The rest of this list isn’t in any particular order but these lights are number one in my opinion. I probably have half a dozen of the original 390 lumen Braun light now and find this style of work light to be the most useful. The slim form factor, adjustable angle light wand and magnetic base make this an extremely usable light when working around the house, on a vehicle, or just about anywhere. The 390, 500, or 800 lumens on the high setting is plenty bright for most tasks and the wide light pattern just works well. The small narrow beam on the end of the wand is good for lighting up tight spaces. All three are rechargeable with a USB cable or the 18650 battery can be removed and charged separately.

These cases were binge buys back in the 20% off coupon days and are still occasional purchases. The medium size has been most useful but the smaller size and deeper ones have been the right size for certain items.

To be honest there are nicer cases of similar size and functionality available elsewhere, but none at the price of these. And, for the price, these have worked out perfectly.

These cases, in various sizes, are a sure impulse buy for me. I have more than needed but always find something to put in them. They come in several sizes and colors and are filled with pluck foam and solid foam layers. These have been rugged and seem to be well made.

Harbor Freight has a good selection of gloves for a decent price. The two pictured here are the ones I most frequently purchase but there are many others available in the store for different tasks.

The Hardy work gloves work well for the price and typically last for a decent time depending on use. They offer protection with pretty good dexterity. They do what they should do.

Everyone needs cable ties and Harbor Freight has them in a variety of lengths and colors. They even have stainless steel ties. Although these are not a “zip” style tie they are useful where no other cable tie is.

I don’ know how the standard ties compare in quality with other brands but they have been reliable and I keep going back for more.

Harbor Freight has a few different sizes of these and had free coupons for the smaller one in the past. They’re no longer offered for free but for about $3 they’re a useful purchase for the price. They can be placed on horizontal and vertical surfaces and will hold parts in place in both orientations. Having several available for automotive work helps in putting all the necessary parts back on the vehicle. They’re great for organizing small parts during disassembly & reassembly.

These bits have been very useful, and none have broke. They’re very useful in an impact driver with a quick change chuck and also work in other tools such as the 6-in-1 screw drivers which have a 1/4″ shaft.

They’re a repeat buy for me since I tend to “misplace” these things somewhere in the garage, the barn, or in the yard. So, with the low price and convenience of having a few complete sets these work out well.

Back in the day, the 5’x7′ tarp would frequently be one of the free items offered. It was usually my first choice when available. They’re great to have in a vehicle for keeping dirty cargo from making a mess in the trunk, seat, or back of an SUV. Also if for some reason crawling under the vehicle is necessary, or for changing a tire they’re nice for a ground cover. Harbor Freight offers several other sizes as well for larger needs.

This was another “for that price I’ll try it” purchases. Before this I’d never bothered using a short handle ratchet. Now that I’ve used one it might be the one I’d want if I could only have one ratchet. With a cheater pipe it can act like a longer handle ratchet but still have the usefulness of the shorter handle.

It’s a little heavy for it’s size but that’s about the only downside I can think of. There’s also an Icon brand stubby ratchet available at Harbor Freight but it’s more than three times the price and for my uses this has been flawless.

A few years ago I was attempting to fix up a far to rusted Jeep ZJ which had spent it’s life in the north enduring the winter road salt. I had never heard of a needle scaler before that project but somehow happened upon their existence. It’s almost like a rust eraser on thick rust. It doesn’t replace sand paper or a wire brush but for a certain category of rust it’s amazing. The rusted part needs to be a bit substantial like a frame or axel for this tool. It would most likely beat up sheet metal and thin gauge steel.

The inspection camera does what no other tool can do. It brings into view places nothing else can and when it’s needed, it is THE tool.

The light at the end of the flexible camera cable illuminates small spaces and the rotate button will rotate the image to help orientate the image on the screen. It comes in a nice carry case and runs on 4 AA batteries.

The Banks pneumatic crown stapler was a useful tool this past year for installing metal flashing and wire hardware cloth. This replaces a mechanical stapler and the lighter effort to drive the staple made the whole project more enjoyable. It’s light and easy to handle.

Time will tell on its durability but for the limited use mine will see I doubt there will be these type of issues. It’s nearly a 5 star rated item on the HF website.

These have come in handy for 3D printing and most other uses where small precise measurements are required. These fill a use where a tape measure is not the right tool for the job. They also help with quick conversions between inches an millimeters (mm), as long as it’s 6″ or less.

