We all agreed that the ideal toolkit for home use should include the following pieces all of which we have full guides on—follow the links in the tool titles for more on each topic.
Ratchets are cool to be sure, but a decent set of wrenches—or even adjustable-plus-locking pliers—can get most jobs done, from tightening up the rake head to the handle to loosening the garden hose. This comes up when tightening two hoses together, assembling a backyard playset, and fixing an under-sink drip. So of the above three tools, you really need only two of them. With this ideal kit consisting of only nine items, our experts warned against the marketing tactics of the kit manufacturers, specifically how companies pad the number of tools included in each set.
We pulled from the nearly 70 kits we researched between our original research and a new round of tests in and tested 11 kits nine in and two more in due to their complete or mostly complete inclusion of our essential tools. We evaluated them for overall quality, handling and durability.
We looked at both the individual tools and the kits as a whole. To test durability, we dropped just about everything off an 8-foot step ladder onto a concrete floor. I hand-turned 3-inch drywall screws into pre-drilled holes with the screwdrivers. Beyond these tests, my years of construction experience told me a lot about the tools just by holding and examining them.
Each type of tool has certain tells that indicate quality, such as the wobble in the lower jaw of an adjustable wrench, the amount of flex in the pliers handles, and the difficulty of using the locking lever on a tape measure. Overall, the tools held up very well under the stress that I put them through, and nearly everything survived repeated drop tests.
We also conducted long-term testing with our original picks, having used them now, off and on, for nearly five years. For this, we simply kept them on the basement shelf and used them around the house as needed; hanging pictures, assembling furniture, and all of the other odds and ends that basic home tool kits are asked to do.
Using the tools in this kind of setting further familiarized us with their benefits and limitations. The components look and feel nice, they work well enough, and they can stand up to light-duty usage with one exception.
No other kit has such a complete selection of tools at such a low price. For starters, the Anvil kit has the one of the best adjustable wrenches of any kit we tested, and that tool alone sets this product apart. Next, the Anvil has a lot of screwdriving ability, coming with a driver handle and 30 driver bits.
You also get a wide selection of traditional L-shaped Allen wrenches: 11 metric and 11 SAE, which is more than most sets offer. This stands in contrast to some overpriced kits we considered, which often use an excessive bit selection to pad the tool count and price with accessories you rarely need. The rest of the tools are typical of these sets and are about as good as the tools found in sets that cost more. The hammer is small but durable with its fiberglass handle.
The foot tape measure locks easily and has a rubberized sheath to help absorb the impact from any falls. The utility knife works fine and comes with a small case that holds five additional utility knife blades which make up five of the 76 pieces in the kit. The precision drivers can tighten sunglasses and open a toy battery case.
The scissors and clamps are forgettable. The HDX kit came with a set of wire cutters. The wire cutters never impressed us too much other than the name , so we feel this is a fine trade-off. Because the Anvil kit has no overabundance of additional tools, the closed case is compact and ideal for closet storage. In contrast, the Harbor Freight case is a sizable 22 inches long and occupies a total of almost cubic inches.
For such low-key uses, these tools have been fine. The case of the Anvil is functional but has its annoyances. It opens like a book, with the tools pressure-fit into both sides. This design makes the case well-organized but eliminates the option of adding tools later, replacing tools with those of different brands, or storing a few picture hangers, a roll of duct tape , or a can of WD with the rest of your tools.
Still, from time to time, one fell out while we were closing the case, which got a little frustrating. Most of the kits with this kind of pressure-fit case were far worse in this regard.
The Husky Piece Multi-Purpose Tool Set now discontinued held its tools so securely that at times I had to pry them out with a screwdriver. For specific tools, the torpedo level is really poor quality—just bottom of the barrel. Levels are all about the stability of the bubble vial, and something this flimsy is going to have accuracy issues. The Anvil kit also comes with low-quality scissors that are uncomfortable to use.
Also included are four small spring clamps, made entirely out of plastic. Larger, better-built spring clamps can be incredibly useful. The overall durability of the Anvil tools is worth exploring a little more. The bottom line is that all of these kits, even the more expensive ones, offer a lot of gear at a low price. For the most part, the tools in these kits are not manufactured to the most exacting of standards. That said, upon purchasing a kit, you should take it home and give each tool—specifically the screwdriver—a little workout to at least find any blatant manufacturer errors before the return window closes.
We like that this WorkPro set comes with a nice, soft case with straps that hold the tools securely in place. The Anvil kit has a pair of slip-joint pliers—a tool that the WorkPro kit lacks—which can cradle a much larger bolt and grab it from the side, and turn it more easily than you can with, say, a screwdriver.
So basically, this WorkPro kit will work in a lot of situations, but not as many as the Anvil kit. Another drawback to the WorkPro kit is that the tape measure is only 10 feet long. We expected it to be at least 12 feet, like the one in the Anvil kit. It still works fine, but in some situations, such as dealing with a foot board or measuring the square footage of a room for a painting project, getting an accurate measurement might require an extra step.
Inside the case are elastics and Velcro straps to secure each tool. We spent a long time looking for a premade toolkit that we could recommend to anyone who wants a higher-quality option than our other picks. Stanley could put together an amazing collection of hand tools just by picking the best options out of its existing lineup.
Instead, what Stanley does offer in this realm is far below its potential. The level, like all the rest, is plastic and inaccurate, and the screwdriver design suffers from trying to double as a socket driver. We searched, but unfortunately no basic toolkit is offered by other prominent hand-tool manufacturers like Irwin, Channellock, DeWalt, or Milwaukee. So as it stands, there is simply no middle ground between these generally unimpressive kits and the tools that contractors use.
The kit has its high points—a decent ounce hammer and foot tape measure—but it has just a small socket set and slip-joint pliers for the nut-and-bolt situation.
The Denali Piece Home Repair Tool Kit was a previous upgrade pick due to the nice tool selection and slightly higher build quality, but it consistently went out of stock for months at a time and then for years.
It is now officially listed as discontinued. Household Products. Light Machinery. Material Handling. Pneumatic Tool. Power Tools - Accessories. Power Tools - Corded. Power Tools - Cordless.
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