Pro Tool Reviews: 2024 has been a great year for innovation in the tool industry. We saw a number of brands release some really heavy hitters that represent the best of the best of what’s available for Pros. This year, the Pro Tool Innovation Awards recognized 222 separate products across 15 categories, comprising hand tools, power tools, outdoor power equipment, and tons more.
4 comments:
It's so cool that there are articles about tools for people to learn about all the new tools that can make jobs exponentially easier. When I know more about tools and the specifics of construction and building I think I will appreciate these lists of new tools that fill a specific role in the process. I think it is cool to see a bunch of new tools being created because I normally hear about tools that have been around for ages and centuries that have remained unchained the whole time. It's cool to see how safety and comfort features have evolved with the work along with innovation and design changes that reduces the price to make it more available and affordable. The wide variety of tools and intended uses shown in this article also surprised me but in a happy way as having a lot of jobs showcased can also show the tools to other jobs that may not be the initial intended job, as often happens with theater using tools that were designed for other specialties.
It’s at times like these I wish I wasn’t a broke college student. I can, however, claim to have used one tool from this list: I have a friend who has that exact Milwaukee stubby impact. What really impressed me more than anything when I used it in the past was its weight. Compared to similar impact guns, this one is insanely light for the power you get, just like the article says. I was a little intrigued by Ryobi’s tripod work light, namely in that the article mentions “other lighting, audio, and air movement tools”. I googled it, and it’s really just the ability to mount a speaker or a fan to the top instead of a light which was a bit disappointing, but I don’t know what I expected. The Hilti tool balancer is the only tool I’ve never seen anything like. It seems a lot more applicable to real construction than arts and crafts theater, but it’s still really cool. I’d be interested in trying one.
When reading this article, I expected to see tools that would solve problems I didn't know I had, given that they are the 'Innovation' Awards. However, there were only a few tools that actually made an impression on me, as everything else seemed to be what everyone was already doing, just slightly better or different. The DeWalt pipe expander garnered my attention as personally, I had never heard of a pipe expander, but the existence of one does make sense. The article also mentions a similar tool but from Milwaukee, which once again makes me question how innovative this tool really was. What I did find really interesting was the tool balancer. While I get the idea behind it, I wonder how useful it actually is. While it might help you reduce fatigue when using a tool, as the article states it is designed to, carrying 37 pounds of awkward metal on your back all day would get tiring, as would taking it on and off every time you want to use a heavy tool. Lastly, I was extremely disappointed by the carpet cleaner, since they got rid of the trigger system. As someone who has used a carpet cleaner a lot to clean up after dogs, that trigger system is nice to be able to focus on different areas of the mess so I don't waste solution on areas that aren't contaminated. All-in-all, I was a little disappointed but look forward to seeing how some of these tools perform in the long run.
As I’ve said before I am very excited by new tools. I am even more so when they are useful and not overpriced for their tasks as unfortunately a lot of higher end (or overhyped) tools and technology are. It is a shame there are not similar awards given to tools in theatre. This also makes sense though as theatre is such a niche application. Also, that the people building theatre often come from other industries and their tools and expertise comes with them. It is also an easier market for tool-makers to provide tools for and cheaper for consumers to buy mass-manufactured tools to accomplish similar tasks. As the breadth of theatre spans so many, often compartmentalized industries, even the biggest space with a large budget for tools will always need or want something new to accomplish a task that they’ve never done. I am also interested in the design behind these tools but that seems a bit beyond my understanding of engineering at the moment.
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