Sitting around the water cooler, the PTR guys started thinking... We should do a weekly list. Something more helpful than Dave's top 10 but maybe less rigorous than the weekly top 20. A list of stuff that's important to us but not necessarily something that has to be empirically proven, studied, and validated through external sources. A fun list that may be informative but doesn't necessarily have to be. Welcome to the Weekly Top 5.

Each Monday we'll be releasing a new list of whatever is on our minds. The lists will not be rank ordered. This means that just because something comes in at number one doesn't mean it's the "best" or the "most important." It just ended up there. For our first list, we decided to do something easy - Tools We Can't Live Without. These are not the tools we use the most (we'd end up with a list of hammers and screwdrivers), but the tools that, when we use them, we think, "Man, this thing is AWESOME!" These could be tools that we'd get along fine without but, now that we have them, you couldn't pull them out of our cold, dead fingers. And here we go:

1) Leatherman Super Tool 300

This one was a no brainer. Whether you are at the park with your kids shooting off a rocket, camping with the family, or just fixing stuff around the house, a Leatherman is always handy. Riddle me this: If you had to go on a long trip away from home and had to pack light, what would you bring? If you thought there was a chance you'd have to remove a battery case, bend something into place, or gut a fish, you'd want your multitool. The Super Tool 300 comes with an assortment of screwdrivers, files, and cutters as well as a number of others. The only thing really missing for a long trip? Corkscrew. But wine is for sissy's anyhow. 

2) 12V Bosch PS41-2A Impact Driver

For many, an impact driver seems to be a specialty tool. It's something you only need when you are on the job or dealing with very specific, and more importantly rare, situations. We're finding more and more that it's just not true. With the exception of using hole saws, we find ourselves reaching more for our impact drivers than we do our drills/drivers. They are fast becoming the homeowner's go-to tool, and with the advent of more and more 1/4-hex-compatible driver and drill bits, the quick-change shanks on these tools is changing the way we look at drills. It also doesn't hurt that these tools keep getting lighter, smaller, and more powerful with every revision.

3) Stiletto 12oz Titanium Hammer

Other than taking a picture of your friend's face as you toss him your new titanium hammer and posting it to the PTR forums for the world to see, titanium hammers have plenty of practical uses. Sure, they're cool, they're light, and you'll have your friends drooling over yours, but they aren't just for professionals. At around $100 or more, they're pricey - but if you spend any time swinging a hammer, you'll consider that money well spent. At this point we don't ever want to use a framing hammer that isn't titanium - the power-to-weight ratio is simply something you get used to and never want to leave.

4) Kershaw Zing 1735 Folding Knife

We're knife fanatics. Sure, the soccer-mom's give you the evil eye when you whip it out, but you don't see them complaining when you're cutting open that child-proof packaging or freeing their kid's shirt from the fence they decided to jump. On the job, you'll find yourself constantly in need of a sharp edge. Sure, a multi-tool or folding utility knife is a great option for occasional use, but when you are needing a knife constantly, you want the most versatile, compact tool you can get your hands on. In those cases, a folding knife is the way to go. Whether you or an occasional handyman or a DIY warrior, if you have a knife nearby when you're working, we're betting you'll shave minutes if not hours off your project.

5) 18V Milwaukee 2630-22 Cordless Circular Saw

Sure, we know the objections. We've made many of them ourselves. Circular saws need power. Even in a best case scenario, a cordless circular saw is only really good for short term use on undemanding materials. You wouldn't want to count on one on a jobsite right? Well, then we started living with one. We can't count how many times we've needed to make a cut or two and we grabbed ours - thankful that we didn't need to drag out an extension cord. Could we live without one? Sure. We did so for years. But would we want to? Absolutely not.

Now it's your turn. What tools can't you live without. What tools have made your life easier? Click on the "Discuss in our Forums" link below and let us know.