These top models of cordless and corded power tools will help you create a to-do list.
You don’t need to be a professional repair contractor or carpenter to appreciate the many benefits of power tools. A reliable cordless drill will help you speed up the implementation of a number of projects, from hanging shelves to furniture assembly. A powerful high-pressure washer can wash stains off decking and walkways in a fraction of the time it takes to remove them manually with a brush and elbow grease. And a powerful circular saw is the only way to cut large pieces of wood without having to work for hours on a hand saw.
It is not surprising that in household centers and hardware stores, rows of power tools stretch behind the rows. In this regard, the question arises: which brand is right for you? After testing hundreds of tools from all the major players over the past decade, our experts from the home improvement laboratory and the external laboratory of the Institute of Good Housekeeping are ready to guide you in the right direction. To make it even more convincing, we also collected information from Roy berendsson, senior editor of Popular Mechanics, our partner publication, as well as other experts in this field.
Based on these data, below are 10 brands that should be considered when assembling your arsenal of power tools. We have divided the list into brands focused on the main manufacturers and brands focused on professionals. After reviewing our selections, read on for additional expert advice on buying power tools.
Ryobi
If you were shopping at Home Depot, you probably saw the products of this manufacturer with its distinctive yellow and black branding. Ryobi is one of the two Exclusive Home Depot power tool brands, along with Ridgid. Our experts like the incredible breadth of the Ryobi battery platform, which allows you to use the same battery pack in several gadgets. (In total, there are more than 280 elements in the brand’s 18V single+ line, and about 100 in the 40V line.)
“This is one of my best options for those who make with their own hands,”says Catherine Emery, a home improvement and lifestyle expert from be the best home. “It’s nice to know that the same battery that powers my cordless drill will also work for a leaf blower or for pumping my child’s bicycle tires.”
Laboratory selection: although there are many Ryobi tools on our winner lists, our experts were particularly impressed by the one + HP 18V brushless drill set and shock motor, which is enough to make it a winner of the 2023 Good Housekeeping Home Renovation Awards. “The drill has enough power to drill drywall and dimensional wood, and the extra speed and torque of the motor are great for removing large screwing screws,”said one tester.
The Craftsman
Lowe’s customers should pay attention to the craftsman, as the giant big box is one of the brand’s largest retailers. After Craftsman was bought by Stanley Black & Decker in 2017, our experts witnessed significant improvements in the legacy tool brand, which still offers some of the best prices in the world.
“You can even see professional contractors coming out to work with a master,” says berendsson, noting that in Popular Mechanics tests, his tools sometimes work like their professional competitors. Although the bulk of the Craftsman’s products are battery-powered, they also include a variety of wired power tools, especially for heavy-duty applications such as chopping saws and grinders.
Laboratory set: combined sets allow you to assemble a set of power tools without overspending. A set of 4 Craftsman tools at 20, another winner of home renovation Awards, includes a cordless drill, a drill, a reciprocating saw and a flashlight, as well as two 20-volt batteries and a charger. The drill simultaneously acts as an effective screwdriver, and the reciprocating saw copes with those types of saws for construction wood, which, most likely, will be handled by major manufacturers.
Black + deck color
Another legend of the power tool industry, the brand Black+Decker has been trusted by our experts for decades. Despite the fact that its small household appliances — from toasters to coffee pots — were often used in laboratories, the brand’s power tools also impressed us, especially considering the affordable price tags.
“Affordable and easy to use, straight out of the box,” says Emery, and we often agree with this assessment. However, while brands such as Craftsman and Ryobi can work independently at the construction site (or at least with experienced craftsmen), Black+Decker tools are best reserved for light projects such as drywall drilling or furniture polishing.
Laboratory selection: our experts are better acquainted with the Black + Decker kitchen appliances for cooking and cleaning, such as the wireless spellbuster stain remover, one of our most popular portable carpet cleaners. The brand’s tools and accessories have gained praise in Popular Mechanics over the years, as you will see in this funny article Why Black & Decker’s coworker belongs in the tooling Hall of Fame.
FFT
The FFTis an independent product of vtsao, a popular brand focused exclusively on professionals. Despite the fact that VFT power tools have a competitive price, they retain many of the characteristics of more powerful brand counterparts. This is especially true when it comes to manual circular saws, which were invented by vtsao in 1920. (For a long time, the name “vtsao” was synonymous with such a tool, like Kleenex and tissue wipes or Q-Tip and cotton swab.)
