Stanley Tool Set Review: Is It Worth It?

Picture: Tony Carrick

The Stanley 65-Piece Homeowner’s Tool Package has that just-correct lineup of equipment for managing an assortment of odd work all over the property though even now maintaining the compact dimension desired for storage and mobility.

Although there are specialty software kits created for auto and bicycle mechanics and gardeners, I only thought of typical device kits when picking out the prime package for this category. The Stanley 65-piece instrument kit defeat out a half dozen other residence software kits in a series of exams. I was specifically amazed with the top quality and selection of applications included in the Stanley package.

Considering that residence device kits comprise a wide range of tools, I subjected the Stanley dwelling tool package to a variety of assessments in purchase to appraise just about every piece:

• Hammer: My hammer exam integrated driving in lesser finish nails, these types of as those people you would use for picture hanging, as effectively as more substantial nails for even bigger jobs.
• Screwdrivers: Because screwdrivers depend intensely on the capability to develop torque, I tested equally screwdrivers and the little bit driver by trying to manually travel a screw into a 2×6.
• Socket set: I analyzed the socket set by working bolts on equipment inside of my house—in this situation, a lawn mower.
• Pliers: Due to the fact pliers accomplish a variety of tasks, I examined equally sets by making an attempt to grip rounded pipe connections underneath my kitchen area sink, and by slicing and twisting wires.
• Utility knife: I examined the utility knife by trying to slice by means of thick cardboard.
• Hex wrenches: I used the hex wrenches to perform uncomplicated bike servicing.

Ranking: 8.5/10

Photo: Tony Carrick

Professionals

• Assortment of equipment can deal with a broad range of odds work
• Ergonomic grips on the hand equipment make them more relaxed to use
• Comprehensive-sizing equipment are capable of dealing with even larger work

Downsides

• Tape measure feels affordable in contrast to normal Stanley tape steps
• Challenging plastic take care of on the little bit driver is tough to grip
• Some instruments are complicated to clear away from the plastic scenario

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This Stanley software set can accomplish normal odd careers about the property. It contains a whole-size hammer with a 13-ounce head a set of locking pliers a established of needle-nose pliers a single Phillips- head screwdriver and a single flathead screwdriver assorted square, hex, Phillips, star, and flathead screwdriver bits and a bit driver. There is also an 8-inch stage, a hex wrench established with metric and imperial sizes, and a ¼-inch ratcheting socket wrench with 8 imperial-size sockets ranging from 5/32 to 3/8 inch. A 16-foot tape evaluate and a utility knife round out the established. Each and every piece snaps tightly into a spot in a molded carrying scenario with a handle.

Photograph: Tony Carrick

A great software kit must be compact and light sufficient to tote to the internet site of your fix or venture. It must healthy in a kitchen area utility drawer or at minimum a shelf in a closet, still nonetheless have all the instruments required to conduct a broad variety of careers.

In quick, you should not have to use two arms or have a nicely-developed higher human body to carry a residence device kit. You also shouldn’t have to have the kit in a single hand and an additional random resource in the other due to the fact the kit alone lacks a few essential applications.

Though there are a lot of multipiece house software kits out there to pick from with different lineups of applications, Stanley does a excellent work of assembling the ones required most often. Plus, all the tools suit properly into the molded plastic scenario, which remains light-weight and compact at just 7 kilos. On the downside, some resources are tough to snap free of charge from their spots inside the scenario, which could current a challenge for some.

The critical to a excellent household device kit is its usefulness. While an 80-piece tool established might glance good, it is not of substantially use if most of the instruments hardly ever go away their molded pockets. Stanley does a excellent task of outfitting this tool kit with resources that will see a great deal of action.

Other software kits provide a similar lineup of tools, but the excellent and measurement of these tools established this package apart. Other tool kits have applications that are scaled down in size from their total-size counterparts, but the Stanley residence device kit does not.

The hammer is a good illustration of this. A lot of of the household resource kits I tested contain tiny 8- to 10-ounce hammers that are restricted to driving hangers into hollow drywall. Stanley’s kit has a larger 13-ounce hammer. Whilst you will not be employing it to frame a house, it is significant ample to handle more substantial employment though however being lightweight adequate to wield. I had no issue driving an 8d nail into a pine 2×4 with it.

