Gear guides and straight talk for the trades, judged on one test: does it buy you more good years? No spec-sheet padding, no miracle cures, and nothing with the word “senior” on it.
Built by Ronnie, a marketing strategist who got tired of watching tradespeople in his own family count down their knees instead of their years. Verdicts are research-led, with a test bench of working tradespeople growing from this list. The full story.
Self-employed means no sick pay. Drag the slider to your day rate and see what an average year of aches actually invoices you for.
Count the honest total: full days off plus the half-speed days that overran the job. Nothing you set here is stored or sent anywhere.
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Every guide ends with the same spec plate: what it weighs, what it costs, and how many lost days it has to save before it pays for itself. If we wouldn’t put it in our own van, it doesn’t get a link.
Knees // Cornerstone
Eight pairs compared on certification small print, the verdicts of tradespeople who kneel for a living, and price. Including the one pair worth twice its money.
Shoulders & wrists
The newest 18V drills weigh up to 900g less than the one you bought in 2015. Over a first-fix day, that’s tonnes of lifting your shoulder skips.
Hands // Vibration
Half of what’s sold as “anti-vibration” is padding with a label. We check the certification small print so you don’t have to.
Verdicts are built from certification small print, documented long-term feedback from working tradespeople, and price tracking. Hands-on field testing is being added guide by guide, and where it exists we say exactly who and for how long.
Every recommendation shows payback in lost days saved. If the maths doesn’t work for someone on £250 a day, we say so.
Sore knees at 55 aren’t fixed by a gadget. Good kit, good technique and pacing the job buy you years. Anything claiming more is binned.
Every recommendation on this site on a single page, ranked by Payback Score, with current best prices. Site Notes comes with it: five minutes every Friday with one recommendation, one technique worth nicking, and the week’s price drops. Plus first call on the test bench: free kit in exchange for honest feedback.
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