Cheap digital, or quality dial ?

[JAW911]

I have two cheap digitals which I tested and are accurate. They do go through the batteries so I buy 20 LR44 from Amazon for a fiver which are good for a couple of years. I often find using the calipers easier than putting on my glasses to read a steel rule so they are always to hand when I am working. My father left me several vernier / dial calipers but too much fuss for me!

 

[TomGW]

I’m on my third set of cheapo digital. The first died, the second cannot be found and the third is approx a year in use now. However, all three ate/eat batteries at a serious rate. As far as accuracy is concerned I don’t have any issue. The current one needed to have the face of the jaws dressed to remove burrs, but otherwise all is good.
Do the higher end digital models need a constant supply of batteries too, or is it just a feature of the cheap & cheerful models?

 

[recipio]

They all fail after a year or two. I used to buy them for £30 + off Axminster but now I get them from #bay for £10. I'd suggest the large display type with decimal and fractions.

 

[MorrisWoodman12]

I lost my steel Mitatoyu (can't spell it & they're down in the cold workshop on this snowy day) verniers for three or four weeks until I succumbed to buying a new pair. I never got on with a dial gauge on the few occasions I tried to use them so bought digital for about £16. Original pair turned up a week later of course.
My pros and cons are:
Verniers:
Pros - always 'in' calibration, batteries never run out, no buttons to press.
Cons - more difficult to read especially with 'old' eyesight
Digital:
Pros - you can zero at some random point & measure with reference to there, big display, don't have to interpret scales.
Cons - have to check zero otherwise it can be off, buttons to press, batteries of course
Have fun

 

[D_W]

At least for you guys who like the digital stuff, you can get the coin cell batteries direct. Watch and coin cell batteries used to be distributed only through mainstream channels here under typical highly advertised brands, and a triple of LR44s would cost something like $10.

They're so cheap now that the two sizes that we use a lot here (2032 and 2025) tend to go stale before we get through the huge packs of them.

 

[David C]

I love the carbon/plastic dial calipers, and have used them for more than 20 years.

Digital gives too much information and makes my brain hurt !

David

 

[Terrytpot]

With my aging eyes its a no brainer for me. I stem from an engineering background but reading the graduations on a micrometer or vernier scale are way beyond my unassisted vision and borderline with specs on. The nice clear big numbers that a digital display offer are far superior ,imho, as long as you use good practice that takes into account the foibles of digital equipment like ensuring the zero its currently using is correct.

 

[rafezetter]

The iGaging EZ range seem to go down well with woodworkers. I had a play with one of them at Peter Sefton's shop and they are easy to read and certainly more than accurate enough for woodworking.

If you need them for anything beyond woodworking I'd be inclined to get a digital unit like Mitutoyo, Moore & Wright, Starrett, etc. They all do versions with clear digital display's although do buy them from approved vendors, there seems to be a bizarre trend to counterfeit mid to high end calipers these days.

Bought a pair of these for erikthevikings xmas pressie, this last xmas and he's extremely happy with them "and they do fractions!", I've been thinking I should have got a pair for myself.

 

[Sachakins]

Coming up this week at Aldi £7,99