Beyond Tools: 14 Underrated Home Depot Finds Users Swear By

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It's easy to come across great finds at Home Depot for expert DIYers, homeowners, and professionals in the service industry. The hardware store is known for offering plenty of well-reviewed power tools, heavy-duty equipment, and hand tools, but the retailer is also home to quite a few underrated, non-tool products that don't get nearly as much love. Beyond tools, Home Depot sells smart lighting and smart home tech, practical gear, and countless items that are just pure fun.

Of course, the big box store is still a great spot to find cheap tool sets worth buying, whether you opt for a third-party tool brand or one of the many Home Depot brands. For this article, we will highlight the best non-tool products at this popular hardware store, focusing on products with average ratings of four stars or less and at least 50 customer reviews (though most have over 200 reviews). Let's jump into these 14 underrated, non-tool finds at Home Depot.

Megamaster Propane Gas Grill

If you've been dreaming of smoky, grilled burgers and veggies, it's time to invest in a grill. Powered by liquid propane, this Megamaster Gas Grill is exclusive to Home Depot. It's equipped with two stainless steel burners, a removable grease cup to help speed up the cleaning process, two side shelves that are great for storing prepped and cooked food, and two wheels to make it easier to move the heavy grill wherever you want it.

With nearly 1,000 reviews at the time of writing, Megamaster's 2-Burner Grill boasts an average rating of 4 stars. Over half of the reviews award perfect 5-star scores, saying the grill is "simple to put together," offers ample heat and cooking space, and is a great option for limited space on their patio or balcony. Although many users found assembly to be easy, a few 1-star reviews have the opposite opinion, saying assembly instructions are "horrendous." Other poor reviews similarly note negative features that seem like they could be user error, like melting plastic knobs and grease being dumped when opening the grill.

Philips Smart Wi-Fi LED Bulb

Philips is one of the best major smart lighting brands around today, and Home Depot has the brand's smart bulbs in stock. The Philips Smart Wi-Fi LED bulb is a full color light, which means you can change it to any RGB color your heart desires, as well as adjust the color temperature between warm light and cool light. Using the bulb's compatible mobile app, you can also adjust brightness, automate the light through schedules, and use voice commands via Google Assistant and Siri shortcuts.

This smart bulb currently has almost 1,300 reviews at Home Depot, averaging out to a 3.9-star rating. One happy customer says one of their favorite features is party time, "which is a fun montage of colors resembling a nightclub." Others note the simple setup process, intuitive companion app controls, and how many different ways there are to customize the bulb. Meanwhile, unhappy customers talk about difficulties using the bulb with specific voice assistants like Alexa and other generic connectivity issues.

Check out these three things you need to know before buying and installing a smart light bulb to help prevent common errors during setup.

LIFX Smart Outdoor String Light

Outdoor string lights are one of the best smart home devices for your outdoor space, especially if you're looking to boost the party vibes. Whether you're entertaining for a kid's birthday or having a relaxing party-of-one evening, smart string lights can instantly set the mood.

This 24-foot Smart Outdoor String Light from LIFX is an excellent budget-friendly option from Home Depot. It comes with 12 LED bulbs, each of which has three color zones inside. It can be controlled via Apple Home Kit, Alexa, Google Assistant, or the LIFX app. It is also weatherproof, so you don't have to worry about cold or stormy conditions ruining your lights. You can attach three of these strings for a total of 36 bulbs spread across 72 feet and fully customize the bulbs to your liking through the app.

At the time of writing, this outdoor string light has about 65 reviews and an average rating of 3.9 stars, though the majority of reviews award perfect 5-star scores. One 5-star review describes the colors as vibrant and says the app works well, with "so many scenes and settings" to choose from, and another notes that having reliable Wi-Fi is key to these lights being as successful as possible, saying they extend their network with a mesh system. Most negative reviews have issues with the initial setup process.

Husky Smart Watering Timer

It's easy to forget to turn on your sprinklers if you don't have a reminder set up on your phone or calendar, which is why it's such a commonly automated task. If you didn't spring for an optional timer when you set up your sprinklers, no worries! You can easily add one after the fact, like Husky's Smart Watering Timer.

With this helpful gadget, you can set up multiple watering schedules, manually control your sprinklers, and customize start time, frequency, and watering duration via the Hubspace mobile app. It even has a built-in rain delay feature that pauses set schedules automatically to prevent unnecessary watering after it's just rained.

The Husky Smart Watering Timer currently has roughly 275 reviews and a 4-star average rating. Multiple 5-star reviews describe the setup process as extremely easy, and one customer specifically calls out the negative reviews that mention the product leaking in the spring, saying "you HAVE to store this in a warm place for the winter" because there's water in part of the valve that will freeze and destroy the product if you don't.

