Rant: my tape measure ghosted me mid-job in a crawlspace in July

I was under a house in Portland laying out a subfloor repair, pencil behind my ear, and my 25-footer just snapped back into the case for the last time. The little metal hook broke off, so every measurement was guesswork for the next hour. I ended up cutting a piece 3/8 inch short and had to shim it with scrap. Anyone else keep a spare tape in the truck after something dumb like this, or do you just calibrate by eye and hope?

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elliots491h ago

Learned that lesson the hard way about ten years back, same kind of deal but up on a roof. Now I keep a cheap 16-footer in the side pouch of my tool bag at all times, not in the truck where I have to walk back for it. The spare doesn't need to be fancy, just accurate enough to double-check a cut when the main one gives out. Also started writing the measurement on the wood with a sharpie before I even pull the saw out, saves me from guessing when my brain gets fried in the heat.