Mututoyo digital vernier calipers - 150mm.

Mitutoyo digital vernier calipers are precision made in Japan, and without having to pay silly money for the sort of thing that might be used by NASA they are the most reliable and accurate caliper we have found.

Whereas it's easy to find cheap calipers that claim they are accurate, mostly they are not, unless you are lucky enough to get a good one by chance. We have tested literally dozens of calipers, and until now we have sent them all back because they are simply not consistently accurate or reliable across an entire batch. These Mitutoyo calipers are accurate by design - every time.

Measuring in both metric and imperial, in increments of 0.01mm (0.0005"), the manufacturer's claim of accuracy to +/-0.02mm (0.001") is on the cautious side - we have found them to be consistently accurate to +/-0 when measuring up to about 50mm (2"). A manufacturers' inspection certificate is supplied with every caliper.

The graduation slide is ground and lapped to a tolerance of less than 1 micron, and the AOS induction type encoder, usually only found on far more expensive coolant-proof calipers, ensures that the reading is not affected by contamination such as water, oil or coolant on the scale.

Smooth, stable and comfortable to operate, with a stainless steel thumb-wheel built in for fine adjustment, the ABS scale does not require origin setting when powered on. In other words, no matter whether the jaws are closed or otherwise, the reading will show that measurement immediately the calipers are switched on - there is no need to close the calipers and zero them. The reading can be zeroed in any position by using the "Origin" button, or temporarily zeroed in any position using the "ABS" button, which will then show any plus or minus differential when comparing different work pieces. Pressing the "ABS" button a second time will return the reading to show the proper jaw position.

You can pick up cheap calipers online or from the supermarket centre isle for less than twenty quid, and they all claim they are accurate to +/-0.2mm. By pure chance some of them are, however most of them aren't and the only way you will know is if you also buy an expensive "123 Block" or precision milled test block to check. In our testing though, upwards of half of them don't return to zero when the jaws are closed, and on many of them there is even daylight showing through the closed jaws. They are cheap for a reason!

On the other hand, Mitutoyo calipers are consistently accurate. We know because we've tested them. And in the pen industry, which routinely requires measurements down to 0.05mm (0.002") or less, accuracy and reliability is everything.

Beware though, of cheap knock-off Mitutoyo calipers. Such is their reputation for quality and accuracy that there are a great many forgeries out there which claim to be Mitutoyo, but which in fact are no better then the cheap online and supermarket ones. If a bargain price seems too good to be true, that's probably because it isn't true, however, we can assure you with our entire reputation that these calipers are the genuine article, made by Mitutoyo, not just pretending to be so.

Supplied with a hinged storage case
Requires 1 x 1.5v LR44 battery (supplied)