Mitutoyo

Why r/BuyItForLife recommends Mitutoyo

10 mentions from real owners

• #1Jul 10, 2025

  Request | Digital Calipers

  Mitutoyo

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• #2Jul 9, 2025

  Request | Digital Calipers

  We have no idea as we don't know use case. If you need them calibrated, digital is the way to go as they can be calibrated and analog ones need to be chucked. Mitutoyo and Starrett are the big names.

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• #3Jul 9, 2025

  Request | Digital Calipers

  Project Farm recently did a video about calipers. Can't speak for longevity but based on his results and what everyone else is saying it looks like Mitutoyo is the way to go! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z5KtKAee0jw

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• #4Jul 9, 2025

  Request | Digital Calipers

  I have some noname caliper and soldered aaa battery instead the coin one.lasts forever and AFAIK measures are correct. Mitutoyo is great, I worked with them, but the price is just too much. You can reach their precision at half price easily, one of my previous bosses conceived a Mitutoyo alternative with magnetic sensor and linear magnetised rail, we compared both, same result, less than half price.

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• #5Jul 9, 2025

  Request | Digital Calipers

  Mitutoyo is the only answer. As other have said, when buying new, get from a distributor like MSC or McMaster. Personally, if you want some of the bigger ones than the standard 6", you can get used ones from eBay. Look for a calibration sticker from a quality department or metrology lab. I have gotten some great deals on lightly used calipers and micrometers. My main 0-6" calipers were new, as well as my 0-1" quantimics, but all larger ones have been used.

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• #6Jul 9, 2025

  Request | Digital Calipers

  Mitutoyo is great. just make sure you get from authorized distributors

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• #7Jul 9, 2025

  Request | Digital Calipers

  Mitutoyo is probably the leader for digital, but if you ask me, brown and sharpe dial calipers (specifically the model# 599-579-5) are the bees knees and never need batteries. They are smoother than oiled glass.

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• #8Jun 4, 2025

  What are your favorite niche BIFL items that are currently available?

  Mitutoyo Calipers and Micrometers

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• #9Feb 3, 2025

  A list of BIFL not made in the USA

  Hand tools and metrology tools: Knipex Wera Wiha Mitutoyo Brown & Sharpe Interapid I know there's a bunch of brands I'm missing, but these are what I use daily. Knipex pliers wrench, Wera Tool-Check Plus and torque driver, Wiha wing handle torx, Brown & Sharpe tenths indicator with half divisions, Interapid .0005" indicator. The Wera ball detent hex wrenches are fantastic and definitely help avoid dropping fasteners. The downside is that the plastic sleeves will come off eventually. My set lasted about a year with constant contact with cutting oil. The Wiha wing handle torx are honestly consumables with the amount of use they get. Wiha will replace individual drivers for a year if you buy through an authorized distributor like Amazon. The replacement rate for me was about 1 T8 every 4-6 months across 3 sets. That has since been reduced by using a Wera torque driver to tighten the screws. I highly recommend Mitutoyo digital calipers with a round depth rod and the Quantumike is game changing coming from their standard digital micrometer. I'll add Citizen sliding headstock lathes as a for fun bonus item. The L20 and C16 models I've run and seen are fairly bulletproof and I'm working on reviving a 1991 L16 that came out of a company's r&d shop in 2020 and sat for a few years.

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• #10Jan 6, 2025

  In response to the post about BIFL being an excuse to over spend.

  This and the previous post really seems to be about disagreements about why people try to BIFL and what BIFL means. While the goal of BIFL is clear - finding a good quality item that lasts your lifetime - getting there can be pretty complicated. Directly judging quality in categories you are not deeply familiar with can be hard. BIFLers can also have very different needs, as well as different approaches to evaluating what to buy. BIFLers with the same goal can still end up making different trade-offs and choices. I’ll use calipers as a simple illustrative example of BIFL complexity: A decent analogue steel caliper can costs as little as $15, and for most people it will fulfill their need for their and probably their next of kin’s lifetime. Then you can get a Mitutoyo digital caliper. They can cost $220 or more, depending on model, and will also last a lifetime even under pretty extreme use cases. In between, there are other good digital options, such as the iGaging OriginCal that costs about $50. This too will last a lifetime for most use cases. All of these can be great BIFL options, depending on need. Some might go for a Mitutoyo, whereas others will see that as wasteful, and go for something else. The point is: The best BIFL choice is not really about the product, but rather about what the buyer values.

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