Breaking Breaker Bars How strong ICON vs Pittsburgh vs GearWrench and More
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- čas přidán 29. 08. 2024
- Breaking Breaker Bars! Just how strong is a 3/8” breaker bar? Today we will find out with the Harbor Freight ICON vs Pittsburgh Pro vs GearWrench vs Duralast vs Power Torque
Icon Breaker Bar vs Pittsburgh Pro Breaker Bar
Power Torque Tools 3/8 Inch Drive Breaker Bar GM8259 vs GearWrench Breaker Bar vs Duralast Breaker Bar
Really surprising results from the GearWrench breaker bar, what are your thoughts?
ClientGraphics I honestly didn’t really know what to expect from any of them considering how little I actually use a 3/8” breaker bar but I was definitely surprised to see it at the bottom of the pack after the dust settled. Props to that little Duralast though 👍🏻
After 4 years of repetitive use though. Everything gets weaker the more you use it. I’d like to see a Pittsburgh pro or one day an icon after 4 or 5 years of use.
Emerald lx Gearwrench can be exchanged over the counter at Fastenal stores or if your Advanced Auto still had stock.
That gear wrench had plenty of use for 20 bucks
You should try to hold them all 90 degrees from the fastener to eliminate undo torsional stress and keep a level field. I enjoyed the vid.
That Pittsburgh pro series makes me glad i went with that one.
Chemical Spore I have that one too. I have no need for anything stronger than that and for $10 I don’t think there’s a better deal out there. 👍🏻
I just bought the Gearwrench 87802 and I'm not sure if I should cancel the order and get the Pittsburgh Pro... I need a 18" bar.
I'd have done 2 things different in the review.
First I would have put a new anvil on your personal Gearwrench bar, just to eliminate any stress damage from the use over time. It may have done better than it did.
Second I would have included the purchase price for each bar to see which is the best overall value.
Otherwise, great comparison between the bars.
Wow! Biggest winner in my opinion is Pittsburgh pro. I cant believe how well it did against gearwrench. Icon did the best but it's also more expensive than the Pittsburgh pro, not worth the price difference given the cost. Thank you for the great video. I wonder how the snap-on would have done... I suspect better than Icon but not sure by how much.
Samuel G It preformed very well!
I have the Pittsburg Pro. I made my own lug wrench to replace that junk stamped one they always include, and I made one for my brother's car as well. There's a video where Real Tool Reviews compares the Pittsburg Pro, Mac, Snap-on, and MATCO, with the Pittsburg Pro having the least amount of deflection. I'd be curious as well to see the Tool truck ones to the point of failure. There are some videos doing comparisons of the Pittsburg Pro vs the ICON and their conclusion is that there's just no reason to spend the extra money buying the ICON when the Pittsburg Pro is just as good with there being only about an 8ft-lb difference in breakage.
Thanks for the product testing and video. Avoiding cash in the trash is my goal. After going to 2 stores, I finally purchased 2 Icon breaker bars. The Icon 3/8" x 12" and the 1/2" x 18" both without the comfort grip. The Icon pivot parts are tight. After reading reviews I might order the Milwaukee 18" and 24" breaker bar set for store pick up to compare both.
That duralast is pretty impressive concidering how short it is. It would last a lifetime as long as you didn't put a bar on it.
You should get a load of their first gen Duralast ratchets......those are super
True, but it seems too short stock to even fulfill the basic purpose for a breaker bar.
Been loving our 1/2'' Pittsburgh and its more than capable of handling any job a back yarder can ask of it, good quality and a good price.
I want to see you warranty the breaker bars now. I want to see the warranty process for the Gearwrench specifically. I've heard horror stories about their warranty process. Thanks for the videos!
David M
I have also heard horror stories about Gearwrench and was pleasantly surprised after I broke my 19mm ratcheting wrench ( first one to break out of 120+ over ten years) a couple months ago. I called the 800# and got a brand new wrench within a few days with no questions asked. I think most stories you hear are just that, stories. I was actually surprised how easy and pleasant the warranty process was and saved all the correspondence with them to prove to anyone inquiring. I called around 10am on a Friday and by 2pm same day had an email with tool and shipping information. Think I received it the following Wednesday.
