2021 test11 productsHand Tools
Which Screwdriver Brand Wins?
A head-to-head test of 11 screwdriver options with the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.
Budget pick
Craftsman
Price shown in test: $17 for 12 pieces
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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 | Durability Test | Cam Out Test | Slotted Blade Test | Hammer Impact Test | Solvent Resistance Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1PB Swiss$91 for six screwdrivers, about $15 each | installed and removed all 50 screws; performance was simply amazing, flutes held proper shape during the entire test, so very little downward force was needed; wear rating of one (tied best with Wiha) | refused to break and finally cammed out at 136 in pounds, first place | one of the thinnest blades in the lineup at 1 mm; considering the thickness, did fairly well but finally broke at 89 in pounds | began to bend at 650 pounds; shaft was not driven up into the handle | not tested |
| 2Wera$42 for six screwdrivers, $7 each | performed by far the best up to that point in testing, requiring a lot less downward force throughout and showing less wear than the Craftsman; wear rating of two | moved into the lead at 131 in pounds before finally snapping | blade thickness 1.22 mm; broke the bolt at 120 in pounds on the first attempt; retested with a fresh bolt and let go at 117 in pounds the second time, with a small bend | shaft began moving into the handle at 700 pounds but did not begin bending until around 1,500 pounds, at which point the shaft punctured the end of the handle | not tested |
| 3Milwaukee$40 for six screwdrivers | installed and removed all 50 screws, taking a lot less downward force than most other brands; one screw was accidentally driven into a knot in the board but the screwdriver still got the job done; ended the test pretty much used up, in about the same condition as the Craftsman | came out on top at that point in testing with 127 in pounds; later tied with Wiha for third place at 127 in pounds once the remaining brands were tested | blade thickness 1.05 mm; did the best yet at that point, finally letting go at 106 in pounds and taking the lead from Felo, though it experienced a pretty bad bend | shaft stayed in the proper position for the entire test; the handle began bending at nearly 1,000 pounds; called out in the closing recap as one of three American brands finishing on top of this test | not tested |
| 4Wiha$105 for seven screwdrivers, $15 each | described as extremely heavy duty, performing extremely well and requiring very little downward pressure like the PB Swiss; held up exceptionally well with about the same wear as PB Swiss; wear rating of one (tied best with PB Swiss) | the transcript names this result only as a second Wera mention (finishing in a two way tie for third place with Milwaukee at 127 in pounds, said to have shown very little wear in the first test); resolved to Wiha rather than Wera because Wiha, not Wera, had the best wear rating (one) in the durability test, matching the phrase very little wear in the first test | the transcript names this result only as a Wera brand that claims to be extra heavy duty, performing very well at 115 in pounds and moving into second place behind the (real) Wera brand's 120 in pounds; resolved to Wiha because extremely heavy duty chrome vanadium tool steel is Wiha's own stated product description, and the closing recap states three out of the top four blade results are German brands (Wera, Felo, and this one, alongside the American Milwaukee), which only holds if this second entry is the German Wiha rather than a repeat of Wera | the transcript names this result only as a Wera brand with a metal striking cap designed to handle a blow, with the shaft staying in the proper position and the handle beginning to bend at 750 pounds; resolved to Wiha because a metal striking cap is Wiha's own stated product feature from its introduction, not a feature Wera is described as having | not tested |
| 5Vessel$57 for six screwdrivers, about $9.50 each | performed very well installing and removing the screws, but required quite a bit more downward pressure than the Wera; experienced less wear than the Wera; wear rating not stated as a specific number for this brand | performed nearly as well as Wera at 123 in pounds, moving into third position behind Milwaukee | relatively thin blade at 1.05 mm; lost grip at 82 in pounds with a pretty bad bend | shaft began traveling through the handle at 200 pounds and the weight topped out at 1,200 pounds as the screwdriver became very short; the closing recap gives a different figure, that the Japanese made Vessel performed very well at 900 pounds; both figures (1,200 and 900) are recorded since they conflict and neither can be confirmed as the true value | not tested |
| 6Craftsman$17 for 12 pieces | made very easy work of installing and removing all 50 screws without much downward force; flutes were very thin and nearly used up but did not twist or bend even after around 16,500 impacts from the drill | after installing and removing 100 screws, put up 50 percent more torque than the Pittsburgh, finally snapping at 118 in pounds | thinnest blade of the video at 1 mm; very brittle, broke at only 59 in pounds | shaft began moving into the handle at 170 pounds but stopped after about half an inch; the handle and shaft began to bend at 700 pounds | along with Channellock, one of the two brands most affected by a 1 minute brake parts cleaner dip, with the plastic becoming soft, though it did not become sticky and the handle survived overall |
