Knees // Cornerstone guide
The best knee pads for real trade work
Eight pairs compared in depth: trouser inserts, strap-on shells and shin-mounted supports, from £12 to £89.
- PAIRS COMPARED
- 08
- PAYBACK
- 0.2 LOST DAYS
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Everything we’ve published, and everything currently on the bench. A guide goes live when the research stands up: certification checked, trade consensus gathered, prices compared and the payback maths run. Hands-on testing is added guide by guide as the test bench grows.
Knees // Cornerstone guide
Eight pairs compared in depth: trouser inserts, strap-on shells and shin-mounted supports, from £12 to £89.
Drills // New guide
Four drills weighed bare and with battery, ranked lightest first. DeWalt DCD701, Makita DF332 and DeWalt DCD800 compared on weight, torque and Payback Score.
Gloves // New guide
The truth about EN ISO 10819 certification, why the HSE says gloves won’t stop HAVS, and the few worth buying if you buy at all.
Trousers // New guide
The pad and trouser are a certified pair. Snickers says its KneeGuard pads are certified only in Snickers trousers. Here is the guide to buying them as a system.
Back // Lifting
The bodies that study back injury do not recommend back belts. Here is the honest evidence, the rare exceptions, and what actually protects your back.
The van
Buy what you use every week. Hire what is heavy, dear or occasional. The honest hire-versus-buy decision.
The van
The van is where a lot of trade backs get wrecked. The free fix is storing heavy kit at waist height, and the cheap aids that genuinely cut the load.
Cornerstone
The map to twenty more years on the tools. Every guide on the site links up to this page.
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