I visited a couple of Lowe’s stores this weekend, to see what their holiday and Black Friday 2019 tool deal displays had to offer. Quite frankly, the volume of Kobalt tool deals had surprised me.
Last year, we questioned whether Lowe’s would replace Kobalt tools with Craftsman products. I didn’t think they would, but Craftsman tools did effectively supplant Lowe’s many Kobalt tool offerings. Gone are Kobalt mechanics tools and general purpose hand tools, replace with Craftsman tools.
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But, I’m glad to see a nice selection of Kobalt tools for the 2019 holiday shopping season.
I think it would be unwise to describe this as a resurgence of any kind. However, there were some good deals to be had.
No, I’m not talking about the Kobalt ratcheting rapid-adjust wrench, which I find to be cringe-worthy. But the many Kobalt homeowner tool sets, plier sets, and some of the other assortments? They look to be decent. Kobalt tools have traditionally been decent mid-level offerings, with their holiday specials reasonable entry-level options.
A lot of tool users, especially new homeowners, hobbyists, and maybe even some pros, look to higher value offerings for stretching how far a limited budget can go. I had expected to see more such offerings from Craftsman, but most Craftsman “special buys” seem to be focused on mechanics tools and individual core tools. As such, I found many of the Kobalt holiday season special buys to be complementary to the Craftsman offerings.
However, this also means that you have a greater variety of entry and low-mid-priced offerings. At Home Depot, in contrast, we’re bound to see many of their Husky tools aimed at entry and low to mid-priced levels, and other more pro-oriented brands positioned as the “better” options in a good-better-best scale.
Lowe’s has some “pro” tool deals that were moved to the contractor counter at the far side of the store, but I do wish there were more. Sorry, I digress.
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Kobalt is “back” for the 2019 holiday shopping season at Lowe’s. I bought a set of pliers for quick review and comparison purposes. This is the kind of set I would have wanted when I was first starting out. At that time, there were limited options, and I went with a Stanley 3pc set for maybe $10, With the Kobalt set, it offers 5 tools for $18.
There is one hesitation…
Kobalt has a lifetime hassle-free guarantee on most hand tools. We’ve heard of some readers experiencing difficulties, because Lowe’s no long sells as wide a variety of Kobalt tools as they used to.
You should never have a problem with your Kobalt tool. However, if you do, return the item to the place of purchase for a free replacement. No questions asked. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights that vary from state to state.
No-hassle replacements might be hard to do if Kobalt doesn’t sell the same or similar hand tools year-round anymore. If the head falls off your hammer in the middle of the year, will Lowe’s be able to replace it?
I guess my stance on this is that I’m happy to see Kobalt hand tools and assortments for the holidays, but feel it necessary to caution that the hassle-free lifetime guarantee might be less trouble-free than in past years. But, if a Kobalt tool fails or you’re unhappy with it, there should be a phone number to call, or you could try requesting a similar Craftsman tool as its replacement.
Here’s the bottom line: Lowe’s might have cleared out a lot of regular Kobalt tools to make room for Craftsman offerings, but I think that the “Kobalt Days” gift center is worth a visit, at least for anyone looking to build their tool collection with typically-solid value-priced offerings.
“Kobalt Days.” It’s disappointing that we might be justified in taking this literally.
Lowe’s Black Friday Deals
Kobalt Black Friday Deals
(Many but not all of the Gift Center deals are online right now.)
Evadman
I was in my local lowes on sunday to pick up a craftsman tool set as a gift, and was struck by the huge amount of craftsman in the store. At least in my local lowes, those blue bulk cardboard displays were not out, but there were at least 30 craftsman versions around the racetrack. The kobalt tools section was less than 8 feet, in a half height pegboard. Besides that, there were random sprinklings of kobalt hand tools in with similar tools (one peghook for a kobalt hammer among all the hammers, etc).
The only major display I saw for the kobalt brand was a ~16 foot, 2 sided island for the 24v kobalt battery tools. It was certainly prominent, but was surrounded by a sea of red.
One of the kobalt peghooks did have a titanium nitrite drill-bit set that went up to 1/2″ for only $10, which is fantastic. Just a 1/2″ bit costs upwards of $8. I’m probably going to go back today or tomorrow to buy a few sets just for the 3/8 and 1/2″ bits.
Ccarpentry
I was very surprised to see this. Yes the same kobalt Lowe’s was clearing out left and right has returned from the dead. Seems weird on the business end.
But then ago so does the rows of cell phone accessories, as seen on tv gimmicks, and skateboards(?) Lowes now sells…
Jared
Is Kobalt consistently more expensive than Husky in the USA? Those two brands seem near identical to me, yet everything Kobalt in Canada seems to be priced higher than the Husky counterpart.
Is Kobalt considered better quality?
Just picking a few random tools for comparison:
– A single 8mm deep 1/4″-drive socket is $3.49 from Husky, $5.49 from Kobalt.
– 7″ diagonal pliers: $10.99 Husky, $13.99 Kobalt.
– 11/16″ Ratcheting combination wrench: $15.98 Husky, $25.99 Kobalt
– 4″ #2 square screwdriver with acetate handle: $5.98 Husky, $9.99 Kobalt
Jim Felt
Once upon a time some of each brand was plainly marked “Made in the USA”.
