’ve found the cheap ones to have gaps. Meaning your reading will be different depending on where on the jaws you are placing the part. The cheapos are awesome for scribing and hacking into custom tools, such as a quill “DRO”.

people that are super concerned about accuracy should be getting this tool called a micrometer lol

Thank you for this video. It’s exceptionally useful. I have a physical disability and I’ve recently started 3D printing my own adaptive equipment. Things like small adaptors, mounts, handles etc. There’s a huge amount of utility in being able to attach thing A to thing B when they are different brands / sizes / painted / worn etc. I’ve found myself doing a lot of ‘relative’ dimensions based maths. Based on this video I’m going to invest in a set of nice callipers & a set of cheap ones. The nice set for my little workspace (corner of a bedroom!) and a cheap plastic set to live in my bag for quick and rough measuring when we’re out and about and trying stuff. Thanks again for an exceptionally helpful video!

Way back in the day, AvE compared a cheap set of calipers to a set of mitutoyos, and he found that the cheap ones lost accuracy as the battery started to get low, while the real ones didn't. I know you have some electronic tools, I'd love to see how well the shars set stood up to the same kind of test.

I have a Mitutoyo 6”/150mm Digital and a Mitutoyo 6”/150mm analogue they both perform flawlessly. I have in the past owned and used a Sylvac vernier that worked well but it had no on/off switch and it gobbled up batteries, now I would only purchase Mitutoyo, you get what you pay for.

Oh wow my dad had given me an older model Mitutoyo from his tool chest a few years ago for use in school. I had no idea it was considered premium. Gonna have to thank him again lol

I've been an engineer with a cheap dial caliper since 1997 until 2023. I just received a Mitutoyo last Friday. I wonder if my engineering is going to get better. Actually I've kept my cheap dial caliper and even dropped it several times over the years. You just can't beat a mechanical dial caliper when trying to open it to an exact distance rather than measuring something like when he dialed 0.8000 ion this video. Since the caliper scale is thousandths of an inch, a cocky young engineer once put a little sticker with lines for one half millimeter. I've left it on there for ten years because it's been useful, lol. But apparently now I'm a Mitutoyo man now...

I don’t use the thumb roller to measure, only to drive the jaws. I find it much more repeatable to squeeze the jaws parallel to the part when making a reading.

Thanks James. I love your practical approach. You appear to be someone who is meticulous & fastidious (in a good way), yet your approach is practical & real to issues like this. I totally agree with your assessment of these type of calipers also.

6:00 also note that .9995 is closer than .999, the mit. literally has a whole other significant digit in it. love these calipers.

Thanks James. I always find it so satisfying to scribe something with my cheap calipers. I can quickly get a reasonably accurate mark and not fret about abusing my real measuring instruments. The cheap caliper is a tool - and I understand and use it as such. 👍👍😎👍👍

The Mitutoyo 6” digital “coolant proof” are awesome as well and can be had for about $150. In an oily environment they work much better than the standard 6” Mitutoyo digital caliper.

Common sense is so rare. Thank you for your application of clear common sense. I am retired and on a fixed income, so, I watch my expenses. My caliper is a dial type (inexpensive Wisdom SE). The slide and the dial must agree at 0. Over the years I must have dropped it because when zeroing the dial at 12 oçlock my slide is off .013 so I compensate for that by turning the dial where it reads .013 at 0. Since the zero is at the end of the scale I use the one inch mark to assure my caliper dial matches the slide. It works fine since I never measure anything that far down the scale. For instance I have no need to measure the thickness of a sheet of paper, but I do commonly measure things 1/4 inch or greater. Yes it does limit the calipers range a bit, but it is accurate where it counts. The drawback is my dial is canted clockwise a bit. Thanks for your video I have been wondering if I should buy a new caliper and what price range is best for me.

I know it’s probably been shared many times, but my experience with cheap calipers has been synonymous with cheap multimeters. I’ve owned 3 pairs of calipers over the last 6 years, I went through two cheap ones in the first 3 years before stepping up to a Mitutoyo which has given me 3 years of trouble free service and it’s a joy to use every time you pick it up. Same thing with meters, I’ve owned about a dozen cheap meters over a 15 year period that all broke to some degree before spending the money on a Fluke. If I had to do it again I’d buy the expensive tool on the used market 9 times out of 10.

