The Johnson Level 40-6001 Laser Distance Measure is a compact, feature-rich handheld tool that makes it a breeze to accurately measure nearly anything indoors or outdoors by yourself. Estimators, painters, flooring companies, contractors, engineers, and architects are just a few types of folks who will find a tool like this invaluable once they learn how to use it. No more stretching out 100-foot tapes and having someone hold the dumb end of the measure.
Johnson Level 40-6001 Laser Distance Measure Features
The Johnson Level 40-6001 Laser Distance Measure comes in a plastic bubble package that includes the laser distance measure, a soft-sided pouch, safety strap, rubberized silicon protection cover, 9V battery, and the instruction manual. We liked that, given all the features and uses, there is actually a place to put the instruction booklet inside the carry case. This is one tool that is worth reading the instruction book cover to cover so that you can really use it to its maximum potential out in the field (in all seriousness, you should ALWAYS read the manufacturer’s instructions when using any new tool).Â
With the outer dimensions being only 4″ long by 2-3/8″ wide and 1-1/4″ high, this is just about pocket-sized. Should it not fit in your pocket, they have you covered with a nice carry pouch that has a shoulder strap and a hook-and-loop secured belt loop.
As a nice touch, the silicon rubber cover reminds us of a decent-quality mobile phone cover that keeps all the functions of the tool easily accessible but helps to protect it from the weather and bumps along the way. The power comes from a standard 9V battery inserted into the battery compartment on the back, and it should give you about 5000 readings. Also on the backside of the tool is a threaded hole that fits a standard camera tripod mount.
Should the need arise, and to make the readings even more exact when using a tripod, a small level bubble is located on the top of the tool to ensure that a perfectly perpendicular reading is taken. About 1/3rd of the front of the tool is made up of the LCD (liquid crystal display), with the remainder of the front being used for the push-button keyboard. The keyboard utilizes blister-style buttons that keep out the weather. The LCD is backlit, which is a huge feature if you are working in low-light conditions.
The Johnson Level 40-6001 Laser Distance Measure can display measurements in both standard (inches/feet) and metric for the rest of the world. By pushing a button on the front of the tool, you can cycle though all the dimension types and also the level of accuracy that you require can be set and can vary from 1/32″, 1/16″ and 1/8″. The Laser Distance Measure has an effective range of a 20″ minimum to a maximum of 165 feet with an accuracy of +- 1/16 of an inch.
Testing and Use
We sometimes look at these types of electronic measuring tools as complicated or hard to use, but after reading through the owner’s manual, we discovered that the Johnson Level 40-6001 Laser Distance Measure is actually pretty intuitive. The button layout, labels, and functions are very easy to learn and use. Essentially, if you don’t know what a button does, just press it and watch the screen. The LCD pretty much walks you through the various tasks or functions that the button does. With a claimed 1/16″ of accuracy, we tried several scenarios in our shop to verify this.Â
Using a tape measure as a baseline, we shot various distances from as little as 19″ up to 21 feet, and all were dead on. Even in a brightly lit environment, we were able to see the red laser dot from the other side of the room, too. The dimmer the room, the brighter the dot will become, which can help make it easier to spot over long distances.
As far as the more advanced features of the tool, like finding the areas, volumes, length of a wall, or the height of a building, these were also done with a pretty simple setup and relative ease. The area and volume measurements simply do the multiplication for you. What we really liked was the way the tool crunches the numbers for calculating the lengths and heights of buildings based on the Pythagorean Theorem.
We are pretty sure that the ancient mathematicians would be pretty happy to know that their old formula is still used today, and in an even easier-to-use package. All we had to do was take a measurement at the bottom of a wall and then another at the top, both keeping the tool in the same place, and the Laser Distance Measure calculated the height (or length) of the wall.
Conclusion
The Johnson Level 40-6001 Laser Distance Measure is a great tool for any estimator, inspector, or person who has to do field work and project estimating. Our only gripe is that sometimes the text on the screen can be a wee bit hard to see, like when readings are being taken down to the 16th or 32nd of an inch. For our Performance rating, we gave the tool an 8/10 based on its accuracy and many built-in functions.
For our Value rating, we assessed it as an 8/10 because, for its price, the tool and the extras that come with it represent a very fair value compared to what the competition has to offer. Given the practicality and applications of this distance measure tool, we have put it high on our list of must-have tools.
