2021 test13 productsHand Tools
Which Locking Pliers Brand Wins?
We compared 13 locking pliers options head to head. Malco Eagle Grip came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Malco Eagle Grip
Price shown in test: $44
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Budget pick
Irwin Vise-Grip and Craftsman
Price shown in test: $14
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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 | Jaw Width | Weight | Country Of Origin | Grade Five Bolt Grip Test | Cutting Test | Front Teeth Grip Test | High Carbon Steel Grip Test | Unlock Force | Failure Load |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Pittsburgh10 for $10 (a little over $3 each) | 0.44 in | 474 g | China | adjustment screw could not handle the 120 in-lb target torque and slipped; set as much tension as possible before slipping, resulting in only 5 in-lbs of grip, described as not very good | 173 lbs, but the adjustment screw moved out of position under the load, only left a small dent in the nail rather than cutting through cleanly | not tested in this round per transcript | not tested in this round per transcript | not tested in this round per transcript | not tested in this round per transcript |
| 2Tekton$9 | 0.42 in | 443 g | China | 59 in-lbs; teeth not very sharp, bolt caused minor damage to the teeth | 178 lbs, but the handle began to bend and the pliers gave up; cutting knife took quite a bit of damage | 21 in-lbs, lost grip on the bolt | 75 in-lbs, lost grip; struggled badly against an impact wrench for 5 seconds afterward, causing quite a bit of teeth damage | 13 lbs / 5.7 kg | 349 in-lbs; adjustment screw bottomed out, handle bent pretty badly |
| 3Harden$9 | 0.44 in | 449 g | China | 226 in-lbs, much better than Tekton; teeth cut into the bolt a little but were not very sharp, minor teeth damage | no cutting knife, skipped | 50 in-lbs, moved into the lead over Tekton at that point | 99 in-lbs, outperformed Tekton; teeth experienced quite a bit of damage | 15 lbs / 7 kg | 252 in-lbs; failure point was the weld on the threaded part of the handle |
| 4Irwin Vise-Grip (original)$12 | 0.47 in, widest of the brands tested up to that point | 514 g, heaviest of the brands tested up to that point | China | 594 in-lbs, much better than previous brands, finished third overall in this test behind Malco (1053) and Stanley Fat Max (751); sharp teeth dug in well with much less damage than earlier brands | 140 lbs, by far the best (lowest force) yet at that point; cutting knife still looked as good as new | 134 in-lbs, moved into the lead, described as a terrific result for a budget-price tool | 167 in-lbs, moved into the lead over Harden; teeth held up really well | 14 lbs / 6.5 kg | 444 in-lbs, moved into the lead at that point; weld on the threaded portion of the handle broke |
| 5Williams J.H. Williams$13 | 0.42 in | 507 g, nearly as heavy as the Irwin | China | 552 in-lbs, nearly as well as the Irwin, fourth overall; teeth dug in well and held up really well | 120 lbs, best (lowest force) of all brands tested, came out on top of this test | 99 in-lbs, second place behind Irwin at that point | 144 in-lbs, second place behind Irwin at that point; teeth held up less well than Irwin's | 19 lbs / 8.5 kg | 352 in-lbs; weld on the threaded portion of the handle broke |
| 6Crescent$13 | 0.45 in | 504 g, slightly lighter than Williams | China | 324 in-lbs, better than the first three brands tested but well behind Irwin and Williams (both over 500 in-lbs); teeth not as sharp, couldn't gain a strong grip | no cutting knife, skipped | 102 in-lbs, barely edged out Williams for second place at that point | 166 in-lbs, nearly as well as Irwin, second place; similar wear to Williams | 19 lbs / 8.5 kg, identical to Williams | 265 in-lbs, did not last nearly as long as Irwin or Williams; weld broke |
| 7Milwaukee$14 | 0.5 in, widest of the brands tested up to that point | 528 g, heaviest of the brands tested up to that point | Taiwan | 445 in-lbs, quite a bit better than Crescent but still behind Irwin; teeth held up really well | 147 lbs, small amount of damage to the cutting knife | 112 in-lbs, better than Crescent but not enough to take the lead from Irwin | 128 in-lbs, not enough to move into the lead; teeth held up really well | 12 lbs / 5.5 kg, easiest (best) to unlock of any brand tested | 556 in-lbs, moved into the lead at that point; weld held but the end of the adjustment bolt came apart |
