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| Model | Range | Our position | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMHT77721 Pocket | 55 ft | Recommended as a second tool | 4.4 · 72 | Check price |
| CMHT77638 | 65 ft | Removed from our guides | 4.1 · 64 | Check price |
Both links are live because you may reasonably disagree with our reading of the evidence. The reasoning for each position is below.
This applies to both units and it is the first thing to know. One owner bought a CRAFTSMAN pocket laser on the strength of a lifetime warranty, then read the details and found that the lifetime in question is one year.
They were blunt about it, saying they buy quality tools expecting them to last their own lifetime, and that finding out otherwise after the purchase felt deceptive. Whether you share that reaction or not, budget for a one year tool rather than a permanent one, because that is what the terms describe.
A second account supports the same expectation from the other direction. A flooring professional who uses these for room measurement said they work great, and then added that they last about a year. Two independent accounts arriving at the same figure is worth more than either on its own.
One owner ran the test that anyone evaluating a measuring tool should run. They set the unit in a fixed position, aimed at a twenty inch opening, and measured four times without moving it.
The readings varied by almost a full inch. They then measured a longer distance, around 57 and 7/8 inches, and found that off by a full inch as well. They photographed the results and posted them.
That is not an accuracy problem in the sense that a specification describes. A tool with a loose tolerance gives you a slightly wrong number consistently. This gave four different answers to the same question with nothing moving, which means the number on the display carries no information at all. The owner described themselves as a lifelong CRAFTSMAN buyer and said the tool had sat unused on a shelf for a year afterwards.
With 64 ratings behind it, there is not enough countervailing evidence to outweigh a documented failure of that kind on pages aimed at people who will trust whatever they buy. So it came out of our DIY guide. It stays on this page because a brand page should describe the whole range, including the part we advise against.
Rest the unit on something solid so it cannot move. Measure the same thing four times. If the readings are not identical, the problem is the tool rather than your technique, and you have found out inside the return window. It takes a minute and it is a better test than any specification, because it measures repeatability, which is what you are actually relying on. The fuller check is here.
The CMHT77721 earns its place for one reason, which is that it is small enough to have on you. A tool in your pocket beats a better tool in the van, and at 55 ft it covers most rooms.
Owners are also clear about where it stops. It is described as less accurate at longer distances, which combined with the 55 ft rating makes it an indoor, short range, quick check tool. Used that way it is well liked. Bought as somebody's only laser measure it will disappoint.
A genuinely pocketable unit for quick checks. Buy it as a companion to a proper measuring tool rather than as the tool itself, and expect about a year of use.
Right for: agents, designers and homeowners who want something always on them.
Read our full review of the CRAFTSMAN CMHT77721 Pocket Laser
Check price on AmazonListed here for completeness. One owner documented four consecutive readings of the same opening, tool stationary, varying by almost an inch. We do not recommend it on that basis.
Right for: nobody we can identify, given the alternatives at this price.
Read our full review of the CRAFTSMAN CMHT77638
Check price on AmazonIf you wanted the pocket size. That is a real requirement and the CMHT77721 serves it. The pocket guide covers the alternatives if you want a longer working life than a year.
If you wanted a cheap unit that works. A RockSeed two pack costs less than one CRAFTSMAN and carries over twenty two thousand ratings. The budget guide is honest about what that money buys, including the gap between claimed and real range.
If you wanted a brand you can rely on for years. Bosch's Blaze range shows sixteenths of an inch, holds plus or minus 1/16 in, and the GLM165-40 alone has nearly six thousand ratings. The full range is compared here.
If you are measuring for cuts rather than estimates. The question that decides this is whether the display gives you sixteenths or decimals, and it matters more than tolerance does. That is the subject of our DIY guide.
Working out the right laser measure for the job in front of you is what our front page is for.