FLINTONE MegaRuler

The standard 30 cm ruler runs out of length quickly, and most toolboxes fill up with single-purpose gear. The FLINTONE team's answer is the MegaRuler, a titanium tool that the maker says combines nine professional-grade functions in a body smaller than a smartphone. It is pitched at tinkerers, prototyping engineers, model builders, woodworkers, leather crafters, artists and sculptors.

Lines that keep going

The headline feature is what FLINTONE calls infinite line extension: turn a wheel and the line keeps running. According to the maker, chaining 27 lengths end to end keeps error under 0.1 mm, and an 8-meter straight line can be drawn without a laser, which would suit murals on large canvases or cut lines on long timber.

A parallel-line function uses a side wheel that tracks the first line so each new line holds the same spacing. The maker reports that in its testing, 50 lines showed a maximum drift of just 0.07 mm, which removes the need to re-measure gaps between guidelines or evenly spaced joists.

Angles and levels

For angled work, the ruler is said to draw straight lines at any angle from 1 to 179 degrees in one smooth motion, without a separate protractor. There is also a jobsite protractor with a laser-etched, high-contrast scale that, the maker claims, can be read from 5 meters away in bright sunlight and stays legible through dust and glare. Built-in bubble vials handle both plumb and level checks; FLINTONE says a vertical reading takes 0.5 seconds and the bubble centers in under 0.5 seconds when laid flat.

The full feature set

• Infinite line extension via a rolling wheel
• Parallel lines guided by a side wheel
• Arbitrary-angle lines from 1 to 179 degrees
• Jobsite protractor with laser-etched high-contrast scale
• Plumb level with built-in bubble vial
• Horizontal level with built-in bubble vial
• Flush-mounted N52 magnets for hands-free holding on steel beams, machines or a fridge
• Pen stored inside the ruler body

The appeal, as FLINTONE frames it, lies less in any single function than in consolidating several tools into one titanium ruler that can stay on the workbench or travel to a jobsite.