There’s a reason why the most important part of a structure is often described as its “backbone.” Your spine is literally holding you up, and damage to it can affect all kinds of motion elsewhere (not to mention all it does for your central nervous system). Even minor aches and pains should be avoided, because they can lead to greater problems much further down the line — when standing, walking, and even lifting lightweight items become much harder with age.

Spending time in a garage or on a jobsite often requires a lot of lifting, bending, and twisting, which can take its toll on your back. Sure, manual labor is part of the job, or if you’re a DIYer, it may even be part of the fun, but not all physical effort is the same — and not all of it is necessary. Reducing strain on your spine and back muscles is always a good thing, no matter how fit you are. That’s why it’s just as important to include items in your toolset that specifically help your back, even if they’re not totally necessary for the job.

Among its other hardware and home improvement products, Harbor Freight sells several tools, accessories, and other gear that can help reduce or prevent back strain. Many of these come from one or more of Harbor Freight’s house brands and include equipment that can help bear weight, prevent injuries, or keep you from having to bend so low or at awkward angles all the time. Here are six currently available Harbor Freight products that will help save your back.

There are several Pittsburgh tools worth buying from Harbor Freight, but the house brand makes other gear and accessories as well, including a Mechanics Roller Seat. A roller seat may not be as comfy as a high-end office chair, but the ability to roll around the garage, whether it’s to your workbench or to another tire, greatly minimizes the number of times you need to get up and down from the ground, saving your back a ton of strain.

The Pittsburgh Mechanics Roller Seat costs $31.99 and is 14 ½ inches tall. With a max load capacity of 250 pounds, the seat is 15 x 14 inches and rests on 2 ½-inch swivel casters. The casters are constructed from high-impact polyurethane to better resist oil and other chemicals commonly found in garages. The frame is built with durable steel, and the seat sports foam cushioning, so it isn’t the worst thing in the world to sit on all day as you work on a vehicle.

One very useful feature is an integrated tray to keep the tools you need most — that way, you don’t even need to roll over to your chest to grab them. It’s made from high-impact PVC, so you won’t have to worry about putting tools back as gently as possible. This feature is one of the reasons Pittsburgh’s Mechanics Roller Seat is so highly rated by Harbor Freight customers, with 93% of those surveyed recommending the product.

In addition to tools and other hardware, there are also several Harbor Freight products that will help keep you safe on the jobsite, such as hard hats and safety goggles. These are obvious accessories that can prevent harm to your body, but an unsung safety product is the Western Safety Back Support Belt. By increasing abdominal pressure and reducing load on your lumbar area, as well as limiting movement so you don’t accidentally pull or twist something, it can help prevent less-conspicuous injuries. Plus, it also encourages you to maintain good posture, which can be especially hard when working.

The Western Safety Back Support Belt comes in several sizes and costs less than a sawbuck. Adjustable suspenders and a hook-and-loop design allow you to quickly make yourself comfortable in the apparatus and size it so that it can properly do its job. It’s built with tapered abdominal support panels and elastic outer panels for better comfort. 

It weighs less than a pound, so you won’t need to worry about it weighing you down, either. Harbor Freight also sells a Western Safety Back Support Belt with Reflector, doubling down on safety. It’s built exactly the same, so it’s providing the same benefit to your back, but with the addition of highly visible reflective strips and neon-orange suspenders. That way, your coworkers and others can easily spot you on a jobsite, even while you’re lifting something heavy.

If you’re not already, you should be maximizing the efficiency of your workshop or jobsite by taking advantage of magnetic tools and accessories. Magnets may be simple, but they can offer lots of convenience when it comes to mounting, storage, cleaning, and more, which is why there are multiple magnetic tools from Harbor Freight that users love.

One such tool is the Pittsburgh Telescoping Magnetic Pickup Tool, which makes it easy to grab metal items from the ground without having to bend over and strain your back. Whether it’s a small tool or a tiny screw that’s rolled off the workbench, Pittsburgh’s deceptively straightforward pickup tool can take a lot of frustration, time, and effort out of your workday.

The Pittsburgh Telescoping Magnetic Pickup Tool has a 15-pound load capacity, so there are plenty of metal objects in the garage that it can lift on your behalf. It telescopes from 7-½ inches to over 29-½ inches, allowing you to use it in tight spaces or reach something nearly a yard away. The tool won’t add to your burden since it’s lightweight and the grip is layered with foam, so it’s more comfortable to use throughout the day. 