I’ve never owned a Kobalt or barely any Husky tools so my impressions of “quality” would only be based on my impressions of the two competing chains. And HD is clearly more aimed at small contractors and kinda serious DIYers. At least in the dozens of stores I’ve visited around the US.
fred
Husky – once an independent company (founded in 1924) – bought out by Olsen Tool – then by New Britain Tool (now part of SBD) – is now a house brand of Home Depot. Kobalt (never an independent) is the Lowes house brand. When HD acquired the Husky brand name from Stanley – most of the tools were made by Stanley. When Lowes launched Kobalt in the late 1990’s – most of the tools came from Williams – then Danaher seemed to take over. Today both brands of tools come from different OEM’s – seemingly mostly with factories in China and Taiwan
Neighbor Joe
But not all. Stuart ran a story May 2014 about Kobalt launching made in USA screwdrivers. The acetate handle set and hard handled multi bit steel cap set is still made in USA. Exceptional product for the price.
Jep
Broke a 3/8 drive 6” Long 1/8 hex bit. The kobalt versions are the only ones that work in Eaton breakers for torquing the screws. Took it to Lowe’s for a replacement, they didn’t have any kobalt so gave me a 1/4 drive 3” long craftsman bit. (They should have just given me a candy bar for all the good it did). Took the craftsman and the remainder of the kobalt set to a Lowe’s in another state and explained what happened fortunately they had the correct replacement.
Not sure what I’m going to do when it breaks again, this is the 3rd one.
James ftw
I know a bunch of guys on here will knock on harbor freight tools, especially for not being made in the u.s.a, but that are a few jewels to be found for a decent price. I am also professional electrician, and in the past was looking for 6 in depth Allen wrenches sockets, the ones I found at lowes and home depot and other retailers all were geared towards car mechanics with the ball point on in the end, which is not ideal when trying to torque down lugs on a heavy duty breaker, so I bought some from harbor freight, have never had an issue with them or broken one,other then losing one here or their, that reminds need to go pick up another set.
Dave
I have a few older Kobalt tools, and a very large amount of old to ancient Craftsman tools. In today’s world, nothing is the same about them except the name. I would not consider purchasing either brand now.
fred
With sockets – in the late 1990’s Kobalts were made by Williams (A SnapOn brand) in the USA. Then 5 or so years later – Lowes switched to having them made by a Danaher company in the US. Craftsman sockets in that time frame were probably still being made by Easco Hand Tools – then a Danaher company.
Robert
Sorry to hear that. I bought a Kobalt combo driver and drill set for $99 and one extra 4ah battery for $50 two Christmases ago. Use both driver and drill all the time. Don’t get me wrong I have a plethora of Dewalt and some Porter Cable power tools.
I bought the Kobalt on a whim knowing it had a 1 yr return policy and it was quite inexpensive by comparison, i.e. cheap. Best purchase I have made for any non Dewalt tool set.
Steve
Maybe it’s just me, but I never quite took the Kobalt brand seriously due to the name… I guess the association with “Cobalt blue” makes sense for Lowe’s, but why the K? It seems, well, un-serious.
At least they didn’t come up with “Kraftsman”…
Charles
kobalt sockets used to be surprisingly decent, to the point one of my guys went and bought one when they came back.
I just can’t stop being amazed at how many “Crafstman” tools Lowe’s is selling now. From a pro perspective, Craftsman is complete junk. And amazingly overpriced junk, you can often get a real tool for less.
An absolute triumph of marketing, I wonder how long it will be til people catch on?
Lowes seems determined to not carry anything pros want. The guys in the store know, and get it, but they have no control and corporate has no clue
carl
Your comments are spot on! Agree 10%
Robert
Curious Charles have you A. ever bought anything Kobalt and B ever use anything Kobalt.
I for one used my Kobalt drill to wire wheel scratch over 500 sq foot of corrugated sheet panels. Never once did the drill lock up or overheat. This was done in a summer month with temps around 95 deg. I wore out before my drill did.
I can tell you from EXPERIENCE that I can’t find one thing wrong with a Kobalt brushless drill.
ktash
I have a few of the Kobalt cordless tools, and in my opinion, they are under-rated. They have a lot of power and were super cheap when I bought them. Because they were so cheap, I bought them as my “beater/loaner” tools.
But I really like them and use them more than I expected for regular jobs.
Batteries are extremely reasonable, too. They are better quality, imo, than comparable Ryobi tools. Problem is that the selection is slim, compared to Ryobi’s great and ever-growing selection. I’d choose them over other bargain brands based on quality.
Geert Hesselberg
Go with SnapOn, or Proto and you will be happy camper !!
Jp
No Kobalt. I ran into an issue with IRS which were lifetime except no longer a stocked-produced sku. That was not nice. I don’t trust them after problems with honoring a craftsman led headlamp warranty either, but at least for hand-tools, unlikely to stop producing a product so maybe better deal
ktash
I haven’t bought any Kobalt hand tools that I can recall. Recently, though, they had something I couldn’t find elsewhere.: Kobalt 7-Piece 3/8-in Drive Hex Bit Standard (SAE) Driver Socket Set. I needed a long hex driver and had little space to turn a traditional allen wrench, plus needed a lot of turns. These worked like a charm both on my drill and a ratchet wrench and easily solved a problem. I could find others but not long enough. These were longer than the others I found. I’m sure I’ll use them enough over time to be happy that I bought them. I don’t plan to buy any other Kobalt hand tools.
Coach James
I walked through our Lowes this morning and they were starting to put out a lot of Kobalt displays along with all the C-man stuff.
I have a few Kobalt tools, not the majority of my tools, but a decent number. Some of the Williams made stuff, but also some of the Taiwan and China stuff; ratchets, sockets, pliers, adjustable wrenches and a few other things. My cordless impact is a Kobalt bought on close out. I have used them to repair cars, gym equipment, and a host of other things. None have broken and none have failed to do what I needed them to do.
If I was using tools all day, every day, I would most likely go with a different brand, but for the weekend warrior, they are fine.