Edit: Also had an easy warranty process with Tekton and Snap-on as well. Kobalt was a bit of a PITA but they did wind up coming through after a couple of visits to a store a 2 phone calls.
@@truckerpeterose Thanks for letting me know about your experiences. I've got a bunch of Gearwrench tools and no failures yet. I'm quite happy with their performance and the prices I paid.
I have a local Carquest that has one in stock so it probably won’t be very exciting. I’ll only report back if I have complications or issues.
ClientGraphics Just for sake of good content maybe try to do the warranty directly through Gearwrench. I would love to see how they handle it.
For gearwrench they've only made me email them a picture. Problem was it took a week for shipping and 2 days to verify I qualified
I love the destructive test you do, Chris. Thank You for another awesome video.
Thanks buddy, still have lots more in the works!!!
Impressive that none of these suffered a fork or bolt break/failure. Those drivesquare pieces should be replaceable and if available I would also replace the axle bolt-I take it all these have axle bolts and not the older pin that was pressed into the drivepiece to hold it (like some Craftsmans that would get loose and the pin fall out)
SnapOn man told me those bolts are to be tight,not intended to be loosened to give lighter flex action
don't know if all these have the same kind of axle bolt and friction washer that provides flex stiffness as the SnapOn
think the bolt helps keep the ears from spreading vs. the old style pin which floats in the ears,press fit in the drivepiece
I have the Pittsburgh Pro. So looks like that was a good choice as well.
The ICON won, but it’s $50 vs the $20 for the Pittsburgh Pro. To me, for my money it’s Pittsburgh Pro for the win.
Actually, the Pittsburgh pro goes on sale a lot for under $10. Or if you don’t want to wait you can use the 20% off coupon.
@@richb2229 yea I got mine for $8.99
As I recall from the ratchet video, none of these did tremendously better than the ratchets. So a breaker bar just saves wear and tear on a ratchet. Makes sense since most of the ratchets failed at the anvil and I doubt breaker bars use different anvils.
Of course, the fanboys will point out that you left out Snap-On because you didn't want to embarrass all the lesser brands. Everybody knows Snap-On's magic steel would have broken the gauge or possibly caused a wobble in Earth's rotation before breaking. *salt off*
In reality, SnapOn would’ve done marginally better. 10% better for 700% price.
Great video. Nice seeing all of their failure points and at how many lb-ft they failed at.
would be good to see how much more strength the 1/2 and 3/4 drive adds to all of the brands. can't really get super meaningful info with a single tool but still interesting.
If you are really torquing shit down, you’re gonna want the 1/2. A 1/2 has 1.7x the surface area of a 3/8 if all dimension are proportional. So a 1/2 can probably do about 2x better than a 3/8 can. It’s weird to think that such a small jump in size will lead to much greater results.
Surface area? Not involved.
You are after second moment of area.
A 3/8 breaker bar would be more fitting to use on lawn care equipment or a motorcycle.
If there’s one thing this video sold me on it would be the old chrome sk sockets.
That Duralast at 232 is pretty impressive. I think the Icon is a hard sell considering how proven the Pittsburgh Pro brand is. I couldn’t justify 2X+ the cost for the Icon breaker bar. I am definitely excited about Icon being a quality tool on the market but the price point doesn’t line up with the competition. Gearwrench is pretty much the go to standard for Taiwan tool quality and anything else offered in the market has to compete with them cost wise. I will not spend more money to have Icon over Tekton, Gearwrench, Capri, Carlyle, Duralast or any of the other already proven Taiwan tools already flooding the market. HF needs to realize no matter how close in quality they get to Snap-on, they will never be a direct competitor. Snap-on is a very niche market that preys on a certain type of consumer. And those consumers could care less about a HF tool claiming equal quality. I’ve never been sold on Snap-on being the end all be all in the tool world but I do respect the fact that they dominated that opinion of the tool world for almost a century. Great video CG👍🏻
Trucker88 Shoot, I had a Tekton Breaker bar I forgot to test. 😢
ClientGraphics 🤨 you’ve failed us all. Great, another whole day ruined again by client graphics. 😉
It is too early to judge a new tool line that harsh. These tools needs to be tested by the pros and weekend mechanics to get a better overall review. The brands you named have established themselves for years now and improved their lines when it was not meeting their standards. Tekton is an example of a developing tool company over the past 5 years. Did anyone trust their tools the first year? Good reviews from consumers established their reputation as “decent overall for the price.”
