Stanley Tool Set Review: Is It Worth It?

Image: Tony Carrick

The Stanley 65-Piece Homeowner’s Instrument Package has that just-proper lineup of tools for dealing with an assortment of odd careers all around the dwelling whilst still sustaining the compact size desired for storage and mobility.

Though there are specialty instrument kits created for automobile and bicycle mechanics and gardeners, I only viewed as general software kits when selecting the top kit for this class. The Stanley 65-piece resource kit beat out a fifty percent dozen other home resource kits in a collection of checks. I was significantly amazed with the high-quality and collection of equipment integrated in the Stanley kit.

Because dwelling software kits consist of a wide variety of tools, I subjected the Stanley dwelling resource package to a wide range of assessments in purchase to assess every single piece:

• Hammer: My hammer take a look at incorporated driving in scaled-down finish nails, this kind of as those people you would use for photograph hanging, as perfectly as much larger nails for more substantial jobs.
• Screwdrivers: Considering the fact that screwdrivers rely intensely on the potential to produce torque, I analyzed equally screwdrivers and the bit driver by attempting to manually travel a screw into a 2×6.
• Socket established: I examined the socket set by working bolts on machinery within my house—in this situation, a garden mower.
• Pliers: Considering the fact that pliers carry out a selection of responsibilities, I tested each sets by attempting to grip rounded pipe connections less than my kitchen area sink, and by cutting and twisting wires.
• Utility knife: I analyzed the utility knife by trying to slice via thick cardboard.
• Hex wrenches: I utilized the hex wrenches to complete basic bike upkeep.

Score: 8.5/10

Image: Tony Carrick

Professionals

• Collection of resources can cope with a wide variety of odds positions
• Ergonomic grips on the hand tools make them much more snug to use
• Whole-dimension instruments are capable of managing larger work opportunities

Cons

• Tape evaluate feels affordable compared to usual Stanley tape measures
• Difficult plastic deal with on the little bit driver is challenging to grip
• Some tools are challenging to take out from the plastic scenario

Get the Stanley tool kit at:

This Stanley resource established can conduct common odd careers about the household. It features a total-dimensions hammer with a 13-ounce head a set of locking pliers a set of needle-nose pliers 1 Phillips- head screwdriver and a single flathead screwdriver assorted sq., hex, Phillips, star, and flathead screwdriver bits and a little bit driver. There is also an 8-inch level, a hex wrench established with metric and imperial dimensions, and a ¼-inch ratcheting socket wrench with eight imperial-dimensions sockets ranging from 5/32 to 3/8 inch. A 16-foot tape evaluate and a utility knife spherical out the set. Every single piece snaps tightly into a location in a molded carrying case with a cope with.

Picture: Tony Carrick

A fantastic software kit ought to be compact and light adequate to tote to the web site of your maintenance or job. It need to match in a kitchen area utility drawer or at the very least a shelf in a closet, yet nonetheless have all the resources necessary to accomplish a vast assortment of positions.

In small, you should not have to use two hands or have a nicely-designed higher system to have a residence device kit. You also should not have to carry the package in one particular hand and another random instrument in the other due to the fact the kit alone lacks a several important equipment.

While there are many multipiece dwelling software kits out there to decide on from with different lineups of tools, Stanley does a terrific position of assembling the types required most normally. Moreover, all the applications in good shape nicely into the molded plastic circumstance, which continues to be light-weight and compact at just 7 pounds. On the draw back, some resources are complicated to snap no cost from their spots inside the scenario, which could current a dilemma for some.

The essential to a good house device kit is its usefulness. When an 80-piece instrument set could appear wonderful, it is not of substantially use if most of the instruments under no circumstances depart their molded pockets. Stanley does a terrific task of outfitting this resource kit with applications that will see a great deal of motion.

Other tool kits supply a related lineup of applications, but the top quality and sizing of these tools established this package apart. Other software kits have instruments that are scaled down in dimensions from their comprehensive-size counterparts, but the Stanley home instrument kit does not.

