Features:

  • Accuracy: features long-range measuring with extreme accuracy and measures distances up to 165-feet to within 1/16-inch. Also includes addition/subtraction functionality and a digital level
  • Easy to use: simple, one-button operation – Press button once to begin measuring. The GLM165-40 is compact enough to fit in any pocket. Features a backlit color display that allows measurements to be easily read, even in dark areas
  • Live measuring: provides default real-time measurement that adjusts as you move closer and farther from target, just like a tape measure
  • Auto square: the Bosch GLM165-40 laser measure includes auto square function to automatically calculate square footage with the push of a button
  • Durable: This Laser distance measure is IP54 rated to withstand tough jobsite conditions such as rain or dust
  • Class IIA laser product, <1mw power output
More than I needed.

Bought it to do room measurements for placing ceiling fans and lights. I was working in a room with furniture, so I had to measure along the ceiling to get a straight line. Checked with measuring tape, and it was spot on. Tool has a lot of good features, but only a few buttons. I found myself accidentally clearing a measurement or something else while I got use to it.

Do not loan this to anyone!

I use this for work. A great time saver versus my tape measure and measuring wheel. It works exactly as advertised. It works great indoors. I wouldn't recommend if being used for a lot of outdoor measuring, but it does work outside. Do not loan out or leave out on your desk. It will disappear :)

A must have tool!

This little thing is amazing! It took me a while to decide which of the Bosch laser measures I wanted to get and I think this one has the best value for the money. I looked at other cheaper options, but many of them had reviews about inaccuracy, which is now what you want from a laser measure. I have an older Bosch laser measure and it trust the brand. This one is very small and light. It fits easily in the hand, even in a pocket. It comes with a wrist strap, a carrying case (with a Velcro belt strap) and target cards. The screen is very bright and has many different functions, and can be set to show various units. The cool function is the live measurement - you can turn it on and point it to different areas and it will keep showing the different distances as you move. It's a great feature because you can actually use it to measure out distances you need. This is a must have for every house.

A wonderful little tool. Accurate to 1/16”. Cool.

I’ve had laser measuring devices since the early 2000’s. Huge, expensive and originally German made now down to nearly nothing with 1/16” accuracy. A lovely little tool.

Fast, easy accurate

Title says it all. Very convenient. Have used it to get measures for rooms and even used it outside, using a tree as a target to measure from one side of my house to another, although outside use is not recommended. Great product.

Extremely Handy Tool

This is an extremely handy tool and has become a daily-use item on my belt. It is exceedingly accurate, though care must be taken to ensure that you are lasing what you think you're lasing– in the first week I had this I'd make the mistake of looking at the tool instead of looking at the targeting dot when I clicked the button to lock in a measurement. Once I grew accustomed to it I had many fewer false measurements. The stated range is, shall we say, very optimistic. On a bright day I tried measuring the distance from the ground at a 17º angle to my chimney to see if a 32' ladder would make it and I couldn't get a measurement, a distance that turned out to be 29 feet. The same reading was not problematic on an overcast day. In bright outdoor conditions 30' is probably the realistic maximum my unit will read (and also about as far as I can make out the dot, so it becomes a moot point when working alone). Indoors it is much better. I have never tried measuring anything near 165' with it, but I will say that realistically this is totally unfeasible. No normal human could see the targeting dot at that range, nor hold the unit still enough to aim at anything specific at that range. Perhaps you could set it on a table and see it on the side of a barn 165' away at night, but the practical range of the tool under normal conditions is not remotely near that. All that said, for everyday residential work I almost never run into range limitations. The unit is rugged and easy to read, and the volume and square footage calculations are intuitive and super, super handy. Battery life is great, so far I use it a dozen times a day every day and have gone two months without changing the battery. Update: batteries went six months being used for about half an hour a day every day, and being stored in an unheated jobsite in the winter in Vermont. Impressive! After about a year the markings on the buttons on mine are wearing off, but otherwise the unit performs as it did when it was new. Though exceedingly handy, this tool is no substitute for a tape. It excels in measurements tapes are problematic for, especially measuring inside distances between two objects, and of course any measurement beyond the "stand out" limit of a tape. However, it's poor at measuring linear distance on flat surfaces where you have nothing to bounce the laser off of. The place where this comes up on a daily basis is measuring boards for cutting. The back edge of the unit, the zero point in measurement, is hard plastic with butyl rubber over-molding right against it and rounded corners. This makes it hard to precisely mark the back edge with a pencil, and you certainly wouldn't want to cut against it. I think Bosch could improve this design quite a lot for carpentry applications by fabricating the back zero point out of metal and getting the over-molding out of the way for easy, accurate marking and squaring-up to objects. Bosch includes a velcro belt loop that is too small to fit on tool belts, and the velcro on mine deteriorated to the point that it would just fall off when bumped after about a month of daily wear. My wife removed the velcro for me and sewed in a bit of webbing from the velcro loop edge to the bottom edge of the case, allowing me to get it on a tool belt and ditch the worn-out velcro. This has worked fine for a year now. I'm giving this 5 stars because it's an extremely handy tool and is well made, though the aforementioned shortcomings definitely do detract when using it in a construction role. Nonetheless, I'm pretty well hooked, and if I broke it tomorrow I would certainly replace it immediately. If you are using it for indoor applications where precise marking is not a concern and you're not wearing a tool belt, this is absolutely ideal. For estimating material needs quickly it's absolutely indispensable.

laser measure

a bit complicated to use, but very handy. distance of 50m also helps a lot. Will use instead of tape measure from now on.

Amazingly Accurate and convenient

Bosch GLM165-40 Shines for large room or distances where metal tape measure would be a pain. Eliminates need for another person to hold one end of the tape. Also, vertical measurements are a snap as in easy as opposed to a 'snap' when the metal tape bends in half just before you read it. Outside the red dot gets washed out by ambient light and any jiggling in your hand is amplified the further away you aim to point you cannot see it much beyond 15' let alone 165', its rated accuracy limit. But waiting until dark and taping to tripod would extend useful distance to limit you can squint. Its easy to use after one time quick read of instructions. Back light is good. Only negative is that I keep playing with it (Honey, did you know that the slant distance from the corner of my desk to the front right wheel of your chair is 6.935ft?). Durability? I treat all precision measurement tools like eggs. Comes with a case and aiming cards. Made in Malaysia...where in Germany is that? (joke).

Must have for estimator

This is a must have tool for measuring and estimating....Great where you can't get a tape measure on the floor.... This tool is worth every penny and saves so much time....

Good Product

Works the way I was wanting. Seems very accurate & easy to use. Could not remember the decimal conversions so got this one that measures in fractions instead of decimals like many others. Bosch is the best product hands down. You won't be disappointed purchasing this one.

Full Reviews