iGaging Premium IP54 0-4" EZ CAL Fractional Digital Caliper

My first "nice" caliper purchase for myself. Was previously using HarborFreight $20 calipers. This is a worthwhile upgrade for my household cad drawing work (non-professional) but my readings are right on the money, 3D prints are taking fewer iterations. The large screen is a really nice to have. But I haven't used it enough to know how the battery life is doing. Glad I purchased. Only thing I would change, which I can't figure out how annoying this is for me yet, is that unit does not auto power on.

This is physically very large for a 4 inch digital caliper compared to others I have seen and the display is HUGE. The display is about 15mm high and 52mm long with 14mm tall digits. Definitely the largest digital caliper display I am aware of which should be good for those with vision problems. The beam is also large, being the same width as on the 6 inch and 12 inch; iGaging digital calipers, about 0.625 inch wide, rather than the usual 1/2 inch width; typically found on many 4 inch digital calipers. The physical size may be a consideration if you are buying a 4 inch digital caliper for pocket carry. This is the largest and heaviest digital caliper I know of in this capacity. Machining and operating smoothness are excellent compared to the other 4 inch through 6 inch Chinese made digital calipers I have owned or examined. It overall feels more precision and well made. My comparison samples have been from Grizzly or Harbor Freight though so the comparison may not be fair. Overall this is the best quality Chinese caliper I have seen and the automatic power off after about 5 minutes of non-use should be a major battery life extender. I have now had this for 7 years without any problems.

The Quint fractional 4" digital gauge is well made, in an attractive and practical plastic case, and easy to read with large numerals. The significant flaw from my viewpoint is that the fractional display is not settable to select the degree of accuracy desired. Fractions are displayed in 1/128-inch increments. Should your work require that level of precise read-out, then consider this a five star product. If, however, your accuracy needs vary from task to task, such as 1/8" for some projects, 1/32" for another, etc., then the frequent displays such as 17/128 can become annoying. Note that if a measurement is exactly 3/8 inch, then that is what will be displayed. If the part being measured is 1/128 more, then 49/128 appears, leaving it to the user to do the necessary math to determine what more common fraction is nearest to the displayed readout. Since I know of no other fractional 4" fractional digital gauge that does not have this characteristic, if you are considering such a gauge, then I know of none better.

I checked it with my trusty Mitutoyo 505-636-50 and it matches measurements very well but weighs half as much and is a little shorter. For non critical quick measurements, and having the thumb wheel, this is a handy, easy to read pocket size caliper. It is very repeatable and rarely needs to be re-zeroed. I wanted a digital display, and found this a perfect pocket caliper for walking the shop, making spot checks, and cheap enough that if you drop it you don't cry.

I have several Mitutoyo calipers. I bought this. The jaws are parallel, it always returns to zero, and I have nothing to complain about. Very happy for the money. This is good enough for measuring electronic parts, when developing CAD models for PCBs. Or for not too critical machining. I'll get out the Mitutoyo if I'm setting up a machine, or if I really must be able to trust the accuracy of that last 0.0005-0.001 bit of resolution. Other than that, this is the one we leave out btw. my desk and my wife's. I don't feel bad if it collects some dust. The Mitutoyo stays in a drawer. Note that I did buy a cheap Mitutoyo and had to sent that one back because it had less resolution, and some other deficiency. But this one's a keeper. Hmm, maybe I should buy a spare now...

For $29 for the 4" model a surprisingly good tool for woodworking. It replaced a cheaper plastic calipers that I accidentally broke. It's just as well because the cheap calipers were not very ergonomically friendly and I found them frustrating to use. The iGaging calipers just work better and feel more substantial. I like the locking screw and the thumbwheel to make slight adjustments. The back side has a helpful fraction-to-decimal conversion table for 1/64" to 1" in 1/64" increments.

I like iGaging products. These is my second iGaging calipers. I needed a shorter pair for reloading, and these fit the bill! Don't waste more cash on Mitutoyo's, they won't be any better in accuracy or smother.

I bought a pair of the 6" version of these and they were extremely accurate and smooth as glass. the set screw feels solid and works well too. However, this 4" version never keeps a 0 measurement when closed, it always reads .01-.03 and must be reset every time it turns on. it has a rough slide feel and the set screw feels as though it is cross threaded. to be honest the calipers are kinda useless to me as i have little trust in their accuracy.