Let’s wait and see the next 3 years how Icon either improve and revise flaws or become static and forgotten in an ocean of flooded market.
Bonbon Flippers Who was judging them harshly?
Idk. In the 90s there seriously was an obvious difference in Snap On to overseas tools. But now it seems only the price is major difference. Im not so sure Snap On is at its peak anymore since soo many reliable (Taiwan) tools are at about every DIY retail store. Diagnostic tools by Snap On are easily to replace by even a outdated laptop thats modified by Chinese bootlegged software thats downloaded. I started my career with Snap On and their warranty is to salvage their crap by rebuild or repair when others give you a full replacement no problem or questions. My biggest problem with them is their tools do not live up to their premium price handtools/pnuematic/cordless when others come up with very verrryy close durability for alot less. Their warranty should be like "hey it ratchet skipped a tick, get another one off the truck sonyou have no busted tools taking up space in your tool box" NOT "IDK 🤔 looks like their might of been a cheater bar used but let me order these parts for nxt 2 wks" thats bull 💩.
The Gearwrench surprised me, I've got several Gearwrench, Craftaman, AM Pro.
But I never imagined Pittsburgh would outshine them
Constructive criticism: The framing of the shot could be a little higher so we can see the main point of the video better, which is the breaker bar
3/8" drive is a little light to be using on 19 mm. wrenching size
I have an S*K 1/2" drive one that is only 9 and 1/2" long! Great for tight places
A 3/8ths breaker bar is absolutely pointless just like a 1/4" is pointless. You only need a 1/2" breaker bar. Never in my career have i said god i wish i had a 3/8ths breaker bar. If you have to put that much force youre using the wrong tool for the job and shouldn't be working on shit
Was wondering about that too, thankfully with just my regular ratchets I have no problem, maybe on brakes I could use one.
Exactly what I was thinking. There's no way any bolt too small for 1/2" drive is going to break a ratchet.
@@johnterpack3940 I thought that too till a 8mm rusted to hell broke my little quarter inch ratchet.....
I use a 3/8 breaker bar for cracking loose rusted bleeder screws on brakes. It's way better then using a ratchet and having to switch the ratchet back and forth to work the bleeder loose.
lol too true
whats everyones thoughts on the pittsburgh pro going 277 and the icon only going 279 yet the icon costs $20 more? icon is supposed to be superior, yet barely outperformed. not worth the money unless you really want that comfort grip right?
Excellent video, I came here to see how strong breaker bars are. All we had was a tekton 3/8 breaker bar from the 3/8 blow mold kit to change a rear flat on a DRW f350. The 3/8 breaker bar did the job but it was spooky how much it flexed. I thought for sure it was a goner. Next time I'm packing the 3/8 and the 1/2 kit! Maybe buying the 40" 3/4 tekton bar just for fin
3/4 is overkill unless you are working on large Semi trucks or Farm or heavy construction equipment. 1/2 is a sweet spot for pickup trucks and cars.
Yes I have the Pittsburgh breaker bar holding up after couple years. Still going strong
So My local Christian Brothers Auto near Pearland TX torqued my Tahoe lugs to 250+ ft-lb. I snapped my Pittsburgh 3/8 …… impact took 20 sec to take off ea lug nut.
