I’ve worn Brunt work boots for more than three years and tested roughly a dozen pairs, and the biggest thing I’ve learned is that Brunt today isn’t the same boot company I started reviewing in 2023. I criticized the early boots for slippery soles, even nearly falling on wet concrete in one pair, but Brunt kept improving them. The newer soles are dramatically better, the lineup has expanded, USA-made options have arrived, and across all the pairs I’ve worn, I still haven’t experienced a major pattern of durability failures. They aren’t the heaviest-duty boots money can buy, and I wouldn’t pretend they’re right for every worker, but for the kind of work I do, Brunt has hit a great balance of comfort, durability and price. The Ohman is still my favorite, and after three years of wearing Brunt boots and criticizing them when they deserved it, I’d spend my own money on another pair.

After months of testing Permatex Spray Sealant on my GM 6.6L L8T oil-pan leak, I came away convinced that the product works—the problem was that my leak eventually became too large for an external sealant to realistically fix. Proper surface preparation made a huge difference, and the areas I could thoroughly clean and seal held surprisingly well. But as the factory RTV continued failing across the rear of the oil pan, the leak spread into areas I couldn’t reach. For a small, localized and accessible oil leak, I’d absolutely use Permatex Spray Sealant again. For a gasket or RTV seal that’s progressively failing, it’s a temporary patch at best; eventually the underlying problem needs to be repaired.

Is Metabo HPT still worth buying? After four more years of using and following the brand, I still think Metabo HPT makes some excellent cordless power tools, and the MultiVolt platform remains one of its biggest strengths. The problem isn’t tool quality—it’s the lineup around those tools. Aging drills, impacts and saws, limited outdoor power equipment, a shrinking retail presence in the stores I visit, and newer HiKOKI tools that haven’t made their way to the North American Metabo HPT lineup make the platform harder to recommend as a complete cordless ecosystem than it was when I first covered the brand in 2022. Metabo HPT is still making good tools, but four years later, I expected the lineup to have grown and evolved considerably more than it has.

A 26-year-old Tacoma isn’t reliable because nothing breaks. It’s reliable because when something does break, I can usually fix it myself without spending a fortune

The weirdest thing about being a long-time Makita owner in 2026 is that I still love the tools — I just barely buy them anymore. LXT feels stagnant, CXT feels forgotten, XGT is expensive, and the Makita tools I already own refuse to die.

My 2022 GMC Sierra kept displaying ‘Shift to Park’ even though the transmission was already in Park. The problem was a failing microswitch inside the column shifter — and on my truck, two zip ties fixed it without replacing the entire assembly.

All new!

Our first how-to video!

Ryobi Evercharge 18v VS Hart 20v Hand Vacuums! $20 hand vac showdown!

Dewalt VS Milwaukee Parts Bin Compartment Organizers! Who makes the best?

Makita XGT VS Metabo HPT 36V Reciprocating Saws Head-To-Head

Makita VS Metabo VS Dewalt 1/2” Impact Wrench Comparison

When you need a bit more power than a hacksaw, but don’t want the size of a full size reciprocating saw, you grab a sub compact. Lets see who wins!

Fellow reviewer Zach and myself both have picked up tools in Makita’s CXT 12v line over the past few years, they are very affordable, light weight and easy to use tools. Let’s jump right into our thoughts and impressions of the Makita CXT line.

Zach and Indy test the best 12v reciprocating saws to see which one comes out on top.