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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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”.

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.

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

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

"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.

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 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.

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.

Everything you said had a great value. I enjoyed watching and always learn something, thanks!!!

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.

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. 👍👍😎👍👍

😍 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.

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.

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 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.

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

Excellent video and incredibly thorough. Thank you.

I've been using my OEM branded calipers for years and they've always been good enough for what I use them for. Great video .

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

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 :)

Great video and explain the feature very well. Thank you for including our Aventor caliper in your video comparison.

fantastic context and analysis, thank you!

Good one! I really enjoy your vids. 🤗 Still amazed your sub-count isn’t higher. Bet it’s gonna explode any day!

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

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.

Very good video. You brought out several things I have never consciously considered. Thank you for sharing!

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 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..

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

I loved your analogies between vehicles, exercise and calipers! Nicely done.

Be careful of the fake expensive ones!!

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.

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

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.

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!

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

Great job in explaining the pros and cons of calipers! I got a lot out of your video. Thanks.

Another very well done video. Thanks again James.

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.

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. 💰

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

Great perspectives on this video! Very well done. Still very happy with my Neiko $25 caliper!

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 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

Thanks for the breakdown. Just picked up some Mitutoyos recently.

Good video. Funny enough, it was one of your 3D printer videos I saw some time back that led me to looking into better calipers. I saw the Aventor on your desk, took a screenshot, and zoomed in to read the name. And here I am, researching now. Thanks for this video

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

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

Thanks! it really helped me a lot to decide which caliper to buy! :) Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina

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.

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.

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.

Great vid, thanks for sharing!! 👍👍👍

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

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.

Love the whole expectation portion, it’s very true and it’s very important to be aware of our own flaws.

You have some of the best videos on You Tube. I really enjoy the information you share.

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.

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..

Another great video. Different price point tools have different purposes. The harbor freight are deff great for leaving at a band saw, near grinder, or any other area where abrasives and grit lurk. I have the coolant proof mitutoyo since I run Cnc with coolant and they are worth every penny for piece of mind

Thanks for the great video, James.

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

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.

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

I have half a dozen of the cheap ones for the "laying around" jobs and in the normal toolboxes. I also have a Mitutoyo for machine work that I handle with much more care. No doubt they are nicer and just feel better in the hand, but the convenience of having casual ones around is quite useful. I have stoned the edges of one of the Pittsburgh to make it feel better and it works fine. I also have a plastic one made in Switzerland (a gift that I thought was a joke but turned out to be surprisingly handy). It stays in my computer bag for quick checks and makes it through airport x-rays without question. One of my newer Pittsburgh ones has auto-on and that's a nice feature. Thanks for the candid review and keep up the good 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.

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 have 3 of these from HF. They are all consistent. I don't use these with my boring bar, but use them for everything else. No regrets at all. I bought all 3 of them for half the cost of the second most expensive caliper you tested. Have on in my shop, have one in my mobile tool bag and one on my sailboat.

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

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!

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...

Great video, liked the analogy of what you're going to use them for. Myself, I have one expensive pair and 5 cheapo's..One thing about pretty much with all the cheapo's is they don't have a auto shut off, so if you don't physically turn them off....dead battery.

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.

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.

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.

Thanks man. Great guide.

Thank you James....it's good to see an honest appraisal of the callipers. For me it will be the cheaper end of the market although I would love the Mitutoyo brand...I just could not warrant the expense given the type of work I do. I have no need for micron level instruments and using a calliper as a marking gauge suits 99% of the work . If I need to replace the cheap ones every couple of years then so be it. The keyboard warriors need to spend more time making stuff than slagging someone off for using a method they don't approve of. Keep up the excellent work my friend.👍

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.

Great video, very informative kudos to you.

Probably should have spent some time on resolution vs accuracy.

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

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

Pretty happy with my Clockwise Tools DCLR-0605. It has some pretty good features found in more expensive tools and so far no issues (may just have been lucky). I like that brand because it has a data port and fun to hack for a makeshift DRO that is fairly cheap. At $25 it is not too bad. I don't believe I would buy the HF one though, it is pretty flimsy feeling. 10 more bucks or so and one would have a better tool. When I can afford to buy a Mitotoyo or Starret, I will. Honestly though my caliper has a 2 year warranty compared to a one year on both of those high end brands.

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.

...it‘s called „confirmation bias“...

One thing I have noticed between my cheap caliper and my Mitutoyo is that the battery in the Mitutoyo lasts easily 3 times as long. Though when I go to pick up a caliper I tend to grab my dial caliper most often. I never have to worry about a battery and it is always zeroed as it is 100% mechanical. I guess you have to worry about the gears wearing, but I haven't noticed any in 3 years.

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.

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