Klein Tools

The Best Clamp Meters: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Klein Tools CL810 600A AC/DC Auto-Ranging TRMS Clamp MeterRunner-up

Covers most of what the Fluke does, resolves far smaller currents, and adds a thermocouple input.

Best for: The electrician or serious DIYer who wants one clamp meter that handles both big loads and small ones.

$$ · mid-range

The Best Digital Multimeters: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Klein Tools MM720Runner-up

CAT IV 600 V / CAT III 1000 V, true RMS, 6000 counts and a low impedance mode, at a price a working electrician will actually pay.

Best for: Electricians and maintenance technicians who want a CAT IV rated, independently certified true RMS meter with ghost voltage handling and no premium price.

$$ · mid-range

The Best Fish Tapes: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Klein Tools Multi-Groove Fiberglass Fish Tape with Nylon Tip, 50-Foot (56382)Runner-up

The short, cheap way to get a non-conductive tape with a non-conductive tip, if you can live with fifty feet.

Best for: Residential work and short runs where you want the softer material without stepping up to a flagship reel.

$ · budget

The Best Infrared Thermometers: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Klein Tools IR10 Dual-Laser Infrared ThermometerRunner-up

Tightest optic here, plus the contact probe that covers what infrared cannot.

Best for: Tradespeople who want one tool that reads both a hot surface and the air coming out of a vent.

$$ · mid-range

The Best Insulated Hand Tools: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Klein Tools 33526 Basic 1000V Insulated Tool Kit, 8-PieceRunner-up

Eight properly marked insulated tools in one zip case, which is closer to what an actual service call needs.

Best for: A first insulated kit for someone who wants breadth of tool types in one marked, cased purchase.

$$ · mid-range

The Best Network Cable Testers: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tech & Gadgets

Klein Tools Scout Pro 3 Tester with Test + Map Remote Kit (VDV501-853)Runner-up

The best value if you are wiring a house, because it tests data, telephone and coax and comes with six remotes so you can map six drops in one trip to the panel.

Best for: Homeowners and low voltage installers terminating a structured wiring panel who need voice, data and video on one instrument.

$$ · mid-range

The Best Wire Strippers: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Klein Tools 11055 Wire Stripper and Cutter, Solid and Stranded CopperRunner-up

A plain fixed hole stripper that puts the solid and stranded scales in separate columns on the tool face, where you can see them.

Best for: Residential and light commercial work where the gauges are known and the tool needs to be cheap enough to replace.

$ · budget

The Best Work Knee Pads: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Klein Tools Lightweight Gel Knee Pads (60184)Runner-up

Light, low profile gel and EVA pads with a slip resistant cap, made for kneeling in bursts rather than settling in for the afternoon.

Best for: Electricians, plumbers and service techs who kneel in short stints and want a pad they barely notice.

$ · budget

The Best Circuit Breaker Finders: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Klein Tools ET310 Digital Circuit Breaker Finder with GFCI Outlet Tester

A breaker finder whose transmitter is also a full receptacle tester, which is either exactly what you wanted or a feature you already own.

Best for: Someone who wants the panel mapping and the outlet wiring check in one purchase and works only on grounded 120 V circuits.

$$ · mid-range

The Best Combustible Gas Detectors: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Health & Wellness

Klein Tools ET120 Combustible Gas Leak Detector

An 18 inch gooseneck wand that finds which fitting is leaking, reading in parts per million rather than percent LEL, and it is not an alarm.

Best for: Someone who already suspects a leak, does their own gas appliance work, or wants to confirm a fitting after a repair, alongside a fixed alarm rather than instead of one.

$ · budget

The Best Non-Contact Voltage Testers: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Klein Tools ET60 Electronic AC/DC Voltage Tester, 12 to 600V

A two-probe contact tester with low input impedance, which is the kind of instrument NFPA 70E actually accepts for an absence of voltage test.

Best for: Anyone who needs to prove a circuit dead rather than just find it live, and who works within 600 V.

$$ · mid-range

The Best Clamp Meters: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Klein Tools CL120 400A AC Auto-Ranging Digital Clamp Meter

A tidy, well made meter whose published specification tells you it will not keep up.

Why we skip it: 400 A AC only through the jaw, with no DC current function at all.

$ · budget

The Best Crimping Tools: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Klein Tools 1010 Long Nose Multi Tool Wire Stripper, Wire Cutters, Crimping Tool

A well made American stripper and cutter whose crimping section is one stamped jaw asked to serve two terminal families with no ratchet.

Why we skip it: Klein's published crimping capacity is 10-22 AWG insulated and non-insulated terminals, two families that need different die profiles, through one jaw.

$ · budget

The Best Hex Key Sets: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Klein Tools 70540M Compact Folding Hex Key Set, 8-Key, Metric

A perfectly decent pocket tool that a lot of people buy as their only hex keys, which is the mistake.

Why we skip it: Key lengths of 2 to 2.5 inches mean the blade cannot reach a screw down a counterbore, where the Wera set's 10 mm arm is 224 mm long.

$ · budget

The Best Insulated Hand Tools: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Klein Tools D213-9NE Lineman's Pliers, New England Nose, 9-Inch

A superb plier that is not an insulated tool, and Klein says so in plain language on its own product page.

Why we skip it: Klein's own page states: NOT insulated. Plastic-dipped or slip-on plastic handles are NOT intended for protection against electrical shock.

$ · budget

The Best Outlet Testers: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Klein Tools RT310 AFCI / GFCI Outlet Tester

A competent wiring tester whose headline feature, the AFCI button, is the part breaker makers tell you not to rely on.

Why we skip it: The AFCI function is what lifts it above the RT250, and UL 1436's scope covers devices like it as arc-fault circuit-interrupter indicators rather than testers.

$$ · mid-range

The Best Pipe Wrenches: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Klein Tools 68228 Adjustable Cast Iron Pipe Wrench, 18-Inch

A perfectly normal looking 18 inch wrench that Klein's own pages will not tell you enough about to keep alive.

Why we skip it: Klein publishes the material as cast iron, where RIDGID publishes ductile iron and Reed publishes high tensile ductile iron for the same class of tool.

$ · budget