My local Home Depot store has a new Stanley FatMax tape measure deal, presumably for Father’s Day, and we should talk about where it’s made.
It can be difficult to have measured discussion – no pun intended – about country of origin, but it’s something that we shouldn’t ignore.
With the new Home Depot deal, you get a 2-pack of FatMax Classic 25ft tape measures for $24.88
Advertisement
The official model number is FMHT74038D, but the tapes still have their legacy model number, 33-725.
Home Depot says the 2-pack has a “$47.94” value.
Home Depot has the same price online, and they show other variations of the same model in the image gallery.
If you walk over to the main tape measure aisle, you’ll find that they have the individual tape measures priced at $24.97.
Notice that the tapes have the same model number.
Would you agree that, aside from the different labels, this is the same model tape measure?
Advertisement
The $25 tape measure is made in the USA, and the 2-for-$25 tape measures are imported from Thailand.
Shown here is an older promo with a 2-pack of USA-made Stanley FatMax tape measures.
You can tell that this is an older deal because Stanley was advertising the tape measure as having 11 feet of standout. They now advertise it as having 14 feet of “reach,” a new measurement standard that Stanley and Dewalt invented a few years ago.
But, it sports the current Stanley logo, and so it wasn’t too long ago.
It seems like a great deal. One tape measure for $25 vs 2 for $25. But are they really the same if the single tools are made in the USA with global materials and the 2-pack tape measures are imported from an overseas factory?
Home Depot regularly has deals on Milwaukee tape measures. I’d rather have an nth-generation Milwaukee 25′ tape measure 2-pack for $20 than a pair of older model Stanley FatMax tapes for $25.
In addition to being less expensive, the Milwaukee tape measure deal shown above, from the last Holiday promo season a few months ago, has more features such as a magnetic hook, and longer reach specs.
Objectively speaking, there aren’t many tape measure deals right now. I’d say that 2 for $25 is still a good deal, even if these aren’t the same as the ones made in the USA with global materials.
A lot of folks have argued that toolmakers should bring production back to the USA.
Would you rather buy 1 tape measure that’s made in the USA with global materials for $25, or an imported 2-pack of the same design for $25?
That’s a trick question, because it doesn’t matter what you say; what matters most is where people choose to spend their money.
Shown here is a Home Depot holiday deal from a few months ago where they had an imported Stanley PowerLock tape measure for $7.97.
I’ve seen this before, but am no longer able to find the USA-made version on the shelf in the tape measure aisle.
Home Depot knows what their customers buy and don’t buy. What do you think would happen if Home Depot took a stand and told Stanley Black & Decker that they only wanted Stanley tape measures that are made in the USA? I think that Home Depot could make that request and Stanley might be able to fulfill that order. I also think that Lowe’s would offer better pricing and customers would head there instead.
There’s the temptation to decry this as corporate greed, but it’s not. This is suppliers and retailers giving us more of what we’re buying. They prioritize low pricing because we as consumers prioritize low pricing.
Who is really buying a single Stanley 33-725 tape measure for $25 when they can buy two for the same price?
Here’s an older post ties into this dilemma: Mixed Feelings About a Small USA Manufacturer and New Overseas Licensing.
The tough part right now is that this is the only tape measure deal I’ve seen so far for the late spring and early Father’s Day shopping season. Every purchase might signal to Home Depot and Stanley that we like lower prices more than we’re willing to support USA-made products.
Every purchase we make doesn’t need to make a statement, signal a preference, or help establish market trends, but they do.
If it’s functionally identical, I of course want the lower price. But I also don’t want my purchasing decision to vote against the USA-made version. So what do I do? Well, it’s been years since I’ve purchased any Stanley tape measures, and this is partly why; I don’t want to be in the position where I have to choose between USA-made and imported versions of the same tool.
BG100
Since you brought them up, where are the Milwaukee tapes made? I have a box full of Fatmax USA-made tapes (just checked) and now that I think about it, I’d rather buy Made in USA versions. Of course I’ll have to wait for another 2for1 deal on my Fatmax, but in the meantime I might pick up some other USA made tapes. Are there any good USA made tapes for a good price?
Stuart
I’m not sure. According to Acme Tools, Vietnam.
There are great tape measures, USA-made tape measures, and good prices, but I don’t know of any great USA-made tape measures at good prices. The FatMax used to check all 3 boxes.
Al
In my measuring tape drawer, the oldest is a 1960s Evans 106W white tape. I don’t wear them out as a DIYer and occasional use at work.
So, a few years ago I bought a 4-pack of US-made Stanley Powerlock 25′ so that I’d have a bunch to spread out when people were helping on a project. They were slightly more expensive than the non-US tapes. But, I had the choice to support a US factory for a few dollars more. Luckily, it was not a financial burden. I still would have bought 2 or 3 of the US made if I needed to keep the cost down.
Same goes for a hammer. I don’t wear them out. I don’t swing them 8-12 hours a day. So I have a mix of Estwing and Vaughan and Grayvik. Ugly, heavy, but it gets the job done and was made domestically.
(Paying 4-5x for a wrench is a tougher pill to swallow.)
Personally, I’d buy the US-made tape. I hope my kids wouldn’t buy random tools for Father’s Day without asking or thinking. But if they did, and I exchanged it, they wouldn’t be offended.
It’s just a preference, not a soapbox or religion.