Great and useful video! A little trick I learned to get accurate readings with my dial callipers is to apply finger pressure to the jaws instead of the thumb wheel. I am a bit ham handed, and I can get readings a thou or two ubder size when using my thumb to check the callipers against a standard. By holding the callipers with my right hand, and using my left thumb and fore finger to apply light pressure to the jaws adjacent to the part, I get more reliable readings. This is especially useful when I have a small part to measure, or a part that has a small width shoulder to measure. This method also tends to hold the flats of the jaws parallel to the measured surface, eliminating error caused by a cocking angle.

Literally just got an expensive caliper. Perfect timing. Printing the return label as we speak. Off to HF I go.

Excellent review... The only point I will add is that just because you don't have to stop and wipe out the inside of the calipers, doesn't mean that you shouldn't. The shop is the shop and things have a way of finding their way into the most unfortunate places...

The best option for a machine shop are analog calipers. The measurement is always reliable even under harsch coditions like coolant is splashing on them. analoge calipers from reputable brands are very afordable. I like the digital ones for 3-D printing.

Just bought a Mitutoyo for €5 at a yard sale. Couldn't believe my luck. And it's a genuine one too. I'll still keep using my cheapo ones and keep this one for special occasions.

I've had (and have) several middle-priced calipers that have a battery life of less than 6 months if just left in the drawer. And at least one of them does indeed give squirrly readings when the battery is dying. But that is usually pretty obvious, and trivial to fix. Of more possible concern is really cheap calipers may not have completely parallel jaws, or the inside jaws may be off be a few thousandths from the outside jaws, or one of the depth ends may be off. Another form of this is "weak" jaws, where if you clamp down harder than you should you can easily spring the jaws (permanently) so that they are wider at the tip than the root. I guess you could probably do that to any calipers, but it is probably a little harder with the expensive ones. Or you are less likely to try to use them as pliers. :-) Of course, non-parallel jaws are trivial to check for. You didn't mention the "origin" button on the more expensive calipers. But if you looked under the skin on the cheap ones, I think you would find contacts for a 4th button. Not that that is very useful, since there is no physical button. Most of the cheap ones also have serial pins, possibly under a removable cover, for an external reading device. Not that I've ever seen anyone selling such a device, except for dedicated "scale" calipers. There is one other really cheap digital caliper that can be very useful in certain circumstances: plastic calipers! If you need to measure electrical things like battery terminal distances, these can be *very* useful. They are a little less accurate, since plastic is soft and expands with temperature. But over 6" they are still within 5 thousandths or so. But for $3-5 for a pair of these, and not having to worry about shorting out electrical connections and big sparks, they can be really great.

My first mitutoyo i bought 1995. Still works great. Says it all.

Be careful of the fake expensive ones!!

I like your pragmatic attitude a lot! I use cheap ones from a random Amazon ALLCAPS brand, and I smiled when you used yours as a scribe because I've been known to do exactly that out of being too lazy to walk a few feet and get something appropriate for marking. :D On the other hand, this year I bought the old man a Mitutoyo for Christmas (hope he doesn't read this) to replace his Mitutoyo which is like 30+ years old and only recently started malfunctioning - and there's something to be said for that. Thanks for the video!

As a machine rebuilder and machinist I've been using the harbor freight one for years and its great , well worth the price !

One of my favorite uses for my digital calipers after moving to Sweden from the US. Pushing the inch /mm button to see an instant conversion. 😊

I think you may have an older version of the "cheap" calipers. The "cheap" ones with an (in/mm/F) button retain their home position.

I appreciate videos like this, I know it is an old one but thought I would provide my .02. The first set of calipers I got was a cheap < $20 model from Amazon and while it measured fine, the fit and finish was terrible and often made it hard to measure smaller objects or objects made of softer materials because it was hard to feel when you were properly flush against the object. Additionally over time it kept getting looser and the adjustment screws did not suffice. After a couple teardowns without much improvement I gave in and got the Mitutoyo calipers and couldnt be happier. The fit and finish makes such a huge difference purely for the tactile feedback you get. Of course the irony is that I am mostly using them for prototyping 3d prints which have so many dimensional inaccuracies and variables.

