Reviewing the Bosch BLAZE 165' Laser Tape

This review was created as part of a paid affiliate program with the Home Depot.

My first order of business with this and every product review is a disclaimer: I am not an expert… anything really. I am a farmer and a fine furniture maker. When it comes to working on cars, construction, framing, electrical and renovation, I’m a DIYer and weekend warrior. My goal in reviewing tools and products is to provide honest feedback based on my own use and experience with these tools to other regular folks like me- wanting to get their hands dirty, try new things, and get the best value for their hard earned dollars.

I am a huge fan of this tool’s little brother, the GLM 42 135 ft Laser Measure, and I reviewed it in July (click here to read it).  This model, the GLM 50, costs an extra $20, retailing for $119. It offers an additional 30’ of accurate measurements (165’ digital tape) and Bluetooth capability so you can use the tool in conjunction with your cell phone on the Bosch Measure app, giving you greater storage capacity and versatility using this tool. Those are the only two differences between this tool and the GLM 42, so this review will be pretty short, as I’ve sung the GLM 42’s praises quite loudly here before.

Probably the coolest feature that comes with the Bluetooth capabilities of this tool is the ability to overlay your digital measurements onto photos.  For a visual person like myself, that is a really awesome concept. That said though, I’m not super tech savvy and the app is a tad cumbersome to use. I really like the GLM 42, and if it were up to me I’d just buy a GLM 42 and save my extra $20.

If you’re keen on gadgets and cool features though, and are patient enough to learn and work with the app, the cool factor on this tool is extremely high. The GLM app allows you to create floor plans from within the app. You can do real-time measurements, tack those to photos of the space, and you get an increased storage capacity by integrating with the app. The tool will calculate length, area, volume, and can measure/calculate angles and perform addition and subtraction calculations.