REVIEW – Have traditional tape measures run their course, and do they need improvement? Although I wasn’t entirely convinced, the folks at REEKON Tools have convinced me otherwise. I’ve been a semi-professional woodworker for quite a few years (making some side cash on woodworking makes me a semi-professional, right?) Anyway, every project I have worked on, from small to large, has required one consistent tool to be in my tool bag. The tried-and-true, retractable tape measure. REEKON has taken this mainstay of construction and combined it with state-of-the-art digital technology, and created the REEKON T1 Tomahawk Digital Tape Measure. They have added a boatload of functions and features to the traditional tape measure, and it’s been a blast using it.
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $259.99
Where to buy: REEKON Website or Amazon
What is it?
The REEKON T1 Tomahawk Digital Tape Measure is a standard tape measure that has additional digital features for accuracy and makes reading tedious measurements must easier. Let’s face it, the imperial system of weights and measures is kind of silly. Thirty-seconds of an inch? The T1 Tomahawk can take the guesswork out of all those tiny little marks on a typical tape measure, whether it’s imperial or metric. The T1 Tomahawk has a metal, retractible tape like all other tape measures have, and as the tape is extended, a very clear display updates to within 1/32nd of an inch (or fractional millimeters) to show you the measurement.
The T1 Tomahawk also has an e-paper display on the left side that you can display a running tally of measurements saved to it. The best property of an e-paper display is that it never goes blank after it has been updated. So your tally of measurements is always there to use until you decide to erase it. This is a very handy feature.
What’s included?
- REEKON T1 Tomahawk Digital Tape Measure
- Rechargeable Battery
- Holster
- Wall hanger
- Instructions
- REEKON sticker
Tech specs
- Power (Life): USB6-C Rechargeable (Onboard) >15 Hours Automatic Sleep Mode
- Bluetooth 5.0 Integration with ROCK Job Site App
- Keyboard Emulation Mode
- Replaceable Tape Measure Blades
- 1000 Measurement Memory
- Tape Length: 25 feet (7.6 meters)
- Accurate beyond 1/32” (0.5 mm)
- Units: Inches to the 1/32 and 1/16 of an inch, decimal inches to the 1/100 of an inch, feet, and inches to the 1/32 and 1/16 of an inch, decimal feet to the 1/1000 of a foot, centimeter to the 1/100 of a centimeter, millimeter to the 1/10 of a millimeter, and meters to the 1/1000 of a meter.
- Weight: 1.69lbs (.767 kg)
- Size: 2.2in x 3.8in x 6.7in (57mm x 98mm x 171mm)
- Warranty: 1 Year Limited
- Operating Temperature: 5ºF to 104ºF (-15ºC to 40ºC)
Design and features
The REEKON T1 Tomahawk Digital Tape Measure is designed for easy single-handed operation with an easy-to-read OLED display on the very top, and the two most-used buttons also on top. Capturing measurements, and retracting the tape.
The left side of the T1 has the remaining buttons for power and activating the laser, arrow keys for navigating the menus and tallied measurements, deleting tallied measurements, and changing units (various imperial and metric units).
The left side of the T1 also has the e-paper display where saved measurements will be listed and grouped. Also on this side is a metal clip used to hook the T1 to a belt, or a pants pocket.
The front of the REEKON T1 Tomahawk Digital Tape Measure is where the metal, retractible tape comes and goes. The T1 that I received has a 25-foot (7.6 meters) tape, that is replaceable. REEKON sells replacement tapes on its website. Replacing it is very simple, and that process is described below.
The tape is pulled out and retracts like any other tape measure, and can be used as such, without any of the digital enhancements that set it apart from the typical tape measure. But what fun is that?
When pulled out, the tape on the T1 stays pulled out (locked) until you press a button on the top of the T1 to reel it back in. The farthest I was able to pull the tape out and it held itself out without it buckling was about 7 1/2 feet (2.3 meters). This auto-locking can be disengaged, with one of the buttons on top, and the tape would retract immediately when I released it.
According to REEKON, the T1 Tomahawk is self-calibrating. The underside of the tape has markings that tell the T1 what measurement the tape is currently at.
Just above where the tape comes out is a bright green laser that shines across the tape onto the surface of what you are measuring. The laser extends to about 6 inches on either side of the tape so you can mark the measurement onto the surface (e.g. marking where to cut a piece of lumber). Although this is handy, the laser is about a mm wide and can be somewhat blinding, reflecting off the tape itself. I found myself tilting the T1 a little to one side or the other to avoid the laser reflecting directly into my eyes.
The T1 comes with a removable, 7.4V, 1.4Ah battery that lasts up to 15 hours of continuous use, according to REEKON. The battery fits in the handle, and can be charged via a USB-C table while it is seated inside the T1.