I personally think the most useful thing on a caliper is the in/mm/F The fractional read out is really useful in my opinion, Ive not seen this on really cheap units

Return to zero is the big one for me. I bought a caliper off Amazon for around 40 bucks. The thing has trouble returning to zero, which drives me nuts. I'll give it to one of my boys and get a good one. Great video.

I do a lot of wet work (heavy coolant) and the waterproof ones were a true lifesaver

When I was the calibration guy at work we had to get Mitutoyo or Starrett. Its the calibration and quality for what you are paying for. The higher end ones can be repaired if needed. Since we are making parts for Boeing they quality of tool is expected. If we had harbor freight tools in out shop we could get laughed at and most likely questioned about our quality standards.

Good video. I wish someone made a caliper with a half function like on a DRO. It would be awesome for layouts. There’s a million dollar idea for you. 💰

Yes, yes they are!! I got a mitutoyo 8” digimatic caliper (500-753-20) and it’s awesome vs the craft right style. It always zeros and that used to drive me up the wall.

I tried 4 different brands of cheap calipers over the years. I always had the same problem with all of them. The display would start flashing soon after the new battery was installed, usually about a month. I gave up on them. Now I just buy the Mitutoyo brand. The wear and tear on my nerves just wasn't worth it for me.

I agree with you on cheap vs. expensive tools. I generally buy mid to high end tools for tools i plan to use often, say once a month or more. If I need a tool once or once in a blue moon, I will buy a cheap tool as long as it is capable of the task at hand. And when I need to bend or grind a tool to fit in a certain tight spot, it is HF all the way. I can’t bear to deface a good tool. 😁

Working in the trade for nearly 55 years, and seeing the younger guys gravitate to newer battery powered digital measuring tools, has taught me one thing.....the stuff doesn't last. We're still using measuring instruments (mostly Starrett) that were bought during the 1960's. Storing tools carefully, and routinely checking with standards will make them useful for years..

I have a Workzone Digital Caliper, which is at least 10 years old. Cost about £15. I've just checked it against 2 Micrometer standards (1" and 2"), and it's dead nuts. 😎

I've been testing "male enlargening" products for a number of years now, and I got to say, I've been seeing far bigger gains with the Pittsburgh than the Mitutoyo.

Very nice, informative and educational. I have my 13 year old daughter watching your content now. Keep up the fantastic work.

I use to use $30 calipers but when I got into small scale manufacturing I found they kept letting me down and I could not really trust them. After one fairly expensive mistake I bought the Mitutoyo and I love them. My issue with the cheap ones is they would occasionally miss steps, like I would measure something that was 1" and they might show 0.75 and next time maybe 1" then maybe 0.85" not a small difference. Even the good ones can miss a step every once in awhile.

Late comment, but for a lot of small, sub 1.25" measurements, a snap-cal by Fowler is an absolute lifesaver. You lose the internal and depth measurement, but for checking batches of parts or lots of external measurements on small parts it can't be beaten. I work for a large factory that keeps them at every QC station on each line in the plant. Expensive, at $125 each, but checking 5-6 measurements on each part it saves 10 seconds or more per part. I keep one in my toolbox for fastener identification.

Great video as always James! I usually buy the cheap one by the dozen when they go on discount. One thing you did not mention is how crooked the tangs for internal measurement are. Usually not bad precision for external but awful for internal. When I am too lazy to get out the telescopic gauges, my starett caliper works great for bearing fits, but I would never rely on a cheap one. On the other hand I would never use a good one to mesure a stock piece in a rusty stock pile...

I've used a brand called "Igaging" as a professional machinist for the past 8 years as my "daily beater" calipers. They don't like to get dirty w/ oils or coolant, but it's good practice IMO to keep them clean. They only cost about $40 usd and have been extremely accurate and dependable for me. I have Mitutoyo 6" and 12" for when things matter as well as mitutoyo quantumike micrometers for when things REALLY matter but I don't leave any of those laying out on my toolbox. I will leave the Igaging out on my box, if they take a tumble no big deal.

I love iGauge brand. Can get water resistant and data longing and for cheaper. Quality seems great quality too

I really like your perspective on this. People don't always realize that there is more than one way to look at the "best".

