The Home Depot ProSpective media event marked the company’s first foray into bringing all their major manufacturing partners together under one roof for the media. Magazines, online publications, and bloggers from all over the country were brought in to check out some of the hottest tools on the market. Before this, we got a chance to see the Home Depot Product Quality & Engineering Laboratory. Now, however, it was time to check out some tools. While we’ve already seen—or in some cases, already reviewed—just about every tool we came across, it was still great to find it all in one place. Wait a second—isn’t that also true of my local Home Depot store? Perhaps—but in this case The Home Depot was also providing plenty of live demos and hands-on opportunities.
Manufacturer Tool Demos
Milwaukee Tool
First up was Milwaukee Tool. They showed off several of their latest tools to the media, including plenty of lighting and power tools.
They also featured the Milwaukee Tick tool & equipment tracker. This often misunderstood device isn’t a GPS, but rather a tool for helping Pros organize and track tools locally on the job site. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard of (or even seen) tradesmen misplace or leave tools on the job site. That’s a potential for a lot of waste, and the Milwaukee Tick provides some traceability for those tools. It’s also compatible with Apple iBeacon which means you can track your tools even when the app is offline. iBeacon is essentially a Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) wireless technology that lets you use Location Services in iOS to track your Tick and Milwaukee One-Key tools.
Milwaukee also had some fun with one of their displays—using a customized cooler and their new chalk lines to present an awfully compelling fishing rig! We asked—don’t get your hopes up for a retail version…
Makita Tools
Next up we took another look at the Makita brushless rear-handle circular saw in action. It was getting a ton of attention as it sliced through three layers of 3/4-inch plywood like it was nothing.
RIDGID & RYOBI
The Ridgid Gen5X brushless belt sander drew a crowd, and they went through several belts testing the run-time and power of this new tool. The balance, auto-centering, and simple belt changes make this a great cordless tool. Anybody who is already on the Ridgid battery platform should pick one of these up from The Home Depot.
Of course, the Ryobi cordless glue gun was the hottest product in the booth…pun intended.
And they added a new tire inflator and security camera options to the Ryobi GD200 Garage Door Opener (GDO).
Tool Accessories
In a nearby booth we saw a demonstration of the Diablo tracking point circular saw blade. You may have seen this demo in our STAFDA 2017 show coverage. After the demo, the Irwin WeldTec blade was missing a bunch of teeth while the Diablo was still cutting cleanly. The test? Cutting through two layers of asphalt shingles and flashing over dimensional lumber as well as 40 1/4-inch lag bolts.
Bosch also demoed some of their latest multi-material drill bit technology alongside the new Bosch green lasers. Bosch is really doing a great job of increasing the amount of carbide on their bits. They also design those tips with more surfaces to affect a greater cutting speed.
DeWalt Tools
The new DeWalt charging Bluetooth radio came up next up at the Home Depot ProSpective media event. It incorporates some of the sound of the DeWalt ToughSystem Bluetooth radio and the convenience and ruggedness of their existing job site radio.
Husky Storage
Husky had their 60-inch rolling tool bench on-hand, but it was a new model that includes a metal pegboard. It’s similar to the Milwaukee 60-inch mobile workstation, but in their signature black.
Additionally, Husky demoed some new waterproof leather work gloves that don’t shrivel up or get hard when wet. They also had a really cool expandable Husky 15-gal. Cantilever Mobile Job Box that’s priced less than $50! It looks incredibly convenient and versatile.
Wrapping up the Home Depot ProSpective Media Event
The Home Depot ProSpective media event was a great way to see many different manufacturers in one place. We could tell a lot of the bloggers and social media influencers enjoyed an opportunity to get their hands on some tools they don’t normally get to handle. For us, it was an opportunity to see some familiar faces and get to know the folks at The Home Depot a little better.
We’ve got a ton more tool media events coming up over the remaining portion of the year, so keep an eye out for that coverage as well. Until then, please check out our Facebook page, and catch up with us on Instagram and Twitter.