The device has a ¾-inch wide head and is built with steel to keep it strong and durable over time. Users love the product, and it’s one of the higher-rated tools in Harbor Freight’s catalog. In customer reviews, multiple users specifically say it’s great for your back, whether you’ve got a bad back or are trying to prevent one while you can.

Many carpenters, both professional and casual, know that there are many Harbor Freight woodworking tools that are worth buying. One of these products — Bauer Steel Adjustable Sawhorse — can save your back in addition to helping you accomplish your woodworking tasks. That’s because its nine different height settings allow you to erect the sawhorse at a level that’s optimal for you and your back, enabling you to cut wood without having to hunch in an awkward — and potentially damaging — position.

The Bauer Steel Adjustable Sawhorse is built to be heavy-duty and can hold 1,300 pounds, giving it a 2,600-pound max capacity when paired with a second one. It’s made entirely of durable steel and is powder-coated and zinc-plated to better withstand harsher jobsite conditions. It includes material support pegs and pivoting feet to provide users with better stability during cuts. It can easily be adjusted, and the tallest of its nine height options is 32 inches.

Besides being better for your back, it’s also easy to move around and store. It folds up into a more compact, easier-to-carry shape and includes an integrated carrying handle. With all this in mind, it’s not hard to see why 96% of surveyed Harbor Freight customers recommend the product and why it’s highly rated. While some owners say it can be a bit of a hassle to initially set up, more than one user reports that it makes working without back pain possible.

Lifting a car all on your own is preposterous, which is why Harbor Freight’s metallic red Daytona jack and similar tools are readily available. But there are plenty of reasons why you shouldn’t lift and carry smaller loads, either. You might be physically strong enough to move around heavy tool boxes, lumber, or equipment, but your back would really appreciate it if you lightened the load when you can. 

Over time, you’ll appreciate it yourself, because straining your back as you carry items, as well as bending up and down to lift and drop them, takes its toll on your spine and surrounding muscles. Harbor Freight sells several kinds of hand trucks, wagons, and dollies that will handle most of the weight for you. The Cosco 3-in-1 Convertible Hand Truck can be used as an upright 2-wheel truck, as well as a 4-wheel cart or hand truck, and can be switched between these modes one-handed and without tools. When horizontal, it can hold up to 1,000 pounds; when vertical, it can hold up to 800 pounds.

Franklin also makes a heavy-duty hand truck, but an even simpler option is its 18 x 12-inch Hardwood Dolly, which has a 1,000-lb capacity. Its carpeted surface prevents scratches on whatever you’re carrying, like furniture. Using products like Cosco’s hand truck and Franklin’s dolly will save your back a lot of wear and tear. You might be the type of person whose pride is hurt when others see you not lifting the big stuff all on your own, but wounded pride is a lot, lot better than a wounded back.

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With streaming being such an integral part of modern entertainment, it’s no wonder we’re all looking for ways to optimize our experience. Beyond owning smart TVs, this also means investing in additional devices, such as the Amazon Fire TV Stick, to enhance the viewing experience. In fact, it includes numerous useful remote shortcuts that Amazon doesn’t advertise, letting you do everything from switching display resolutions to enabling accessibility features.

Unlike our smart TVs, which usually stay firmly in our homes, you can also easily travel with your Fire TV Stick and enjoy your streaming content as long as you have access to a compatible TV and Wi-Fi. Not to mention, you can play games on television screens without lugging around huge gaming laptops or bringing extra handheld consoles.

Owning an Amazon Fire TV Stick also opens many connectivity options, especially with Bluetooth-enabled devices. But take note: while there are a ton of devices you can connect to your Fire TV Stick to see your exact options, you first need to find your model number by either referencing the receipt, the box it came with, or the device itself when in use. If you’ve forgotten what model of Fire TV stick you own, you can launch it, open the Settings menu, and select “My Fire TV.”

To pair any compatible Bluetooth device, launch your Amazon Fire TV Stick and navigate to Settings. Afterward, select Controllers & Bluetooth Devices, choose the device category you want to pair, and follow the pairing instructions on the screen. 

Here are the gadgets you can connect to the Fire TV Stick via Bluetooth.

