Gear of the Year

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We need gear for work, for play, even to make a great dinner at home. That’s why in preparing for our annual awards package, we spent the past year working on our houses and yards, camping and grilling, and performing nearly miraculous feats with technology. If it sounds like fun, it is. We love gear, and preparing the Gear of the Year Awards is always a blast. But it’s also work that we take seriously because we want you to shop with confidence based on our recommendations. Then we want you to enjoy this gear as much as we have.

WORK

Work is hard. That’s why they call it work—it’s not a vacation. On the other hand, just because it’s hard doesn't mean it can’t also be enjoyable. Here’s to gear that can do that.

1100 IR Paint Stripper

We’ve tried a lot of ways to remove paint over the years, but after using the Speedheater 1100, we’re not going back. It’s the cleanest, safest, and easiest way we’ve found to remove paint. The Speedheater uses infrared (IR) heating elements to heat up the paint just enough to soften it and make it lift off the wood. If you have an older house, where lead paint may be a concern, it won’t get hot enough to release toxic lead fumes. The Speedheater has heat shields on both sides that serve two purposes: to ensure the IR element is the optimal distance from the surface and to keep the heat focused and contained, which provides even, predictable results. Using the Speedheater, you can scrape clean a 3- x 11-inch area every 20 to 60 seconds—provided you’re working on a large, flat surface like a door.

Ultimate General Purpose 10-inch Saw Blade

Every woodshop needs at least one workhorse saw blade to make routine rips and crosscuts while saving specialized blades for melamine, cove cutting, glue-line rips, and joint making. We tested the Diablo Ultimate General Purpose blade in that workhorse role, making cuts in pine and fir, red oak, and birch plywood. We found the blade to be a competent cutter and a great value at its price. Its tooth geometry is alternate-top bevel (ATB) but with a high angle; combined with an axial shear grind on the face of each tooth, it delivers an exceptionally clean cut relative to other ATB blades, let alone those in this price range.

Long-Bit Socket Sets

We’ve heard that American manufacturing is dead. Apparently, someone neglected to tell Mayhew Tools. After testing its U.S.-made long-bit sockets, we found the accessories are as reliable as the cold chisels, punches, and pry bars on which the 167-year-old company built its reputation. That is, the sockets are extremely tough. Our test was simple. We loosened and tightened Torx and Phillips fasteners with the sets to be sure they worked as intended, but we also clamped them in a vise and applied sufficient torque on the bits to try to make them deflect (close to the failure point of the socket wrench). The bits sailed through, which is not surprising, given that each is made from S2 shock-resisting tool steel. Each socket set comes mounted on a holder, complete with individual sliders for each bit, and each slider is equipped with its own ball detent. The sets are available in a variety of configurations (square drive, straight, Phillips, Torx, hex, ball hex, and triple square). This is American tool quality at its best.

Cordless Chain Saw MSA 300C

When Stihl sent us the MSA 300C with a 20-inch bar, we may have been a little skeptical. But, when we first touched bar to wood, any doubts were erased—the chain positively tore through the wood. The saw has three power levels, and for most logs we found the middle one to be more than enough. The lowest level helps preserve battery when we didn’t need a lot of power, while the strongest level kept the chain speed high when we had the bar buried in large logs. The MSA 300C is a beast of a saw. Based on our testing, we found it as capable as similarly sized gas saws for virtually any type of job.

Industrial Twist Ties

These twist ties have “greatest of all ties” printed on their nylon sheath, so we attempted to find out the truth behind that claim. We twisted them, pulled on them, yanked on them, slapped their plastic ends against an anvil and a concrete floor. We wrapped all kinds of stuff in our shop with them and hoisted the bundle using the ties as carrying handles (a stack of sawhorses, for example). Calling them “greatest of all ties” may be immodest, but it may also be the truth. We tested the starter pack, consisting of three ties (10, 6, and 3 feet long). Each consists of a three-wire braid inside a durable black nylon sheath. They’re tough and versatile.

