BOSCHGLM165-27CGL 165 Ft Blaze Green-Beam Laser Distance Measure with 3.7V Lithium-Ion 1.0 Ah Battery, Includes 1.0 Ah 3.7V Lithium-Ion Battery, Belt Clip, & Pouch

Whoa!!!!!! Serious tool. In 2025 i believe this is the minimum to spend for a laser measure that isnt a toy.Homeowner creating as built plans. I previously used a dewalt dw055pl which is a tiny $40 thing with nice color screen but no bluetooth, no tripod mount and no inclinometer. It was very difficult to point level and keep steady so measurements were not square and results were poor.Tried out the leica but screen is awful to read in crawlspaces and unit i wanted was >$150 more.Finally ordered this bosch because of the positive reviews and it claimed to have all the features i wanted. From description I was unsure what i was getting and am very pleasantly surprised. This GLM165-27CGL is a kit that comes with a soft case and a lithium battery, a charge cable, a tripod screw mount AND can still accept AA batteries. The non-‘L’ version is still available for the same price, but to be clear the ‘L’ version is the same but also includes the $30 lithium battery upgrade.The lithium battery plugs into the AA battery bay and replaces the back used with AA batteries. This is awesome because i can swap in AA batteries if the lithium battery loses its charge or gets old. I will be using the lithium battery until it has a problem, but that means i must store the AA battery back and not lose it.The device has nice rubber buttons that yield with satisfying dull click. The laser is bright green and very easy to see.There is a dedicated units button on the face so you can change quickly.When a reading is taken the device gives a quick buzz to affirm.Device is able to interpolate distance or height using the inclinometer. This allows double indirect height measurement meaning you take a reading at the base of a vertical wall, then a reading at the top of the wall and device will tell you the vertical distance between the points.More useful is that device has a mode to use inclination to give you horizontal distance even if you don't keep the tool flat. For example if you set it in Pythagoras distance mode you can point it at the base of a wall and it will give you the horizontal distance to the wall. This is convenient because it will still give you reasonably accurate readings even if you don't keep the device perfectly flat.What this device will not do is a true point-to-point measurement, meaning you cannot point it at two random spots on a house and have it compute the linear distance between them. This cannot be done in the device because the device cannot sense the horizontal angle.I thought i would use the bluetooth connection but have not because i use a pad of paper and input my measurements into freecad on my pc. The measureon app wants me to use their process and im uncertain how to export raw data from my iphone to my pc, im wary of anything that needs a subscription.In conclusion: this is a rockin good tool. Everything about it is simple and obvious, i never needed to read any instructions. Excellent efficient user interface. The device has the feel of a pro camera. I own tools from a wide variety of vendors and am not a strong fan of any. I do own a bosch die grinder, their big belt sander and their fabulous jigsaw, i love those tools - and i like this measurement device at least as much. $135 shipped with tax and it has already saved me hours. Very very nice. Thank you bosch for the well designed device. The tool feels like an experienced person designed the tool of their dreams.I wish youd sort out the subscription software, it feels like youre giving the MBA/Game Theoreticians too much control. I just need a reliable way to get raw numbers and angles onto my phone, then onto my pc, ideally something that is simple enough to work forever without software support from you. The one invariant of connected devices is that their supporting software becomes unsupported before the device's end of life.

The tool is really easy to use, has haptic feedback which turns out to be a game changer, and the built-in level is handy when floors feel sloped and you want to take that measurement as well. The included Lithium ion battery is not reliable and you will need to use AA batteries or carry them as backups. The Li-ion battery has a warning that you can only charge it with a 5v 1amp charge cord, which turns out to be hard to find. I did this and it still errored out with a stop sign when I was measuring houses. I didn't take the plastic battery cover with me, but was able to pop in some AA batteries and just hold them in. Bosch really needs to fix this as a USB-C battery properly implemented is a nice feature. Until then, the tool is amazing, the Li-ion battery is trash.

32 year appraiser/broker I would throw a Leica 7500i (sold that poc actually) in the dirt and take this 100/100 times over that overpriced glitchy paperweight. Works perfect and never crashes thanks Bosch for an incredible unit. Doesn't work well against brown color but neither does red so it's a wash. Much better in bright light though.

I was always convinced that these were not that accurate. I do not work in trades but the maintenance team at work use these regularly and gave positive reviews.Since most of the time I use a tape, ruler, dial caliper, and micrometers, when it came to measuring inside of tanks, containers, and a few of landscaping projects I decided to order this one because its Bluetooth connectivity is compatible with the measure on app from Bosch and Magicplan and I thought it was cool.I have not done much over 20 feet but its matched many tape measurements I have verified... That is if you can hold it level and steady which takes a little practice. I could live with out it but this is very handy and convenient. I've used it more than I thought I ever would. I still need a tape for some of the odd little places that the laser cannot measure or there is nothing to aim the unit at that would not sqew the the reading.I did try to measure between buildings, in direct sunlight I could not see the green dot at a long distance and neither could the unit. At dusk however, it did fine seeing it, I just did not have time to check it with the 300 foot tape measure for accuracy. I know with my range finders battery condition, ambient light, dust, rain, and pollen can through you off quite a bit, especially at 700 yards. So this may be effected near its maximum range.Its easy to use mostly, ot will give you a tutorial. I could not figure out how to get the stake out function to work well when trying to install shelf standards on the wall but thats OK. Its probably me and a tape turned out faster for the short distance.The only thing I wish it would do is measure ceiling tile from the floor. I'm thinking that might be a hard program to make.The android app is currently useless unless you want to take a picture and add arrows and measurements... Then email it to yourself. The rest of the program demands exact matching measurements that may or may not exist. This might not be the best for a remodel on a 150+ year old house as nothing is square.I just started using magic plan last night and it appears to like this unit though not as handy as far as remotely taking measurements. But I was able to sketch out my garage which out issue. The Bosch app on the other hand would draw it but not due any calculations because the measurements did not match the way it thought it should.The cats really like it as well. I was surprised that this model came with the rechargeable battery. I have not used it yet, but batteries get expensive.

I bought this to measure large empty office buildings for the creation of floor plans. The green laser makes it easy to see where the measurement is being taken. I compared with my tape measure and it seems to be spot on. I tried the app, but it wasn't helpful for my workflow. There are many other features that I have tested, but haven't used in the real world. They seem to be really useful.