To emphasize these points, berendsson notes that ” the 50-dollar FFT 15A circular saw was one of the best in our tests. If you are going to use it only a couple of times a year and plan to rent heavier projects, there is no need to spend four or five times more on an industrial-class model.”
Laboratory selection: in addition to the 50 mentioned circular saw mentioned by berendsson, our experts liked the pure core 40 leaf blower, calling it the best price on the market (this is from our entire list of the best cordless leaf blower). “Despite its price, this leaf blower has a solid construction, including a brushless motor, a design that our tests have shown to be durable over time,”says Rachel Rothman, Chief Technology Officer and executive technical director of the Good Housekeeping Institute.
Ridged
Like Ryobi, ridged is an exclusive product designed for manufacturers, although its impressive characteristics in many categories make it suitable for “professional consumers” or homeowners who want to engage in large projects, such as, for example, the construction of a veranda or the replacement of an asphalt concrete roof. “There will be a gray area with all brands of gadgets,”explains berendsson. “In the case of Ridgid, the gray area is between consumers and professionals, while a brand like Black+Decker focuses more clearly on manufacturers.”
As with Ryobi products, ridged tools are supported by Home Depot, which offers a lifetime ridged service agreement for registered products, which means that power tools that fail due to normal wear and tear will be replaced.
Tester’s choice: in our recent review of the best vacuum cleaners for stores, Ridgid gave us the credit for creating the best heavy-duty option on the market: its 12-gallon model. The five-horsepower engine is capable of moving air at a speed of 140 cubic feet per minute – twice as fast as other vacuum cleaners in the workshop. In addition, the ergonomic handle and 360-degree swivel wheels provide easy maneuverability.
Most department stores have at least one exclusive brand of power tools. For Walmart, this is the Express, which the retailer began selling in 2019. Walmart may not be the first place you think about when buying power tools, but “we found decent value and performance in the tested models,” says berendsson.
Exprot is 100% battery-powered, and its assortment is a little more limited than that of other brands, especially those aimed at professionals and non-transparent consumers. But if you are looking for a powerful cordless drill for light work or a set of grinders for hobbies, then this brand is worth paying attention to.
The choice of the tester: among the exprot tools that Berendson and the rest of the Test team of famous mechanics liked, there was a 40-volt cordless saw capable of cutting 46 discs of solid wood. “To give you some perspective,” berendsson wrote in a Popular Mechanics article, ” this is as much as the DeWalt DCC s670 cuts, even if this saw is twice as fast and made more reliable.”
Workx
A relative newcomer to this category, RX has been around since 2007. The company is known for its lawn and garden equipment, but also offers a powerful range of power tools, many of which have proven themselves well in our tests. We love that RX is an atheistic big box store, which means you’ll find it at Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walmart, and other major retail stores. We highly appreciate the working environment of many of his tools.
“Workx is well suited for people whose hands may get tired when working with heavy equipment,” Rachel notes. RX tools – from paint sprayers to reciprocating saws – push the boundaries of DIY without being too intimidating.
Choice in the laboratory: Speaking of ergonomics, the works Nitro 20V chainsaw, the best choice in our line of the best circular saws Roundup, features a comfortable fit that provides excellent maneuverability when performing a range of light cutting tasks. “With its compact design and 20-volt motor, these workhorses provide an excellent balance between comfort and power, especially for novice circular saw users,”
Focused on professionals
Milwaukee
Walk into a construction site anywhere in the country and you’ll probably see Milwaukee power tools. “The brand is especially popular in the metalworking industry, for example, among plumbers and electricians, because its heavy-duty tools are great for drilling holes and cutting metal,” explains Berendsson.
Milwaukee is another pioneer in this field, having invented the reciprocating saw (also known as the suzal) in 1951. Today, the brand offers a whole line of power tools at excellent prices, both battery-powered and wired, which are able to cope with the most difficult tasks.
Tester’s choice: The Milwaukee brand is represented in the rating of the most popular gadgets by Popular Mechanics. Consider the 1/2-inch Milwaukee M18 Fiol wrench, which brought BM the highest awards in the category of the best wireless keys. “The M18 wrench is an effective tool for performing large-scale work, such as heavy equipment repairs, industrial maintenance and repair work, or any other tasks with large and complex nuts and bolts,” the testers noted.