Xtract Cubitron II Net Disc

Mesh is the hot fabric for sanding discs these days, and there are options you can find at the big-box store that work reliably. But the Cubitron II Net Discs cut longer than other sanding discs I’ve used. That’s thanks to the unique chevron design of the purple ceramic abrasive material, which prevents the disc from getting clogged. All those clear areas allow dust to get sucked through the pad and into your vacuum or dust collection system. No more fussing to line up the little holes in a paper-backed disc. 3M makes these in 3-, 5-, 6-, and 8-inch circles, as well as 80-grit (its coarsest) up to 320-grit for a super-smooth wooden surface.

Basin Wrench Socket

Someday, there will be faucet-mounting nuts that are easier to get at, but until that day, at least we have the Pipe Vise basin wrench socket. It fits any standard 3/8-inch drive socket wrench, and its spring-loaded jaw opens to a maximum of 11/4 inches. You can mount it onto the wrench directly, or with an extension, thereby giving you more control over how you get at the nut. Achieving maximum control and access with it, we found our best results using a Craftsman flex-head wrench.

ProFlow Pressure Washer

This petite 16-pound pressure washer is as much a pressure washer as other electrics we’ve tried within the same pressure (2,000 psi, approximately) and gallons per minute (1.77 gpm). You can install a set of caster wheels on it (included) or leave it standing on its rubber feet. Also included are five spray tips and quick-release fittings for your garden hose. You’re not going to use this to blast hardened mud off a bulldozer, but it’s perfect for many residential applications such as giving your house a light washing, cleaning mowers and gardening equipment, and freshening up outdoor furnishings.

Cart

It’s unlikely that you’ll have to move something that weighs 2,000 pounds—the weight limit for which the Rhino Cart is rated—but it’s good to know that the 7.4-pound dolly has that capacity should you need it. It moves its load on eight urethane wheels, which roll smoothly and distribute the load safely. Its hardened tube steel frame allows you to expand the tool’s working width from 6 inches to 46 inches. Two holes in each side allow you to hook in a bungee cord or tie off your load with rope. We piled all kinds of stuff on the cart, ranging from junk to boxes of tools and equipment. Then we rolled the Rhino Cart around in a garage and maneuvered it through a crowded shop. It handles a load so easily, we wish all our testing was this effortless.

Precision Pen

In the Popular Mechanics shop, we use WD-40 to clean parts and to lubricate tools and machines. The Precision Pen is the tidiest way we’ve ever seen to apply the popular lubricant. The pen has a felt tip, which fills when you press down to initiate the plunger. Once the tip is wet, press it to leave a spot of lubrication or to wipe on a stripe as wide as the pen’s tip. Take multiple swipes to leave a wide swath of WD-40, only where it’s needed.

Insulated 2-in-1 Screwdriver 32581INS

This 2-in-1 insulated electronics screwdriver is a robust tool fit for delicate work and the rough-and-tumble world of electrical installation. Its insulated shaft has a No. 0 Phillips on one end and a 1/8-inch-wide straight bit on the other. Two notches in the shaft seat it into detents in the insulated handle. Push the shaft straight in to lock it; pull forward on the lock collar to unseat it. The tool may look delicate, but it’s not. We drop-tested it on concrete and turned out and tightened No. 6 Phillips wood screws with it. It’s pure Klein.

Angled Reusable Sanding Block

A sanding block is a pretty simple thing, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be improved upon. This Diablo is shaped like a parallelogram, allowing you to sand flush to an edge and into corners, with ease. Our package came with five sanding sheets: two 100-grit, two 150-grit, and one 180-grit. Each sheet is a plastic abrasive screen with perforations sized to allow sanding dust to be shaken loose, vacuumed out, or washed off. The block is just the ticket for paint prep, odd jobs, and light rust removal. The sanding faces of the block have two different densities, one firm and one soft; thus you can also sand flat surfaces or sand on a contour.

