I worried both would be flimsy, but each set held a large stack of wet pressure-treated lumber with no ill effects. Like the Kobalt sawhorse, StanleyвЂ™s fold-flat horses are made entirely of plastic. Unfortunately, the two halves on one of the Kobalt horses were misaligned, so I couldnвЂ™t get a 2x in the slots that are supposed to be made for them. Without adjustable legs, they are also too short for me to work at a comfortable height. The slope-sided design limits where you can use quickadjusting bar clamps to the part of the top that overhangs the legs.

The Kobalt and Stanley fold-flat sawhorses are nearly identical. IвЂ™ve had a set of these for several years. And unfortunately, you have to squeeze the release and adjust each leg individually. Like nearly all the other fold-flat sawhorses, you canвЂ™t mount a sacrificial board to its top. It has adjustable steel legs and a sturdy shelf with only a pair of holes, so stuff is less likely to fall through. This was my second favorite fold-flat sawhorse.

Combine these features and the weight capacity, and the Ridgid is an easy choice for Best Overall. Lowering the horse is simple: The orange handles under the tray act as a release on each side. Another great feature is the leg adjustment-you donвЂ™t have to pull a release to raise the legs just step on the feet and pull the horse up and they extend. ItвЂ™s sturdy, and small parts donвЂ™t fall through. I also like that you can clamp along its entire length and you can make the top larger by screwing another board on top. My favorite feature is the replaceable 2Г—4 top rail that makes it easy to rip panel products and fasten jigs. This is the best fold-flat sawhorse I tested. Only RidgidвЂ™s Lumberjack has provisions for a sacrificial top.

All the flat-fold horses I tested have plastic feet, so they wonвЂ™t mar wood or laminate floors or leave rust stains on concrete. The DeWalt and Ridgid models have adjustable steel legs, greatly increasing their utility and load rating. They fold up easily and slim down to about 2 in., so you can tuck them into small spaces. Fold-flat sawhorsesДЇold-flat sawhorses are light, reasonably compact, and great for light-duty tasks like painting or trimming a door. Prices and weight ratings are based on a pair of sawhorses, and all measurements are my own. I tested each of the various setups the same way: I loaded them with PT lumber, set them up on soggy, uneven ground, and cut both sawn lumber and panel products. I also prefer adjustable-leg models because they can be made taller than fixed-leg versions (which are usually around 32 in. I routinely use sawhorses for rips on panel products, so I need the ability to add sacrificial lumber to the top of the horse. Different users value different attributes. I was a little hesitant about this particular tool test because sawhorses are such a personal choice. In more than 20 years of testing tools, I canвЂ™t think of a tool category with a greater diversity of products with such different features and attributes.

Both have their pros and cons, and which to use depends on what youвЂ™re doing and your budget. I ended up with 13 sawhorses, in two types of setups-fold-flat and fold-up. The lockdown in response to the outbreak of COVID-19 brought a unique challenge to my test-since I couldnвЂ™t go out shopping, I ordered the best-selling folding sawhorses on the Lowes, Home Depot, and Amazon websites. When I started digging into whatвЂ™s available, I found a surprising number of different designs, weight ratings, and degrees of compactness. I just donвЂ™t have the room in my truck or shop for a set of nonfolding horses, so when former editorial director Justin Fink asked me about my interest in testing commercially made sawhorses, I was intrigued. The problem with site-built horses is that theyвЂ™re heavy and big. IвЂ™ve also used homemade wooden horses quite a bit. Like every carpenter whoвЂ™s been at it long enough, I own or have tried several sets of commercially made sawhorses. Patrick lists the pros and cons of each sawhorse-noting that the ability to add a sacrificial top and height-adjustable legs are two of his personal preferences-and names two noteworthy products вЂњBest OverallвЂќ in each category. He ended up with two setups-fold-flat and fold-up-and tested both groups by loading them with PT lumber, setting them up on uneven ground, and cutting both sawn lumber and panel products. Synopsis: Senior editor Patrick McCombe ordered 13 of the best-selling sawhorses from popular online retailers.

Saw horse