As a practitioner of architecture and its allied arts, more often than not we find ourselves taking measurements of anything really. Now with a measuring tape, you can only go too far. Enter the not so new, but all too capable, laser rangefinder.
Its a very handy tool, not that much larger than a 12 meter tape and almost just as heavy, it allows for accurate and lengthy measurement for as far as you can hit something that wont refract or reflect the beam. The build is mostly rubber leave for the glass and electrical parts, the unit also has a tripod mount slot and alignment sight just above the laser. This particular unit is able to measure up to three dimensional quantities ( length, area, and volume) provided that its a rectangle or box of course). Several options are available such as measuring from the base or the tip of the device and of course a choice between the english and metric systems.
And while it is good and can work on its own, there is no harm in still bringing with you their physical counterparts.