My shorter 1/2" craftsman broke but my Pittsburgh pro got the nut off. I believe it's because the craftsman didnt flex to give it relief like the Pitt did. The craftsman was also 1ft vs the 2ft pitt
I have never used a 3/8 breaker bar in 30 years. I always use my 1/2 bar. My 3/8 is a dust collector.
The open end ratchet went to 330 lbs- ft (?) WtH. What tool would I use if I were to replace the balancer on a Corvette , with an ARP bolt which calls for 250.
I torque my wheels at 100. These breaker bars are seemingly not that impressive 🤷♂️
Awesome videos
(Use that Harbor Fright warranty)
He's testing 3/8 in breaker bars 1/2 in breaker bars will be 1.7 time stronger and you can also get a 3/4 in drive if you need that torque
The 3/8 drive in the bottom of the oreilly breaker bar is to stick long extensions in and get more leverage on it fast
Damn, I'm impressed with the dang socket not breaking lol!!😅
sockets rarely brake
allanb3222 S-K is one of the only manufacturers that still makes ALL of their tools in the U.S.A. The chrome finish might not be the greatest, but, their prices are about 1/2 what you'd pay for an offshore set from a tool truck. I was raised on S-K tools and still buy them as long as they're going to stay in the shop. The easiest and cheapest way to get them these days is online.
Miguel Garcia You're mistaken about that. Cheap sockets break all the time. They might not crack down the outside, but, they often round off inside where they contact the fastener. To me, that's still broken.
@@MikeBrown-ii3pt I have a lot of the craftsman sockets and yes they have cracked and they do wear out on where the shaft goes into and where the nut goes into, but they don't break, it's not like they'll explode, the worst is cracking and after like 10 years of abuse they do start to wear out or crack
@@MiguelGarcia-nl3ci I've seen a gear wrench socket crack. It was a 13mm where I worked
I broke a 3/8 drive 17 inch braker bar from Harbor Freight trying to take a lug nut off of my truck that was over tightened. I broke half the head. So i took it back and picked up a 1/2 drive 25 inch bar form HF and the lug nut came right off.
It is pretty obvious that the main limiting factor of the breaker bar is the cross sectional area of the 3/8th inch drive portion. Which is why they all fail right around 230. Likely it isn't possible to get much higher using the common durable metals which tools like these are made from. Of course, the icon and the Pittsburgh got well above 230, and must be made from better materials. You get what you pay for I assume.
Nice review. I've yet to break a 1/2 drive Pittsburgh pro but they do flex a lot. Enough that I hit obstacles in real tight situations when chucked to 6 point sockets. Especially with suspension. I am curious to know how much the Icon 1/2 drive flexes in comparison.
Yeah, I was hoping for a comparison on how much deflection you get at 200 ft lbs
This one was impressive. Pittsburgh and ICON for the win. Trying some other 3/8s bars?
Best part is the all have lifetime warranties, so he can replace them all free
So we learned that icon is not worth the money over the Pittsburg am I not correct? Starting to learn the price is more about convenience of warranty not quality
I have a 30" sk and love it.
This is a really interesting and helpful video! Thanks for making it!!! 🙂🙂🙂
So to remove lug nuts on a semi, I guess I would need a 3-ft bar? The torque on those suckers is about 475-500 ft-lbs.
As you said, nobody is going to put that much torque on a 3/8" breaker bar without a cheater. With that said, no matter how many of these videos that I watch, breaker bars or flex ratchets, it blows my mind that they don't break at the joint!
That duralast suprised me a lot
I wished they made breaker bars with hog rings on the anvil so that instead of it having a little spring and bar inside the anvil which makes the anvil weaker than with a solid anvil and a hog ring on it that hold the sockets in place onstead of a detent ball.
What do you do with all the tools that you break?
I am curious if the additional pulls to 200 placed some stress on the Icon? And if it would have gone even higher before failure without the extra pulls.?
Excused me is there any part of an engine that it need over 200 foot pounds of torque? I Like your review thanks.
