5 Cheap Lowe's Tools Under $25 That Still Have Great Reviews
When it comes to buying tools, often quality is proportional to the price paid. Dewalt and Makita topped our list of the best overall power tool brands, but some of the offerings from those two makers will cost you hundreds of dollars. Inexpensive tools aren't always junky, though. Lowe's has more than 1,700 stores in the United States and sells building materials and tools at nearly every price point. Many of Lowes' lower-priced offerings are made by top-quality manufacturers, including DeWalt.
We've scoured the Lowe's online catalog to find five tools for under $25 that have high ratings from buyers and wear trusted and familiar name brands. You can order from their website and pick up your purchases in-store or curbside, or have them shipped to your door. If you want to order more than one item from this list, orders totaling $45 or more and weighing less than 150 pounds ship free within the United States.
DeWalt demolition saw blade 16-pack
Some people find the demolition phase of a construction project to be the most enjoyable, although few relish the cleanup that follows. When it comes time to cut through drywall, studs, and flooring, a reciprocating saw can make quick, fun work of the teardown. However, a good saw is useless without high-quality blades like the ones found in DeWalt's 16-piece bi-metal demolition set that is on sale for $24.98 through April 24.
The kit includes two 8-inch long 'fire and rescue' multi-material blades, one coarse-cutting 9-inch blade for wood with embedded nails, two 8-inch long rough metal cutting blades, five 6-inch long fine metal cutting blades, six coarse-cutting, 6-inch long blades for wood planks and beams, and a hard plastic carrying case. This blade set has an average rating of 4.7 out of five stars from 700 reviewers, with 82% giving it a perfect five of five. Most reviewers had nothing but praise for the blades themselves, although several noted that the case was difficult to open.
Energizer headlamp
For working underneath cars or in crawl spaces, basements, or other dark locations, a wearable headlamp is a useful hands-free tool to have in your kit. A wearable headlamp is also a good tool to have if you're a camping enthusiast. Lowe's sells a 400-lumen Energizer headlamp for $24.98 with a built-in rechargeable battery that lasts up to four hours on a full charge. The light's vertical angle is adjustable, it has a horizontal beam spread of 45-degree, and can illuminate objects up to 80 feet away. The non-replaceable 3-volt battery is charged via the included USB cable, and the light automatically dims and gradually increases in brightness in response to ambient light levels.
The lamp is IPx4 rated for water resistance, meaning it is safe to use in the rain or snow but shouldn't be fully submerged. It has seven illumination modes: high, low, wide, wide low, green, red, and flashing red. This lamp has an average rating of 4.8 out of five stars from almost 250 reviewers, with 99% of them recommending it to other buyers.
Irwin 12 inch tongue and groove pliers
If you're working on an automotive or plumbing project, tongue-and-groove pliers give you a solid grip on pipe fasteners of varying sizes. Lowe's sells a pair of 12-inch Irwin Vise Grip V-lock pliers for $22.98; smaller sizes are available at slightly lower prices as well. The metal-injection molded alloy steel pliers have rubber non-slip grips, and the jaws have right-angle teeth for maximum bite.
Irwin boasts that the push-button fulcrum allows for 50% faster adjustment than traditional pliers and that these pliers have twice the adjustment positions of any similar pliers on the market. The jaws open as wide as 2.75 inches, and the pliers are covered by Irwin's lifetime warranty. They have an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars from more than 200 Lowe's buyers, with 99% of reviewers recommending them to others. 88% of reviewers gave these pliers five out of five stars; many of them praised the comfortable handles, powerful grip, and easy adjustability.
3M Safety glasses
If you're grinding metal, working with caustic liquids, or using a power saw to cut wood, proper eye protection is critical. Lowe's carries a pair of 3M flat-temple plastic safety glasses for only $11.98, a very small price to pay for an item that could save your eyesight. These glasses have one-piece lenses that block 99.9% of UV rays and soft rubber nose pads for comfort. The flat temples allow ear protection devices to fit snugly over them, giving you one less sense to worry about in potentially hazardous working conditions.
These glasses come with your choice of clear or grey-tinted lenses for indoor or outdoor use, and are ANSI and OSHA certified. They are covered by a one-year limited warranty, and have an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars from more than 200 reviewers, with 97% of them recommending these glasses to other buyers. Many reviewers praised the lightweight, secure fit, comfort, and wraparound protection of these glasses.
Arrow T21 staple gun
Staple guns come in handy when you're reupholstering furniture or car seats, installing carpet, house wrap, or insulation, or running wiring in areas of new construction. Pneumatic or electric staplers like the Ryobi ON+ Crown staple gun can cost upwards of $100, but Lowe's carries the Arrow T21 manual stapler for just $14.98.
You might have seen an Arrow staple gun at your grandparents' house; Lowe's website says Arrow has sold more than 50 million T50 staplers since that product was introduced in the 1950s. The T21 is a light-duty stapler meant for craft, decorating, and upholstery projects. It uses JT-21 staples in lengths of 1/4, 5/16, and 3/8 of an inch. For heavier-duty applications, consider the T50, which usually sells for $21.98 but is currently on sale at Lowe's for $2 off.
The T21 has an easy-to-squeeze forward-action lever and viewing window so you can always see how many staples are left in the rear-loading chamber. The T21 has an average rating of 4.8 out of five stars from nearly 13,000 reviewers, with 99% of them recommending it to others and more than four out of five awarding it a perfect rating of five stars. Most reviews mentioned its small size, light weight, and ease of use.
Methodology
To find the items on this list, we browsed each of the dozens of categories of tools on the Lowe's website, filtering by price and sorting by average customer review. We sought out products with not only a high average score, but a large number of reviews and high recommendation percentage. Weight was given to products with more reviews over ones with higher ratings but a limited amount of customer feedback.
We set minimum thresholds of 200 reviews and an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars, then sought out the highest rated products under $25. We then read through as many individual customer reviews as possible, looking for serious flaws in any of the products and identifying the qualities that let people to review them favorably.