Customer Reviews

CST/Berger 55-CAL26D 26X Automatic Optical Level with Carrying Case

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I do not normally write reviews of products but I'll tell you this level has changed my mind. I had been looking for about a week for a level to do some work around my place. Putting an addition on my house and a new deck, etc. I was not sure of what to expect for $160 price point. I figured I could always send it back if I was not happy. I had done some reading and found out that CST/Berger had quality transits and levels. I am a cabinetmaker by trade and a do it yourselfer for all other construction projects around our place. So I did not want to spend alot of money. I'd been to Home Depot and Lowes to check out what they had and for any decent transit and or level I was going to spend a minimum of $199 upwards to $399. And the units I saw looked cheap. They may have worked fine but I was hoping for a little more quality. Then I came upon this level while browsing Amazon. This is not a transit only a level but it would work fine for my needs so I ordered the unit. I chose overnight shipping for only $3.99 as a Prime Member and it arrived on time the next day. The surprise came though when I opened the unit. It was securely packaged in a nice black case for easy carrying to any job site. I pulled out the level and lo and behold the unit was made from cast metal. Not just hard plastic. The quality was clearly evident in this unit. Inside was an Inspection card called "Automatic Level Inspection Checklist" which was hand dated and ID by a factory inspector. This card detailed all the calibrations which were performed on the unit before it was sent to me. This gave me an extra measure of confidence that the unit was going to perform up to specs. I had already purchased the CST/Berger Tripod 5/8 X 11 and the Surveyor/Builders Measuring Rod, together they were around $120 from Home Depot. I attached the level to the tripod. I am not pulling your leg now! It took me 3 minutes to get the unit leveled and this included setting up the tripod. Believe me it was simple and easy. It has a horizontal bubble level which you use to get the unit close to level. However it does not need to be exactly level because the unit has a gravity compensator which compensates for any variation off level. Thus the term "Automatic Level". You get it close to level and the level will do the rest. The optics are clear and it has a 26X scope on it. This really is an awesome level. You will not be disappointed. This CST/Berger professional quality contractors level is at a price point where the average consumer can afford it.

The description and manual says this has a compensator lock but it doesn't. This lock is important for transporting the unit. It protects the delicate mechanism. I called CST Berger and discussed it. The unit never had a locking mechanism and they are going to remove that information from the web site. I asked if the mechanism was designed to survive without the lock. They said don't transport it in the bed of my pickup, on the seat is better. I don't think this thing would survive riding around in a contractor's truck waiting for duty. Fine for the home owner, just treat it like a delicate tool. That is the bad.

I have used a David White builder's level for 25 years. It cost $600 in 1980 and is of superb quality. I belongs to my brother who lives on the opposite coast and it's not easy to borrow it. Time to get a level for myself. I am familiar with how these work and know what to expect.

Overall construction: It is a solid chuck of cast aluminum. Appears very solid.

Optics: I tried it from 6 through 60 feet. At 50ft, I can clearly see if the stadia line is between the 1/16" marks on my Stanley tape measure. That's good enough for me. The focus knob turns smoothly.

Leveling screws: Not much range of adjustment. Your tripod needs to be real close to level from the start. An annoyance, not a show stopper.

This is a basic, no frills, unit designed for the home owner not a contractor. I am more than happy with the optical quality. CST's more expensive models look cheap and have plastic housings. This model is solid and stable. I need to check accuracy and repeatability but it seems good so far. For half the price of their high end models, I think it is a good value. I'm a bit put off that their description lists a very important feature that it doesn't have.

Shipping was $18.50 and Contractor Tools took their sweet time processing the order, 6 days from order to ship date. When paying an $18 shipping fee, I would expect a little faster service than that. The unit was drop shipped from CST Berger. UPS messed up and got it to me in 2 days rather than their 5 day estimate on their web tracking site. That doesn't happen often.

This Auto Level is very nice for basic leveling. However it does not tilt. I found it to be very easy to set up and it preformed well from 3' to 80' for my project. The eye peice was a bit hard to see into. If you are looking into the sun its impossiable to see; but this is probably the case with any transit. All in all for 150.00 or so dollars it was a good purchase.

This level is more than any home owner will ever need! I found myself leveling my deck to within 1/16" I didn't purchase the tripod as I had an old camera one lying around. Mistake, the level is heavy and I went to H/D and paid a premium for a good tripod. Very pleased with this level. Buy the tripod from Amazon and save even more $'s

Advertised as automatic leveling. Not so. You have to level it manually, using the bubble. Fairly easy to do that. Otherwise it works fine as a level.

I am very pleased with this Level. It is built pretty well and is very accurate and useful. Nice features and came with a very nice Hard Case to protect it. The price was very reasonable when I bought mine.

This level is classic. Works better than cheap laser levels. You will want a tripod and a 15 foot measuring rod. These require some attention to detail and knowledge of use. Can also be used to set horizontal angles such as fence corners.

I did a bit of research on getting an instrument to lay out decks, plus I have a tiling project coming up. I feel this product will work well for my needs. It takes a bit of time to get it perfectly level, but once that's done, it works well.