Side by Side Comparison of: Franklin Sensors Inc. vs CH Hanson vs Qooltek vs Caseling vs HESPLUS

This tool has pulled my a$$ out of the fire on a few occasions. Initially I bought it to find studs of course but I have found it very handy for other projects besides mounting things to walls. I also found it handy for finding rafters on a shingled roof for mounting solar panel racks. Also it is great for when you have to pull wire through walls and you have to identify any obstacles in your path, especially in older homes! It is very sensitive and accurate. I don't use it a lot, but when I do, it is usually a sticky situation and it saves time and money on the job. Its nice having ex ray vision readily available in my tool bag, so its a great tool to have in your arsenal. 5 stars!

I've been using this stud finder for a while now around the house and from the video you can probably tell that I've tried my fair share of stud finders before purchasing this one. Unlike other stud finders that work primarily by beeping at you, this one has a bright visual display of the stud's location and anyone can use it! No false negatives/positives.

Things you should know: A stud should be 3 lights (1.5"), if you get more lights than this, it might NOT BE A STUD! Be careful! If you aren't sure, check with a thin nail or look at surroundings to see if it could be something else (electrical outlets, odd plumbing, etc)

5/5 stars because this IS the boss of all other stud finders. I think I've used about 6 different stud finders just hoping that one would be different and simple to use. Well this one IS different because it IS simple to use. Your wife, mom, even grandmother could use it without any difficulty. Franklin sensors really knew what they were doing and I know this review seems like other reviews, but hopefully the video demonstration helps you guys see how this works vs other sensors. If this review helps you, let me know!

Like many reviewers here I have bought my share of wall sensors, hoping each time I would finally get one that actually does the job reliably, only to get disappointed whether it was a $10 gadget or a $150 'pro' model. No, I did not go all the way to the $800 Bosch D-Tect 150 detector, there are limits to everything.So I was really intrigued when I saw so many great reviews of this apparently very simple stud finder. And yes, after putting two batteries in it, I was able to scan a whole wall in 2 minutes. No calibration, no random results, it just works. Awesome. First time I am using a wall sensor that is actually useful for doing the job! 5 stars, clearly.One tiny issue though, which might or might not bother you: instructions state that you should use Alkaline batteries, and not rechargeable. I have stopped using non-rechargeable batteries a long time ago, so this is a bit disappointing. That said, a freshly charged set of NiMH AA batteries seem to be working mostly fine, so this is not a complete show-stopper, but I sure wish this tool had been designed to be compatible with rechargeable batteries from the start.

I grew up in a family of contractors. For us, a stud finder was a hammer and a finish nail we poked in the wall until we hit one. The other electronic stud finders gave too many false readings so they just gathered dust and we got really good at patching drywall.

My brother-in-law gave me a Franklin Sensors stud finder for Christmas this year. When I saw how many sensors it had I wondered why no one had thought of this before. Somewhat skeptical, I tried it out. It worked like a charm. It lights up right where the studs are.

Next time I visited my parents, I took my new stud finder over to show off my new toy. My dad and I tested it throughout the house. It worked on wood and metal studs. (We built the house so we knew what walls had wood or metal studs).

The hammer and finish nail approach works but if you aren't into fixing drywall just to hang a picture, I highly recommend the Franklin Sensors Stud Finder. Any other stud finder will just gather dust in my shop.

UPDATE 5/15/12 - I recently remodeled my kitchen and putting in new cabinets gave me the chance to put this stud finder to work. It was really helpful with finding studs and because of the many sensors, I could find and mark both edges of the stud.

There were a few times where I thought I was getting false readings. Once where I was putting in the sink cabinet but then I realized the stud finder detects density. I was getting a reading where I knew there wasn't a stud but I have copper vent pipes and it was right where I expected the vent pipe would be.

In another spot, it would light up like I had a stud but if I went above or below in the same area on the wall, it would not light up. Then I remembered that I patched a hole in the Sheetrock there and have a small piece of 2x4 in the wall to screw the patch to.

This Stud Finder exceeded my expectations. You still have to use your brain so you don't end up putting a screw in a vent pipe but I am happy with the ProSensor 710.

I think it would be nice to have a way to keep it on. The button works but sometimes it's awkward to hold it down. If there was a button but also a way to lock it down, I think that would be great.

