I’m a creature of habit, sometimes to a fault. Although I spend a lot of time researching my big purchases, I tend to take the small-time items for granted. Case in point: I have been buying the same chrome-steel slap stapler for 25 years. I wasn’t particularly pleased with its performance or durability, but at $30, I had bigger fish to fry. As roofers and remodelers, we use the heck out of slap staplers, stapling all our roof and siding underlayments—maybe 50,000 staples a month in the summer. My old staplers would last about a month or two. At any given time, I had six in play and two backups. Annoyed that three gave out in one week, I impulse-bought two DeWalt carbon-fiber hammer tackers at the local lumberyard. The tool is 1⁄2 lb. lighter than my old standby and uses the same T50 staples I already buy by the case. It has a front window for loading staples, which makes it easier to use up broken staple sticks than with previous models I’ve used.

When it comes to durability, the DeWalt really shines. It’s the best slap stapler I’ve ever used by a mile. It doesn’t jam, and not one has broken yet. It does cost about $10 more than my old staplers, but I spend more in a month on Slim Jims.

Andrew Grace, a roofer and remodeler in Ligonier, Pa.

Photo: Courtesy of DeWalt

From Fine Homebuilding #297

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