Level Up Your Next DIY With 5 Exciting DeWalt Tools That You've Never Heard Of

DeWalt is an impressive company. You can buy everything from ink pens to report-writing software to $5,800 workshop cabinets flying the signature yellow and black DeWalt colors. But it's in the stainless steel tumblers and Bluetooth speakers that you get a complete sense of what the brand means to consumers. For some, DeWalt is a lifestyle.

Maybe it's about the intersection of working-class roots and quality. With its focus on commercial and industrial-quality products, and with prices that are appropriately high but not breathtaking, DeWalt signifies Middle America. That DeWalt tumbler says you're affluent enough to buy DeWalt tools, smart enough to choose those over ridiculously expensive options like Festool, and hard-working enough to require top quality.

Of course, when you think about the brand, your mind's eye turns directly to power tools — probably impact drivers or battery-operated saws. But part of being a top-notch tool company supplying real builders means offering some highly specialized tools that the average DIYer might not even be aware of. For example, we considered including two great DeWalt tools for this list — their Flexvolt pipe threader and their 20V MAX stapler for electrical cable like Romex — but decided those might be a bit too specialized for most homeowners. Instead, we're going to teach you about some lesser-known but still user-friendly tools to add to your DeWalt collection, which will bring new ease, quality, and refinement to your next DIY project.

Let's start with something everyone needs — a dust extractor. We're not talking about those giant, wheeled cone-and-bag contraptions with a motor from a Formula E car. DeWalt's Flexvolt dust extractor is wet/dry capable, portable, battery-operated (it works with DeWalt's 60V MAX platform and is backward-compatible with 20V MAX batteries), and high-powered at 125 CFM. Designed to clean up after heavy-duty construction operations like masonry tuckpointing, drywalling, and surfacing, this dust extractor boasts dual automatically cleaned HEPA filters. It's OSHA Table 1 compliant, meaning that it meets the organization's standards for high airborne silica levels common to many worksites, and it satisfies the EPA's Lead-Related Renovations, Repair, and Painting (RRP) rule for HEPA vacuums.

For all that, the DeWalt DCV585B is civilized enough for your garage or a pro's workshop. It can be turned on wirelessly via an included remote, or started automatically with a compatible Tool Control-enabled DeWalt power tool. It comes with a two-gallon tank, an eight-foot anti-static hose with DeWalt's Airlock system, and a built-in hose wrap for ease of storage. It's compatible with DeWalt's TSTAK toolbox and storage system. Keep this tool in mind not only for the workshop or job site, but as an accompaniment for messy indoor tools like laser cutters and desktop CNC machines. The DeWalt Flexvolt dust extractor is currently about $434 on Amazon, and gets 4.3 stars on 180 ratings.

DeWalt sells a lot of flashlights and work lights, the sorts of things you can pick up just about everywhere. But the Bluetooth LED area light kit is a different beast altogether. Meant for illuminating construction sites, the DCL070T1 operates off either 60V MAX Flexvolt or 20V MAX batteries and delivers up to 7,000 lumens... that is, enough to illuminate a fairly large outdoor space. It can be dimmed down to 500 lumens. Its right and left sides can be operated as one, or set independently to illuminate two zones. The devices are stackable, and each includes an onboard charger for Flexvolt batteries with a door lock option, as well as AC outlets.

This light is about as practical as it gets. It turns on and off instantly, and requires no warm-up time. Using DeWalt's Bluetooth-enabled Tool Connect app, you can control the area light remotely from a smartphone. That includes programming a lighting schedule, as well as a "last seen" feature which keeps track of where the light was when it was last connected to a Tool Connect device, along with some business-specific inventory control features. The DeWalt 20V MAX area light gets 4.4 stars on DeWalt's site, and usually retails on Amazon for around $300. If this seems like a bit much for your garage, consider its consumer-focused little brother, the 5,000-lumen DEWALT 20V MAX LED work light, which is $165.39 and gets 4.7 stars on 1,621 ratings.

You might associate clipboards with office settings, but if you've ever gotten yourself into a messy and tangled DIY adventure, you can hopefully see the benefit of having a sturdy one on the job. And in terms of utility and price, it's hard to beat DeWalt's underrated TSTAK Mobile Storage Clipboard. 

Okay, so you probably didn't know DeWalt made a clipboard, and you almost certainly didn't know that you need one, but you do. This rugged device is as much about storage as it is about holding papers together and providing a writing surface. At 20 lbs. and 16.19 inches long, 11.31 inches wide, and 2.54 inches deep, it holds quite a lot. It features a nylon zippered pouch inside to keep things organized, and has two clips to hold down your papers, both inside and out. Its latch can be operated with one hand. Perhaps best of all, it includes an integrated LED so you can see what you're writing in the dark (note that the clipboard includes a AA battery). 

As its name implies, this clipboard is compatible with DeWalt's TSTAK portable storage system components. At that price, buy a few and keep one in your car, one at work, and one on the pegboard in your home office. The DeWalt mobile storage clipboard is currently $24.89 at Amazon, and gets 4.5 stars on 3,292 ratings.

If you knew that DeWalt made knives, you were probably picturing some variety of box cutter or utility knife. But what if we told you that the DeWalt pocket knife with ball-bearing assist is a proper pocket knife that anyone would be happy to carry to work, to a cookout, or on a backpacking trip? 

DeWalt's sturdy aluminum and nylon handle is lightweight, but it's no lightweight in terms of utility. The tanto blade — an angular, essentially belly-less blade shape based on Japanese weapons — adds a strong puncturing dimension to the knife's capabilities. And it's partial serration ensures that you can cut through just about anything that finds its way into your path.

In a world full of open-assist pocket knives, having an opening mechanism that isn't somehow sprung is almost unforgivably gauche, like drinking from your finger bowl. But here's the thing about the DeWalt's impossibly smooth ball-bearing assist: It's as easy to open with one hand as the best Ken Onion Kershaw knife, and it feels safer. Because you can control the blade's velocity, and because just about any amount of force on the nose will work, there's simply no point in having the blade spring open with great force (much less if it did so accidentally). All in all, this is an unbelievably good pocket knife for the price, and it will suit most people just fine as an everyday carry blade or as a foolproof part of your earthquake kit. The DeWalt pocket knife with ball-bearing assist is $11.99 at Amazon, and gets 4.7 stars on 617 ratings.

Remember that DeWalt lifestyle thing we mentioned? Well, DeWalt's 25-quart lunch box cooler is a perfect example of how to show off your DeWalt love in a utilitarian way. It would work wonderfully in your yard or on your boat for the same reasons that it's great for a construction site, not to mention having it around to store your waters as you finally build your dream patio out of pallets. 

And don't assume a cooler isn't a tool, as well — because DeWalt doesn't cut any corners, and hydration is an extremely important part of any labor-intensive DIY. DeWalt brags that the integrated ice pack storage area, reinforced insulation, lid gasket, and T.O.U.G.H. roto-molded design makes this cooler extremely durable and able to keep iced contents cold for days, even in high-heat situations. It features side-lift handles, easy-to-open cam latches, and an integrated bottle opener. Its drain is a neat mechanism that can operate as either a small or a large opening. It has a heavy-duty, full-width metal handle and two recessed can holders.

The DeWalt 25-quart lunch box cooler is $159.99 at Amazon, where it gets 4.3 stars on 1,636 ratings. DeWalt also offers a TSTAK-compatible rolling cooler that's a little more explicitly worksite-focused.