I actually do love this little thing. It hung on my living room wall for almost 2 weeks before my husband saw it. It is much easier to use than some of the others. I don't have to look at flashing lights, it takes up less room so that enables me to find studs in the closet or other small areas. No it does not find electrical units and such but once I find the studs, I mark it, then get out the one that is "supposed" to find the wires and mark the areas.

For the price, I don't think this can be beat.It is purely a strong magnet with a level. You run the stud finder across the wall until you feel it stick, knock to know the width, and draw lines to guide you with your install.I was able to install a TV wall mount and wall shelving around an apartment with ease.If you're average with tools and handy work like myself (I'm a software engineer by trade) this is a great addition any small tool kit.

This thing is amazing for the price! I will never buy another digital stud finder for $20+ that doesn't work well when something this basic does an even better job. I have probably bought 3-4 of the "nicer" ones over the years and they always broke or worked poorly. Once you know the trick to hang this from fishing line or similar and just let it gently swing from side to side it finds the metal screws or nails in the studs and sticks to the wall like magic. Best Stud Finder you will find for the dollar!!

Tiny device with simple concept but works GREAT! Why should you spend more on an electronic device? This does exactly what you need for far less. Buying it on Amazon saved tons of money since I couldn't find the same available in a store anywhere. They all want to sell you something far more expensive or charge an arm and a leg for buying this from their online storefront. Was directed to this by thesweethome.com review. Love it. Love that it also has a level built in.

This is effective, though it must be stressed that you have to be very sensitive when using this in certain situations.I was very disappointed the first 10 minutes I tried in vain to use this by sweeping it by hand across various walls. I couldn't detect anything that I was comfortable assuming was a stud nail, let alone drilling a hole in my wall based on that assumption.HOWEVER: I found it far easier to hang the device with a simple piece of thread and then just swinging it along the wall. Do not touch the finder with your hands at all.With a string added, it jumped right to the stud nails when I came anywhere close to them. The difference between the two methods is like night and day.It's a simple way to increase the sensitivity and efficiency of this product.To anyone disappointed, give it a shot!

I was surprised that a stud finder could have such high reviews especially since it seems to just be a strong magnet. But now that I've used it, it really is pretty awesome. First of all, it's tiny! I didn't think to check the size before ordering it so I was astonished to open the box and see such a little instrument. It fits nicely in the palm of my hand and doesn't take up much space in our already overflowing tool box. It's also strong as heck. It will yank itself to the nearest screw or nail. I was so fascinated by this that I spent the next several minutes running around my apartment looking for all the studs. Unlike the sensor kind of stud finders, there can't be any false readings with this guy.

This review was edited. After leaving my first negative review, the comapny swiftly contacted me and sent me a replacement along with their new tripod stand. This tool has now meet everything I was looking for. What a great company to deal with!!I was extremely excited for this product to arrive. I believed this was truly going to save me time. Needless to say, my hopes were dashed. The measuring tape completely broke off on the first use. The 3 separate laser settings are nice but it is hard to get the laser in the cross position. Needless to say, I went back to the old fashion way of leveling to finish my project. Another key feature I feel is missing is the ability to simply attach the laser to the wall.

Eminently useful. A little difficult to get the cross shaped laser perfectly leveled but once you do it's very useful. Wish the batteries lasted longer though.

I have only had this tool about 3 days and I have used it for leveling shelves in my shop to putting up cup hooks for keys inside a cabinet. Not only is this a great versatile tool but the mfg. has installed batteries as well as included another set. Of all things there is also a handy small screwdriver with the tool for opening the battery compartment. A full set of levels and a tape measure in metric as well as inch measurements. The more I use this tool, the more good things I find about it. I haven't looked but I would be surprised if this tool is made out of the USA. It is excellent and well worth the money. I am happy to recommend it.

*Update-I gave this 2 stars for my previous review but have since changed it to 5 stars. Not necessarily because of the quality of the product but because of the company. They were very pleasant to work with and stayed in touch throughout the time it took me to figure this out. They even sent a new level which was level this time around. So thank you Qooltek for you assistance.1st Review-This was ok. I love the features but when I got this in, the laser wasn't level so it's been a pain to get it level with longer wall runs. I'm constantly having to adjust the light and using sight to check if the line is actually level. Wish I could've had one come in already set to go. Would've made my shelf installation go a lot smoother.

