DeWalt 55 ft Pocket Laser Distance Measurer

My tape measure has been getting a lot more rest since I started carrying DeWalt’s pocket laser. It’s a tiny, rechargeable distance measurer that lives in a coin pocket, yet does the bulk of the day-to-day measuring I need around interiors. After several weeks of using it on punch lists, cabinet layouts, and quick room checks, here’s what stood out—good and not-so-good.

Design and build

This is genuinely pocketable. At roughly 0.17 lb, it disappears into a pouch or pants pocket without dragging you down. The housing feels solid and jobsite-ready, not toy-like. The IP54 rating is a meaningful touch for a tool this small: sawdust, drywall dust, and the occasional splash haven’t bothered it. I wouldn’t dunk it or grind it into a mortar cloud, but for indoor trade work it’s appropriately protected.

There aren’t many frills on the exterior—and that’s by design. It’s a single-laser, single-line unit with one button and a backlit LCD. The simplicity suits its mission: fast point-to-point measurements without fiddling through menus.

Setup and interface

There’s almost nothing to set up. Power it on, set your preferred units (inches, feet, or meters), and go. The one-button interface handles power, single-shot measurements, and continuous tracking. Press to measure; press-and-hold to start/stop tracking. After a short learning curve, I appreciated how little thought it required. I do wish there were a dedicated secondary button for mode changes, simply because long-press timing isn’t always intuitive, but the minimalism keeps it fast in the field.

By default, mine measured from the base of the unit—the back edge pressed to a wall gives you the wall-to-wall dimension. That’s the behavior I want for most interior tasks. The square tail seats cleanly on trim or drywall, so it’s easy to align.

Display and readability

The black backlit LCD is easy to read indoors. The contrast is better than the washed-gray readouts you get on cheaper units, and the digits are large enough to read at arm’s length. In bright sun the red dot becomes harder to see at distance and the screen loses some punch, but this is primarily an indoor tool. Under shop lights and inside finished spaces, readability is a non-issue.

Performance and accuracy

DeWalt rates the pocket laser at ±1/4 in accuracy at 32 ft and a maximum range of 55 ft. In my use across typical interior distances—cabinet runs, window heights, room widths up to about 20–30 ft—the readings consistently landed within the stated spec. Cross-checking a handful of measurements against a quality tape and a longer-range laser gave me no surprises. For trim work, built-ins, and quick layout checks, it’s more than accurate enough.

A couple of practical notes help maintain that accuracy:

• Reference from the base against a hard surface whenever possible. Any slight wobble at the tail shows up in the number.
• Highly absorbent or dark surfaces at long distances can make the reading hunt a bit; a white target card or even a notepad will stabilize the result.
• Keep the lens clean. A dusty emitter/receptor pair will degrade readings long before the electronics do.

The tool’s continuous measurement (tracking) mode is a quiet hero. It updates live as you move the tool, so you can slide the base along a surface to find the tightest point between walls or sneak up on a cutoff length. I’ve used this to center fixtures and to find minimum door clearances without guessing.

Range and limitations

Fifty-five feet is plenty for most rooms, hallways, and small commercial interiors. Indoors with decent target surfaces, I had no trouble getting stable reads across that spectrum. Stepping outdoors, the limitations of a red laser become apparent: the dot is harder to see in bright sun and the maximum range becomes optimistic. If you routinely measure exteriors or long runs in daylight, you’ll want a higher-power or green-beam unit with a larger range and a viewfinder.

Also worth noting: this is a distance measurer, not a calculator. It sticks to the basics—single distances and tracking. There’s no built-in area/volume function, Pythagorean mode, or memory stack. For me, that’s a fair trade for the size and speed. If you need built-in math, look to a larger, multi-button model.

Battery and charging

The internal lithium‑ion battery is a smart choice for such a compact tool. It spares you the ritual of hunting AAA cells and keeps the weight down. In practice, I charged it before a week of site visits and didn’t think about it again; light, intermittent use barely dents the battery. Heavy, all-day measuring will require a top-up, but that’s true of any laser in this class.

One caution with internal cells: if you forget to charge before a long day, you can’t swap in a spare battery. I keep a power bank in my bag for insurance. The unit charges through its built-in port; the cable and brick are less important than the habit—make topping it off part of your routine alongside charging drills and lights.

Durability and jobsite use

Pocket lasers live hard lives—stuffed in dusty pockets, bumped into studs, dropped on subfloors. The IP54 rating and firm build have held up well so far. The lens sits slightly recessed, which helps protect it from scratches. I haven’t babied it, and it still looks and functions like new.

Controls have stayed responsive, and the measurement behavior hasn’t drifted. I check it periodically against a known length before starting a finicky task; it’s remained trustworthy. If anything does go sideways, DeWalt’s 3‑year limited warranty (with 1‑year free service and a 90‑day money‑back period) offers a safety net for a tool that will likely be used a lot.

Everyday workflow

Where this pocket laser earns its keep is speed. Measuring a run of cabinets, I can plant the base against a wall, fire off a measurement, and move on in seconds—no snaking a tape, no guessing a midpoint, no bending a blade around obstructions. On walk-throughs, I’ll sweep a room in tracking mode to capture rough dimensions for notes. For window treatments, ceiling heights, and furniture spacing, it’s simply faster and cleaner than a tape.

I still carry a tape measure, and you should too. For precise carpentry cuts, material takeoffs outdoors, and situations where you need to hook an edge or mark directly off the tool, a tape is unmatched. But I’ve noticed I reach for the tape far less indoors now. This laser handles 80–90% of “what’s that distance?” moments.

What I’d change

• A secondary button for mode/unit changes would make the interface more foolproof without sacrificing speed.
• A slightly brighter display or inverted scheme for outdoor checks would extend usability in sunlight, though the red beam will remain the core limitation.
• Optional data functions (even a simple area/volume mode) would broaden its usefulness without adding much size.

None of these are deal-breakers; they’re wish-list items that reflect how often I’ve been using the tool.

Who it’s for

• Tradespeople and remodelers who want a fast, accurate indoor measurer that lives in a pocket.
• DIYers outfitting a home workshop or planning interior projects.
• Property pros—realtors, facility techs, punch list teams—who need quick, reliable distances without a bulky tool.

If you primarily work outdoors, or you need long-range, high-visibility measurements in bright conditions, consider stepping up to a green-beam or higher-spec unit.

Recommendation

I recommend the DeWalt pocket laser. It’s compact, quick to use, and reliably accurate within its stated ±1/4 in at 32 ft spec. The backlit display is easy to read indoors, continuous measurement speeds up real-world tasks, and the IP54 build feels appropriately rugged. You don’t get advanced math or long-range outdoor performance, but that’s not the point of a pocket tool. For everyday interior measuring—layouts, checks, and on-the-fly distances—this one earns its space in the pocket and pays for itself in saved time.