11 Great Tools Win Popular Mechanics Editor's Choice Awards: Gallery

What the H3 rotary hammer lacks in size, it makes up for in tenacity. The 12-volt lithium-ion tool punches a hole in concrete like nobody's business using industrial spline-shaft masonry bits. And if masonry work is not on your to-do list, then switch the drill to standard rotary-drilling mode for making holes in wood or metal. In our comparison tests against a regulation hammer drill and an obviously overmatched Bosch Bulldog, the little H3 put up some admirable numbers.

Craftsman's Nextec circular saw is perfect for cutting shelving, thin-plank laminate flooring and light plywood—pretty much any work that doesn't require a full-size circular saw. It may only have a 3-3/8-inch blade powered by a 12-volt, 1.3-amp-hour lithium-ion battery, but the cordless tool crosscuts 1x stock and rips 3/4-inch sheet goods with relative ease. The qualifier is necessary because it occasionally bogged down on us as 1 x 4 lumber pinched its wee blade. But a little persistence at 2400 rpm pushed the 20 carbide-tipped teeth on through. At 3.8 pounds—less than half the weight of a standard 7-1/4-inch-blade circ saw—it's a breeze to heave. It's one part of the four-piece Lithium Ion Nextec kit, which also includes a drill driver, a worklight and a sander.

The Core Power System is a compact 7-kilowatt standby generator that costs about the same as a comparable portable generator. But it's better than a portable—this eight-circuit powerhouse turns on automatically when the power goes out, supplying up to 50 amps of electricity fueled by natural gas or propane. Included in its price is the automatic transfer switch that disconnects the home from the electric grid and switches it to generated electricity.

The Might D Light is a folding, rechargeable LED worklight with a two-hour run time. Imagine an open book with an array of LEDs where the words would be. Stick it to iron pipes and steel automotive surfaces using several rare-earth magnets along the backside, or prop open the hinged pair of light-filled faces to simply stand it on the floor. Unlike a focused beam on a typical torch, the Might D Light casts a wide illumination over the work area.

A deck looks better and resists the weather more effectively if the screws used to fasten its boards are concealed, rather than face-driven through the surface of the boards. This Kreg jig makes the concealment easy. The layout tool helps installers drill and drive decking screws at a 45-degree angle through the top and side of a deck board, similar to the way a flooring nailer fires an angled fastener through the tongue of a floorboard. The kit includes spacers to maintain a consistent distance between courses of boards—considering the fact that deck builders typically measure and maintain that consistency by dropping a spare screw between the last two courses, this is a considerable advancement. For a homeowner building a deck or resurfacing an existing deck, it's a must-have tool.

We can't think of many tools that cut wood, drywall, acoustic and ceramic tile, plastic laminate, light-gauge sheet steel and aluminum. Add in the capability to sand and shape those surfaces, and we can't think of another one at all. But as Dremel reps at NHS demonstrated, using elaborate boxes fitted with each of the materials mentioned above, their new Trio has the versatility to do it all. The tool uses specially designed rotary bits that cut and bore at the same time. Switch those out and you can also chuck a sanding drum or a small 3/16-inch router bit (only Dremel-branded, Trio-specific accessories will work, though). The finishing touch is a pivoting handle that permits two ways to hold the tool: straight on or at a 90-degree angle.

It takes a carpenter like Ray Atwood to have thought of a tool like the DoubleVSquare, a tool he showed off for the first time at NHS. Layout tools evolved from the framing square to the combination square to the Speed Square—and this new implement essentially doubles that last one, with a second triangular-shaped "square" that pivots along one edge. The pair of squares do everything that a single square should: mark lines, guide power tools and calculate roof-framing angles. The additional element allows it to mark around corners or fold out for a larger measuring surface.

We like big equipment, but bigger doesn't always mean better. This Proxxon sander uses a disc that's only 5 inches in diameter, but it packs a lot of versatility, power and precision into its small size. It runs vertically or horizontally and attaches to a work surface with a built-in clamp, making an ideal abrasion station for small metal bar stock or the thin hardwoods used in model-building. The German-engineered machine runs so quietly, you'd have to hear it to believe it.

Power screwdrivers tend to be big brawny things, not something that can slide into your shirt pocket. This pen-size power tool is powered by a pair of AAA batteries, spins at 100 rpm and runs for 10 hours. It's perfect for assembly and disassembly of computers, electronics and office machines.

If James Bond used a cordless power tool, this would be it. The PS21-2A is only 12 volts, but its power feels like a tool twice its size. Twenty clutch settings for driving fasteners, a drill setting for boring holes and a two-speed selector switch help this tool run with the big dogs.

Why didn't someone think of this before? MTD Products' The Gadget combines four foldout sockets to handle common sizes of nuts, bolts and spark plugs on outdoor power equipment. It also packs screw drivers and a tapered feeler gauge for setting the gap on just about any spark plug. It's 11 tools in all. When the work is done and the time comes to refuel the equipment's operator, the Gadget also includes a bottle opener.