The Best Glue Guns

The Cobiz – CZGLUEGUN001 has the most comfortable grip, easily adjustable heat settings and sturdy construction. This industrial-looking glue gun provided a steady stream of glue that was handy for both crafting and quick household repairs. The Cobiz’s tip was fine enough to use for smaller craft projects such as making Foamiran flowers, and the glue was strong enough to adhere two 2 x 2 wood pieces together.

The Cobiz can be adjusted from 60 watts for crafting projects to 100 watts for creating a more solid bond. Its grip was also by far the comfiest of our finalists because of perfectly placed finger indents on the trigger. The glue sticks included with othe Cobiz were slightly cloudier than the perfectly translucent glue sticks included with the Chandler or Ad-Tech. When we bedazzled wine glasses with silver plastic beads, the Cobiz’s cloudy glue could be seen on the surface of the glass. You will most likely need to buy supplemental glue sticks, so we recommend using the perfectly clear Ad-Tech glue sticks to make sure the glue is not noticeable, especially if you work with glass. Read more…

The Cobiz comes with a two-year warranty, which was unique among our finalists. It’s reasonably priced at about $20, and we found it to be one of the toughest, most versatile and easiest-to-use glue guns available.

If you’re looking for a smaller glue gun for crafting projects, the Chandler Tool – CT25 has a sturdy stand, steady glue flow and easy maneuverability. The usefulness of the Chandler’s extended handle stand can not be overstated, as it made setting the gun down much simpler and more secure than any of our other finalists, with the exception of the larger Chandler Tool – CT60. The Chandler also easily fit into our tester’s hand, and its trigger was comfortable to press with multiple fingers.

The Chandler’s included glue sticks were remarkably translucent, making it well suited for projects with glass. Because of its small size and comfortable handling, the Chandler was also the easiest of our glue guns to use with precise crafting projects, such as making Foamiran flowers. We were also surprised that this little glue gun was able to securely adhere 2 x 2 wood pieces together.

The TopElek – 20-watt glue gun was the smallest and lightest glue gun we tested. Our testers found it very comfortable to use for small craft projects, and it was easy to control in making very thin and uniform glue lines. However, the TopElek leaked more than our other guns while heating up, and its included glue sticks were cloudier than the Chandler’s or Ad-Tech’s glue sticks.

The TopElek also ranked lower in usability than our top picks because of its shorter cord and less balanced stand. When using this glue gun to make foamiran flowers and decorate wine glasses, it fell over almost every time we put it down, making a bit of a mess.

As with the mini Chandler Tool glue gun, the full-size Chandler Tool – CT60 has a sturdy stand, a uniform glue flow and a comfortable handle. This 60-watt glue gun is a solid choice that worked especially well with wood and fabric.

It ranked slightly lower in comfort and usability than the Cobiz because of its simpler grip and lack of multiple heat settings. It also did not rank as high as the Chandler Tool – CT25 for smaller crafting projects because its larger size made it more unwieldy.

The Ad-Tech – Mini Hi-Temp was less comfortable and harder to squeeze than our other finalists. This small glue gun’s trigger was so tiny that only one finger could fit on it, and we had to provide a fair amount of pressure for glue to come out. However, we found that the glue sticks that came with the AdTech – Mini were crystal clear and very high quality.

During our testing, the Ad-Tech was difficult to balance when setting down. This was the least-expensive glue gun we tested, and it showed in the overall quality of this cheaply made, plastic gun.

We were initially excited about the Manelord – 100-watt glue gun’s extra-large colored glue sticks. However, after first using the black glue stick, it took more than five clear glue sticks to completely remove the blackish discoloration from the glue.

The Manelord’s small cord measures only 40 inches, making the gun difficult to maneuver. We rated its handle comfort as only average because it lacks finger divots on the trigger. This 100-watt glue gun is very large and hot, which made it ill-suited for smaller crafting projects.

The 20-watt Blusmart is a simple, small glue gun that was easy to control. However, when inserting a new glue stick, we had to push it through the chamber for the first three trigger presses, unlike other glue guns that needed just one trigger press. The Bluesmart’s comfort ranked as only average because its trigger had no finger divots. Also the Blusmart was not as easy to balance as the Chandler Tool – CT25.

We don’t recommend the 100-watt PROkleber for small crafting projects. It’s larger, heavier and less comfortable than the other guns we tested, and its glue stream was so fast that it created glue spots rather than uniform lines. Because it’s so unwieldy, it would be easy to burn yourself when working with delicate materials. The PROkleber was the only finalist that had a zip-up carrying case. However, this bonus was not enough to justify buying this gun over the more useful — and our top pick — Cobiz – CZGLUEGUN001.