Just click 10:17 to get right down to it.
I been using the chrome vanadium one from harbor freight for 6 years on helicopters. Im surprised its still good.
not being from the states and moving over some time early next year this very interesting . for when i am buying some new tools
Do you have a comparison of 1/2" Drive breaker bars? Would like to see comparison between Tekton, Gear Wrench, ICON, Pittsburgh/Pittsburgh Pro, Craftsman, Husky, Snap On, etc. Also 1/2" Drive ratchets torture test.
-Rob
I would definitely use the socket in the back of the breaker bar.
Going to take a wild guess and say the gearwrench being used had something to do with it
It's crazy that a lot of ratchets went higher
i never use a cheater pipe, but a 3lbs hammer. how much force would that be?
Love the vid! Just to be pedantic, it's "lb-ft"! (Yes, I know it's mislabeled everywhere.)
The 3/8 isn't much better than ratchets. I have HF breaker bars but the 1\2 and 3/4
Nice head to head comparison
Thanks for watching and commenting, appreciate it!
For the price I got the Pittsburgh pro I indeed did break it but it was on a stick axle nut and my pipe was at least 4 for on it and I stood on it so I'll be getting another one
Right on! Time to move up to 1/2” or 3/4” drive😂
Hey man I know it’s late to jump in, but how much torque would a 1/2 breaker take? I also wanted to know how much torque do sockets normally handle. Thanks bro
A lot lol
I believe I hit 500 ft. lb. on a stubborn lug BOLT with my S*K 1/2" drive bar (the 2 foot one,not the 9 inch one!!)
no apparent damage to the bar or the Bonney impact socket (I think was 17 mm.)
That damn alarm makes me think an enemy has missile lock on me. Pop flares! lol!
🤣🤣🤣
Impressive for all!
Well damn, we're only half the money I am more impressed by the Pittsburgh than I am the icon, the icon only took another eight foot pounds before letting go and for half the money I think I would go with the Pittsburgh
You need to do a 1/2 ratchet and breaker bar test those prolly can go over 500 ft lbs
With a 2-ft bar? I don't know about that...
Anyone have an idea what bolt break at? I'm guessing most small and medium bolts will break first.
I wish these were in 1/2" comparison, honestly I've never needed a 3/8" breaker bar. Seems a little useless as a breaker but to each their own
Just like AvE test the Pittsburgh is best for the price even vs snap on and mac
Brute force!
breaker bar or ratchets brake almost on same torque ... so breaker bar looks useless if you have an extensible ratchet... am I wrong?
flex/hinge handle action for access-unless you have a flex ratchet!
not really a fair test given the various length in the breaker bars. That duralast would have probably won if it was the exact size as the largest bar.
I broke my pittsburgh on an S10 axle nut. But standing on a 5 foot cheater bar will do that. Bought my first 1/2 in impact after that.
Time for the 3/4 " drive to come out. Although the rattle action of the impact helps.
Once again, performance to price ratio on the Pittsburgh professional compared to the icon, just is not worth spending the extra money on the icon especially considering the harbor freight professional they will warrantee out right at the store.
I just want a breaker bar that you dont have to swing 45 degrees to get the nut/ bolt to move an 1/8 th of an inch!
You should try this with the tekton breaker bar
you should've tested a tekton BB
Are you also going to test the retractable ratchets? Would be interesting to see. For whatever reason I never looked at them as being able to take a lot of torque. Maybe I'm wrong.
Felix F Yes definitely going to do the retractable ratchets as I have used an older Stanley for years but really want to know how it compares to the others! Super excited for testing them.
I don't trust them either. That tubular handle can't possibly be very strong.
@@MikeBrown-ii3pt I use the extendable 1/2" to break lug nuts loose as a tow truck operator for tire changes, and that usually only happens if my impact wrench fails to remove the lugs.
what is a model of dynamo adapter ?
That is why the old Crapsmam bars had a flat profile. 🙄
Why’s that?
The bar isn’t the fail point!
