A single cross line is enough to hang a shelf. It is not enough to tile a bathroom, hang a row of cabinets and set a drop ceiling in the same afternoon, because every time you move to a new wall you move the laser and level it again. VADER 4D is built so you set it up once.
What "4D" means
VADER 4D projects two horizontal 360° planes and two vertical 360° planes. Put it in the middle of a room and you get level lines around all four walls, plus plumb lines on every wall that cross on the ceiling and the floor. You do not rotate it, and you do not re-level between walls.
- Two horizontal planes: level lines all the way around the room
- Two vertical planes: plumb lines on every wall and a cross on the floor and ceiling
- 16 lines in total: each horizontal plane lands on all four walls, and each vertical plane crosses two walls, the ceiling and the floor, so every plane shows up as four lines
How far and how accurate
The diode is green (505–535 nm), which is easier to see than red in a lit room. The working range is about 100 ft (30 m), depending on lighting. Accuracy is ±1/8 in at 33 ft (±3 mm at 10 m) in self-leveling mode.
Three ways to use it
- Self-leveling is the default. Set it within ±4° of level and the pendulum levels itself. If it is tilted further than that, a red light warns you.
- Manual locks the pendulum so you can project a line at any angle, for stairs and other angled work.
- Pulse is for outdoors. In direct sun any line laser washes out; pulse mode lets a laser receiver (sold separately) pick up the line out to 164 ft (50 m).
Battery and build
Each 7.4 V 2,600 mAh pack runs up to 9 hours at the lowest brightness, or about 3.5 hours at full brightness, and two packs come in the box. The whole unit weighs 1.5 lb (680 g), is IP54 rated, and works from 14 °F to 122 °F. The flat base sits on a floor or a shelf. The 1/4"-20 thread fits camera-style tripods; many contractor laser tripods use a larger 5/8"-11 screw and need an adapter.
What is in the box
VADER 4D costs $129.99 and comes with two batteries, a remote control, a USB-C cable and a carrying pouch. A tripod is not included.
Any tripod with a 1/4"-20 screw fits, or a 5/8" tripod with an adapter. A tripod is what lets you set the level line at exactly cabinet, chair-rail or backsplash height instead of stacking books under the laser.
Who should skip it
If you mostly hang shelves, frames and the odd TV mount, VADER 4D is more laser than you need. A cross-line laser does that job: VADER Mini is rechargeable and costs $59.99, and VADER Lite runs 28 hours on two AA batteries for $49.99. VADER 4D earns its price when the whole room has to line up.
See every model in the laser level collection.