6 power tool specs that don’t mean what you think they mean

Walk the power tool aisle and every box leads with a big number. It’s printed large because it sells the tool, and it tends to skip the fine print that decides how the thing behaves in your hand. I’ve bought more than 20 Ryobi ONE+ tools over the years, and I’ve learned to read the line under the headline spec before I trust it. Some of these numbers mean less than they look like they do. A couple mean something else entirely. Once you know which figure to weigh and which to wave off, the aisle gets a lot less intimidating. Here are six power tool specs that don’t say what most people think.