DeWalt
Here is another brand that is popular with professionals, especially carpenters and reconstruction contractors who value the performance and reliability of DeWalt drills and cutting tools. “The grey area at DeWalt is between professionals and consumers,” says Berendsson. “Many homeowners who want the best and who have money to spend gravitate to DeWalt.” And why not? Given the durability and reliability that our tests with the brand have consistently demonstrated over the years, the next Dewalt drill, circular saw or, hell, a wrench with a ring anvil assembly may be the last.
Although DeWalt still offers a wide range of wired power tools, it continues to expand its battery line, including the FlexVolt line, which allows you to switch between 20 volts for lighter tasks and 60 volts for maximum power.
Tester’s Choice: In the category of competitive 20V cordless drills, our experts have chosen the Dewalt maximum 20V drill as the best universal cordless drill due to the ergonomic tool grip, lightweight design and compact dimensions.
Makita
Makita is also popular among professionals of many professions, and our engineers know that it is a reliable brand of power tools with a time-tested reputation. The Makita company, headquartered in California, is particularly popular in West Coast workplaces, but you’ll see the brand all over the country. In fact, this is a favorite product of the staff of the Institute of Good Housekeeping in New York, whom we often invite to manufacture pallets and other intermediate equipment for various product tests.
Despite the fact that Makita is clearly focused on professionals, its prices are often slightly lower than those of other professional brands, which makes it a good choice for a group of consumers.
Laboratory of Choice: Check out the Makita 36V lxt 7 1/4 inch circular saw, which is considered the best model for heavy-duty applications in our latest ranking of the best circular saws. It offers a great combination of power and control; although it weighs 12.4 pounds, it has plenty of tools for pushing, pulling and carrying.
How to choose the best brands of power tools
To compile this list of the best brands of power tools, we focused on manufacturers with a wide distribution and a strong reputation for quality and reliability, based on decades of testing tools and feedback from our experts from the Institute of Good Housekeeping, as well as the opinions of our colleagues from Popular Mechanics.
Our performance assessment is based on tests specific to each tool – for example, how easy it is to drill through wood with a drill or how cleanly a circular saw can cut a sheet of plywood. We also appreciate the ease of use, which includes overall ergonomics, assembly and available features. We evaluate durability by passing tools through a juicer, for example, using a drop tester to see how well the tools withstand a fall from a height of several feet to a hard surface.
The best power tools the best brands of power tools expert tests a cordless drill
What to pay attention to when choosing the best brands of power tools
All brands of power tools selected by our specialists produce high-quality products, but some of them will serve you better than others. Here are three factors that will help you choose the right direction:
Battery vs. Wire: There was an obvious compromise here, battery-powered gadgets were easier to use than wired models, but not as powerful. However, lithium-ion technology has become so good that battery-powered gadgets can compete with their wired electrical counterparts in most categories. The only compromise is the operating time, since most batteries need to be recharged after a few hours. For professionals who commute eight to 10 hours a day, in some situations it is still preferable to use wired gadgets.
If you go on a battery-powered route, pay attention to the vastness of the platform. “You’ll end up saving money because whenever you expand your toolbox, instead of buying a new battery every time, you can just buy a regular tool,” says Emery.
– “DIY” vs. “professional”: This resolution is used to accurately track battery life compared to wired. But, as we have already explained, many professional brands now have extensive platforms for working with batteries. So, what do you earn by becoming a professional? For a start, a more durable tool. “More wear-resistant components can withstand the heat generated by friction and the flow of current,” says Berendsson. “Durability is also provided by harder steels and more impact-resistant plastics.”
Professional tools also work faster thanks to their highly efficient motors and battery cells – circuits that can better control the current generated by heat. “Speed is especially important for professionals, as production and efficiency directly affect their final earnings,” says Berendsson. Professional tools also have better feedback, for example, they absorb more vibration, which is important if you work for hours on end.
The biggest disadvantage of professional power tools is that they cost two to three times more expensive than DIY models. They are also heavier and harder to handle for amateurs. The features that make it desirable for professionals may not matter that much at home.
– Warranty/Service Agreement: As with any mechanical product, the terms of the warranty or service agreement are a good indicator of overall quality. A one-year warranty is the minimum that we see in most power tools. Given the competitive market, some have sweetened the deal with three- or five-year guarantees covering the repair or replacement of any faulty equipment. And some even offer lifetime service agreements, usually covering labor and spare parts costs. “It really says something about the brand when they are willing to support the gadget throughout its lifetime.”