Bosch DLR130K Laser Distance Measurer Review

Imagine being able to accurately measure distances anywhere from two inches up to 130 ft away with a tool that is not much bigger than a cell phone. With the new Bosch DLR130K Laser Distance Measurer you get pin-point accuracy down to 1/16″ of an inch with just the click of a button. Real estate appraisers, contractors and interior decorators will appreciate the easy to use functions and how much this laser distance measurer will speed up calculating areas and estimating materials for their projects.

Bosch DLR130K Laser Distance Measurer Review

Imagine being able to accurately measure distances anywhere from two inches up to 130 ft away with a tool that is not much bigger than a cell phone. With the new Bosch DLR130K Laser Distance Measurer you get pin-point accuracy down to 1/16″ of an inch with just the click of a button. Real estate appraisers, contractors and interior decorators will appreciate the easy to use functions and how much this laser distance measurer will speed up calculating areas and estimating materials for their projects.


Bosch DLR130K Laser Distance Features

 

Bosch DLR130K Laser DistanceBosch’s DLR130K Laser Distance Measurer comes in a retail ready cardboard box that has a clear plastic window to give you a peek at the tool inside. Inside the package comes the laser distance measure tool, a handy nylon cloth carry pouch, four AAA batteries and the instruction booklet. We suggest that you give the instruction booklet a read over so that you can quickly use the Bosch DLR130K Laser Distance Measurer to its fullest potential. With just a button click or two, you can easily measure distances, and calculate areas and volumes in both standard and metric units. The overall size of the unit is around 4 inches long, which makes it so that it really can fit into your pocket. Should you not want to to keep it in your pocket, you can use the included nylon pouch to store it. This pouch also doubles as a belt holster for the tool. The bummer about the belt loop is that it won’t fit on most 2″ wide tool belts. The main body of the tool is made of Bosch blue ABS plastic with black overmolded rubber on the sides and back. The button layout is easy to navigate and use with just one hand. The display is not backlit but has enough contrast to make it pretty easy to see in both sunlight and in dim lighting situations. Perhaps in future iterations a backlit display will be offered which would make this tool even easier to use in low light situations. With the included batteries you can expect to get around 30,000 measurements before you will need to swap them out for some fresh ones. On the bottom of the unit is a 1/4″ threaded hole so if the need ever arises for tripod mounting, you are all set.

Bosch DLR130K Laser Distance Measurer

Testing and Use

So some of you might be wondering what exactly do you need a distance measuring tool for? Think of it like a sort of electronic tape measure. For example, you are standing on the outside of a two-story house and you need to know how high the eaves are off of the ground. Well in a pre-laser distance measuring world, you would have had to grab a ladder, climb up the ladder, then extend your tape down to the ground to get a good height measurement. With that method, you have a lot of things going on and some time involved too. Now fast-forward to the days of the Bosch DLR130K Laser Distance Measurer. You just take the tool, set it on the ground with the laser end facing the eve and hit the button. The bright laser dot shows you where you are measuring from and bam, you have a instant measurement that is accurate to 1/16″ . There are countless other situations where this tool is a huge time saver, like for estimating the areas of rooms for flooring or wall coverings and for figuring out the volume or areas of spaces and buildings.

Now will the Bosch DLR130K Laser Distance Measurer replace a standard tape measure? Probably not for most folks since there are certain situations where old fashioned is still the way to go. Like for figuring out precise cuts on trim, laying out framing and stairs. The better way to view this tool, and why you need one, is to consider those long distance measurements where this tool can be a huge time saver.

Bosch DLR130K Laser Distance Measurer application
Easy to read screen

Out in the field we have used this tool mostly for job site estimating. We used it to calculate the floor areas of homes to figure out how much carpet and hardwood would be needed. We also used it to come up with some sketches of existing homes so that we could show customers what types of renovation work we would be proposing. In the past, we would take a few hours to measure a house out so that we could accurately draw it. We estimated that we saved about 2 hours of field work per house and we were able to do it with just one person when we used the Bosch DLR130K Laser Distance Measurer since we did not need someone to hold the dumb end of the tape measure any more.

On the practical side, we liked that the Bosch DLR130K Laser Distance Measurer does fractional measurements in inches. For example 50 – 5/16 inches is sometimes easier to understand then feet & inches combined like 4′ 2-5/16″. So that you don’t have to either subtract or add in the size of the unit, you can set it to measure from either the front or the back of the unit. The default setting is to measure from the unit’s back when you turn it on each time.

Conclusion

Using precision laser technology, the Bosch DLR130K Digital Distance Measurer makes for easy, fast, and pin point accurate measurements every time. The highly portable, pocket size makes this tool an easy choice for many construction-related professions. For our Value rating we gave this tool a 7/10 since it offers features and performance for a fair price. For our Performance rating we gave this tool a 9/10 because it is among the smallest and easiest to use multipurpose measuring tools around.

About Bosch

Power tools from Bosch are among the most popular tools worldwide. Bosch stands for quality, excellent accessories and outstanding service. With Bosch, you not only have more options, you also work much more precisely, flexibly, safely and far more productively. Our tools impress by their quality, first class handling and state-of-the-art technology. Whatever you want to build, you can do it with Bosch.

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