Six tools are put to the test by professional mechanics.

Can a compact impact driver or ratchet save time undoing nuts and bolts? Rob Hawkins tests six products over several months to find the answer.

Power tools can be much less timeconsuming than using spanners and traditional socket ratchet drivers. When it comes to small fittings that aren’t particularly tight, you don’t need an electric or air-fed hightorque impact driver that could shear a bolt head or strip a thread with one slip of your trigger finger.

There are a number of power tools that aren’t so aggressive and are small enough to fit into tight spaces. We collected an assortment of them from manufacturers including Draper, Sealey and Milwaukee, and put them to the test over several months.

Impact sockets and bits should be used with impact tools in order to withstand the force that’s being applied, especially the repeated action when a fitting is being loosened or tightened. A non-impact socket (eg, chrome vanadium sockets) may split or even shatter and risk injury. Even a low-torque impact driver and ratchet poses a risk of damaging a socket.

All of the equipment we tested was equipped with a in square-end for fitting sockets. Most impact sockets are for in drives, so we used Blackline adaptors from Rally Design and also sourced some in sockets. The choice of in impact sockets is quite limited when compared to in impact sockets.

As you’ll see from our findings, there were some clear winners, but if you read through our comments you’ll find that some of the tools are better suited to specific jobs, so your own choice of winner may be different to ours.

And do shop around for price deals and special offers which can be substantially lower than the official RRP.