From well-known, established brands you’d find at the home centers to plucky entrepreneurs with a great idea looking to spread the word, more than 1,000 exhibitors occupy The National Hardware Show with booths displaying new tools, products, and solutions claiming to simplify DIY projects.
Visiting the Las Vegas Convention Center for the NHS means checking out booth after booth to find the most innovative tools, gadgets, and gear. There’s a broad range of items to sift through—some products look to solve a genuine problem or present an upgrade to an existing solution, while others feel gimmickier. Since the first event in 1945, the NHS has been ground zero for manufacturers rolling out new ideas for indoor and outdoor home-improvement products. Each year, more than 70,000 attendees stroll around the show to see the latest and greatest in the DIY industry.
See our top picks for tools and other gadgets from this year’s NHS event. (Prices shown at the time of publishing).
Veto SB-LD Hybrid Tool and Meter Bag
Pros in the trades know Veto for their tough-as-nails tool bags and backpacks designed to keep tools organized. But a DIYer doesn’t need to be an electrician to benefit from this scaled-down take on their popular tool bag at 12x12x9 ½ inches. From the front to either side, the bag is equipped with nearly 30 pockets for hand tools, including ones large enough to hold a 12-volt drill/driver. Along the back side, there’s a zippered compartment fitted with a removable two-pocket organizer that can house larger hand or power tools, as well as another generously sized pouch suitable for gloves or a small bit case or box of fasteners. Even fully loaded, the bag won’t tip over, and a comfortable handle makes it easy to tote along.
$155; Vetopropac and Amazon
Work iQ Tools IQ Vise
If any old vise is a helping hand, then the Work iQ is like having an apprentice in your garage. Bolted to a workbench (or clamped in place in a pinch), the cast aluminum and steel IQ Vise’s ball articulates in nearly eight different positions before you lock it in place with a cam lever that requires more than 130 foot-pounds of torque to dislodge. The business end of the clamp is a pair of textured rubber pads to grip wood and flat objects. But the IQ Vise is part of a system with interchangeable jaws that can grip round pipe or a bike, and its ports hold accessories like a flashlight and a magnifying glass for detail work. It’s a vice that works around you, instead of forcing you to move around it.
$280; Workiqtools and Amazon
Nite Ize Radiant Starlit Rechargeable Lantern + String Light – Disc-O
String lights are an easy way to dress up a patio and extend entertaining into the evening. The 4 1/4-inch diameter Nite Ize Radiant Disc-O packs 23 feet of LED tape that you can yank out like a fishing line. The tape is dotted with 70 LEDs that change into four colors (there are nine color modes in total), with a hook on the end to attach to an awning, around a tree, or under a patio umbrella easily. The soft 200 lumens add a nice ambiance when stretched out, but if you need a brighter pop of light, reel them into the housing and use the Radiant in lantern mode. The charge lasts about three hours as a lantern or 6 1/2 hours as string lights, before needing 2 1⁄2 hours to recharge.
TurnXTools ULT Screwdriver
Your multi-bit screwdriver and impact driver both use similarly shaped bits, and now you can seamlessly switch between the two with the ULT Screwdriver. The yellow screwdriver body holds four double-sided bits that fit into any 1/4-inch shank impact driver, though the handle can hold up to seven bits total. The 4-inch-long bits provide better reach than the short stubby version that comes with most tools and are made with S2 tool steel to withstand the abuse of an impact driver. The handle has a screw gauge built in to identify common fastener diameters.
$65; Turnxtools and Amazon
Everdure Cube 360 Kingsford Edition
Portable grills tend to be associated with cheap, disposable designs, but the Everdure Kingsford edition packs a lot of utility in (roughly) a 14x17x17-inch cube that provides 115 square inches of cooking surface—enough for about six small burgers. This 27-pound charcoal grill comes with Kingsford briquets, a stainless-steel spatula, tongs, and brush, which can be stored conveniently inside. The stay-cool handles make it easy to transport, while the enameled steel firebox can hold about 30 briquets to do everything from searing a few steaks to roasting a small chicken. The grate is adjustable in two positions and the lid includes a top vent to adjust the airflow for hotter or cooler fires. Sliding side vents allow you to quickly close off oxygen to extinguish the fire after cooking.
$200; Home Depot
Hammerhead Snow Shovels
The tough polycarbonate plastic used to make this shovel is 20 percent thicker than a traditional version. What’s even better is that the five teeth on the end of the blade work to dislodge packed snow—the sort that remains under the car after you pull into your driveway. But the Hammerhead is really two shovels in one: Pull the pin behind the shovel head and it pivots from a toothy biter to a snow pusher that clears an 18-inch-wide path, allowing you to get close to walls.
$37; Amazon
Affix Hanger Storage
When it comes to organizing tools, sports gear, and other supplies, the nylon straps on the Affix storage system will hold them up more securely on the wall of the garage or shed than average nails or a basic hook. Affix also is convenient to use in boats, work vans, and RVs. Each polycarbonate plate accepts two #6 screws, which you supply, to firmly attach the 18 inches of webbing at one end. Add whatever you’re storing, whether a bike or a garden hose, and the beefy, stainless-steel T shank on the other end clips in and will not accidentally come undone.
$15 for a two-pack; Affixstorage
Backyard Banger
Once you connect this innovative 4x2x3.3-foot mobile bar to a garden hose and extension cord, you’ve got everything you need to get a party started. The sink, which includes a restaurant-style cup washer, drains into a bucket inside the metal cabinet, making it easy to dispose of. On the countertop, the 20-amp, pop-up receptacle offers access to two GFCI plugs for hosting essentials, whether it’s a blender, electric grill, or pellet smoker, plus it also acts as a Bluetooth speaker. The wood countertop offers 20 square feet of work surface for meal prep or to make drinks, with ends that fold down for compact storage. The kit includes a 4.4-cubic-foot mini refrigerator and a 15-foot-wide umbrella so you can wheel it around, drop anchor, and start entertaining.
From $5,000 plus shipping; Bybanger.com
Smart Square Bubble
Smart Square might be the brightest star in the rafter square universe. Last year, the company added a hinged element that allows users to lay a rafter square flat on a surface by moving the shoe. The latest version features an arc bubble level that makes it easy to read plumb, level, and 45 degrees without the fuss of adding a torpedo level. The extruded aluminum is cut with etched markings to make reading easier, even in low-light conditions. The Smart Square also comes with a removable jig to make repeated cuts, like stair stringers, faster and more accurate.
$139; smartsquaretools.com
Planetary Design Airscape Bucket Lid Insert
The 5-gallon bucket just got a lot better with this Airscape Lid. Designed to fit the ubiquitous pail, this lid is designed with a handle, a silicone gasket around its edge, and a one-way vent built in. As you press it down into the bucket, the lid forces the air through the vent, preserving whatever you’re storing in the bucket. Use it to keep drywall compound fresh, but also pet food, fertilizer, or even a gallon paint can. Planetary Design is working on smaller sizes for gallon and quart-size paint cans. For those who want to ensure air won’t spoil food, a port allows you to pump in argon gas to displace the oxygen.
$26; planetarydesign.com and Amazon