Like Don, I have had MANY free Lufkin tapes in my day. However, I scored big one day and bought 10 Hammerhead brand fiberglass tapes for $5 each. The frame is open, green, and very large. However, the tape has a built in "appraisers hook" on it, and the tape is calibrated for its additional length. I just remove the tape from the frame, and insert it in my enclosed orange Lufkin frame, and have a lifetime supply of really great tapes!
FWIW, I proved to my mentor and father MANY years ago, a long time wheel user, how inaccurate wheels are. What most do not realize is that wheels (especially the ones like are being spoken of here with small diameter wheels) not only measure length, they also measure the ups and downs of the ground upon which they are being rolled (not to mention the inevitable slip). If you roll it say 50' over sod, planters, gravel, mulch, soil, or any typical yard surface, you WILL NOT get an accurate measurement. There are too many areas a wheel will just not go perfectly level, without slip.
I refinanced recently, and some hack from out of the area came out and measured my house with a wheel (a fairly complex 2 story Key West Victorian). When he was done, I told him I was an appraiser, and I would be critical of the appraisal if the measurements were off. He went out to his car and got his tape and re-measured, because even he knew the tape was not accurate, just easier...
But you are correct in that a laser also has it's limitations, and I carry a Disto (clipped by a carabiner hook and a retractable key chain to a belt loop), and my trusty hybrid Lufkin-Hammerhead tape, and am certain I can measure (accurately and efficiently) as well as anyone with other setups. No wheel for me...