Okay so I just bought this laser level and i am most impressed!! First of all, it came with a little thank you card from the start up company Qooltek that is working with amazon looking for support. They have mine! when i opened the package, a small screwdriver fell out for the battery compartment, thinking that it was nice of them to include this in the box, come to find out that the laser level already had batteries in it and they gave me an extra set!!!! I couldn't believe it when i opened the battery box to find that there was already batteries in the product and they gave me extras!?!?!! No one does that. Kudos Qooltek. Laser level worked like a charm too! No problems

Level works well and the laser is nicely bright. It was a very nice tool to have when hanging curtains during our latest home remodeling. As a bonus, it comes not only with a set of batteries installed, but also a spare set. My only complaint is that the measuring tape is not flush with the bottom of the level, being up about 1/4 inch from it. Excellent for the price.

I hate dragging a small "typical" electric stud finder across the wall, they're narrow and keeping the button pressed down is a pain while moving it. This stud finder is easier to slide across the wall and faster. But pin-pointing the center of the stud is not as accurate. So if I'm planning to mount something heavy to a stud then I end up using the other kind of finder in order to get a true center. So it's a mixed bag... depending on what you need out of a stud finder. I'm perfectly ok with having a few around.

I've used various stud finders and this one seems to be accurate; you do tend to get some false positives at time but I use a magnetic little finder to confirm readings on the ProSensor. Overall, I would recommend.

This is a very good product for sensing studs and it works great - much faster and accurate than my Home Depot bought Zircon unit. However there is one issue that prevented 5 stars and that is the granularity in the sensors. As you can see the sensors are 1/2 inch or so apart and you will have about the same distance uncertainty in the edge detection of the studs. You can still find the center of a stud well enough for nailing and the edges also with some extrapolation. Using both this unit for fast and accurate detection and the Zircon for edges, I can be fairly certain in location. If I had my choice of only one unit, this is it. Going over a wall, the stud locations are obvious. This is something I can not say about the ZIRCON. Less obvious are the small areas of sensor activity that could be wires or pipes or who knows what. The unit does not detect AC but you will not find an AC cable between a stud and the wallboard ( at least you shouldn't, but who knows what some people will do?).

Doesn't do as good a job as I had hoped but it DOES do a hugely better job than the old el cheapo nail finder because it shows you were the studs are and then it's easy to find the nails (with a nail finder) by just moving up and down along that line. As advertised, it does not work on plaster-and-lathe walls, which is annoying but expected.

In particular, the nail-finder tells you nothing about the overall positioning of the stud and if the drywall installation happened to have a nail on one side of the stud, your positioning for driving a nail through the drywall could easily be too far on one side of the stud, whereas with this baby you can see pretty much where the edges of the stud are and you certainly can be more confident of knowing where the center is. I found some unexpected double studs and even a triple in one corner that I would have never known about with just a nail finder.

So ... a bit pricey but a good tool. I give it only 4 stars because of the price and the slightly inexact location of stud edges.

You DO, by the way, have to move it back and forth horizontally a few times to be sure you know where the stud edges are but that's not a big deal.

Expensive, but if you need to find multiple studs quickly, it's a very handy tool. But the tool isn't suitable in finding the exact center of the stud because the LED lamps are 1/2 inch apart. It will light up the nearest LED to the stud's edges, but it still is approximate. If you don't need to find the exact center, it works fine.

The reason I gave four stars instead of five is because it completely stopped working in 2 months. (No, it's not the battery. I put new ones). Now I will have to figure out how to return it since it's past Amazon's 30 day return policy on the item....

Update: I contacted Amazon and the maker for warranty service, and both responded promptly and courteously. The maker offered an option of either full refund or exchange with paid return shipping, along with an apology. For that they get my respect, and I am inclined to believe that I was just unlucky to get a 'lemon.' As mentioned, its performance was satisfactory.

I am renting an old house with thick plaster walls and I was having trouble finding the studs on just a couple of my walls with my electric stud finder.It did not work well just moving it with my hand. Another customer pointed out to tie a string to it and dangle it by the wall. That method worked just fine.4 stars because this doesn't come with a string and I had to use my shoelace.