I've actually been using the even cheaper harbor freight calipers, the composite plastic ones, and I absolutely love them. They are light and I have no worries about a drop or knock messing them up, and there are no sharp edges to catch on anything. The slide feel is easy but reliable and clean. (And I got them in black rather than their garish current color scheme). They hold their battery forever, unlike the $30 ones out there. As for zeroing, I always put them down with their jaws closed, and always turn them on before opening the jaws. This process (totally muscle memory at this point) keeps them zeroed and takes no cognitive load. And they're so cheap I never worry about damaging them in use. My nicer calipers stay in the box because I rarely "need" the other features and worry about tweaking or bending them. Whereas the light plastic feels like it'll be fine if I knock it off a table. The day I lose or break them, I'll actually be quite sad. I'm rather fond of them by this point.

In a rush one day a couple years back, I picked up the only option available at the local auto parts store. Paid too much for them, and they were horrendous. But I decided to disassemble them and regrind/adjust everything. I spent way too much time getting them to perform even to the price point that I paid for them. But, they work. I'll never buy a set like that again, but I will happily continue to use those. I thought you did a very objective overview, and spoke to my experience with the various levels. More or less identical in accuracy with very few features to justify the extra expense, but the fit and finish is where the money goes on the better ones--which are undeniably better.

I like a good dial caliper; there's no battery needed. Also, the size of the block changes with temperature, about 12 ppm/deg. C for steel. Holding the block in your hand would cause it to expand slightly, and a more sensitive caliper would pick that up.

Thanks for the comprehensive run down on the difference between cheap and expensive digital calipers.

There is a brand you can find through Amazon called igaging. I own several of the cheaper shaped items you show in your video and the igaging ones. The igaging have parallel jaws, smooth feel and much better repeatability. I liked them enough to also buy their micrometer as well. Note I don’t own any mitutoyo to compare.... would recommend this brand, they seem about the same price bracket as the cheapies!

Thanks for the INFO! I did not know that costly Calipers, did not need to be zero set all the time!

It's been my observation that more expensive does not always translate to better, so completely agree. Having said that, I think for dial (analog) calipers, price and quality do go hand in hand. I'm partial to the B&S dial calipers, they feel great right out of the box, never need to be zeroed out and never need batteries.

I supervised the gauge lab at a precision machining company. We had the best of everything including a room held to 70 degrees. I bought a 10 dollar one for some work at home like measuring drills. Measurements were close enough, but the shaft would bend and it would turn on in the drawer so I have to remove the battery in between use. You decide

The biggest difference I have found is when the calipers get coolant spray or drips on them. I measure inside the vise sometimes to keep the setup, and the tools can drip on them (I have a Fanuc Robodrill with 14 tools above the part in some cases). Mitutoyo deals with this wet surface perfectly and work the same, but cheaper calipers jump around and don't measure well or sometimes at all.

A while back I took apart a number of these, and they are all identical inside. The operation principle is the same, and it relies on the accuracy of a traditionally etched PCB. The good news is that they are made such that only the long range accuracy is what matters, so it's fairly easy for even a cheap caliper to achieve the 30 micron rated tolerance. Personally, I use the cheap ones. But I also have used a bunch of Mitutoyo, and others. The best calipers by far are iGauging. They are less expensive than Mitutoyo, and I have found that they are more accurate than Mitutoyo as well. The best value I think are the Vinca brand. They feel great, cost only about $24. They do have an annoying flaw that they drain batteries even while turned off. But for shop use, that's fine. Maybe not for someone at home where they only get used once a week or so.

My Mitutoyo caliper was bought 21 years ago and used daily until I retired 4 years later. They are still used in my home shop but obviously not nearly as much. I also Have a pair of 12" Harbor Freight calipers that I bought while still working, because I had a few jobs that needed the extra length. I was surprised by the quality fit and finish on the HF one, and equally surprised by it's automatic off feature. The Mitutoyo caliper does not have auto off, and more than once I opened my tool box to start a work day and found the caliper still on. Not a biggie, but aggravating none the less for a forgetful guy. As you pointed out, the newer HF models may not be of the same quality as the older ones. Just for the record, I do love my Mitutoyo.

Probably should have spent some time on resolution vs accuracy.

All the benches at my job are equipped with 6 inch Shars Aventor and I simply love them.

