DWL-280PRO

Excellent product as advertised. This is the third digital protractor I've purchased, and this one is a charm. Rugged construction, magnet strong enough to grip race car chassis, and the readout in the hundredths place, which provides me the level of accuracy I require. Led is bright, so I don't have to use the hold feature every time like some of the competitors. Multiple outputs is a plus, like converting the angle in degrees to slope on the fly, i.e. 1/4" down per foot. Great tool, highly recommend. R. Martin

Quite satisfied with its appearance, its sturdy frame, performance even under severe condition and handling.

First one I ordered didn't work. There were actually two different things wrong with it. The primary problem was that the electronics were 'screwed'. Even after calibration when the unit was sitting flat and level and giving me a "0.00" reading, when I turned it off and back on again it would read some ridiculous number like 16.73°. In addition, the horizontal bubble level was off by almost a degree. However, I so much wanted this digital level to work because it had all the features I was looking for...like upside down the digital readout flips so you can actually read it! Waterproof, selectable display units, etc.So, I requested a replacement from Amazon which came two days later. This one works just fine and the bubble levels are right also. I would have probably lived with the bad bubble level on the first unit - if it worked electronically but thankfully, the replacement unit is good.Note well, if they made a unit just like this one but had accuracy of less than 0.1 degrees full scale, I would buy it even if it were a little more expensive but with the accuracy of 0.05 degree at zero and 0.2 degree full scale I'm not complaining. That will do. My initial project for this level is to aid with the installation of drain lines. For THAT a reasonably accurate digital level is an absolute must. And, after using a friend's digital level where the LCD display doesn't flip when it's upside down - wow what a pain that is...this will make the job much, much easier. Note well, I'm crawling around under a home in Florida where there is less than 2 feet of space...trying to get into a position where you can read a digital level that does NOT have the bright LED display that this unit has and the flip readout is incredibly difficult. This level will be great! Furthermore, I meticulously checked the readings when you set the display for "inches/ft" and, the calculations are dead on.Of course, the real praise goes to Amazon with their a to z guarantee. Amazon comes through again! Needless to say, if it wasn't for Amazon this product would not have 5 stars! I have to assume that 'x' percentage of these units are bad. So, if you are willing to go to the trouble of having a unit replaced if you get one that isn't good...this is a great level and Amazon makes it all work. In effect, Amazon is serving as the quality control department for Digi-Pas. Obviously Digi-Pas quality control department needs to get their act together. On the other hand they DID design a great digital level.Photos:#1 The Digi-Pas DWL280PRO has a bright readable LED display. An arrow indicates whether the left side is high or low.#2 Numerals are crisp and clear and bright - perfect for low light areas#3 You can convert the display from degrees to in/ft or mm/M or % slope#4 Bubble levels are perfect#5 When the level is upside down such as on the bottom of a pipe, the display 'flips' so that it is still easily readable.

Super accurate almost to a fault for what I need. Not hard to read. Problem I am having is it will not stay on. New batteries don't help and the only thing useful at this point is the bubble level. Not sure I can recommend.

Needing an accurate digital level the Digi-Pas DWL280PRO fit the bill. The price was an incredible 6 times cheaper than Stabilia, with the equivalent accuracy. This level is built with solid construction and a bright easy to read digital readout. Once you self calibrate, there is no more guessing if the bubble is centered or asking yourself is this level accurate? The speed and exact level or plumb reading at a glance, is priceless.

JUNE, 2019 Update. I left my original 2015 review untouched below, but over the last four years I came to believe my original thoughts were more hopeful than accurate. Although I remain partially vision-impaired, I no longer think a digital level is the answer to difficult visibility. Yes, digital levels can measure to a fraction of a degree, but that added precision does not equate to faster or easier use in practice, especially in a really short torpedo level. It invites fooling around with exceptional accuracy when such precision is time-consuming and seldom, if ever, really necessary for ordinary carpentry tasks. I eventually went back to using an ordinary bubble level and found it much faster and easier to use. This level always took more time to use without a corresponding benefit. A digital level is not nearly so intuitive as a bubble level, and the digital always required more concentration to figure out which end was too high or too low, which would have been intuitively obvious with a bubble level.This particular level ate batteries quickly, and caused even new Duracell AAAs to "bleed" inside the case. The battery chamber, a close-fitting tube, would seize the batteries inside, making them very difficult to remove. After less than four years use, mine finally died today. When I removed the three brand-new batteries that I put in just two weeks ago (expiration date: 2023) I found corrosion coming out of one of them and another in the initial stages of bleeding. I might otherwise blame the batteries, except I've seen this situation twice before with this same level, so I'm forced to believe it has something to do with the design of the device, not the batteries. For the reasons stated above, I reduced my initial rating from five stars to three and decided not to replace the level with another digital from this manufacturer or any other. For $75 (or $53 as it sells for now) I believe I can get a high quality bubble-level replacement that will be just as accurate, require no batteries, last the remainder of my life, and be overall faster and easier to use.Below is my original review before I learned the above.Why do you need a digital level to begin with, rather than an ordinary bubble level, except to read angles? For most people, the answer would be that that the bubbles get harder and harder to see as you get older, and it takes extra time to evaluate the bubble each time you use it. The time and eye strain begin to add up. So if you need a digital level for visibility purposes, you have a choice between LED and LCD. Most digital levels are LCD (including Amazon's top selling 24" model) which have restricted viewing angles and are less visible generally compared to an LED model, in almost every circumstance. I bought this model solely because it had a bright, clear LED display, rather than a sometimes backlit LCD display. Just as shown in the picture, the numbers just jump out at you, even in sunlight and demanding lighting situations. For people with cataracts, this is really, really important. This same manufacturer also makes 24" and 48" models with an LED display, although the illumination on those is blue rather than green. Had I to do it again, I might have bought the 24" although I prefer the green rather than blue illumination. However, this torpedo size fits in a toolbox or the pocket of your pants, so it's more likely to be handy when you need it than something longer that won't fit in small places. If failing eyesight is your problem, an LED model is the one to buy. The level also has standard bubbles for rough uses, however the bubbles themselves are smaller than those in other levels I've used over the years, where the edge of the bubble nearly touches the lines on each side. Those bubbles appear oblong, however these are spherical and there is considerable space between the edge of the bubble and the lines on either side. After using this small bubble arrangement for a couple weeks, I'm beginning to think that the small spherical bubble is more visible and easy to center, although the edge of the bubble doesn't come close to the lines on either side. It seems counterintuitive to me, but my brain seems to have adapted to this strange design, probably because you can intuit a center where you can't easily see a line. I just thought I'd mention this as a strange anomaly for those concerned with such things. This level has a lovely, comfortable, well-designed "feel" in your hand, which although it doesn't improve accuracy, seems to suggest a quality instrument. There are only four buttons, which are obviously laid out, simple and effective for their purposes. The display automatically flips when you're working overhead, and it has an effective set of magnets in the base to hold the level to metal studs and ferrous surfaces. There is a V-groove for centering on round objects like pipes. If it projected a laser line, I'd be really happy (but it doesn't) and the manufacturer doesn't claim that as a feature. Overall, especially if you're vision-impaired, this model is the way to go.