This stud finder works exactly as it is supposed to. It is so strong the it can suck magnets often be referred greater from almost 2" away. It works perfectly through extra thick plaster and paint over the dry wall. However because of its small size that means it has a very small footprint also. You almost have to swipe it across the wall as if you were frosting a cake or mowing a lawn. When you do find a nail it is unmistakable that you found it. I have used to message to find nails. The 1st is to hang it from a string in just pass the string along the wall to let the stud finder drag on the surface of the wall and it will stick hard when it finds a nail. The 2nd is to cup it loosely in your hand and pass your hand back-and-forth across the wall until it suddenly grabs hold.The packaging is anything but frustration free and is the old school piece of double-layered plastic molding sandwich between sheets of chipboard/cardboard. Notice in my photo the it is not much taller than a standard size toothpick. See that the entire package is much smaller than the A1 size box, Amazon's smallest box.Over all, does it work? Yes, exactly as advertised and as a perfect backup if you don't want to require batteries. Would I get it for a job site? Absolutely not. Its small size and therefore small footprint makes it too cumbersome to try to use for more then figuring out where to mount something at home. For the home user that May only occasionly have to figure out where the studs are, it is perfect because it can also double as a refrigerator magnet due to its smaller size. Additional note regarding the refrigerator usage: When this thing gets within about 2" of the refrigerator it will jump out of your hand in clean hard. It requires a decent amount of skoal to get it back-off. We have a calendar held to the refrigerator with 3 clip magnets. This stud finder was powerful enough to not only grab the 1st magnet from an inch away, but also pull the other 2 from the refrigerator and hold the calendar in the air while carrying it to another room and passing it through the door.Usage tip: Once you find the 1st stud, have a tape measure extended several feet and let the magnets of the stud finder hold the extended end of the tape as you hold the base end. Now mark every 16 or 24" to figure out approximately where to check for other studs' exact locations. This will make finding studs a little easier.Hint (for those without access to ask a good carpenter / inspector): An easy way to figure out your stud placement is to find the stud nearest the corner of a Room. (Avoid corners with windows or doors nearby, or corners of the house, as this may cause design layout to vary.) Measure either 16 or 24" (most common), and that will be your base measurement to expect in the rest of your house. Also note that exterior walls may have different / closer stud placement and distance than interior walls.Remember: Building code changes with time or materials used or location of wall. Keep that in mind when checking different parts of your home.{Professionals, please don't read this next part.} The quality of work or extra decisions of carpenters impacts placement. (I've seen "the studs are an average of 24 inches", and "as long as they're somewhere closer than 16 inches we're fine", plus what looks like "We're putting the door / window / outlet right here and that's final! Throw in some extra boards if it doesn't line up with the studs properly. It will be extra solid then, so it's no big deal if it doesn't make sense!") Also, metal doesn't always mean stud. ("Oops! Didn't measure that cut right / cut isn't smooth / didn't place the drywall correctly. But we can just patch it with sheet metal.")+ Measure twice, cut once. This way you don't make mistakes.- Cut once and measure twice. That way you'll know how badly off you were and then finally get a rough idea of how you need to guess better next time.

I was dubious that this small stud finder would work well. But man, it finds everything. Nails, drywall screws, plumbing, electrical lines. I would give it five stars but it finds so much metal in the walls that you can be fooled into thinking islet has located a stud when it hasn't. Magnets are super strong and the finder will hold itself in place on stud nails - if only they were all straight! Great tool for the price: Very compact.

It works but takes time to figure out and can be a slow process. I needed to install 13 closets in a brand new house, purchased this stud finder for the job. If I solely used this stud finder, it would have taken me a year to complete my project. For a small project this stud finder is great, but for speed, it unfortunately just takes too long to keep searching for the screws.

It's great as a stud finder. Does the job without the bells and whistles. I just can't for the life of me figure out how anyone thought the level in the middle of it would help anyone. The sides of this thing aren't flat... But I purchased it as a stud finder, and it serves that purpose nicely. It does take a bit of extra searching, since you're looking for the nails in the studs, rather than just the giant stud. But that also means that you know exactly where not to drill, if you don't want to hit a nail.

I'm glad I got this stud finder for more reasons than one.First, it'll find a nail in a stud and hang on like a steel trap. It also has a cool feature where if you rotate the level tube, it will show you plumb as well.My construction buddy has one of those high dollar ones with a microchip in it, but for the average homeowner who wants to know whether to use a screw or a molly to hang a picture, or do a little household project, this baby is the one to get.It came on time, with easy to understand instructions, and the price was right.The only downside I can find, and I hate to seem like I'm being picky, but you're supposed to slide it around the wall in an "S" motion.If you're not careful, you'll leave what looks like a pencil mark on white sheetrock.It didn't want to locate nails that were under 1x12 cedar planks that I had already installed.

