3 Stud Finder Reviews

In our last blog post we showed you 3 different stud finders and how to use them. For this article, we are reviewing those 3 stud finders so that you can select the perfect stud finder for your project.  No more runs to the store to return what wasn't right, read our review below!

Stud Finder #1:

The first stud finder we purchased is the Ryobi Whole Stud Detector which can be found at The Home Depot. This stud finder is $24.97 (before tax) and not only does it find studs, but it also detects other materials including metal, wood, and AC wire. It’s simple to use (in theory) with the instructions located right on the back of the item. One downfall to this product is that you have to have 2 free hands to use it. Once the center is located, then you can remove one hand from the item to mark the stud on the wall. Because of the annoying “two-hand” feature, this stud detector lost points in its ease of use category. Not only was it a bit of a pain to use in reality, it didn’t seem to detect the EXACT SAME stud as easily (or at all) as the other 2 stud finders. It sort of lit up on the edge, but never gave an accurate reading of a stud we knew for a fact was beneath the sheet-rock. Overall, we say “Meh” to this product. It’s a good product in theory, but not in practice.

Price (least expensive to most expensive): 1 2 3 4 5

Size (small to large): 1 2 3 4 5

Ease of Use (easiest to hardest): 1 2 3 4 5

Stud Finder #2:

The second stud finder we purchased is the Zircon Stud Sensor HD55. We also purchased this stud finder from The Home Depot for $19.97. This stud sensor boasts “Deep Scanning with Stud Finder with Wire Warning Detection” up to 1 ½ in. deep. One downfall to this stud detector is that it requires a 9V battery, not included (we learned the hard way, and had to head back to the store to purchase). Besides that, this stud finder was easy to use with one hand, and found the stud quickly while letting us know that there was an AC wire in our path! For the price and accessibility, this stud finder is a great choice!

Price (least expensive to most expensive): 1 2 3 4 5

Size (small to large): 1 2 3 4 5

Ease of Use (easiest to hardest): 1 2 3 4 5

Stud Finder #3:

The third and final stud finder we purchased is the C.H. Hanson Magnetic Stud Finder. This stud finder came from Amazon as none of our local home improvement stores carried this product. This is the least expensive stud finder, coming in at about  $10, and it’s the only stud finder we purchased that doesn’t require batteries. This stud finder literally fits in the palm of your hand which makes it great for storage and ease of use. Once it detects the stud, it essentially attaches itself to the wall using its magnetic capabilities. The only downfall to this stud finder in comparison to the others is that it does not detect anything other than the stud itself. The other two stud finders are able to detect wires within the walls to prevent you from puncturing those when installing your nail or screw.

Price (least expensive to most expensive): 1 2 3 4 5

Size (small to large): 1 2 3 4 5

Ease of Use (easiest to hardest): 1 2 3 4 5

Our Pick:

The ease of use with the C.H. Hanson Magnetic Stud Finder is really important for those of us that really just want to find the stud without the extra bells and whistles of the other 2 stud finders. It located the stud within seconds AND it attached itself to the wall while we made a pencil to mark the stud, which was pretty cool! Not only that, but it was the least expensive product of the 3 and it was shipped via Amazon Prime right to our door! Check out our first article “3 Stud Finders and How to Use Them” here for more details on how to use these stud finders.