Steven Phillips
So, my US made Fat-Max 25′ got lost in our 2024 haunted house build and I was disappointed because I knew the holiday promo two packs were not made in the USA. After much deliberation, I decided I really wanted the USA one back, so I replaced it with the single USA one, which I believe was about $1.50 less than it is now. I paid the premium.
TB
I made a point to buy a US made Dewalt DCD996 purchase about 10 years ago.
The chuck broke within a week, and I returned it for another one that has served me quite well.
I’ve bought numerous other drills of various brands (I have a bit of a tool problem) that have been treated similarly to the first DCD 996 built in other countries that have never had issues.
Is this due to the country they’re made? Perhaps not. But most of my power tools aren’t made in the US, have been used rigorously (journeyman carpenter), and haven’t broken prematurely.
I haven’t noticed any build-quality reasons to target US made tools.
In fact, until January 2025 I’ve seen very little reason to be concerned with US made or not. Sometimes I don’t have a choice given my professional needs and limited options.
Since then, however, if given an alternative, I avoid US made items, even if cost is a bit more.
Apologies if this is too political, but I don’t think it’s avoidable given the subject.
Jason
I may be overthinking it, but in the side by side you can see way more rubber “bloom” on the overmold. Usually see that a lot more in cheaper rubbers that use more additives (the white looking flaky stuff) starts to raise to the surface.
Also sometimes tend to get more offgassing, like if you’ve ever bought cheap weights etc and they stink.
Curious if the rubbers feel any different or if it’s just a coincidence.
Steve
It’s probably not a coincidence. I see this difference in rubber and plastic a lot of times. It is cheaper and those type of rubber overmolding often start breaking down much faster. (Getting sticky, covered in white material, etc. Or, they sometimes smell like petroleum, whereas their USA-made versions do not.)
Stuart
There will always be slight differences
A few years ago I noticed that the made-in-China Milwaukee multi-functional electrical tool I bought from a Home Depot holiday promo deals display had a better feel than the made-in-Taiwan version I bought from the electrical tool aisle.
I bought an imported version of the same USA-made Bridge City Tool machine layout jig, and it’s not a perfect clone.
If you remove the labels on these tape measures, you might still be able to tell them apart.
Andrew W
I saw the holiday promo wasn’t US made this past year and skipped it. I had every intention of buying it before I realized it was made overseas.
AKJ
If I was in the market for a tape measure, I would definitely go for the USA one. Unfortunately, it looks like another item where the USA ones are being phased out. Pretty soon, my tool collection will be ready for the “Museum of Made in USA in the Past”.
Jared
If I’m being honest, I probably would pick the 2-pack over the single. I don’t think either would be my first choice for a tape measure, but if I was buying and only had these two to pick from?
That makes me part of the problem I suppose. I would gladly choose a USA 2-pack for a bit for a bit of a premium, but that’s not the option Home Depot is giving.
Scott K
I have the US made 16’ version of this tape. I like the form factor and readability. Just a personal pet peeve- the case size is hidden behind the belt clip and it’s 2 3/4” rather than a nice round number.
I wonder if the change in COO is influenced by the potential buyer – I’d think a good amount of these purchases are gifts and impulse buys by people who may not be as discerning or informed.
S
I honestly don’t look at the country of origin much. I care about the component quality.
For me. That $25 one-pack must offer something tangible about it’s quality that the $25 two-pack doesn’t. An extra blade coating for longer life, reinforced belt clip, etc.
So assuming all things are made basically the same, I’m taking the $25 two-pack. I’ve never ran into a situation where I have too many tape measures. Yet.
Jo B
It doesn’t matter whether these things are made in the USA or some third-world country, the reality is that Stanley Fat Max (SFM) are sub-par tape measures – they have always been so. As an electrician, marking out houses daily, I would go through six every year, for the last 20 years. They need to find a better metal for the tape itself. I changed to the Lufkin with the black tape, and I’m down to three a year – I hope that trend continues. Regardless of brand, they can ALL stand to make a better quality tape measure, especially Milwaukee.
Scott
I had noticed at my local ACE hardware store that the Powelock tape measures lost the made in USA markings from the front of the package, as well as from the tape measure itself, even though it still had the made in usa stuff on the back. I wondered if this meant SBD was in the process of shipping production overseas. Several months later, I happened to look at those tapes again, now the back said made in Thailand.
The original(?) Fatmax tapes have moved overseas, but now the u.s. ones have “blade armor” on the front.
Stuart
They’ve had 2 production lines there too.
It used to be that you would see the imported PowerLock 25′ in the floor displays at promo pricing for the Black Friday deals season, and the USA-made version in the main aisle. You could buy either at the promo price.
Last holiday season, and maybe others, I only saw the import version.
At one point, I assumed this was done for profit, where lower cost production overseas allowed for lower promo pricing here. Later, I realized that holiday season promotions required inventory of hundreds of thousands of units. It seems plausible that maybe SBD lacks the production capacity in the USA to produce year-round and promotional inventory at their USA factory.
SBD has tape measures at every Home Depot store (Dewalt, Stanley), every Lowe’s store (Craftsman), every Ace Hardware, independent stores, industrial suppliers, online, and probably more that I can’t think of.
So why don’t they make good on their “we’re bringing production back to the USA” promises and expand production here?
Many people, myself included, like getting 2 decent tapes for $20. If competitors can offer lower costs and high value, Dewalt and Stanley want to do that too.