Cheaper is ALWAYS better! Especially when it comes to things like condoms, medical devices, firearms, jack stands, etc... 🤣 On a more serious note, I actually own and use those exact same Mitutoyo digital calipers! I always thought they were just cheap bottom of the barrel calipers. Not because they are bad in any way, I love them, they just don't look expensive. Who knew lol

I had battery life issues with my cheap caliper. Changing the battery all the time was frustrating. Then I bought a mitutoyo. The mitutoyo is awesome. The feel is great. It does an amazing job of drawing no power from the battery when not in use, which gives you years of battery life with occasional use. The machining on the sliding mechanism is very high quality. For me it’s worth it to have a measuring tool that doesn’t feel like it has slop and will give me reliable readings.

From the calipers i have, the Igaging brand is the best even against my mitutoyo at measuring and accuracy for the price you pay. Igaging is half the cost.

lol, my story! i had to change the front sight on my s&w pistol, i watched some vids on how to do it and seen a caliper would work good to check the new sight for center on the gun, went to harbor freight and bought a non digital 6" caliper for one dollar and fifty cents lol it worked great! it's actually made very well! no fancy shmancy needed clue! i'm 70 years old and that's the first time i ever used a caliper and maybe the last

Good video. I have an I- gauging I've been using for 6+years. It has the absolute zero too. I love it.

after i lost my battery door on every cheap caliper i got, i got used to the analog ones

I appreciate fine tools. The feel in my hand is so satisfying. However, I have a low budget. I have electronics equipment that is excellent, because I made a living with them. I am a model maker and that's just for fun. While I'd love to own high end calipers, I can't justify the cost. This makes me feel so much better about my harbor freight calipers! Thanks for this informative, practical video.

...it‘s called „confirmation bias“...

I’ve been using callipers for 35 years and in my opinion the mitutoyo IP67 coolant proof calipers are the best, hands down!

I did not know that the more expensive callipers retained their measurement even when they are off. That justifies the price to me. I really like this explanation.

I work in workplace which is half workshop many things... i stopped using anything else than Mitutoyo. I love them.

Retired from a large areospace machine shop. When setting up a job we would order a gage for every setting we needed, height gage with =/- dims set, go-no go gages and so on, Always used the cheapest calipers I could find, kept at least 2 sets in my tool box. Get the part to within one or 2 thousands with the calipers and finished with the production gages.

I inherited a Mitutoyo analog dial caliper from my Father some years back and he'd owned it since the mid '70's. It's been very well cared for and it is still like new after almost 50 years. I tested it recently with my new set of grade B gauge blocks the wife gifted me (heh heh heh) and it is bang on. But more importantly, it is still a dream to use. The action is silky-smooth and the faces are ground absolutely flat. I love it. And yet, I find myself constantly reaching for the cheap $20 "Chungdong" Chinese made one which is exactly the same as the Harbour Freight one - and is available under several hundred BS brand names. Why? Because it has a ZERO function. This lets me forget about the mental math (and possibility of error) required when measuring offsets/differentials. I also bought a cheap FRACTIONAL IMPERIAL caliper that I use now just as often; and THAT one is a game changer. You need one even if you don't know you do. Here's the thing: when I want to measure a metal part with serious accuracy I reach for the Mitutoyo. Not because it is more ACCURATE but because it is way better for measuring such things. The flat-ground faces of the jaws and smoothness of action are unmatched and their hardness gives me greater confidence that I'm getting good measurements when I'm down to 1000's. So, like you said: the most important question is, "What's your use case?".

James, very good advice you give here. For scribing bar stock I use a set of cheapo 0/6" callipers. For measuring functions I have a couple of In size brand callipers ,one set with carbide faced jaws, which are in the middle quality category. Another useful aid in achieving greater reading accuracy consistency is a thumb pressure regulating device. These are either a small spring and plunger or piston plunger over air inside a small dia cylinder. This device regulates the users thumb pressure to a more consistently repeatable level.

You make a good point about what kind of job your doing. Normally I'm just trying to find the nearest mm so the Harbor Freight caliper is perfect for me. Even still, their new all plastic black/green model is just laughably bad.

I work for Asimeto which is a Chinese mid tier brand and I can tell you his right on everything he says. Really great advice for buyers.