The Mileseey XTAPE1

A few months back I gave a pretty glowing review of the Mileseey S50. Shortly after, they sent over their latest contraption, the $240 XTAPE1. I was supposed to get this write-up done months ago, but life did what life does and kicked the can down the road. Silver lining though, I’ve had a lot more time to live with the thing.



So… what do I think?



If there’s one thing that matters above all else with any measuring device, it’s trust. If you don’t trust it, it doesn’t matter how many features it has, your work is going to suffer. And the XTAPE1? It leans hard into what feels like...

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Forgot to mention this in the article:

Mileseey hasn’t paid me a dime. My opinion isn’t for sale. They did send the XTAPE1 over for free, but that’s where the relationship starts and ends.

If you’ve got one and it’s giving you trouble, or you’ve found flaws, quirks, or things that don’t add up, post them. Good, bad, or otherwise, it’s all fair game.

And I'll do the same... But for the past couple of months, mine has been nothing short of perfect really.

I bought the s50 after your post here and absolutely love the thing and use it all the time. I will have to look into the Xtape1 more but reading the amazon listing I'm not seeing as much value for 240 dollars as I did with the 99 dollar s50. Looks like an interesting tool and maybe I didn't look into enough to see what all it can do.

How about those that won one in the give away ?

Interesting. My concern is that I do the type of work where I'd use a tool like this sporadically. I'm wondering if I'd have to relearn the thing after not touching it for 8-10 months and if that relearning would negate any benefits.

APEowner said:

Interesting. My concern is that I do the type of work where I'd use a tool like this sporadically. I'm wondering if I'd have to relearn the thing after not touching it for 8-10 months and if that relearning would negate any benefits.

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The tape measure and the laser measure function? No. You would not. It's very straight forward.

The other more advanced features? Maybe so...

I don't really use the phone app that much, but I did make a house floor plan with it and worked great... It took some learning to do it though.

NUTTSGT said:

How about those that won one in the give away ?

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Hey @TheFixer , @Slowbuilder - what ya'll think?

Ryan said:

The tape measure and the laser measure function? No. You would not. It's very straight forward.

The other more advanced features? Maybe so...

I don't really use the phone app that much, but I did make a house floor plan with it and worked great... It took some learning to do it though.

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The floor plan feature sounds interesting. I just measured a house for LVP flooring in the whole thing besides bedrooms and entry ways. I used the s50 to get most of the measurements and just wrote them on a crude drawing. A floor plan wouldn't really be any more useful but would look a lot nicer. Would be nice to be able to do a floor plan when starting a job, especially for getting a permit.

Ryan said:

Hey @TheFixer , @Slowbuilder - what ya'll think?

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As you may have noticed, I've been building a 56x36 polebarn with a steel mezzanine over the last year (construction of the building over the last 6 months). I've used the S50 a LOT...here's some thoughts:

- It is awesome for measuring long distances extremely accurately - I used it a lot while constructing the mezzanine, getting the posts in the correct locations, making sure everything was square etc.

- It's great for measuring the distance TO something (e.g. - how far am I from that wall), or how high is the ceiling)

- It's not that good for measuring the distance OF something (for example, if you need to measure the distance from the end of a joist to the other end, you need to have something to aim at - I have ended up using a clamp to fasten a piece of card to and to be honest using a long steel tape would have been easier.

- Same in measuring things like the width of a cabinet, or the position along a 2x4 you need to cut. You definitely need to still make sure you have a simple old-school tape with you

I'd say that it's definitely best for construction, where you are measuring 'inside' of things (you always have a wall to point at), or at planning where something will go.

It sounds like I'm being negative - I'm not; it has been really good and allowed me to do a lot of work on my own/faster when I didn't need someone to hold the dumb end of a tape. I REALLY like the accuracy (the 'fit' of my mezzanine in the building, and the fit of cabinets etc between posts is extremely tight, and I trust the M20 down to the 1/16th inch, even over 30' or 40'.

Usability is generally pretty good, except that I wish that when you selected a 'mode' from the circular menu it was 'sticky' (e.g. I really like the continuous measurement mode, second on the menu, but every time I turn it on it defaults to the first option. There might be a way to change that, but I've not found it). Battery life is great.

Thanks for organizing the giveaway!!

This is a good video showing the XTape1 off.

Well ****. This forum got me again. Just ordered one with both the standard and metric cartridges as I’m right in the middle of building out my shop and gotta run electrical conduit plus air lines, and then build a bunch of counter tops and cabinets (all my wood working tools are metric) so we will see how it does and if it’s a replacement for my Fastcap tapes.