Both sets of pliers also experience like entire-dimension applications. The slip-joint pliers had been able of gripping the h2o supply line less than my toilet sink, and I experienced no dilemma twisting wires with the needle-nose pliers.

The screwdrivers had been a further emphasize. With screwdrivers, the take care of is usually component and parcel to the quantity of torque you can make when driving or eradicating screws. Stanley equips both the Phillips-head and flathead screwdrivers with big handles and rubberized grips. The recommendations of the screwdriver also in good shape nicely into the screwheads.

With these sufficient handles, I generated plenty of torque to generate a wood screw into a 2×4. I was a bit dissatisfied by the driver, which has a narrower tackle and no rubberized grip. While I like the aged-faculty glimpse of this translucent plastic take care of, it was harder to get a fantastic grip on it. I did like the large assortment of interchangeable bits, which makes it a practical device for almost everything from repairing electronics to fixing small engines.

A lot of of the kits I analyzed incorporated sockets, but amazingly handful of provided a ratchet driver. Stanley’s kit is an exception with its ¼-inch driver, which features a locking mechanism that retains sockets in put and a spherical take care of that I located to be snug to grip. When the kit contains a constrained number of socket sizes, it is suitable for a general-use residence resource kit.

The only real disappointment was with the tape evaluate. Though I like the reality that it extends 16 feet (quite a few of the kits I tested had tape measures that maxed out at 10 feet), I’m used to the rock-solid make of the stand-on your own tape actions Stanley sells. With its thin plastic design and stiff locking system, the tape evaluate in this package feels inexpensive in comparison.

Image: Tony Carrick

Although there are a lot of home tool kits that present a equivalent lineup of applications, and some that offer you a lot more resources at a lower selling price, many are off-brand kits that don’t carry the extensive-standing status that Stanley does. Since the set is priced around $60, I was hard-pressed to obtain a different tool kit that provides the exact lineup of instruments and high-quality create that this set from Stanley provides.

Regardless of whether the Stanley device package is suitable for you relies upon on the projects you’re organizing to tackle. This is a basic-use residence device package, which means it’s perfect for executing a wide variety of odd careers. With this package you’ll be in a position to dangle a picture, trade out a common gentle switch with a dimmer change, perform servicing on your garden mower, put in a new gentle fixture, make changes to a bicycle, and various other tasks.

The instruments in this kit are heftier than those you will normally discover in other software kits. The larger hammer, whole-sizing pliers, ratchet and socket established, significant amount of little bit accessories, and very well-built screwdrivers make this package suited for extra careers than dwelling software kits with smaller sized tools. That mentioned, the compact measurement of this package also helps make it an suitable selection for individuals with restricted space for tool storage. While it may perhaps be far too substantial for most kitchen area utility drawers, it suits nicely in a cabinet or on a shelf.

If you are seeking for a instrument kit that will permit you to perform greater work, this may well not be the appropriate package for you. The constrained quantity of sockets and absence of monkey wrenches make it unsuitable for residence mechanics. It also doesn’t give sufficient tools to be valuable for significant renovation jobs. For that, you are going to have to have a fantastic electrical power instrument established.

If you only will need a tool established to deal with the bare minimum—hanging the occasional photo, tightening a free screw on eyeglasses, or opening the battery compartment of a toy—you probably can get away with a scaled-down, additional compact tool kit that will suit inside of a kitchen utility drawer.

Image: Tony Carrick

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Meet up with the Tester

Tony Carrick is a freelance writer specializing in residence improvement, landscaping, technology, home protection, and style and design. His articles or blog posts have been featured on this sort of websites as Angi, Preferred Science, Futurism, 360 Assessments by U.S. Information & Globe Report, Domino, and more. Tony has done demanding products screening on all the things from ability resources to residence protection methods to yard grills. With each and every evaluation, his goal is to help viewers decide no matter if a solution meets their needs and if it is or is not truly worth its price tag.