Tool Awards 2025

Bosch has made great jigsaws for years, and it’s piled tons of new tech and features into this Barrel Grip saw. Why a barrel grip? We found the lower hand position, just behind the blade, helps keep the saw more stable and easier to guide when cutting tight curves. Beyond that, the features are impressive, with an LED work light, variable speed, tool-free blade changes, dust blower to keep your cut line clear, double-sided switch for right- or left-handed users, port for connection to a dust collector, and the option to connect to your phone via Bosch’s app to customize and save preferred tool settings.

While the standard drill, drive, and hammer functions work great on Bosch’s High-Torque Hammer Drill, it’s the high-tech features that really set it apart. That starts with electronic angle detection—an LED on the drill body lights up when the drill is tilted at the angle you’ve selected from one of two presets. And, if you pair the drill with Bosch’s app on a smartphone, with a separately available module, you can set custom angles and save tool settings—features that improve productivity and accuracy on repetitive tasks.

With a maximum cutting width of 3¼ inches and depth of 3/32 inch, Bosch’s Professional handheld planer makes quick work of flattening or leveling wood surfaces. Shavings can be directed out either side into the included dust bag, or you can connect a separate dust collector. Cutting depth can be adjusted via a 28-position knob for precise control of workpiece thickness. And the Professional planer comes with a spare cutting blade, stored in the side of the tool body.

For folks already on Craftsman’s 20-volt platform, the RP 3-inch cut-off tool is a great value. For just under $100, you can add this versatile tool to your arsenal. With a ¾-inch cut depth, it comes with three blades to cut through tile, masonry, metal, and more. The blade can spin and cut in both forward and reverse, plus it has a dust port adapter for a shop vac to help keep your work area clean.

Craftsman is creating value with affordable specialty tools like this 20-volt power file. Ideal for folks already on the brand’s 20-volt platform, the file is useful for quick sanding and light grinding applications—especially in tight or hard-to-reach places. Use it to clean up welds, sharpen lawnmower blades, even grind out spot-welds on autobody panels—the possibilities are endless.

Weighing more than 200 pounds, DeWalt’s Powershift Forward Plate Compactor comes with two 554-watt-hour batteries that can continuously deliver the equivalent of 7 horsepower. Don’t be lulled into thinking this machine is a lightweight in any sense. Not only did we break a sweat maneuvering it to level a crushed-gravel patio base, we also found it to be as burly and heavy-duty as any gas machine we’ve used. It’s just as effective, too, but with less noise and maintenance. DeWalt claims over 2,000 linear feet of compaction per battery charge in either of the machine’s two speeds, which is plenty for an average patio or walkway.

This ½-inch cordless impact wrench from Ingersoll Rand stands out from others. It has a mechanical mode selector, positioned on the end of the tool, facing you as you work. The company claims the selector is more durable than the more common touchpad. Another unique feature: The W7153 has a removable anvil with a splined interface. This means that the ½-inch wrench can double as a 3/8 or ¾, just by changing out the anvil. But there’s more to it than that. Since square drive connections can reduce overall torque, Ingersoll Rand makes several splined extensions designed to take full advantage of the wrench’s 1,500 foot-pounds of breakaway torque.

If you need to drill holes in joists, Metabo HPT’s 36-Volt MultiVolt Cordless Right Angle Drill is up to the task. It doesn’t matter if you’re using a twist drill bit, spade bit, or hole saw, this drill has the torque you need. And while it’s not a corded tool, it can be used as one with a separate adapter. In addition to the lengthy tool body and long side handle to give you leverage to control this powerful drill, it also features Reactive Force Control (RFC) that will shut down the drill, to prevent it from twisting out of your hands if the bit binds up.

For drilling or driving fasteners in a tight space, look no further than Milwaukee’s M18 Compact ½-inch Hammer Drill/Driver. With a length of 5.8 inches from the chuck to the end of the housing, we were able to get it into areas that most drills can’t. It features an all-metal gearbox and chuck, an adjustable clutch for driving fasteners, and a hammer function for drilling into tough materials like concrete. The drill kit comes with two 2.0Ah batteries, a charger, and a soft carrying case.