What socket was u using
So Milwaukee ratchet did better than breaker bars ? (it did 300)
How about snap-on breakerbar bro?
The Snap On or KoKen might be slightly more compact at the head and able to get into a smaller space,there is a newer 36" long Snap On in 1/2" drive that is beautiful but that is sort of an acquired taste and not strictly necessary,I do think that Snap On has some special tools that work better for specific purposes than any other. Like a one piece socket and extension that is used in tight access deep well where a separate extension and socket would require going down to 3/8" drive but this thing is just as compact,fits into a deep well and is 1/2" drive with 1/2" drive strength. Not absolutely sure but I think S6160 could be used to separate crankcase halves for some kind of Subaru engine. For a 12 point fastener head in 12 mm. I believe
I like my double U joint Snap On spark plug getter (socket)
seems like some mechanics started out with Craftsman (now would be Harbor Freight or Duralast or O'Reilly or Gearwrench or something like that) but tend to get more truck tools as they get more established
Hey buddy, can I borrow your breaker bar? Thanks.
Why don’t you put icon vs snap on challenge together. REAL TEST
Patience young grasshopper I don't have a Snap-On breaker bar, but I do have ratchets. Make sure you are subscribed so you don't miss when I release that video!
Hope they warranty them for you
I broke a duralast 1/2" breaker bar loosening lug nuts on my car at home
Can you do a video on 1" drive breaker bars?
I would need at least 1 1/2” drive in a torque transducer and something to exert between 5000-7500 ft•lbs if I followed the same format. Really long bars are cheap. Torque transducers are not cheap.
@@ClientGraphics That makes sense, thanks for the reply! I've been in the market for a 3/4" drive set for a bit now, tired of paying shops to do my labor.
Wonder what tool truck brand breaker bars do during this test
mikeaze423
Here you go
czcams.com/video/PmvK7h7ZL2A/video.html
@Chad Wilkins wow who would of known
@Chad Wilkins lol I did
@Chad Wilkins thanks for the heads up I didn't see the link and 3/8s breaker bars breaking mid 200s is impressive in my opinion
AND the winner is.... the socket !
they need to make a breaker bar that don't break
So basically you aren't going to break any of these with normal use. Good to know!
Especially if you break out the 1/2" drive for over 100 ft. lbs.
The gear wrench had a unfair test is you have used it for 4 years against a brand new tool that has never been stressed before.
Unfair is relative as anything on a 3/8" breaker bar over say 185-205 ft-lbs is insane and within ASME, DIN or ISO specifications just depends on if you are looking at the Fastener, Socket, Anvil or the Swivel on the breaker bar.
I have a 24” 1/2 drive Duralast 18” Craftsman & 12” Hyper tools from Wally world to play with!
used a cheater extension to break it when I don't need any extra bars !!! they will go higher if preheated the end !!!
is this test even fair? they all hav different lengths and thickness
Completely no point to spend extra for Icon...Pittsburgh pro is almost the same.
Not an accurate test. The breaker bars are all different lengths. And rated for different tourqe
Have Duralast 24" flex ratchet and have stomped lug nuts off many times with it and the breaker bar is just as good . Gear wrench is just as awesome the rest I wouldn't bother with . No comparison !
no tekton??
A breaker bar is a very basic tool like an anvil or a hammer clearly paying big bucks for a "name brand" breaker bar is a waste of money.
Chrisfix has left the chat room*
They are all different sizes. Duh you’ll get different results lol
Was that Chinese or Taiwanese gearwrench
That was a GearWrench purchased at Advanced Auto before they switched over to Teq Correct so it was purchased in the last year. I don’t recall the country of origin.
@@ClientGraphics the Advance contract stuff was Chinese made for the most part. Gearwrench makes two different runs of tools. One for retail stores that is by far Made in China and a better Taiwanese line that is sold in tool trucks and online.
I know they changed a lot of GearWrench manufacturing over the past 5yrs. The 120XP had been in the garage and used very little the part number was 81211P and then there was the letter -R-