Sometimes, companies fail to innovate and are eventually lost to history and nostalgia, or worse, become part of a package of brands and patents sold to the highest bidder. Innovation rarely makes tools disappear, though, and companies like Stanley can continue to make world-class hand tools after being subsumed into a toolmaking mega-brand. In the case of Stanley, the mega-parent company is Stanley Black & Decker, owner of brands like DeWalt, Craftsman, Irwin, and Cub Cadet.
So when you start looking around for Stanley power tools, you won't find a lot: mostly middling workshop and portable vacuums, a smattering of job site infrastructure items you might not consider power tools (like work lights and heaters), along with a much-unloved power station, car battery charger, garage door opener, or tire inflator. The hand tools that made the Stanley brand are still in evidence. Stanley hand planes, despite once being ubiquitous, are still shockingly collectible. These days, Stanley touts its perennial favorite tape measure lineup, which features the much-loved PowerLock and FatMax models. It would be fair to call the hand planes and tape measures legendary, but what about the handful of power tools?
Stanley's power tools offer a limited selection of 15 shop and portable vacuums, along with one cordless handheld vacuum and a power station that received negative reviews on Stanley's official website. The reputation of Stanley vacuums is a mixed bag, with some highs and lows. While Stanley vacuums secured the top spot in 2022 for Best Midsize Shop Vac and Best Vacuum for Home and Garage Use by Popular Mechanics, other prominent review sites did not even consider Stanley. Some may even prefer the affordable $40 shop vac from Home Depot.
Project Farm, a renowned tool review YouTube channel, described the Stanley model as quiet, lightweight, and energy-efficient. However, testing revealed that it had the lowest airspeed, the second-lowest suction performance (only ahead of Walmart's Hart brand), and average capabilities in picking up water and sand. It also had the smallest water holding capacity among all tested models. Interestingly, Project Farm found a Craftsman model from the same manufacturer to be the top-performing vacuum. While DeWalt was rated as the best power tool brand, our construction expert warned against Black & Decker as a brand to avoid. These findings raise questions about the value of Stanley-branded power tools when brands like DeWalt, Milwaukee, and Craftsman are already established in the market.