Make sure that the laser is calibrated before one uses it. Just follow the instructions in the booklet. Read Carefully! The line change occurs when one moves the lens UP or DOWN. Rotate the lens barrel to set the lines. After that procedure, it works perfect and a good value for the price. JMC

Update:After giving it some use for a couple weeks its actualy really handy. Makes me want to get a professional and more accurate version of this, but for the price this one is very good. Changing to 4 stars.This is obviously not meant for professional use since its all made of plastic (even the datum bottom surface) bit for house work this is plenty accurate and handy

Update 10/10/2017:4 months later with very light use, the item broke but the the manufacturer was amazing and responded with courtesy and options. They were really helpful and honest. If you want a cheap level laser with good customer service, I would suggest purchasing from this company.I'm using this device to write in straight lines and not at all for utility purposes. This does not have magnets which allow you to hang it on walls for hanging decorations etc. So far, it has worked exactly as I had hoped it would. The 3 laser modes are extremely nice and easy to use. I just hoped the switch would be different in a way which isn't so easy to accidentally switch in your tool bags or storage space etc.

I like this but wish it were a tad more intuitive. Maybe it will become so overtime. That said, for the price it is a pretty versatile product and I appreciate that it comes loaded with batteries and an extra set, as these are not batteries one is likely to have on hand.Cheers!

Nice little laser level. horizontal, vertical, and a cross lines. 3 settings.

Nice features. Level is handy as a torpedo level, but serves for making the laser level too. Great that it has three beam orientations, horizontal, vertical, and crosshairs. Easily switchable. Only drawback is that its not powerful enough to use outside hardly at all. Beam has good distance indoors. I have several other more expensive lasers for other specific uses, but this is good for quick beams.

For $50 its not as impressive as i thought from the reviews it malfunction on my drywall maybe it would be great for 1/2 in drywall and thiner but i have the type of drywall that will break your hand if you punch it and this does not work well on it at all.

Sometimes this thing works amazingly finding studs under 3/4 inch plywood. Other times you can't get it to pick up anything until you try 4 or 5 times even on drywall. I do like it for showing how wide the stud is, but the hit and miss on studs will drive you nuts. Even when you know they are there.

A little deceiving, though it will detect studs and metal it will work good on smooth surfaces but if it is tile, stucco or other rough surface it will give you a false reading. Yes it does detect density so any gaps or dips say grout lines will be detected. 3* is a fair rating seeing other detectors will work just as good, the top end detector are out of my price range so can't compare it with them.

I had already found the studs using nails prior to purchasing this product. I am hanging something pretty expensive in my garage so I purchased this to make absolutely sure I found the correct spot in the stud before hanging it.

For the most part it seemed to work pretty much as advertised. However there were a two locations where I new there was a stud and the unit didn't register the location. In one area it registered the stud in a slightly different location than where I had marked. I placed a nail where the unit indicated was the center of the stud and the nail went through the sheetrock without hitting anything. That somewhat lowered my confidence in the accuracy of the device.

In its defense, it's possible the nail went directly between the two beams that were joined together (not likely though). There are other units cheaper than this one. I paid the added cost hoping it would give me even more confidence that I was in the exact right location. Didn't really get that absolute confidence. Keep in mind that I am in no way and "handy" person so this could totally be an incompetence issue.

READ BELOW BEFORE YOU TEST THIS ON YOUR PAINTED WALL (especially if the sheen is flat)...

This is a brilliant idea. It does what it is supposed to do and does it well. That would normally get 5 stars from me.

The execution of the idea, however, really blew it on a very simple detail. The back of this stud finder, the side that you slide along the wall, has two black teflon strips on it. These are used instead of the fuzzy fabric that most stud finders include. The problem is that those strips leave marks on your painted wall.

The whole point of using a stud finder is to minimize drywall damage. If I'm going to have to break out the paint roller anyway, I don't need a stud finder. I can just nail into the wall until I find a stud and then patch and paint my misses.