Many modern smart television sets will probably already let you hook up your speakers directly via Bluetooth. However, there are reasons why you might still want to do it through the Fire TV Stick. For example, you can easily adjust the volume with the Fire TV Stick remote, so you have fewer things to fiddle with. If you tend to use your television only with your Fire TV Stick, this can also streamline audio processing and reduce the risk of audio issues when streaming your favorite shows or movies. These days, there’s no shortage of Bluetooth speakers worth buying that can work with your Fire TV Stick, such as the Anker Soundcore 2, Marshall Stanmore III, and Sonos Move 2. With this, you can get better sound than your TV speakers, and you can also move your speakers to your preferred location.

For those who are already invested in the Amazon smart home ecosystem, you can hook up the Fire TV Stick to your Alexa-powered Echo speakers. With this alone, it introduces a ton of additional possibilities for your integrated smart home experience. Apart from voice control options, it can be used as a component in creating automated scenes that work with other Alexa-compatible devices, such as light bulbs, scent machines, and smart switches. For example, some Alexa automations compatible with your Fire TV Stick can optimize your bedtime routine or turn everything off after movie nights.

While some people are lucky enough to live in places where they can turn on the loudspeakers freely while accessing their favorite content, others need to be more mindful of their viewing habits. Thankfully, just because you’re watching from a TV doesn’t mean the whole neighborhood has to watch with you. Whether you want some privacy or just to avoid an angry neighbor knocking on your door, you can pair your Bluetooth headphones with your Amazon Fire TV devices. In recent times, there is no shortage of multi-point Bluetooth Headphones and Earbuds that can work with your Amazon Fire TV Stick. For example, Apple users will be relieved to know that its AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max all work with it.

But take note: the same issues other devices have with Bluetooth headphones and earphones apply, such as audio latency, which you’ll need to resolve using AV Sync Tuning. Not to mention, apart from commercial headphones and earbuds, some Amazon Fire TV devices also work with hearing aids, including several of its TV offerings and the Fire TV Cube (2nd- and 3rd-generation models). Among compatible hearing aids, it lists Starkey, Widex, and Cochlear hearing devices. Although you may need to check with your specific model. In 2025, Amazon released a few new features that make its Fire TV devices more accessible, such as the Dual Audio option, which allows hearing aid users and others to listen to audio at adjusted loudness levels simultaneously.

Even though many smart TVs can perform the same functions, the Amazon Fire TV Stick still does a lot of things better, such as navigation, software experiences, and cloud gaming. In 2020, Amazon launched Luna Cloud Gaming, which lets people run its library of games on Amazon’s remote servers. Depending on your preferences, you can choose a subscription model that suits the kinds of games you play most often.

According to Amazon, certified Luna-compatible controllers include the official Luna Controller, PlayStation 4 DualShock 4 Wireless Controller, Xbox One Controller, and the Google Stadia Controller. Additionally, owners of the PS5’s DualSense Controllers have been able to use them effectively. Although some people may claim that their 3rd-party controllers from other manufacturers work with their Fire TV Stick, it’s important to note that you will not have the same protection, assurance, or expected longevity as with official ones.

Regardless of which model you choose, you’ll still want to make sure you have the right network and device settings to enjoy your Bluetooth controllers. Apart from having a fast enough connection, you’ll also want to turn on Game Mode when possible. Not to mention, compatibility isn’t entirely guaranteed for everything and still depends on the specific game you are playing. In a jiffy, you can opt to use the Luna Controller app on your mobile phone instead.

Devices like the Fire TV Stick solve many problems, but they also introduce new ones. One of the most annoying, yet somewhat universal, experiences for anyone who has used a streaming device is finding it difficult to navigate with the remote. In fact, while the Amazon Fire TV Stick lets you browse the internet with your TV using Amazon Silk, it can be a nightmare to type all the website names and click all the right buttons.

If you want a sleek-looking wireless keyboard, something like the Logitech K380 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard lets you pair with up to three devices, so you don’t have to unpair it from your computer to use it with your Fire TV Stick. But if you’re looking for something more ergonomic, there are even Bluetooth mice with side-scrolling, like the Logitech MX Master 3S, Keychron M6 Wireless Mouse, and Razer Basilisk V3 Pro.

If you don’t own a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse, all hope is not lost. As we’ve mentioned before, you can use a micro-USB OTG splitter to plug in a wired keyboard or mouse to your Fire TV Stick. So, if you still prefer using a wired peripheral or have already maxed out the number of devices you can connect to your Fire TV stick, this is a possible alternative.