PowerExpand 5-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Mini Dock

Ever since Apple developed the M1/Pro/Max/Ultra series chips, you can get damn-near-desktop performance in a portable package, and the Thunderbolt 4 Mini Dock allows you to make further use of ultra-fast SSDs for intense tasks like video editing. The biggest problem with these powerful ports is that they fill up pretty quickly with an ever-evolving snake of dongles and connections. More Thunderbolt docks have been popping up recently, but in general they’ll run you upward of $350. This mini hub from Anker costs half the price of most and expands one Thunderbolt port into three additional Thunderbolt 4 ports: one upstream Thunderbolt 4 port (for 85W charging) and one USB-Type A port. The only real drawback is that the power supply is almost twice the size of the hub itself, and without some clever cable management to support the weight, it can pull the hub off the back of your desk.

Locknut Wrench

Many electrical locknuts are overtightened and located in the metal box where it’s nearly impossible to get at them. Klein Tools locknut wrenches have a 90-degree offset that allows you to loosen and tighten these troublesome locknuts more easily than you can by other means (a screwdriver hit with a pair of linesman pliers). Each locknut wrench has carbon-steel construction to ensure durability. A pair of tiny rare-earth magnets embedded in each wrench holds it either to the box or to the other wrenches in the set. There are three in all: 1/2-, 3/4-, and 1-inch.

Pointed Sash 2012 Paintbrush

If you have to paint wooden windows or trim—anything with shaped profiles—drop that rectangular brush you picked up at the home center. Instead, splurge on these gorgeous pointed paintbrushes, sold by a Dutch company that’s been in business for more than 70 years. I fell in love with round brushes after my wife’s parents brought me back some from France. But I couldn’t find comparable ones Stateside, until these popped up in a local market. (You don’t have to come to Easton, PA, to get your own; they’re available on Amazon.) The synthetic bristles hold paint well, and the fine tip makes it so easy to repaint the 100-year-old wooden windows I’ve been restoring—laying a precise line of paint over fresh glazing putty and sealing it to the glass.

Laser Measure

Laser measures have been around for years and can be incredibly handy for things like measuring across a room. But, versions from recognizable tool manufacturers can set you back $100 or more. Klein is coming in with a budget-friendly measure that’s stupid simple. It’s accurate to 1/16 inch, measures up to 100 feet, and stores your last three measurements. You can also set it to display the measurement recorded from its front or rear surface, which is incredibly handy for getting interior measurements; butt it against a wall and you don’t have to do the math to factor for the measure’s size. It lacks some of the features of pricier options, such as the ability to calculate area or a built-in digital level to ensure you’re hitting the right spot with your red dot.

MX Master 3S Wireless Mouse

This high-performance wireless mouse has an unrivaled level of comfort, control, and extensive features. Its wide, vertical shape conforms to any size hand and creates a solid grip while keeping the buttons close. The seven buttons can be customized to actions like copying and pasting, so you don’t have to click into sub-menus. It has a horizontal thumb wheel so you can easily scroll through timelines (think video editing or music production) without having to drag a slider. Just one minute of charging gives you a full three hours of use, and you can pair up to three separate devices to it, like a Windows computer, Mac laptop, and Android tablet, then toggle between them instantly with the flick of a switch.

PLAY

You didn’t leave play time behind along with childhood. No, we still play, but we play differently. Great gear is like that. It can bring out the kid in you.

Volt 12 Pizza Oven

Ooni, the company that started the portable pizza oven craze, now has an electric model that rivals the performance of its gas and wood-burning ovens. Unlike pizza ovens that burn fuel, you can use the Volt 12 on your kitchen counter, plugged into a standard 120-volt, 15-amp outlet. There are plenty of electric pizza ovens available, but few are capable of hitting the Volt 12’s 850-degree-plus temperatures needed to make authentic Neapolitan pizzas. The oven walls are heavily insulated, with heating elements both above and below the pizza stone, to ensure your pizza cooks fast and evenly. The Volt 12 features easy-to-use controls, including a built-in timer, on the oven door. Warmup takes about 20 minutes, and you can cook your pizza in under 2 minutes.