So minus 2 stars for a giant duh on behalf of the manufacturer. I would take more off, except that it is pretty easy to remedy this yourself. You can put a paper towel in between it and the wall, or (and I haven't tried this yet to see if it effects the operation of the device) cut some velcro strips (the soft side) to adhere to the back of it.

I would use this in addition to a zircon electric stud sensor e50. Many walls in newer houses dont have nails the use glue. This is a magnet that only sticks yo a nail if there is one. Its not going to find a stud fast like the e50 but once you find it you can locate the nails ( if any) so you dont pound a new nail on top of a existing one. Nice idea for the money but does not replace a real stud finder.

This device only seems to work where studs have something metal (nails) in them. The magnet is very strong, but it did not work too well for me. Perhaps it is the framing style of my house behind the drywall..

Takes awhile to get used to how it works but once you get the hang of it, no problem. Have to go real slow. It you're one of those hurry up people, you will lose your mind. It accuracy is what you want, this will find that nail in the stud and hang on it.

This little device is smaller than I thought it would be. Small and easy to use. However, it did not quite work for my needs. I live in a mobile home and was hoping this item would help me find the studs in my walls. However, it was not able to detect the studs. It did detect the screws in the molding, but couldn't find anything past that. It operates solely through magnets, so it does work but did not work for my needs.

I bought this because my father had a magnetic stud finder and they are cheap and simple to use. Problem is, my 1953 house has 1 inch thick dry wall with a 1/8" plaster coating. The magnet on this stud finder is not powerful enough to find most of the studs. I found two in one room, easily, while I think I found a few others by feeling a little pull. In the bathroom is just remodeled, I could find studs. I also tested it on an open wall in the basement and outside a 1/2" or so away, the magnet power weakens.

Good, but not great. Lacks a density finder, only finds magnetic. So we use it with the old one and balance the two off together. Too bad they haven't combined these two.This is The Husband's opinion, given he's the one who has used it to put up a variety of items on new walls in the new downsized home.

Works well; but it needs some kind of switch cover or the switch needs to be more of a positive throw. It's often dead when I pull it from my tool bag because it was leaning against something else and got turned on.

Level works great. The measurements on the bottom are handy. the tape measure is flimsy, so unless you are on a flat surface then you really need a second person to hold it. I have no freaking clue what good the laser is, it just shoots two uneven lines that form an X on an adjacent wall. I guess I was under the impression that the laser would shoot a level straight line. Even though the picture depicts a straight line, I can not get it to make a straight line no matter how I adjust it. Cool idea, could use some improvement.

Bought this for my dad for Dads day, thought it was pretty cool, its okay for some things, but not as versatile as I thought.

Tape measure is only 10'

It does what I needed, but feels a bit cheap.

I was not completely happy with this device; I purchased it for an outdoor project, but the laser is just not bright enough to use out of doors unless one is willing to work at night. That said, it is NOT useless. It is worth the price I paid, and I am sure I find uses for it in the future, just not the one for which it was purchased.

Nothing special. It isn't magic. It works adequately on simple interior walls finished with 1/2 inch drywall. It gives false readings on walls made of plaster, walls with wiring inside, walls with pipes inside, walls with varying thicknesses of drywall, and walls containing foil insulation. The array of LED's is handy. Aside from that, it's no better than any other cheap (or expensive) ultrasonic stud sensor.

UPDATE: This product failed after about 3 months of use; it started giving bogus readings and incorrectly flashing lights. Franklin Sensors replaced it under warranty.

UPDATE 2: The sensor failed completely in early 2017. All in all, it lasted 3.5 years. This is a poor return on a $50 investment. Buy something different.

Not very good for plaster walls pre-1960. I bought this thinking this might be better than other stud finders for plaster walls. I was wrong. Testing it showed it was totally useless on my walls. I wish they would have been more open that the results are inconclusive/inaccurate for plaster walls. It does say on instructions that it will probably not work well for plaster walls pre-1960. It's in the instructions...but too late...you already bought it.

I have used the ProSensor 710 for about a year now, and I find that it works well when you are using it to locate 2x4 studs behind drywall (gypsum board).

However it does not work with 1/2 inch thick plywood. It shows false stud locations and frequently misses the actual studs. I suspect this is due to a combination of the ProSensor's less sensitive sensor array and the fact that plywood is of course wood itself, so the sensor is confused.