Grant Gunderson said:

Well ****. This forum got me again. Just ordered one with both the standard and metric cartridges as I’m right in the middle of building out my shop and gotta run electrical conduit plus air lines, and then build a bunch of counter tops and cabinets (all my wood working tools are metric) so we will see how it does and if it’s a replacement for my Fastcap tapes.

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I think it's too big and heavy to use as a carry around tape measure for job site work and it won't replace my regular tapes for that... But, it has replaced my regular tapes at my workbench and MFT. It's fantastic for processing sheet goods.

I need to explore their catalog a bit. I love the S50 for taking room measurements and basic laser work. The form factor is just perfect. And I love the XTAPE1 primarily for sheet goods, lumber, etc... basic stuff.

I wonder if they sell a smaller tape based unit without all of the complexity that could replace a traditional tape? The XTAPE1 is a great total solution, but I almost feel like an S50 plus a smaller, more simple tape based system would be even better for me.

Ryan said:

The XTAPE1 is a great total solution, but I almost feel like an S50 plus a smaller, more simple tape based system would be even better for me.

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Agreed - I've found myself carrying both the S50 and a 35' steel tape continuously as I work on the internal fit-out of my workshop. If the S50 had a tape built in that did the basics, that would have been awesome (or some other way of measuring to the 'end' of something.

For example - I need to cut a steel joist or decking to exactly 23' 4" (having just used the S50 to measure that distance to the wall).

I then either need to use the tape or use a clamp to fasten a piece of card (as a target) to the end of the steel.

Ryan said:

I think it's too big and heavy to use as a carry around tape measure for job site work and it won't replace my regular tapes for that... But, it has replaced my regular tapes at my workbench and MFT. It's fantastic for processing sheet goods.

I need to explore their catalog a bit. I love the S50 for taking room measurements and basic laser work. The form factor is just perfect. And I love the XTAPE1 primarily for sheet goods, lumber, etc... basic stuff.

I wonder if they sell a smaller tape based unit without all of the complexity that could replace a traditional tape? The XTAPE1 is a great total solution, but I almost feel like an S50 plus a smaller, more simple tape based system would be even better for me.

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What are the benefits of it over a regular tape on sheet goods? Just having a laser to mark your line? I'm guessing you use it for breaking down sheet goods with track saw and I do this a lot also. Not sure if I'm sold if it's just the laser but if it does something else I don't know about I might have to look more into it.

signcrafter said:

What are the benefits of it over a regular tape on sheet goods? Just having a laser to mark your line? I'm guessing you use it for breaking down sheet goods with track saw and I do this a lot also. Not sure if I'm sold if it's just the laser but if it does something else I don't know about I might have to look more into it.

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Traditionally, I’ve used one of those lay-flat FastCap tapes. It’s been solid. No real complaints.

But I’ve found the XTAPE1 to be more accurate and more repeatable, and a lot of that comes down to simple physics. The head on the thing is heavy. You pull out six feet across a sheet of plywood and it just sits there. No creeping, no shifting.... it's hard to knock it on its side. That alone makes a difference. The weight is really, really nice.

Then there’s the laser. You can choose where your mark actually lands, front edge, rear edge, or dead center of the laser line. Set it to the front or rear edge, use a sharp pencil, and you can get really precise, really consistent marks.

For me, it’s just faster and easier. I genuinely like using it.

I’ve mostly ignored the deeper feature set, not because it’s not useful, but because I prefer the simpler form factor of the S50. The XTAPE1 does a lot more, and I’m sure I’ll dig into that over time. Right now, I just don’t need the extra complexity.

Ok so I ordered one with both the inch and metric models. Didn’t want to wait for the dual version.

First try I was like what the hell. This thing ain’t working worth a damn. Even with my mid age eyesight I can tell that’s not matching the tape. So I turned it off and then back on again and it’s spot on



And it’s now working perfectly. I then actually read the F’ing manual. When you need a manual to read a tape…(there has to be an apprentice joke there) you know it’s overly complicated. Turns out you can change if it reads from the laser cross line or the **** of the unit. You can also change how it reads the display as well. Plus you can change the colors too. Whatever. Lots of gimmicks on it I’ll never use… it’s also really damn bulky, but I can actually read it so it’s going to get used a lot.


I gotta say if you’re under 40 it’s probably not worth the cost. If you’re over 40 and you are resistant to getting readers when you know damn well you need them (like me), it’s pretty damn nice. Way easier for my eyes to read than a standard tape. And yes I know readers are cheaper…

At some point I’ll check out the phone app and see what else it can do, but I don’t need it to calculate volumes or anything else that it does… that’s all easy math. I’d love it, if they just came out with a dead simple one with just the display and less buttons / modes. I’d prefer simple and more compact, but I really like being able to read it. Getting old *****.

I did see they make the DT20…. That might be the perfect combination and it’s only $70