NEIKO 01409A 12” Electronic Digital Caliper | Extra Large Display | 0-12 Inches | Inch/Fractions/Millimeter Conversion | Polished Stainless Steel

I'm used to using my Mitutoyo 505-626 analog caliper. I figured "It's not the seventies any more, analog calipers went the way of bell bottoms" & decided to "upgrade" to digital. I read a bunch of reviews and watched a bunch of demo videos. I didn't want to spend a fortune, I already have a caliper, and new Mitutoyos are like $200 for a digital one. Analog Mitutoyos are $80! So, I bit the electron & bought a digital iGaging IP54. By the looks of it, I suspect other companies make this same caliper.The good: cheap; digital display makes it easy to read (although it FEELS weird, like going from an analog speedometer to a digital one, your brain has to interpret the numbers, it can't just "feel" the measurement); looks cool; comes with a snazzy, well-padded, although all-plastic, case; pretty accurate (see below); new.The bad: not as smooth as the Mitutoyo (I never considered the Mitutoyo "smooth," but it's WAY smoother than the iGaging); the box that houses the electronics is too large (it isn't svelte like the analog, its boxy in a big-boxy way); quality of materials and craftsmanship, including case, is a notch lower.Why it comes with a spare battery I don't know. I hope it doesn't eat batteries like I do Gummy-bears or we're in for a short honeymoon.I measured a stock piece of cylindrical material used to test and calibrate measuring tools. I guess it's 1/8". Both the analog Mitutoyo and the digital iGaging measured identically: .1265. Now, I KNOW 1/8"=.125, but maybe that is operator error, or maybe the temperature of the materials, but at least both machines were the same. I also tried measuring using different parts of the iGaging calipers' jaws and the reading was identical the entire length. I'm not sure how much more you could ask for, other than the buttery smoothness of the Mitutoyo, but for what it costs, I don't think this tool can be beat.

Fit and finish are pretty good, it didn't come full of grinding grit like the uber cheap calipers tend to be. You might need to tighten up the gib screws before use, mine were a little loose. Be careful though, they are easy to strip.The newer ones with the screw-on battery cover seem to have improved battery life over the old ones. I measured the quiescent current to be 14.4 µA (15.7 µA with it on). Assuming a somewhat conservative 120mAh of battery, that'd result in just short of a year of standby battery life.

Fairly happy with this, the build quality is ok for the price. Housing around the screen is all plastic but the movement is pretty nice, way nicer than Harbor Freight stuff. The case if very meh - adequate but not impressive. There was lint inside my screen, such a bummer but I'm not going to return it for that reason. Wish it had a large display, but I get that it is way cheaper to use this standard size.

Lets be clear:This is the NEIKO model 01401A, six inch, stainless steel, digital caliper with extra large LCD display.It comes with a sturdy plastic, utilitarian case, a mini screwdriver, the instructions and ONE battery (installed).Nowhere in the product description, instructions or on the box is there mention of a spare battery. HOWEVER, the product description says the battery is an LR44 where the box and instructions state the battery is a CR2032. I opened the battery compartment to verify and found the battery to be the CR2032..The caliper itself looks, feels and performs like a quality piece of equipment. All the buttons work smoothly as described and the thumb wheel IS a bit loose in operation but not at all annoying.There is a fraction/decimal equivalence chart on the back. Usefulness is doubtful especially as the print is VERY small.The instructions appear simple and straightforward. Keeping them handy with the tool would be a good idea as accessing the battery compartment to make a change IS NOT INTUITIVE nor are the instructions completely clear. Once the screws are removed (carefully, they were tight), the directed movement of the thumb wheel is minimal. THEN, the entire back lifts away enough to free the battery tray which can be removed with your finger nail. On reassembly, I put a small drop of silicon grease on the screw threads to ease any future removal.The typical home user, hobbyist, and do-it-yourselfer will likely find this exceeds your needs or expectations. I feel that I should have gotten one YEARS ago.Addendum: There is an undocumented USB-C located on the top edge of the tool. An email sent to Neiko concerning it's use / purpose has been acknowledged but not yet replied to.

First off, I am no an engineer of any stripe. I am a hobbyist, a "maker", and so my needs and expectations for a tool like this aren't as demanding as someone who makes their living with it. Just so we're all on the same page.That being said, I purchased the 8" metal Neiko calipers in May of '22 and cannot overstate how pleased I have been with them. They are plenty accurate enough for me (we're talking resin and fdm printing tolerances, not precision machining), consistent, and sturdy. The stainless cleans up easily if I get grease or resin on them.i have only used the conversion features a few times, but it's nice to have. They stay in MM 99.9% of the time.Some folks have apparently had battery issues, but I have had to replace the battery in these once, I believe, in three years. So I don't know what to tell you about that.I don't leave a lot of reviews, but I was just wiping these calipers down and thought that they have served me so well they deserved one. If you need something for household use, automotive stuff, maker stuff, crafts, etc., don't hesitate. These may cost a little more than the really cheap ones, but you'll never regret it.