Our Review Process
How do you review and recommend tools?
At Handy Tool Adviser, we compare and evaluate tools through extensive research and survey comprising the following main steps,
1. Selection of popular models from online marketplaces easily accessible to people because there is no benefit of recommending a product that our readers cannot easily buy. Popularity is taken into consideration because it allows better assessment of the tool due to availability of healthy customer feedback that is not available for newly launched models.
2. Comparison of shortlisted models in their technical specifications, features, ergonomics, performance, manufacturer's support (especially in the form of warranty) and cost effectiveness. We weigh the shortlisted tools against each other on the referred factors to find where one tool beats the other not only in an overall competition but also to become suitable for a specific application.
3. Carrying out an in-depth survey of customer and user feedback of tools to identify problems and shortcomings of the tool as well as the unique advantages that separates the tool from the rest. This step allows us to gain insight into the performance of the tool in different hands and under different working conditions and applications - something that cannot be simulated in any test environment. It helps us determine which tool is fit for a homeowner but not a professional and which tool is fir for a HVAC technician but is an overkill for a DIYer.
4. Consultation with manufacturer's website, technical manuals as well as other review resources to find important aspects and pieces of information about competencies, merits and demerits of the tool not readily available elsewhere. Brands always tell all the features, specifications and advantages they have in their tool but they seldom highlight all that is missing. For that we have to do the digging to find cons of even the top tools we recommend.
Do you buy and physically test the products?
We don't buy and physically test all of the products that we review. Our assessment and evaluation is primarily based on our research coupled with our expertise and knowledge of hand and power tools gained through technical education and professional experience in everyday use of such tools.
We don't believe that all of the conditions that a hand or power tool has to face in different hands, locations, professions, environments and applications can be produced in a test that could become a representative of its performance, durability and efficiency in a multitude of scenarios that the tool practically faces when it hits the market. However, we don't deny the important role such tests play in determining which tool has an edge when used to its full capacities, therefore, such resources play a very important role in our technical evaluation of the tools.
If you have any query regarding our review process or would like to make any suggestion, please use our contact form to share your valuable thoughts.