| 8Craftsman$14 | 0.46 in | 575 g, by far the heaviest of the brands tested up to that point | China | 572 in-lbs, moved into second place behind Irwin at that point; slightly more teeth damage than Irwin | 136 lbs, second place behind Williams; cutting knife still looked as good as new | 155 in-lbs, best yet at that point, took the lead from Irwin | 196 in-lbs, moved into the lead over Irwin; slightly more teeth damage than Irwin and Milwaukee | 15 lbs, same as Harden, three pounds more than Milwaukee | 466 in-lbs, barely edged out Irwin; weld broke and adjustment screw bottomed out |
| 9Knipex$23 | 0.46 in, same as Craftsman | 568 g, nearly as heavy as Craftsman | Germany | 378 in-lbs, fifth place; teeth not very sharp and showed a little more wear than some other brands | 153 lbs, took a bit more pressure than average; cutting knife still in great shape | 107 in-lbs, fourth place behind Milwaukee | 149 in-lbs, nearly as good as Irwin, but teeth took quite a bit of damage | 17 lbs / 7.5 kg | 186 in-lbs, lowest failure load of any brand in this round; adjustment screw experienced quite a bit of damage |
| 10CH Hanson$29 | 0.47 in, wider than average | 626 g, heaviest of the brands tested up to that point | Taiwan | 389 in-lbs; narrator notes it is 'probably my fault' this automatic self-adjusting design didn't perform better since there is no fair way to torque-test it like the others, teeth still in great shape | no cutting knife, skipped | 195 in-lbs; narrator flags this as not a fair test since the C.H. Hanson uses a different jaw-pressure adjustment style | 137 in-lbs; again flagged as not an apples-to-apples comparison, teeth held up about the same as Craftsman | 17 lbs / 7.5 kg, same as Knipex | not tested in this round per transcript |
| 11Grip-On$30 | 0.41 in, narrowest of the brands tested up to that point | 630 g, heaviest of the brands tested up to that point | Spain | 366 in-lbs; teeth sharp but uneven height side to side, small amount of teeth damage | no cutting knife, skipped | 95 in-lbs, did not perform as well as some less expensive brands | 169 in-lbs, performed well but Craftsman held the lead; teeth experienced quite a bit of damage | 25 lbs / 11.5 kg, hardest to unlock of any brand tested | 543 in-lbs, nearly as long as Milwaukee; head on the adjustment bolt twisted off |
| 12Stanley Fat Max$33 | 0.53 in, widest of any brand tested | 623 g | China | 751 in-lbs, by far the best yet at that point (second overall behind Malco); teeth dug in well with some minor damage | no cutting knife, skipped | 111 in-lbs per the in-body result (the closing recap sentence states 'stanley fat max 11 inch pounds', almost certainly a dropped trailing digit from 111; keeping both figures per the no-silent-correction rule) | 199 in-lbs, took the lead from Craftsman, finished a close second overall behind Malco (206); teeth held up about the same as Craftsman | 24 lbs / 10.75 kg | 311 in-lbs; weld on the threaded part of the handle broke |
| 13Malco Eagle Grip$44 | 0.43 in | 538 g, heavier than average | USA | 1053 in-lbs, by far the best of any brand tested, described as totally crushing the competition; most aggressive grip, small amount of teeth damage | 173 lbs, took more effort to cut than most other brands; cutting knife still looked as good as new | 209 in-lbs, best of any brand tested, beat Craftsman by 54 in-lbs | 206 in-lbs, best of any brand tested, barely edging out Stanley Fat Max; teeth showed less wear than average | 13.7 lbs / 6.25 kg | 593 in-lbs, most durable of any brand tested; point of failure was the weld in the handle |
How it was tested
- grade 5 bolt gripping strength (torque to slip point, in-lbs)
- cutting a 16 penny nail (force required to cut through, lbs)
- front teeth gripping strength re-test on a fresh bolt (torque to slip point, in-lbs)
- gripping strength on a high carbon steel half-inch socket extension (torque to slip point, in-lbs)
- force required to unlock the pliers (lbs / kg)
- failure load / durability test (torque until mechanism failure, in-lbs)
“the malco did a terrific job and easily won this competition however the malco is very expensive at over 40 dollars so if you're looking for an affordable brand the irwin performed very well as did the craftsman”