Makita HQ, Tour de Acme, and Milwaukee Pipeline Predictions

Two weeks. Two guys. One truck. An unknown number of gas station snacks.

David and Zach are finally back from the road trip they took to Acme Tools stores across three states, and I'm going to be straight with you: this might be the most unhinged episode of the Acme Tools Podcast we've put out. Not because anything went wrong. Because everything went right, and somehow it still ended with a fifteen-minute segment about a bag you pee in.

We'll get there. Let us set the scene first.

First stop was Flowery Branch, Georgia, where the magic happens. This is Makita's home base, and yes, they knew we were coming, and yes, they still opened the doors for us.

The guys got hands-on with just about every Makita tool you could imagine, plus a lot of information on what makes Makita, Makita. We can't tell you everything, but what we can tell you is that the phrase "we were within two miles of Lionel Messi" gets said out loud in this episode, and it may or may not be a bit.

If you're the type of person who reads spec sheets for fun (no judgment here), this segment alone is worth the listen. New tools. New tech. Real testing, not a press release.

Speaking of reading the specs: David did not. Getting to Georgia was quite travel day and we break it down for you. Somewhere in there David decided he needed a Lego set from an airport vending machine. It all went wrong. We may have gotten this on video and featured it on the pod.

Then came Tour de Acme, which is exactly what it sounds like: David and Zach driving to Acme Tools stores and finding out what actually happens in them.

Leg 1 was North Dakota. Home turf. Our people. Badlands out the passenger window.

David and Zach had scheduled meet-and-greets with the store crews at every stop, and somewhere along the way it dawned on them that they have actual fans. Real people. Who listen on purpose. It rattled them a little.

What did not stick, apparently, anything about the buildings themselves. Zach could not tell you what those stores looked like if you paid him, which leads to an argument about store layouts that gets genuinely heated for two men who know nothing about product displays. The official ruling: every store is unique. The unofficial ruling: Zach wasn't paying attention.

After North Dakota it was time for Minnesota and Iowa, and the vibe shifted a little. New stores, new crews, new food stops, and a growing sense that this trip had turned into a competition nobody officially entered.

Yep. The popcorn was in competition.

David discovered every store has popcorn. And if you didn't know, David has popcorn every day at his desk, big fan. He has now ranked the popcorn at every store, on the record, with his full name attached. Is this reckless? Absolutely. Is one location going to be extremely normal about their placement? Probably not. Did David back down when given the chance? Nope.

We are not spoiling the order. Go listen. But I'll say this: the results are not what you'd expect, there is a clear upset, and at least one location is going to be insufferable about winning.

Between the popcorn and the urinal discourse, don't worry there's some substance here. We got new product breakdowns, plus a teaser on the next big event: Our predictions for the 2026 Milwaukee Pipeline event before we went. That's all I'm allowed to say. It's a good one.

Whether you're here for serious power tool insight or you just want to hear two guys unravel in real time somewhere on I-29, this one delivers on both.

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