| 7Felo$38 for six screwdrivers, over $6 each | off to a great start installing 50 screws, but required quite a bit of downward pressure on the last 10; almost survived the full test but gave up after removing 38 screws; flutes were nearly worn through but not twisted or bent | performed nearly as well as Craftsman, coming up 1 in pound short at 117 in pounds before finally breaking | thickest blade in the video at 1.22 mm; did by far the best yet at that point in testing at 103 in pounds with no visible damage | shaft began moving into the handle at 300 pounds; the shaft began to bend at 600 pounds | not tested |
| 8Klein Tools$68 for eight screwdrivers, about $8.50 each | installed and removed all 50 screws but required more downward force than some other brands; experienced more wear than the Wera | did a terrific job holding on but finally cammed out at 114 in pounds | one of the thinnest blades in the lineup at 1 mm; gave up at 85 in pounds, a decent result considering the thin blade, with quite a bit of bending | made it to 1,100 pounds before the handle began to bend; the shaft was not driven up into the handle; called out in the closing recap as one of three American brands finishing on top of this test | not tested |
| 9Channellock$33 for six screwdrivers, about $5.50 each | performed a lot better than Tekton, but after 35 screws required a lot of downward pressure to keep from slipping; used up after 48 screws; flutes did not bend or twist but experienced quite a bit of material loss | performed slightly better than Tekton in the first test and outperformed it again here, camming out at 95 in pounds | thinnest blade in the video at 0.95 mm; gave up at 50 in pounds with a pretty bad bend | not stated in the transcript; the narration moves directly from the Tekton result to the Felo result in this test with no individual Channellock mention, so this field is left blank rather than guessed | along with Craftsman, one of the two brands most affected by a 1 minute brake parts cleaner dip, with the plastic becoming soft, though it did not become sticky and the handle survived overall |
| 10Tekton$24 for eight screwdrivers, $3 each | provided a good initial fit, but required increasing downward force to keep from slipping and it took a lot of pressure to install the 20th screw; held up a lot better than the Pittsburgh but experienced a lot more wear than the Craftsman; the video states seven of 11 brands fully survived the durability test, and since only Pittsburgh, Channellock, and Felo have an explicit failure/giveout point stated, Tekton is very likely the fourth brand that did not fully survive, though no explicit screw count or failure statement is given for it in the transcript | cammed out at 90 in pounds after 20 screws, 28 in pounds less than the Craftsman | blade thickness 1.04 mm; barely edged out the Craftsman at 61 in pounds, with a bend not as bad as the Pittsburgh's | three different figures appear for this brand and are recorded verbatim rather than reconciled: the shaft is said to begin moving into the handle at around 200 pounds and to begin bending at 1,000 pounds; a separate line states the test reached 1,300 pounds before it ended; the closing recap instead states the American brands Tekton, Klein, and Milwaukee came in on top at 1,100, 1,100, and 1,000 pounds respectively | not tested |
| 11Pittsburgh sold at Harbor Freight$7, the least expensive brand tested, 12 screwdrivers | ran out of steam on the 11th screw at around 600 impacts from the hammer drill; flutes described as way too soft and thin to last | cammed out at only 79 in pounds after driving just 12 screws | blade thickness 1.15 mm, quite a bit thicker than many other brands; performed fairly well at 96 in pounds but the blade ended up pretty badly bent | handle began bending at 650 pounds, described as not too bad for a budget tool; the shaft never began moving up into the handle | not tested |
How it was tested
- install and removal durability under repeated hammer-drill impacts, 50 screws into pressure treated 4x4s
- cam out / failure torque load test using a drill press applying about 100 lb of downward force
- slotted (flat blade) screwdriver strength test measuring blade thickness and torque to bend or break
- hammer impact / shaft and handle failure load test using a hydraulic press
- handle solvent resistance, 1 minute dip in brake parts cleaner
Data notes and caveats
This video repeatedly confuses the similarly named German brands Wera and Wiha in the later tests (cam out, slotted blade, and hammer impact), even though both are correctly introduced by name in the durability test; each confused mention is resolved to Wiha in the products above using independent corroborating evidence (Wiha's own wear rating, product description language, or the closing recap's statement that three of the top four blade results are German brands) rather than by sound alone. The closing verdict does not crown one single winner: the presenter says he really likes the Wera and the PB Swiss (both called very expensive), separately calls out the Wera and Milwaukee as strong picks for a buyer not seeking the cheapest option, and separately recommends the Craftsman as the pick for a $20 budget (recorded here as budgetPick); winner is left null accordingly. Two numeric conflicts in the hammer impact test could not be resolved and are recorded with both values rather than one being chosen: Tekton has three different, mutually inconsistent figures (1,000 / 1,300 / 1,100 pounds) and Vessel has two (1,200 pounds in the detailed narration versus 900 pounds in the closing recap). Channellock has no hammer impact test result at all in the transcript, an apparent caption gap rather than a sign the brand was excluded from that test.