The hammer is a wonderful case in point of this. Quite a few of the residence tool kits I tested include compact 8- to 10-ounce hammers that are limited to driving hangers into hollow drywall. Stanley’s kit has a larger sized 13-ounce hammer. While you won’t be working with it to frame a dwelling, it is huge sufficient to cope with larger work while however becoming light-weight plenty of to wield. I experienced no problem driving an 8d nail into a pine 2×4 with it.

The two sets of pliers also really feel like comprehensive-measurement resources. The slip-joint pliers had been able of gripping the drinking water provide line below my lavatory sink, and I experienced no problem twisting wires with the needle-nose pliers.

The screwdrivers have been a different emphasize. With screwdrivers, the deal with is generally part and parcel to the total of torque you can produce when driving or eliminating screws. Stanley equips the two the Phillips-head and flathead screwdrivers with big handles and rubberized grips. The suggestions of the screwdriver also in shape nicely into the screwheads.

With these enough handles, I created adequate torque to travel a wood screw into a 2×4. I was a little bit upset 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 superior grip on it. I did like the large assortment of interchangeable bits, which makes it a practical software for every little thing from repairing electronics to fixing tiny engines.

A lot of of the kits I analyzed incorporated sockets, but surprisingly several included a ratchet driver. Stanley’s kit is an exception with its ¼-inch driver, which options a locking mechanism that retains sockets in place and a spherical take care of that I observed to be snug to grip. While the package includes a constrained variety of socket sizes, it’s satisfactory for a typical-use home instrument kit.

The only genuine disappointment was with the tape evaluate. Whilst I like the truth that it extends 16 feet (several of the kits I tested had tape actions that maxed out at 10 ft), I’m utilized to the rock-stable develop of the stand-alone tape measures Stanley sells. With its skinny plastic building and stiff locking mechanism, the tape evaluate in this package feels cheap in comparison.

Photograph: Tony Carrick

While there are a lot of home device kits that give a related lineup of instruments, and some that offer you more applications at a lower selling price, lots of are off-model kits that do not carry the extended-standing name that Stanley does. Simply because the established is priced all around $60, I was difficult-pressed to locate another tool package that delivers the very same lineup of tools and top quality make that this set from Stanley delivers.

Whether the Stanley instrument package is right for you depends on the jobs you are planning to deal with. This is a typical-use property resource kit, which indicates it’s perfect for executing a wide variety of odd employment. With this kit you’ll be equipped to hang a photograph, trade out a normal light change with a dimmer switch, conduct servicing on your lawn mower, put in a new light-weight fixture, make adjustments to a bicycle, and numerous other duties.

The resources in this package are heftier than these you’ll generally locate in other software kits. The bigger hammer, complete-dimension pliers, ratchet and socket established, big quantity of little bit accessories, and nicely-created screwdrivers make this package ideal for much more positions than property device kits with more compact applications. That said, the compact sizing of this kit also makes it an great decision for those people with limited room for resource storage. While it may well be much too massive for most kitchen area utility drawers, it suits nicely in a cupboard or on a shelf.

If you are seeking for a device kit that will let you to complete bigger work opportunities, this may perhaps not be the ideal package for you. The limited range of sockets and absence of monkey wrenches make it unsuitable for residence mechanics. It also does not present ample equipment to be useful for big renovation projects. For that, you are going to require a good electric power device set.

If you only want a device set to handle the bare minimum—hanging the occasional photograph, tightening a loose screw on glasses, or opening the battery compartment of a toy—you almost certainly can get absent with a scaled-down, more compact device kit that will fit within a kitchen utility drawer.

Photo: Tony Carrick

Get the Stanley instrument package at:

Meet the Tester

Tony Carrick is a freelance author specializing in residence enhancement, landscaping, technology, house protection, and design and style. His articles have been featured on these types of web sites as Angi, Well-known Science, Futurism, 360 Evaluations by U.S. News & Globe Report, Domino, and much more. Tony has carried out demanding product or service screening on every thing from electricity tools to residence security techniques to yard grills. With each and every evaluation, his intention is to support viewers establish whether a product or service meets their requires and if it is or isn’t value its selling price tag.