TP-Link Wi-Fi Range Extender

If there's a spot in your home where you seem to always drop your Wi-Fi signal, it might be time to test out a Wi-Fi range extender. Depending on your specific problem, it could be better to invest in a mesh network vs a Wi-Fi range extender, but generally, the latter is cheaper. TP-Link's Wi-Fi Range Extender at Home Depot can plug into any outlet, which makes it easy to move around your home as needed, and is easy to install via the TP-Link Tether app and monitor via built-in indicator lights.

With about 140 reviews, this Wi-Fi range extender has amassed an average 3.9-star user score. One customer happily reports being able to use their smart TV features in the basement, where Wi-Fi previously didn't reach, and another notes a bonus of the extender splitting Wi-Fi signal into 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands because they owned several devices that needed to connect specifically to a 2.4 GHz band, and their default router wasn't enabled to do so. Multiple negative reviews deal with setup issues or indicate the user didn't exactly know what the purpose of a Wi-Fi extender is, counting off points for it not bettering Wi-Fi or acting as a hotspot, two features a Wi-Fi extender isn't capable of.

Kwikset Halo Wi-Fi Smart Lock

There are plenty of little reasons to add a smart lock to your home, but the most widespread incentive is convenience. With a smart lock, you don't have to leave your couch to let someone in; you can share a passcode with a family member who arrives while you're at work, and you don't have to freak out if you misplace your house key.

At Home Depot, the Kwikset Halo Wi-Fi Smart Lock is an excellent option. You can control it from anywhere you have internet access, program up to 250 different user access codes, and see when your door is locked or unlocked throughout the day. Plus, you can still lock and unlock the door with a physical key. You just gain extra ways to control your lock, via the app or the keypad touchscreen.

This smart lock has a 3.9-star average, which is an impressive feat considering it has over 4,000 reviews in total. Nearly 3,000 of those reviews are 4- or 5-star ratings, and most users praise the lock's easy installation process, pleasant design, and seamless functionality. Negative 1-star reviews focus on setup issues, including installation and connectivity problems, and bad battery life.

Sky Rider Pro Quadcopter Drone

You might not expect to find fun items like drones at a hardware store, but Home Depot has them in stock. The Sky Rider Pro Quadcopter Drone is pretty small, measuring about 10 x 10 x 3 inches, but it's capable of quite a lot. It has three different speeds, a 6-axis gyroscope for stability, a 0.3-megapixel Wi-Fi camera, LED navigation lights, and a free mobile app. You can make it do 360-degree tricks, stream live video to your phone, and control it up to 328 feet away.

This compact drone currently has a 3.8-star average with over 200 user reviews. Multiple 5-star reviews express how easy the drone is to use, especially for beginners, how quickly it is to charge, and how great the camera quality is for such an affordable drone. Unhappy customers had bad experiences with connecting the remote or getting the drone to initially turn on and go through the setup process, and noted the drone's limited battery life, with which many 5-star reviews agreed.

Google Nest Thermostat

When looking at all the major smart thermostat brands ranked worst to best, you'll spot Google as one of the best. The company's Nest Thermostat works with Google Assistant on your phone, Nest speakers and displays, Amazon Alexa, and other smart devices. You can usually install it in 30 minutes or less; no C-wire is necessary for most homes, and customize multiple settings via the mobile app. This includes controlling your AC system from anywhere, enabling Nest Renew to use cleaner, less expensive energy when possible, and setting up an energy-efficient schedule that'll run wherever you are.

With nearly 3,100 reviews, Google's Nest Thermostat currently has a 3.7-star average rating. Roughly half of those reviews award perfect 5-star scores, and these customers report easy installation and use, helpful Wi-Fi connectivity, and the convenience of remotely changing the temperature via a mobile app. Recent negative reviews address issues with touch sensitivity or brightness on the interface and long-term issues with incorrectly displayed temperatures, which don't appear to afflict the majority of users.

Command Clear Outdoor Light Clips

Whether you're renting your home or you just want a damage-free way to hang lights and decor outside, these Clear Outdoor Light Clips from Command will do the trick. This pack comes with 16 clear hooks and 20 small water-resistant Command Strips, and you'll need a clip for every two feet or so of lights you hang. They'll adhere to vinyl siding, finished fences, windows, and more, and you can either leave them up year-round or take the clips down and reuse them with new Command Strips.

At the time of writing, these handy light clips have just over 4,000 reviews and a 3.9-star average rating. Happy customers say they're easy to install and they stick well in rain, wind, and snow, even after having been left installed for a year. These positive reviews note the importance of cleaning the surface before sticking the strip and clip, or else they'll likely fall down quickly, which seems to be the biggest issue for people who left 1-star reviews.

