Sola MM 5 25 Torpedo Level - Review

It wasn't until last year that we even knew about Sola levels. We were approached out of the blue by the company, an act that leaves us with two distinct thoughts:

1. Thank the heavens that they contacted us.

and

2. How the hell did we not know about this company?

Sola, a company with a big market in Europe and is now making inroads in the US, makes some top-notch levels that use a unique method of vial stabilization. If you cut open an inexpensive level you'll see that the vial is probably held in place by wishes and unicorn dreams. A Sola, on the other hand, uses a two part system, one rigid and one flexible, that ensures the vial won't move even in extreme temperature situations (more info on that here). According to Sola, it's a system that is superior to the one that is used by the mighty Stabila. We reviewed Sola's 4' level here.

The company recently sent us one of their torpedo levels to check out. And check out we did...

To us, the look and feel of the Sola torpedo is its main selling point. Just holding the tool in the hands, you get a sense that it's a quality tool; it has a good heavy weight to it, the design is slick, and the vials are nicely contained in the unit. The bottom edge is grooved for using it against a pipe (there's a magnet too), and the level vial is over-sized for better viewing. The outer edges of all three vials are darkened as well, so centering the bubble is easy.

We've been using it on side for a number of months now and it has become our primary torpedo, replacing our older model Stabila. We don't mean to infer that the Stabila is a bad level (it's not), but the Sola has a third 45 degree vial and we've never liked the bizarre configuration of the Stabila. Now there's red where there once was yellow.

The Sola sells for about $45 which is in the right realm for a high end torpedo. The comparable Stabila (with 3 vials) is a little more expensive.

At Amazon

July 30, 2012

Sola MM 5 25 Torpedo Level - Review