Konnected Joe

One thing that keeps folks from barbecuing with charcoal is the lead time it takes to get the coals hot enough. This digital grill is the latest charcoal smart grill to automate this process, cutting startup time to about 20 to 25 minutes for grilling or smoking. The grill employs a fan that cycles up and down, blowing on the charcoal to get the coals burning and help keep the temperature right where you set it. The Konnected Joe has an electric, automatic fire starter so you won’t spend time trying to get it lit. What’s even better, the app integration lets you monitor and set temperatures right from your phone.

Heavy Duty Double Bike Rack

There is a lot we love about 1Up’s Heavy Duty Double hitch-mounted bike rack, but the first thing is that it comes fully assembled and ready to use. The rack holds two bikes and can be adjusted to ensure the saddle and handlebar on each bike will clear the other’s. Installation in your hitch receiver is easily done using a single, security hex wrench. The clever design allows you to adjust how close the rack is to the back of your car. Virtually every part of the rack is made from aluminum, with no plastic bits to break. The machining on the parts is neat and clean, and all the folding parts were tight and smooth. If you’re a fan of products made in the USA, this is a fine example of one made very well.

Tempo Cooler

Inspired by a Thermos, this aluminum cooler has a vacuum-sealed insulation system that allows it to stay cold without the need to pack it full of ice cubes. Plus, you don’t need to pre-chill the cooler before heading to the beach—the aluminum transfers heat rapidly. It comes with two slim ice packs that help keep things frosty, but if you fill it with cold beverages, they’ll remain plenty chilly for a day’s outing. To test the cooler, we loaded in the ice packs and 35 cans of seltzer that had been cooled to 34.8 degrees in a refrigerator. The temperature inside the cooler remained under 34 degrees for more than 24 hours, when we removed the ice packs. After 46 hours, the temperature was still holding at just 43 degrees, which is cold enough for a seltzer or a Bell’s Oberon. Bonus points are scored for the hinged lid that can be opened from either side or removed completely for easy cleaning, plus a nylon shoulder strap that makes it easier to carry a fully loaded cooler.

HOME

In the 1939 movie, “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy had it right: There’s no place like home. And you don’t have to be swept away by a Kansas tornado to feel that way. The right gear makes your home a smarter place, more energy efficient, more secure and, well, homey. There really is no place like it.

Programmable Key Kit

These days, car keys need to be paired with and programmed for your specific car, which can be expensive—over $250 at the dealer for some cars. Tom’s Key offers a DIY solution for many makes and models, which can cost less than half of what dealers charge. A full key kit from Tom’s typically comes with a programming device and blank key—in some cases the programming device needs to be returned; in others, you keep it. The blank key can be cut locally at a hardware store, or Tom’s can cut it for you (for a fee) if you send them a photo of your key. The programming process is easy to do, takes only about 15 minutes, and can save you over $100.

Cam V3 Pro

This budget camera comes fully loaded with a spotlight, siren, and two-way audio condensed into an IP65 weatherproof body so that you can scare away intruders indoors or out. Its 2K resolution is sharp enough to identify details like text on a shirt or tattoos, and it even has color night vision usually limited to models that cost double the price. Plus, you can store video locally on a MicroSD card. While the Wyze app isn’t the prettiest, its feature-rich interface is simple to navigate so you can easily pull up events and overlay camera controls with a tap. It quickly detects motion and even notifies you whether the movement is a person or an animal. However, adding Wyze’s optional home monitoring subscription to the camera takes it to the next level. If a person is detected inside your home, you’ll get a call from a live agent. Even if you miss the call or notification, Wyze can review the clip and send police to your door so you don’t have to worry about obsessively checking your phone while you’re away.

BE499WB CEN 619 Encode Plus WiFi

Secure and convenient, this smart lock connects to WiFi without requiring a separate hub, so you can monitor and control it remotely. Even better, you can set the door unlock when you arrive home or tap your Apple Watch against the lock. While it’s easy to get caught up in its fancy features and compatibility with smart home systems, the real draw is its toughness. It has the highest ANSI lock certification rating, which means it is one of the strongest smart locks available. It’s built to withstand thousands of opening cycles, dozens of direct kicks, and more than a handful of high-impact strikes before failing.

