Klein Tools Stainless Steel Fish Tape, 1/8-Inch

Two lengths: 125 feet (part 56340) and 240 feet (part 56341). The 240-foot reel is the one to order for long commercial conduit runs or when you want enough tape to reach back out of a run with slack to spare; 125 feet covers most branch circuit work in a building. Both use the same 1/8-inch wide stainless tape.

No. Klein states plainly that no fish tape should be used on or near live circuits. Stainless steel is conductive, so the run has to be de-energized and verified dead before you feed tape. Wear approved eye protection while feeding, pulling, or rewinding, and set your footing so you don't lose balance when the tape releases. If you need to fish an energized area, that calls for a non-conductive fiberglass push rod instead, not a steel tape.

The 1/8-inch stainless tape is described as firm yet flexible, which is what lets it be pushed down long runs and still handle large wire pulls. Stainless also resists corrosion, so it holds up in damp or outdoor conduit where a plain steel tape rusts and pits. For tight-radius, heavily offset runs a thinner or flat steel tape is easier to work around bends, but it gives up pulling strength.

The tape carries descending laser etched markings every 1 foot (0.3 m). You read them as the tape pays out, so you can measure the conduit run itself and see how much tape is still on the reel before you run out mid-pull.

Form the pulling loop as a double loop only. A single loop creates a fish-hook shape and a sharp edge that can snag on obstructions in the raceway or cut the insulation on conductors already in the conduit. Also never back the reel screws out while the tape is still coiled inside the housing, the tape is under tension and will spring.

The reel measures 13 inches (33 cm) in diameter, with an overall height of 16.21 inches (41.2 cm) and width of 12.35 inches (31.4 cm). Plan for roughly a 13 inch square footprint in a gang box or van shelf. The case and handle are polypropylene for impact resistance, so it survives being tossed in with other tools.

The housing geometry is slip-resistant to improve winding power and cut down on binding, and the case is shaped to optimize the tape payout angle, which reduces payout effort and friction. The handle is multi-position so you can keep a steady grip whether you are paying out or cranking tape back in. That matters on a 240-foot reel, where rewind is most of the labor.