Sizzim Metal Storage Shed

This next Home Depot find isn't a tool, but it is a great place to store your tools. The Sizzim Metal Storage Shed is a standalone storage unit made of powder-coated galvanized steel that's durable and resistant to rust and corrosion. This shed comes in a few sizes, but we like the option sized 6 x 4 feet. It's a great size to store lawn mowers, bicycles, trash cans, power equipment, hand tools, and really, any combination of outdoor gear you need stored.

This shed currently has a 3.5-star average rating with over 200 reviews, though it's worth noting these reviews are for all shed sizes, not just this 6- x 4-foot variant. Multiple 5-star ratings talk about how easy, albeit time-consuming, it is to assemble the shed, how great the overall quality is, and how good of a size the shed is. A lot of negative 1-star reviews appear to have received missing pieces or pieces that are damaged or don't line up properly, but that doesn't seem to be an issue for everyone.

Milwaukee 15A Power Supply

Milwaukee's M18 Carry-On Power Supply is great to have on hand if you love to go camping or you live in an area that frequently experiences power outages. This power supply needs any four M18 batteries to function, and it's capable of delivering 3,600 starting watts and 1,800 running watts, enough to power large equipment, like a table saw. It's quiet and doesn't produce any emissions, so it's safe for indoor and outdoor use.

Currently, this power supply has earned a 3.8-star average with over 100 reviews. One 5-star review describes being able to run a chop saw and table saw at once and says it was a better experience than using a generator. Another positive reviewer says this hefty unit is able to easily power their microwave during frequent power outages. Many of the 1-star reviews involve the customer being misled by the item listing, thinking the power supply came with batteries when you need to have four separate M18 batteries on hand already, or purchase them with the unit.

Vevor Hose Reel Cart

If your home has a yard to upkeep, you know how difficult it can be to keep everything looking tidy, especially if you have an unruly water hose that doesn't have a dedicated storage space. Vevor's Hose Reel Cart can help you manage up to 250 feet of 5/8-inch water hose in an orderly fashion. That much water hose is heavy and awkward to carry, which is why this cart has four wheels and a low center of gravity to prevent it from accidentally tipping over.

With roughly 120 reviews, this hose reel cart has an average rating of 3.9 stars. A handful of happy 5-star user reviews discuss how the cart is easy to assemble, smooth to operate, and durably built. Some negative reviews mention the opposite when it comes to sturdiness, saying quality is shaky, so it might come down to what you expect quality-wise when you order. Vevor says it's a metal cart with weather-resistant coating and brass fittings.

Ryobi Stow Away Worktable

This underrated Home Depot find does technically include a tool (a whole stud finder, to be specific), but the real star of the show is a Ryobi Stow Away Worktable that you can mount to the wall. You could install this in the garage as a work surface, in the laundry room to hold clean clothes as you're folding, or even in a bedroom as a desk. Its surface is gorgeous solid wood that measures 44 x 22 inches and comes with a built-in, 5-inch storage shelf that stays up when the shelf is folded down.

With around 740 user reviews, this folding workbench currently has a 3.5-star average rating. Customers who left 5-star reviews generally seem to think it's easy to install, made with high-quality materials, and like the soft close feature. Most of the 1-star reviews on this listing involve users being upset with the reliability of the Ryobi Whole Stud Finder, not the Stow Away Worktable.

Vivohome 3-Person Outdoor Swing

This 3-Person Outdoor Swing from Vivohome is a great way to make your outdoor space more relaxing. As a swing, it can seat up to three people with a max capacity of 595 pounds on comfy, cotton-filled cushions. There are foldable cupholders behind the seats, anti-slip feet on bottom, and strong spring hooks to keep the bench secure. Alternatively, you can lay the backrest down to create a hammock instead of a bench. Whether you prefer it as a bench or a hammock, the angle-adjustable canopy overhead will keep you safe from sun and rain.

Averaging about 50 reviews, Vivohome's Outdoor Swing currently has a 3.9-star rating. Users who awarded the swing 5 stars in their review say that the bench is sturdy and comfortable, and that assembly is pretty easy, though some do admit the instructions could be better. Negative reviews discuss missing parts and lightweight construction, which seems to be a rare opinion when looking at all the reviews.

Methodology

We compiled this list of underrated finds at Home Depot by looking at three specific criteria while perusing the hardware store's website.

First, it can be anything but a tool. If it's a power tool, a hand tool, or any equipment that's tool-adjacent, it couldn't be on this list. Items like a Wi-Fi extender, a power supply, or a timer for watering your lawn could be seen by some as tools, but basically, if it isn't classified as a tool on Home Depot's site, it's fair game.

Next, the product needs at least 50 reviews. This gives us a good mix of positive and negative reviews to assess the product's quality. And finally, to qualify as "underrated," its average user rating needs to be four stars or less, with enough glowing user reviews to make the product worth recommending.