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TIL spending $60 on a cheap fish tape cost me 4 hours on a dumb job
Honestly, I figured a $15 harbor freight fish tape would be fine for basic residential runs. Nope. It snapped halfway through a 50-foot pull in an attic in Austin last Tuesday. I had to rerun everything and borrow a buddy's Klein tape to finish. The Klein cost me about $60 but it's still going strong after 6 months of daily use. Anyone else had a cheap tool completely wreck their day like that?
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thompson.robin25d ago
You ever spend $40 on a set of sockets and have the ratchet lock up on the third bolt, then had to drive 20 minutes to borrow your neighbor's Snap-on and never hear the end of it? @mark676 that's rough when something you trusted for years finally craps out at the worst time.
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emma7681mo ago
I had a $15 Harbor freight fish tape last me three years in Phoenix attics before it finally gave out. Maybe you just got a bad one or were pulling too hard too fast. I still use mine for short residential stuff and it works fine, you just have to know its limits. Spending $60 on a Klein for a one time attic job sounds like overkill if you ask me.
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mark6761mo ago
Totally feel you on that one. I had a similar experience with a cheap tape from a hardware store, it lasted through two full house renovations before it finally snapped. It's rough when something you've relied on for years just gives out, especially in the middle of a job. Makes you wonder if the new ones are just made cheaper these days.
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