Expensive vs Cheap Calipers | Are They Worth the Money?

Today we're going to look at three different calipers, ranging in price from less than $20 to more than $100. What are the differences, and is it worth the extra money to buy the premium brand?

Calipers featured in this video:
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[Clough]

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.

[somebodyelse]

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.

[PorchPotatoMike]

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.

[Cody]

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.

[aclayton]

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!

[tiredoldmechanic]

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.

[stanervin]

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

[traviswiebe]

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.

[jamescrombie]

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.

[nigeleaton]

"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.

[artnickel]

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.

[calebrogers]

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.

[selkiemaine]

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

[matthiash.]

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...

[thefekete]

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..

[ErikS]

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.

[pentachronic]

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

[palco]

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

[JasonTaylor]

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.

[felgate]

"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.