And here is a continuation on that video...
Based on this, I bought a set of Craftsman Overdrive wrenches. They were quite cheap and seem really nice.
Best quality open end wrench?
- Thread starter buck91
- Start date
And here is a continuation on that video...
Based on this, I bought a set of Craftsman Overdrive wrenches. They were quite cheap and seem really nice.
The big problem with the Overdrive is they are 6 point box, they require 60° vs the 30° swing arc for 12 point. Not good in tight places.
But what happens when he needs the next size up or down unless it's a 10mm because they ALWAYS get used (and lost like the sockets).The OP never mentioned a whole set. He asked for the best open end wrench available.
A single Snap-on wrench in the desired size is not going to break the bank. Hue Haw!
Fair. I call that an advantage at times.
I never used them, in fact I gave the old Craftsman ones I had for years away.
WrightGrip 2.0.
My flare nut wrenches have been retired, if that tells you anything. They do better gripping soft nuts like brake bleeders than my actual flare nut wrenches did!
True. Years ago, I broke a metric impact socket and they opened a set to replace it. I felt a little bad about them having to do that, but I got over it.
My tools are almost all Sears Craftsman and almost all bought 40+ years ago. They may not be "the best," and there is still a chance that I could marry an heiress with enough money to afford one Snap-on wrench, but the Craftsman stuff has worked so far.
Yeah just watch the TTC vid and go from there. But beware it kinda becomes like horsepower wars, ie "Even though my 2026 was king of the hill now I need to buy the 2027 because it has 20 more horsepower and massaging seats."
At some point it gets ridiculous trying to track THE ABSOLUTE VERY BEST, so just buy something quality that you like and then put the matter to bed.
That said, I enjoy the TTC testing for entertainment, but I retain about 1% of what I see there.
At some point it gets ridiculous trying to track THE ABSOLUTE VERY BEST, so just buy something quality that you like and then put the matter to bed.
That said, I enjoy the TTC testing for entertainment, but I retain about 1% of what I see there.
For good quality and warranty I have been extremely happy with the ICON wrenches. I also have a full set of snap on wrenches and I really can't tell any differences in my hand between the 2 as to if one is "better" than the other. I just know for my use in my shop they have been doing fine. Nobody goes and tortures wrenches like they do in those wrench tests so it doesn't mean you will have a failure with "normal" use. I just don't see ANY need for Snap on tools anymore with all the more reasonable priced competition out there.
I've wondered about this, too. If I have to work an open end so bad it's spreading I'll find a different approach
I like all my Gearwrench ones, no issues there.
I have some GW as well and they are decent. The warranty is trash though as you have to do so much to get a tool replaced and takes a long time vs walking in to a HF store for example
Actually this is a question I wonder also. How much of a difference from my basement line of HF to Bositch to Tekton to, say, snap-on? I'll have to watch that torque channel test and see how much it REALLY matters. Surely there's a sweet spot to buy.
I haven't had to warranty it, but there's a few places around me that carry GW so I'm guessing I could warranty there.
I feel like the sweet spot is probably that Gear Wrench/Tekton/HF Icon zone.
Watch the tests. There's always surprises, sleepers, disappointments etc.
You just have to decide where YOU want to balance between strength, price, warranty, availability, sizes (no skip sets?) and more. By its nature testing strives to declare a SINGLE winner, but life is rarely that simple.
Do you want the girl who's a 6 but incredibly cool and fun? Or the smoking hot 10 who's high maintenance?
The larger house further out with a smaller payment, or the small house with a bigger payment that's in the PERFECT location?
Do you want to ever be seen with @Zee09 in public and then wind up on several government watch lists? Actually, that's always a NO
There are not singularly correct answers to these questions -- except the last one!
I inherited these. Lousy way to get these incredible tools. These are the metrics, but not all of them. The skinny ones in the front are great for brake caliper pin double wrenching. The Icons in the back are the only non-SO. The really great ones are the flare nuts.