Summary:

Pro: If you are mainly using this for hanging pictures, it will work fine. The display is very straight-forward and it is easy to visualize where the stud is.

Con: If you are working with plywood walls or lattice boards this device isn't sensitive enough. I would suggest the Zircon i520 stud finder instead.

I use stud sensors frequently, and I bought this after reading a LOT of the hype. The problem is-it's great on a sheet of drywall on studs, which is not most walls where I live. As soon as you add sheer-wall, dual-layer drywall, lathe-plaster, it is useless. I read up on this thing, and I was convinced that the multi-sensor technology was the advantage this sensor had over the others. It is supposed to scan 1.5" deep. This 1.5" MUST be drywall only. 1 3/8 (3/4 sheer w 5/8 drywall) was more than it could handle.

It's definitely a great concept buck lacks a little in execution. The materials aren't great and I'm not sure how long it will last in a tool box but that's a different issue. My problem with this is that while almost 100% accurate that there's something behind the drywall, there's no indication as to what. I'm a contractor and currently finishing a house so I tested it on a few walls I have photos of and know what's there. A little common sense and experience can go a long way in deciphering the readings but sometimes it just doesn't work that way.

As an example, an 1 1/2" drain/vent from a bathroom sink looks the same as a stud (and no, it's not always obvious where they are. If the pipe is run sideways at all for any reason you wouldn't know where it is). There's also the issue of a wire along a stud. Now 4 lights light up, so is it a stud or a pipe? In bathrooms where there are multiple windows the spacing rules go out the window as jack studs intrude at every window and should there be a stud within an inch or two yet another false 8 light reading where really there's a space between.

Bottom line is I'm still using it as a test because I like the concept but my old Stanley is more accurate, and includes the detection of a/c current.

This is pointless in a house with lathe and plaster. It doesn't get any indication that you are going over a stud, just sticks when it is attracted enough to a screw, which is approximately never in a house with old fashioned lathe and plaster walls. There is a $30 electric stud finder on amazon that works quite well though. I think it is made by Franklin.

It's not a terrible product but it's not really what I had hoped for. The leveler is almost useless and while it found "studs" - you can't really be certain if it's a nail, a pipe, or some other random metal piece in the wall. Great little magnet though but will probably invest in something else next time.

Simply does not work on my walls! I like in a 2 bed room apartment with one living room. This stud finder could not locate one stud in all 3 rooms. I am assuming it isn't powerful enough for my walls or I was sent a dud. Attempting to send back now, although i bought with prime, it says the seller doesn't accept returns....what

This device works as designed. I just don't like the design. I tried to use this a few times and failed to find the stud accurately. Maybe it's user error but I need more information to work with than where a nail is in the drywall.

This thing is so tiny really only good for a tool bag, doesnt work on stucco....best use would be for first timer in an apt hanging pictures it doesnt find wood it finds the metal nail...should be for $5 nothing more way over priced

The low grade neodymium magnet in this stud finder is a simple and much more reliable way of finding studs...UNLESS, your walls are thicker than a sheet of paper. If they are, then you will have to painstakingly comb your walls as slowly as humanly possible, hopefully finding that very slight ping of magnetic attraction. If you don't have the patience (like myself) or don't have the years of stud finding skills (like myself), you will be highly disappointed. Great concept, but the weak magnet is extremely annoying and nearly useless, unfortunately. You might love it; my experience has been disappointing.

When you hear the term laser, you might imagine a beam (projecting a round dot or point) with consistent intensity across a given distance. The reality with this tool is that it has 3 modes: A flat horizontal beam, a flat vertical beam, or both at once (+). Twice the distance gives twice the width (and/or height) of the beam, so it disperses quickly. I had to use this at night to be able to see the projection across only a 9 foot distance outside. It was impossible to see at this distance during the day.

The goodLight in the form of crossThe badLazer too weak for much distance in the outdoor sunThe on off switch toggle can turn on when being transported in tool chestBottom line great for indoor find something brighter for outdoor

intensity faded after a few weeks, even though i kept changing the batteries.. it worked fine for a while, after a while.. you won't be able to see the light. just meh.. wouldn't recommend if you plan on using it for a long time (i need it to "draw" lines on envelopes - calligraphy stuff)

I had accuracy problems with the level of the laser. I bought this to do a list of projects around the house. I got about 2 projects in when I realized the laser was not projecting correctly (ever so slightly off). At first, I thought I had simply made a mistake when my level(s) were off, but after a few issues I come to find the laser is not accurate.