Measuring the length of something, such as a table or piece of wood, is as simple as latching the hook at the end of the tape to the edge of it and pulling the tape to the opposite edge, and reading the measure on the tape or more accurately on the display.
The hook at the end of the tape has a very strong magnet embedded in it to allow the tape to hold fast to a metal surface as you pull the tape out. This is very convenient as you don’t always have an edge to latch on to.
Occasionally, the display would not register that the tape had been pulled out. This seemed to happen if I yanked the tape out fast. When that happened, I just pulled it out a little bit more, slower this time, and the display would show an accurate measurement.
Once a measurement is taken, it can be saved to the e-paper display in a running tally. This would replace having to write down the multitude of measurements you may need for any project or task. If you’re like me, I measure something, go to write it down, and forget the measurement. This eliminates that part of getting old. The tally screen can hold up to 1000 measurements and the measurements can be grouped into as many groups as you need.
The T1 Tomahawk comes with a holster of sorts to hold the T1 securely and allow it to be taken out, used, and replaced very easily. This is a nice touch if you are using it all day.
The T1 Tomahawk is built to withstand a 12-foot (3.7 meter) drop onto concrete. It is constructed with dense rubber bumpers all over it to absorb any impact. I did not test this by dropping it from a 12-foot height, but I did drop it onto my garage floor a couple of times and it lived to measure another day.
I do wonder about it falling directly onto one of the two screens on something other than a flat surface. If either screen was to hit a rock or a screw on the ground, would they survive? It appears the screens are underneath a protective piece of plastic.
Displays
The T1 Tomahawk has two displays that show different information in two distinct ways. The top display is a standard OLED display similar to what a smartphone might have, although much smaller, and only with white letters and numbers on a black background. The measurements are displayed in large, easy-to-read numbers, whether it is fractional or decimal. The selected units (there are 9 units options) are also indicated in the upper left of this screen. This indicator is kind of small and a little more difficult to read, but it’s OK.
Although the T1 Tomahawk is accurate to with 1/32 of an inch (0.5 of a mm), there is another symbol that indicates if any given measurement is less than, exactly, or more than 1/32 of an inch. For example, 5 5/64” of an inch would display as 5 3/32 with a < (less than) symbol indicating the measurement is slightly less than 5 3/32” Similarly, 5 7/64” would also display 5 3/32”, but with a > (greater than) symbol. All exact measurements will be displayed with an X. Silly imperial system. None of the metric or decimal unit displays display any kind of “close to” indicator.
The T1 also has an additional screen for capturing measurements when you need to keep them. I used this feature to hold measurements as I was building a roll-around cart for a new sander I had just purchased. It was more handy than a notebook and pencil.
One little issue I found with the captured measurements was when I captured a measurement in one unit (e.g. inches) and then changed the units on the OLED display to something different (e.g. millimeters), all of the captured measurements would change to the newly selected units. So in other words, I wasn’t able to capture one measurement in inches and then capture another one in millimeters.
Additional Features (via menu)
The T1 Tomahawk’s menu was additional features.
The first menu option adds a new grouping to the tally screen. I did think that naming the group would be handy, which you can do in the app, but the new name does not transfer back to the T1’s display.
The next menu option is to set the measuring point on the device. Either the measurement is taken from the front (MF) where the tape comes out of the T1, or from the back (MB) where the T1 will add 6 1/2” (165 mm) to the displayed measurement.
MB mode would be used for measuring the inside dimensions of an enclosed shape, like the inside of a door frame, or wall-to-wall of a room, you have to bend the tape to get the marks as close as possible to get an accurate reading or add the width of the tape measure body to the measurement on the tape as you butt the tape measure up to the opposite wall. Try adding 2 3/4” to a room measurement of 11 feet, 6, and 7/32 inches to get the actual room width. Good luck. The T1 Tomahawk can do this calculation for you. By selecting an option on the menu (see below), the T1 will add its body length (which is 6 1/2” or 165 mm) to the measurement on the tape, and give you an accurate room width without any crazy math.
Another menu option would be center finding. This feature was very helpful in finding the exact center of the tool cart so I could add a support piece in the middle. As I stretched out the tape, the display would show exactly half the actual measurement. No crazy fractional math was needed, as the T1 did it for me.
A feature I didn’t know I needed until I was working on the cart was Toggle Relative. This menu setting allowed me to measure a distance, and then select Toggle Relative, which zeroes out the display. So now as you extend the tape more, the display shows the measurement relative to the point you turned on the feature.
