DEGY Digital Vernier Caliper

I'm a journeyman machinist, retired, doing stuff part time. I ordered many different digital calipers, and like the large displays these have, even better than my mitutoyos. Be warned: I've returned several calipers that only have large fonts for the first or second digit, then the rest are small...this is confusing and negates the large font advantage. I also like the front-button controls, since they're visible next to the display, and I won't accidentally hit them, like some units with the buttons on the underside of the calipers. I also like the buttons that have one function: on/off, zero, inch/mm/fraction. This unit had a multi-function button for on/off and zero. Not a big deal but still not perfect for me. This does display fractions but not a big plus for me, and I wish they would round the fractions to 64ths of an inch, not 128ths. What value is knowing a part is 77/128" anyway? The battery compartment ease of access is a plus. Some units require a screwdriver to access the compartment, which is a pain, especially if you're in the middle of a job and don't have a tiny screwdriver handy. The mechanics are smooth, accurate, and have inside/outside measurements, depth, and step, and all seem to be accurate, although I'll calibrate the measurement I'm doing with precision calibration "donuts", or gauge blocks, if the measurement needs to be super accurate. The battery lasts a long time if you remember to shut it off after use, and a good tip is to lock the carriage when turning if off for the day, and storing it in a drawer, where it might be triggered on, if it's jarred with opening/shutting the drawer, or other action. If you're new to using calipers, practice your measurements on a calibrated material....dowel, gauge block, etc. Your hand strength on the carriage should become uniform, and should only take a light touch to get accurate results. Erratic, or too much pressure during measurements, especially round objects, will create errors. I could go on but hopefully there's some useful information here. I love these calipers. BTW, spend the money and get good quality, stainless units, not plastic, unless you're really strapped for cash. These will last years. "Buy the best you can afford and cry only once; buy inferior calipers and cry every time you try to use them." Nothing worse than cutting a dozen parts, then find they're scrap because the crappy calipers weren't accurate. These are very good calipers.

The DCLR-0805 is a great caliper at a very reasonable price. Fit and finish are beautiful and the caliper is silky smooth to operate. The accuracy and repeatability are spot on and the large display is a pleasure to view. The auto-on and, even more importantly, the auto-off features make these calipers even more impressive. My biggest surprise came when I had a small issue with my first caliper. I emailed Clockwise Tools and, in very short order, heard back from Vick. Vick immediately offered to send a replacement unit and even held off shipping as I was going away before the unit would arrive. On my anticipated return date, Vick reached out to verify that it was okay to ship the replacement caliper; there was no need for me to chase him down or deal with someone else. Well made, feature rich calipers at reasonable prices plus friendly, attentive, customer service have left me thoroughly impressed with Vick and Clockwise Tools. I am extremely particular about my tools and I can comfortably say that there's no need to look any further for a great digital caliper. Note: This is an unsolicited review on a product that I purchased at full retail price.

Handy set of calipers that suit my needs. Much better than my old fashioned pair.

Just received this item and it is great. Typical caliper of this type and quality are more than double the price. It comes in a protective plastic case. Its 12" reach is something every DIY hobbyist needs in their tool's drawer. I've purchased several tools this year and this must rank among the top 2 best buys.

Most electronic calipers I've used have an absolute encoder which means you can turn the display off and then back on at any position along the travel and the value shown does not change. This caliper model's encoder is incremental. That means if you power it off or it shuts off to save the battery (an excellent feature, by the way), it does not remember it's position. If I were a person who used a caliper tool all day/every day then I'd probably make sure to get one with absolute positioning. As a casual user (engineer who sometimes uses it for measuring parts and making drawings of them), this is certainly good enough for my needs. If you lose a measurement value due to power down, you can just zero the caliper and take it again. For me, that's a little annoying but not a big deal since I don't take measurements constantly all day. Overall, though, I really do like it and recommend it for a majority of users as long as that possibility of losing position between measurements isn't an issue for you. Build quality on this is very good and the construction has a nice heft to it. It's a very useful tool. Also, I like the ability to switch a measurement from millimeters to decimal inches to fractional inches. Decimal inches to mm is normal, but the option for fractions on the display is a cool feature and makes this model very unique. This model also has some software/USB features that could make it highly useful for some people, but won't be something I am likely to use. Final verdict: This is a well made product sold at a good price. I like it and would recommend it.