The size, weight, and power of Milwaukee’s M18 Fuel 6½-inch circular saw made it one of our favorites. The cast-metal shoe is flat and rigid, and can be guided easily on long cuts over a variety of materials like the plywood we used for testing. The compact size makes cutting in tight or awkward areas easier, while the 6,000rpm blade speed helps keep it spinning through tough cuts. We liked the bevel gauge, which is easy to read and adjust and has crisp markings to make your cuts as accurate as possible.

Instead of having three straight blades, Oliver’s 13-inch Helical Planer has 36 cutting blades, arranged in three helical rows on the cutterhead. This eliminates the cupping and ridges you usually get with traditional thickness planers. The wood we ran through came out remarkably flat and needed less sanding to finish. Another advantage of this cutterhead is that if a blade gets nicked, you can just turn it rather than replace it, because each one has four sides.

For folks already on Ryobi’s 18-volt platform, the brand’s 5-inch random orbit sander is an inexpensive way to add more capabilities to your wood shop. This sander spins 10,000 oscillations per minute and did everything we needed it to do to finish wood surfaces. It features a hook and loop sanding pad to make changing sandpaper discs quick and easy. It comes with a small dust collection bag and adapters to connect to a shop vac or collection system.

We were impressed with how fast we could work with Senco’s pneumatic 16-gauge finish nailer. It has two firing modes. The first, with one pull of the trigger firing a single nail, is great for precision and accuracy. The second, holding the trigger down to fire a nail every time the tip is pressed against the material, is best where speed is the priority. The finish nailer’s oil-free design eliminates some of the maintenance associated with pneumatic nail guns, and it also features a quick-release latch to easily clear jams.

Ingersoll Rand’s Cordless Heat Gun is a cut above the rest. It has a digital temperature selector, viewable on a backlit screen, and adjusts in 18-degree increments up to 1,022 degrees F. In addition, it has a trigger switch to select between two airflow speeds. The feature unique to the H3111 is the accessory quick release, which allows you to eject the airflow nozzles without having to touch hot metal. While it can be used for virtually any heat gun task, we found it particularly useful for heat-shrink tubing and solder-seal-type connectors due to the precise temperature control.

Makita claims its 40-volt Max XGT Angle Grinder has power comparable to a 15-amp corded grinder. After using it, we’re inclined to agree. But it also has features that make using it a more enjoyable experience. It has an anti-vibration housing that isolates the main handle to help reduce fatigue. Additionally, if the disc hits something hard enough to stop it, the tool will cut power to the motor to prevent damage. The large paddle trigger is accessible for any hand size or position on the grinder body. And it also comes with a tool-free guard for use with cutting discs.

Grizzly has reimagined the traditional smoothing plane with features that improve comfort and accuracy. Like most planes, it features a cast-iron shoe, or base, but this number 4 plane also has adjustable and removable machined aluminum depth gauges for precise work on small, narrow workpieces. Additionally, both handholds are adjustable, so you can position them to optimize comfort and efficiency. It was satisfying to peel up thin, nearly transparent shavings, even when planing black walnut.

The Tuff-Grip Pro Fiberglass Fish Tape is well-suited for work in tight places with live circuits. The tape is nonconductive with a fiberglass core, encased in a slick, nylon sleeve, and has a glow-in-the-dark tip that makes it easy to spot in dark places. It was relatively easy to push or pull through existing walls or floors, as well as long runs of conduit. It’s available in 100- (as tested) and 200-foot lengths.

Anyone who has ever tried to track down which circuit breaker controls a certain outlet or fixture will appreciate Ideal’s Electrical SureTrace Circuit Tracer. With it, you can precisely trace a wire’s path in the wall, floor, or ceiling, all the way back to the breaker panel. The SureTrace Circuit Tracer employs a transmitter that sends a signal through either dead or energized circuits, and a receiver that detects the signal with both visual and audible alerts. It can also be used to identify dead shorts and splice errors.