The Rock Jobsite App
REEKON provides a free app, called The Rock, that connects to the T1 (and other REEKON digital tools they offer) via Bluetooth. As measurements are captured on the tally screen, the measurement is automatically sent to the app’s main screen and grouped just as they are on the T1. I had two phones running the Rock app (one was an iPhone, and the other an Android phone). As I captured measurements, both phones would update with the measurements simultaneously. I could see this being very handy with a crew of people, one measuring and another cutting that is not nearby.
The app is chocked full of features. Too many for this review. The features I used during my testing were these:
Live Mode
In live mode, your mobile device (phone or tablet) can be used as a larger or remote display. I put my phone inside my shop by the miter saw, and as I measured for pieces of the shop cart, the display showed the length, and my helper cut the piece to that length and brought it to me.
The app also has a slew of utilities (33 to be exact) that use the T1’s measurement capture feature as a keyboard. I used one utility in particular to check the square on my tool cart. Measure and capture the length and width of the cart, and the utility calculates what the diagonal should be (Pythagorean theorem) and I verified the diagonal on the cart to make sure I assembled it square.
Reekon T1 Tomahawk vs. ACEGMET DTX-10
I have previously reviewed another digital tape measure on The Gadgeteer, the ACEGMET DX-10. These two digital tape measures are close in design and functionality, but a clear winner emerges when you compare the comprehensive feature set of the two. It is my opinion that the Reekon T1 is a better implementation of the features of a digital tape measure, and it was also announced first via crowdfunding to some excitement in the DIY community.
| Category | Reekon T1 Tomahawk | ACEGMET DX-10 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $259.99 | $209.99 |
| Case/Holster | Holster | Case |
| Size | Smaller | Larger |
| Weight | 1.69 lbs (0.76 kg) | 1.1 lbs (0.5 kg) |
| Screen | Mono (dual screens) | Color (single screen) |
| Screen Layout | Simple | Complex |
| Tally Screen | e-paper | None |
| Buttons | More intuitive | Not intuitive |
| Menus | Simple | Complex |
| Laser | Thinner, more precise | Thicker, less precise |
| Charging | Battery Internal | Remove Battery |
| Battery Power | 15 hours | 5 hours |
| Tape Length | 25 feet (7.6 meters) | 16 feet (4.8 meters) |
| Tape Autolock/Unlock | Yes | No |
| Laser Distance Finder | No | Yes |
| Level | No | Yes |
| Feel in hand | Better | OK |
| Durablility | More (more padding) | Less (more plastic) |
Assembly and Setup
After unpacking the T1 Tomahawk, I had to insert the battery and charge it via a USB-C cable and charging brick that I have to supply, as they are not included. Charging took about an hour. The one time I ran the battery down and had to recharge from empty to full took about 2 hours.
I installed the free Rock Jobsite app that REEKON provides and the app informed me the T1 needed a firmware update. That took about 5 minutes and was problem-free. The T1 then prompted me that the tape needed to be calibrated. The calibration process was multi-step and the T1 walked me through the process pulling the tape out to several lengths and then it was done. No issues whatsoever.
Tape Swap
REEKON has really thought ahead and designed the T1 so that the tape can be replaced by the user if and when it becomes damaged or broken. The T1 that I received for review came with a tape of English (imperial) measurement markings. I purchased a new tape from REEKON that has imperial and metric, as I sometimes use metric in my woodworking. Swapping out the tape was very quick and easy. The entire process took about 10 minutes. REEKON has a great video detailing the steps required.
Final thoughts
The REEKON T1 Tomahawk Digital Tape Measure is a welcomed enhancement to a traditional tool. From hyper-accurate measurements to capturing those measurements to integration with a very helpful mobile app, REEKON has ushered the construction and woodworking communities into the digital age. The T1 Tomahawk will have a permanent place in my tool bag from now on.
What I like about the REEKON T1 Tomahawk Digital Tape Measure
- Great usefulness over traditional tape measure
- Capturing measurements solves my bad memory
- E-paper display shows measurements when the device is turned off
- Intuitive design
- App integration is extensive
- Tape swapping by the user
- Many helpful videos on YouTube
What needs to be improved?
- Price
- Occasionally, the display didn’t recognize tape being pulled out
- Weight
- Allow measurements to be captured in different units at the same time
- Charging cable and power supply are not included
Price: $259.99
Where to buy: REEKON Website or Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by REEKON. REEKON did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
Check out these other tool reviews!
- xTool P2S 55W Desktop CO2 Laser Cutter review – A laser cutting and engraving dream machine
- Innova 5610 OBD2 Bidirectional Scan Tool review – Peek under the hood
Gerber Gear 22-47162N Fast Draw Folding Assisted Opening Pocket Knife, Fine Edge, Black
$42.92 (as of February 25, 2025 10:46 GMT -05:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
