The Best Useless Screwdriver is a Pleasure to Hold: MetMo

When MetMo sent us their MetMo Driver–it’s a $150 ratcheting screwdriver with no bit storage and a side-handle for driving larger screws no sane person would ever use to drive large screws–I was intrigued. Especially by one of their claims: It’s fun to play with. 

I’m a tool guy. Have been since forever and as the years race by, I’m about the longest running dude reviewing tools for the residential construction industry. And I’m glad I’m still in the game because I get to see the world from a perspective of where it was, where it is now–and I still have plenty of track left to see where it’s going. 

There have been esoteric tool brands for decades, making brilliant, expensive, and niche tools for niche tool users. Bridge City Tools and Lee Valley jump to mind. However, the thru-line is that, while esoteric, they actually serve a purpose, even if the 1 percenters who buy them only buy them to keep them on a shelf, there is a purpose. 

Topline Review

• This is the most elegant solution without a problem in existence
• This is serious?
• The engineering and execution are astounding
• So is the lack of any real world practicality
• My trust level just dropped to Kelvin temps
• It is a piece of history, which I love
• So is the impact driver I use that relegates this once useful design to toy status
• And by toy, I mean toy for people with more money than sense
• It looks a little like a rocket or something you can buy from CVS in a gimmicks or ‘as seen on TV’ section
• $150 fidget spinner

The Most Addictive Screwdriver In the World

When MetMo sent us their MetMo Driver–it’s a $150 ratcheting screwdriver with no bit storage and a side-handle for driving larger screws no sane person would ever use to drive large screws–I was intrigued. Especially by one of their claims: It’s fun to play with. 

It is, but I drive screws for money, not fun. And while I love elegant design, I also live by several maxims like, “full-tilt-boogie speed” and “rub some dirt in it and get back to work.” 

The packaging and YouTube video comes with some lovely marketing staking the claims of practical usage, along with the history of the tool, but buried in there is “fidget toy.”

History

The history got me. In the 1950s…you know, before lithium ion and after magazines…workers did things by hand. Screws were turned by forearm monsters. The design is based on a Conrad Baumann design and in the 1950s, it was, as they say “versatile.”

In the 50s.

Then the marketing drivel in the packaging seeps out like an untightened Fernco fitting and what I really, really want to love about this elegant but useless item lands a jab. “…we saw a huge opportunity to turn this concept into one hell of a multitool.” If the multiple uses involve holding it and displaying it, then sure, it’s a multitool.

Designed for real use?

Is the MetMo driver the best screwdriver? Well, the thing is glorious, as a toy, but the Milwaukee screwdriver I use all the time, that costs an order of magnitude less than this, does everything this thing does, and way better. 

This glorious POS is designed for rich dudes to either give other rich dudes shi+ they won’t use. Or it’s displayed as an object to project an image that rich dudes do DIY bullshi+ in their megahouses. 

A gorgeous object

The machining is glorious. The nod to history, fantastic. The claim to practicality is insulting to people like me who put food on our tables by driving screws. 

That said, I’m a business owner and capitalist (I guess) and if you can sell a billion of these to rich dudes, do it. The effing thing is a glorious fidget spinner.  

About the Author

Mark

A licensed contractor, tool expert, wood and outdoor enthusiast, and elite Spartan Race competitor, he writes about home improvement and tools for national magazines and websites, and teaches hands-on clinics for other remodeling professionals. Check out his book, The Carpenter's Notebook.

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