Pliers of the Year Contenders: 8 Standout Hand Tools Worth a Look

Introduction

Every year a handful of pliers genuinely change how a job gets done, and this year’s crop is unusually strong. One long reach design in particular earned serious consideration as a tool of the year pick, but several others pushed close behind: a dual-blade wire cutter, a compact lineman design, and a growing insulated line from Milwaukee.

Here are the eight that mattered, with honest notes on where each one shines and where the trade-offs sit.

Milwaukee Long Reach Needle Nose Pliers

This is the pick that twice looked like a player of the year. The Milwaukee Long Reach Needle Nose Pliers has no especially fancy name, but the long jaws plus some extra functionality on the front end give it capabilities other long reach pliers simply do not have.

The standout trick: stick it into a restricted area and you actually have to start opening it to get the jaws to reach all the way through. The jaw opening at the far end is almost the size of the entire tube. That behavior is unusual, and it is exactly what makes this tool feel like a superpower you did not have before.

Knipex Long Reach Needle Nose Pliers

Knipex also offers a Long Reach Needle Nose Pliers with some extra functionality at the front end, but the comparison is revealing. Pushed into the same restricted space, it cannot get through, and trying to open it just jams up the works. It simply does not work as well in that scenario as the Milwaukee design.

If your work does not involve reaching through tight tubular spaces, it remains a capable long reach option, but for that specific job the Milwaukee is clearly the stronger tool.

Knipex Step Cut XL

The Knipex Step Cut XL sits firmly in the mix for anyone who favors larger pliers for cutting. As you get older, considerably more leverage is a welcome thing, and Knipex packs a lot of high-tech engineering into the front end of this one.

It is a well-loved design, even if its core concept is more refinement than reinvention.

Milwaukee Combo Hybrid Pliers

This is the larger version of Milwaukee’s combo hybrid plier design. It is a genuinely great tool, though whether it qualifies for a player of the year nod is debatable, since the approach took an existing design and simply made it larger. As a daily player, though, it earns its spot.

Lyall Angle Head Disconnect Pliers

The Lyall Angle Head Disconnect Pliers takes an already good idea and pushes it further. You could simply carry a standard Lyall disconnect plier with the angled end in the traditional forward shape, but this version takes it to another level: essentially an advantage stacked on top of an advantage.

For anyone doing disconnect work regularly, that doubled-up design has real possibilities.

Snap-On Combo Cut

Snap-On’s Combo Cut is essentially both a flush cutter and a standard wire cutter in one tool. One tool doing both jobs is an appealing proposition, and the execution is genuinely sweet.

The caveat deserves respect: there is a considerable risk if you use the wrong set of blades for the wrong task, and you could end up damaging the plier. It is new, it is clever, but it asks the user to stay disciplined about which blades they reach for.

Klein 12098 E NS Lineman Pliers

Part of Klein’s 1000V rated series, and believed to be new this year, the 12098 E NS is a compact lineman or multiplier design made in the USA. It is a little smaller than the traditional lineman head, and that smaller format is quick to become a favorite.

The trade-off is price: at about 75 dollars, these are not cheap. But Klein has taken the things people love about lineman pliers and multipliers and wrapped them into a more modern design, which makes the premium easier to justify.

Milwaukee 1000V Rated Pliers

Milwaukee has rolled out its own 1000V rated pliers line, with quite a few models available, including some US-made ones. Those have been out for over a year even as the line has grown, so this is more an ongoing expansion than a brand-new release.

The direction is worth applauding: safety features, tether-ready designs, and bright colors in the larger models make the line noticeable even if it is not quite a player of the year contender.

Overall Buying Advice

The strongest pick of the year is the Milwaukee Long Reach Needle Nose Pliers, thanks to a capability no competing long reach design matched in testing. If your work is about cutting leverage, the Knipex Step Cut XL is the comfort pick. For disconnect work, the Lyall angle head is a clear upgrade, and for lineman-style grip work in a compact package, the Klein 12098 E NS is worth the premium if the roughly 75 dollar price fits your budget. Treat the Snap-On Combo Cut as a buy only if you are confident about matching blades to the task.

Conclusion

The best pliers of the year are the ones that either give you a capability you did not have before or make an existing job noticeably easier. The Milwaukee long reach design does the former in a way nothing else here could, while the Knipex, Lyall, and Klein picks each refine a job you already do. Match the tool to the work in front of you and any of these eight can earn a permanent spot in the bag.