Harbor Freight also has calipers in other lengths, composite material, and different features.

Certainly not the most fun tool to use but it does its job well. The 6 gallon size is a nice compromise between capacity and mobility and it has plenty of power. One thing I don’t like about most wet/dry vacuums are the stiff hoses that don’t want to cooperate with the vacuuming operation. This one is not too stiff. It’s not as flexible as the house vacuum hose, but not ridged like our older, larger wet/dry vacuum either. It’s a good handy size that works well for project cleanup.

This is another tool that works well for it’s use, but spends most of it’s time sitting unused. It works well on the sheet metal it’s sized for and makes nice tight bends in hardware cloth as well.

It stores well in a fairly small space if the handles are removed.

I am by no means an accomplished welder, I am very amateur in this skill. However, going from a fixed shade welding helmet to an auto-darkening helmet took away one of the frustrations in the learning process.

There are several varieties available with different features, shapes, and viewing window size. The grinding mode is also useful as it provides a large area of protection and good visibility without darkening too much.

Harbor Freight offers several jacks in different sizes and colors. Shown here are two extremes, one is small, light, made of aluminum and rated at 1.5 tons. The other is large, heavy, made of steel and rated at 3 tons. These are two very different jacks and excel at different tasks. There are several models in between of both aluminum and steel offering something for most needs.

We have had a variety of Atlas outdoor tools for about a year and a half at this point (October 2022). Most have two seasons of use now with the mower being the exception as it was purchased this spring.

These have performed better than anticipated and have handled more use than planned with no problems. There is a more thorough overview here: https://diytype.com/atlas-battery-powered-outdoor-tools-one-season-review/.

It has “Ultra Quiet” printed on the tank and that is accurate. This is extremely quiet (57dBa) compared to the pancake compressor it replaced from a different brand. It works well for small tasks like brad nailers, pneumatic crown stapplers and airing up tires.

It weighs 26.5 pounds, is balanced well when being carried, and feels solid. It gets Harbor Freight’s “Best” rating and seems worthy of that label.

It spends most of its time just setting there on standby (under a HF tarp). But, when it’s needed, it’s NEEDED. This generator has been flawless through several power outages, some being multi-day. It brings civilization back into our home when the power company can’t, and the electric start feature is a very welcome departure from our old pull-start generator.

NOTE: If the generator has an electric start option, the battery is probably sold separately.

Our smaller generator serves a very different purpose than the larger one, and does it well – and quietly. It wont power the whole house but this is one we can set on the deck and run a cord inside to keep one or two items powered such as the refrigerator, freezer, sump pump, etc., although maybe not all at the same time.

It’s definitely quiet and not annoying to have it running close to the house. It’s also easy to pull start, light enough to move around and uses little gas.

This is one that can easily be transported for camping, to a job site, or many other uses.

We have a high water table where we live and at times our sump pump will run twice in a minute to empty the sump pit. That’s a lot of water being removed over the course of several hours. A good sump pump is critical to keeping our basement dry during the wet months and this pump has been reliable for several years now. If it failed I’d get another. In fact, we have a new one sitting in the basement, unused and ready to go into service when the current one eventually fails. At some point it most likely will but it has performed well.

Another tool that doesn’t get a lot of use, but I have no other tool that will do what this does. It works great as a hoist and since it’s portable it isn’t fixed in one location.

I’ve also used it for horizontal pulling as well and it has worked well for that too. Horizontal use is a little more awkward since the hoist isn’t hanging and everything wants to drop to the ground.

It was a back saver for pulling a large heavy piece of furniture up a staircase. Make sure the hoist is anchored well.

Technically the tools are not over $100 but by the time you buy a charger and battery or two, or more, it’s most likely over the $100 mark. Chances are the purchasing won’t stop at one tool either.

The cordless 3/8″ ratchet was the excuse I used to step into the Hercules 12v tool line. For certain tasks this tool is very useful. Although it doesn’t replace a standard ratchet it does work in places a standard ratchet would be cumbersome or fatiguing.

Another useful tool available in 12v is the compact reciprocating saw which has also proven useful for many cutting tasks.

The drill/driver is the tool of choice for what it can do due to its light weight and more agile size. It doesn’t replace an 18-20v tool but is the one I prefer for light to medium duty work.