2020 test10 productsBlades, Bits & Abrasives
Which Impact Driver Bits Brand Wins?
We compared 10 impact driver bits options head to head. Milwaukee Shockwave came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Milwaukee Shockwave
Price shown in test: 66 cents each
Check price on Amazon
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Runner-up
Bauer
Price shown in test: 43 cents each
Check price on Amazon
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Budget pick
Bauer
Price shown in test: 43 cents each
Check price on Amazon
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Fit/wobble | Wear after 100 screws | Cam out torque, new (in lbs) | Cam out torque, used after 100 screws (in lbs) | Break strength (in lbs) | Hardness (relative scale) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Milwaukee Shockwave Shockwave66 cents each | very nice fit, very little wobble | held up very well with a very small amount of wear along the leading edge of the flutes | 91 | 84, nearly as good as the new bit, did the best yet at that point in the test | 157, tied with Wiha for the best of all brands tested | seven, grouped with Irwin, Makita, and Wiha as the hardest bits |
| 2Bauer43 cents each | much better fit than the Warrior, very little wobble, nice tight fit made driving screws very easy | very little wear along the leading edge of the flutes | 102 | 81, very impressive, better than the Warrior | 144, impressive strength | six |
| 3Wiha$1.20 each | a little bit more wobble compared to some of the other brands, did not have a perfect fit but still did a terrific job | didn't do quite as well as the Milwaukee | 107, the best yet at that point in the test | 75, well above average but not as good as the Milwaukee | 157, tied the Milwaukee, very impressive | seven |
| 4DeWalt Max Fit53 cents each | very nice tight fit with very little wobble | visible wear to the leading edge of the flutes, but definitely less wear than the Bosch | 101 | 67, much better than average | 140, the lowest of all driver bits except the Harbor Freight Warrior | six |
| 5Craftsman50 cents each | much tighter fit than the previous three brands (Warrior, Bauer, Hercules), but didn't grip the screw as well as the Bauer | width of the flutes near the tip are much more narrow and the tip appears slightly twisted | 95 | 64, better than the Hercules but not as good as the Bauer | 143, not quite as strong as the Bauer or Hercules | six |
| 6Irwin52 cents each | pretty good fit, but definitely some wobble, more than some other brands | some wear on the leading edge of the flutes, appears less worn than the Craftsman | 96 | 62, very close to the Craftsman | 149, the best yet at that point in the test | seven |
| 7Bosch53 cents each | very tight fit, very similar to the Craftsman, but performance seemed to degrade quite a bit by the end of the test | the lightest bit of all the brands, quite a bit of damage to the flutes | 94 | 62, the same as the Irwin | 146, not quite as well as the Irwin | six |
| 8Makita Gold66 cents each | pretty good fit, but a little bit more movement than compared to some of the other brands, didn't grip the screws as well as some of the other brands | some rounding on the leading edge of the flutes, seems to have less wear than some of the other brands | 96 | 56, really struggled | 149, tied for the best at that point in the test; flexed and twisted the most of all brands before breaking and began camming out before snapping | seven |
| 9Hercules45 cents each | doesn't offer a very good fit, quite a bit of wobble | quite a bit more wear than the Bauer; likely made by the same manufacturer as the Bauer but the bit didn't fit the screw as well | 101, just 1 lb less than the Bauer | 53, had a lot more visible wear than the Bauer | 148, slightly better than the Bauer | six |
| 10Harbor Freight Warrior$5.99 for a 32 piece set, 19 cents per piece | quite a bit of wobble | quite a bit of wear and some of the metal along the edge of the bit is elevated | did not cam out, snapped at 93 instead, exposing the weakness of using a bit not designed for high torque use | 71, actually did well | not tested | six |
How it was tested
- wear comparison under microscope after driving 100 drywall screws into pressure treated 4x4s per brand
- twisting force (cam out torque) required for new bits to cam out
- twisting force (cam out torque) required for used bits (after 100 screws) to cam out
- twisting force required to break each bit under 200 lbs of downward force with self tapping steel screws
- metal hardness test (transcript says 'most hardness test', likely a mangled reference to a Mohs style hardness test)
“it's a very good brand in my opinion, the best of all the ones we've tested”