The laser lever does not offer as magnet in the base (it really needs one). The laser is hard to adjust. you can turn the laser but there are no marks to tell you when its at 90-180. So you never really know if its at the right angle.

This looks like a clever 3-in1 device, but unfortunately, it's cheaply built. The tape measure is flimsy, and the bubble levels work about as well as any dollar store plastic level.Most importantly however, the laser level is mostly useless because the orientation of the beam can be changed, (resulting in the beam not going straight up or across). Not really sure why that feature exists when the point is the device is to draw straight, level lines. It comes with a "calibration tool", but there's no way to lock it at plumb level.So if "pretty close" is all you need, then the laser may work for you. Otherwise invest in something higher quality.

Disregarding some of the very few negative reviews, I decided to purchase this product. It worked flawlessly, and was the best stud finder I owned... for about 4 months (the warranty only lasts for 3).

After this, despite having done -literally nothing- to it between now and the last time I used it (and keeping it stored in an indoor climate controlled environment), it's now completely dead. Buyer beware- it would seem that there are quality control issues with this product, which is shameful given its price.

Maybe I got a bad one, but it's very flaky and it can be hard to get a reading. My other stud finder, the one with a single light, is much more reliable. And this thing EATS batteries. I've had to replace batteries twice and I just got it. I think it must be draining them all the time rather than just during use.

Worked OK for awhile, then busted like all electronic stud finders.
Super strong magnets work much, much better and they never wear out or need batteries!

Bought in September 6, used for one day. Worked great! Tried to use it to hang new tv in December and it no longer works. First I thought "it needs fresh batteries". Replaced batteries and still, no cigar.
Tested both old and new batteries, and they are both fully charged. The device no longer works.Very disappointed.

This is a great idea, and a nice design, but it inconsistently finds studs and leaves black marks on my wall.

I live in a New York City apartment with wooden studs and standard drywall. I've run this device over my wall slowly, from side to side, and it is able to find studs occasionally: on some passes, it finds them and tracks them, and on other passes, it doesn't find any studs at all. I've done this numerous times over the span of a couple of days, to the same result; I really wanted this to work, but unfortunately, it does not. Using a cheap $8 magnetic stud finder was a far better and more consistent experience for me.

I bought this because of all of the glowing reviews...it may be effective to find a stud in some cases...I found it fairly difficult to detect a stud...I did tie a string to it to try it that way...however, I find it useless as a level...it might be 3 inches long and 1 inch wide...would not buy again.

Well this stud finder did not work for me. I'm not sure if it was because I have a mobile home and it can't find a nail for it to work. Would have returned it but lost original packaging. Will see if my son can use it in his home

I guess my house has ONLY 2 studs throughout or this thing is just lying through it's teeth.

I used it to find studs behind a 1/2 inch plaster board. It could not find the studs. For comparison, I used a regular stud finder with lights and it detected the studs correctly. I was not able to use this product as a stud finder. :(Since I could not return it, I am using it as a refrigerator magnet instead. It holds paper very well!!

Magnet is very strong. I have not had good luck with this product, my laser stud finder works much better (and it doesn't work that well).....

This did not work at all for my walls. The Studpop finder i ordered that is also magnet based DID work. I don't believe this magnet is powerful enough.

Laser is dangerous...read the sign before using

Garbage, don't buy. The horizontal bubble level is crooked so when the bubble shows level, the laser is angled upwards by about 2 inches at 6 feet out. No way to adjust this.

Great as a small level but the other functions are confusing to use and not well thought out.

Useless, light on laser is so weak you can barely see it in the dark. If I had not disposed of the packaging I would have returned it.

It's good kinda but it's bad doesn't have a magic to use it on the Mattel !!Don't buy it if you want to use it on the Mattels !!!

A laser level that... well, isn't level. I need to use another level to make sure the laser is level. I might as well attach a laser pointer to my other level. After hanging pictures on the wall and taking a step back, I realized that everything was off. I thought it was weird, so I tried again. Same Result. I did some investigating and realized that the level tube is glued into a hole that is too big. This is making the tube uneven and then the whole thing unlevel. Cool concept multipurpose tool but its basic function is to be a level and it fails at that.