Irwin’s Quick-Lift Construction Jack is the extra hand—or two—you need for lifting, aligning, and leveling. There is no end to the uses you’ll find for the Quick-Lift—from installing windows, doors, cabinets, shelving, and heavy panels to lifting appliances, file cabinets, or bulky furniture. This hand-operated jack can lift 330 pounds and free your hands to install fasteners and shims or slide a dolly under something.

This is one of the best and most complete precision driver sets we’ve ever tested. In addition to the driver handle, it comes with 60 bits, an extension shaft, and a small ratchet wrench that accepts the ¼-inch hex shaft bits. The diminutive driver is surprisingly robust, able to drive and remove full-size wood screws (#8 and #10), as well as machine screws so small you need a magnifying glass to see what type of slot they have in their head.

If you’re tough on screwdrivers, using them as a punch, chisel, or prybar, then Milwaukee’s Demolition Screwdrivers are for you. With a metal cap on the handle, they can take a pounding from a hammer—and that shock isn’t transferred to your hand, thanks to the Cushion Grip handle. Used as screwdrivers, they perform exceptionally well, with laser-etched crosshatching on the tips that engage and grip fastener slots even when they’re wallowed out.

The FixHub is the last soldering iron you’ll ever need. It’s battery powered, heats up fast, and can even be repaired. The big idea was to “provide benchtop soldering power wherever you are.” And they’ve done it. The FixHub can reach 788°F in just five seconds—and maintain its maximum temperature for up to eight hours. This is possible thanks to the available Power Station, which contains a 55 watt-hour battery, capable of cranking out 100 watts. There’s not much more you can ask for from a soldering iron.

If you’re pulling out the reciprocating saw, it’s because you know you’ve got something difficult to cut. Either it’s in a tough spot to reach or it’s an ornery material, or both. And we’ve all smoked a cheap blade. That’s why we prefer to spend a little more for Diablo’s Amped Carbide blades. They’re available in different lengths and tooth profiles for all kinds of materials—all with carbide-tipped teeth. We subjected them to the typical abuse like old black pipe, rusty bolts, and framing lumber full of nails—aside from cutting great, they’re also incredibly durable.

Moving a bunch of sheets of drywall or plywood by yourself can be an awkward endeavor. Usually, it isn’t even the weight that’s the problem—it’s getting a secure handhold on the 4-foot-wide material. Grabo’s Pro-Lifter 20 changes all that, allowing you to put a handle anywhere you want on the panel. The Pro-Lifter uses vacuum to suck itself onto the surface and can hold up to 330 pounds per handle. We found it didn’t matter whether the surface was smooth or rough; it stayed put wherever we placed it.

Starrett’s Woodpecker XPW band saw blades are premium blades designed for tough jobs like cutting hard, gnarly wood. The 11-foot by 1-inch blade we tested easily cut right through old oak barn posts that choked and bound other saws. These blades won’t break the bank, either. The one we tested cost only $32 and can be resharpened, so it’s not a one-and-done blade. The Woodpecker XPW blades come in a number of widths and tooth counts for different applications.

On some jobs or projects, there is no way to avoid working in a space that needs to be kept clean. Makita’s 40V XGT Cordless 2.1 Gallon HEPA Dry Dust Extractor is made just for these occasions. When paired with a tool that has a dust-​extraction port, the HEPA Dry Dust Extractor sucks up all the debris that exits the tool, collects it like a shop vac, and then pushes the air through a HEPA filter before expelling it. When paired with another Makita tool that uses its Auto-Start Wireless System, the HEPA Dry Dust Extractor will start when you start the tool and stop when you turn it off to help cut down on excessive noise and save the batteries.

These RazorStar Fiber Sanding Discs feature an aggressive, manufactured ceramic abrasive. So aggressive, in fact, we used them to dress messy welds and remove slag and splatter. We also used them on sheet metal for surface prep and found that they don’t put heat into the metal like grinding discs do. This makes them a good choice for automotive body panels. These versatile sanding discs come in a number of sizes for angle grinders and 90-degree-angle die grinders.