Desktop Cleaner

For less than the price of lunch, Odistar’s handheld vacuum sucks up crumbs from your desktop, sand from a car, or sawdust from a workbench. Its built with a durability that makes it likely to last for years. It’s an impressive tool that’s powered by two AA batteries (not included) that provide 90 minutes of suction. In testing it, we powered through dust, wood shavings, and pet hair without it breaking down or clogging up. And because these are conventional batteries, you can quickly jump back into the action when the batteries die instead of waiting on a charge. Its bottom nylon brush is helpful for getting into the nooks and crannies on a keyboard and scrubbing away light stains.

Pro Pool QLED

Between its bright 2,000-nit screen and rich QLED colors, this is the best outdoor television for those who want to watch TV in direct sunlight. Its stronger backlighting easily fights off glare while the sun is at its peak, which makes it easy to see small but crucial details such as the yard markers on a football field. Sylvox nailed color performance, which is especially vibrant with lifelike red and green hues that pop from the screen. Since the TV runs on Google’s Android TV operating system, you can download a variety of apps from the Play Store, access Google Voice Assistant, and cast content from your phone to the screen. We tested the lightweight 43-inch model, and it withstood extreme heat and rainstorms without problem.

Blade 100W Laptop Power Bank

While this compact square looks like an external hard drive, it’s actually a fast-charging power bank with four ports (two USB-C and two USB-A). It stands out for its massive capacity and 100-watt fast-charging capabilities. It took our tester’s 15-inch MacBook Air M2 from having a completely dead battery to being 85 percent charged in just one hour. That’s impressive since that particular laptop gained over 14 hours of usability from one hour of charging (at full charge, it’s close to 16 hours). The Blade has a built-in LED display to show essential details like battery life, power output, and time to a complete charge. It’s not as small as today’s average power bank, but with its high capacity and ability to fast-charge multiple devices simultaneously, it edges out the competition.

Motion Sensor P1

Add this tiny gadget to your smart home, and you’ll be able to passively control lights, adjust room temperatures, and receive reminders just by walking past it. The sensor detects motion from up to 23 feet away at a 150-degree angle (or 6 feet away at a wider 170-degree angle). Sync the P1 with your smart home system, like Amazon’s Alexa platform or Google Home, and you can easily set automated actions for connected devices once motion is detected. For example, you can program a specific set of lights to turn on when you walk past the P1 between set hours without having to ask a smart assistant or pull out a phone. There are other options in the Aqara lineup, like a door and window sensor and a temperature and humidity detector, but the P1 has the most versatility of the bunch.

Fire TV 55-Inch OMNI QLED

Aside from a vibrant 4K QLED picture, the Fire TV Omni simply feels like a giant computer in your living room. Its 64 zones of full array local dimming creates bold contrast by bringing out the darkest shadows and brightest highlights. And the image is always at its best since the Omni automatically adapts brightness levels through a built-in light sensor depending on your room’s lighting. The Fire TV Ambient Experience shows your photos, widgets, and artwork on the TV automatically when you’re in the room and turns off the display to save energy when you’re not. And with its built-in microphones you can ask Alexa to power on the TV, open shows, and control volume levels without a remote. This is the ultimate smart home hub, since it can pull up your camera feeds and show device statuses on a giant screen. For example, if someone rings your doorbell, you can get a picture-in-picture view of who’s at the door while you watch TV.

We need gear for work, for play, even to make a great dinner at home. That’s why in preparing for our annual awards package, we spent the past year working on our houses and yards, camping and grilling, and performing nearly miraculous feats with technology. If it sounds like fun, it is. We love gear, and preparing the Gear of the Year Awards is always a blast. But it’s also work that we take seriously because we want you to shop with confidence based on our recommendations. Then we want you to enjoy this gear as much as we have.

WORK

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean vestibulum, lectus non dapibus posuere, mi velit scelerisque sem, non fringilla sem leo non nunc. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos.

PLAY

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean vestibulum, lectus non dapibus posuere, mi velit scelerisque sem, non fringilla sem leo non nunc. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos.

HOME

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean vestibulum, lectus non dapibus posuere, mi velit scelerisque sem, non fringilla sem leo non nunc. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos.

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