Which Impact Socket Adapter Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 18 impact socket adapter options head to head. DeWalt came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
DeWalt
Price shown in test: $4.63 each
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Bosch
Price shown in test: $6.43 each, the most expensive per-adapter price in the video
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Torque Smith
Price shown in test: $3 for the entire kit (about $1 per adapter), by far the least expensive brand tested
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“DeWalt's not kidding when they say their adapter is impact ready. Very impressive performance.”
Best in 1 of 3 measurements, including Impact Clamp Load Test.
Placed top three in 2 of 2 measurements.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Static Torque Test
- 1DeWalt861 in-lbs3rd
- 2Bosch894 in-lbs2nd
narrowly beating the DeWalt (861) in this round
- 3Torque Smith816 in-lbs5th
described as very impressive for a low-priced tool; twisted quite a bit before finally snapping
- 4Makita Gold951 in-lbs1st
the BEST (first place) result of all 18 brands, 126 in-lbs ahead of the TEEMO/TEMO
- 5NEIKO666 in-lbs
notably lower than the other brands tested up to that point in the video
- 6TEEMO825 in-lbs4th
briefly held the lead earlier in the round
- 7Performax772 in-lbs
a decent result but not enough to take the lead at that point
- 8Irwin749 in-lbs
a decent result but not enough to take the lead
- 9Warrior770 in-lbs
described as actually a pretty good performance
- 10Hercules652 in-lbs
better than the Bauer's 604 but still below average overall
- 11Bauer604 in-lbs
well short of the leader
- 12ARES760 in-lbs
about average
- 13Makita Impact X (standard)741 in-lbs
a solid performance but well short of the lead
- 14Milwaukee Shockwave689 in-lbs
quite a bit short of the leader's 951
- 15Master Force754 in-lbs
a decent performance but not enough to take the lead
- 16Hyper Tough717 in-lbs
99 in-lbs less than the Torque Smith; twisted quite a bit before breaking
- 17Hart454 in-lbs
by far the WORST (lowest) of all 18 brands tested; the narrow shock-absorbent area broke rather than the shaft twisting
- 18Ryobi490 in-lbs
described as not doing very well compared to the competition
Impact Clamp Load Test
- 1DeWalt2,000 PSI1st
the BEST (first place) result of all 18 brands, exactly matching its own packaging claim; described as crushing the test
- 2Bosch1,875 PSI2nd
described as a very impressive finish; unlike most other brands, it did not twist much before breaking, instead disintegrating when it snapped
- 3Torque Smith1,400 PSI4th
described as doing very well
- 4Makita Gold1,250 PSI
described as by far the best in round one but not among the top 5 explicitly ranked in round two (DeWalt, Bosch, NEIKO, Torque Smith, TEEMO), indicating a relative drop-off from its round-one dominance
- 5NEIKO1,675 PSI3rd
described as doing far better in this test than the last, taking the lead from Torque Smith at the time
- 6TEEMO1,350 PSI5th
came very close to beating the Torque Smith's 1,400 PSI
- 7Performax925 PSI
a middling result
- 8Irwin925 PSI
tied roughly with Performax; did not twist much before breaking in this round, unlike the sample tested in round one
- 9Warrior700 PSI
described as not ready for impact duty
- 10Hercules1,300 PSI
again outperforming the Bauer's 1,225 in this round
- 11Bauer1,225 PSI
above average; the long narrow shaft appeared to absorb the impact well, taking a long time to build pressure
- 12ARES675 PSI
below average; did not twist before breaking
- 13Makita Impact X (standard)1,050 PSI
a decent result; the shock-absorbent zone was again the failure point
- 14Milwaukee Shockwave700 PSI
described as struggling in this round as well
- 15Master Force850 PSI
slightly below average
- 16Hyper Tough675 PSI
gave up quickly; host notes this is understandable since it is not rated for impact duty
- 17Hart400 PSI
again a very poor result described as struggling badly
- 18Ryobi375 PSI
the WORST (lowest) result of all 18 brands in the impact test
Made In
- 1DeWalt
China
- 2Bosch
not indicated on the packaging
- 3Torque Smith
China
- 4Makita Gold
Japan
- 5NEIKO
Taiwan
- 7Performax
China
- 8Irwin
China
- 9Warrior
China
- 10Hercules
professionally made in Taiwan for Hercules Tools (sold at Harbor Freight)
- 11Bauer
Taiwan
- 12ARES
Taiwan
- 13Makita Impact X (standard)
Taiwan
- 14Milwaukee Shockwave
professionally made in China for Milwaukee Tool
- 15Master Force
China
- 16Hyper Tough
China
- 17Hart
China
- 18Ryobi
Indonesia
- 6TEEMOnot tested
Shaft Design
- 1DeWalt
solid hex shaft (no shock-absorbent zone)
- 2Bosch
impact rated; shaft design not explicitly described as hex or round in the transcript, but grouped functionally with the hex-shaft group by strong results in both tests
- 4Makita Gold
solid hex shaft
- 10Hercules
narrow round shock-absorbent shaft, described as looking nearly identical to the Bauer
- 11Bauer
narrow round shaft design rather than hex
- 12ARES
hex shaft design
- 13Makita Impact X (standard)
narrow shock-absorbent zone, like the Hart, Ryobi, and Bauer
- 14Milwaukee Shockwave
narrow round shock-absorbent zone
- 15Master Force
hex shaft design
- 17Hart
narrow shock-absorbent zone
- 18Ryobi
narrow shock-absorbent zone, like the Hart
- 3Torque Smithnot tested
- 5NEIKOnot tested
- 6TEEMOnot tested
- 7Performaxnot tested
- 8Irwinnot tested
- 9Warriornot tested
- 16Hyper Toughnot tested
Impact Rated
- 3Torque Smith
not designed to be used with impact tools
- 5NEIKO
designed for use with impact drivers
- 6TEEMO
impact rated
- 8Irwin
designed for use with impact tools
- 9Warrior
packaging does not indicate this adapter is designed for use with impact tools
- 12ARES
designed for impact use
- 16Hyper Tough
not designed to be used with impact tools
- 17Hart
impact rated
- 18Ryobi
impact rated
- 1DeWaltnot tested
- 2Boschnot tested
- 4Makita Goldnot tested
- 7Performaxnot tested
- 10Herculesnot tested
- 11Bauernot tested
- 13Makita Impact X (standard)not tested
- 14Milwaukee Shockwavenot tested
- 15Master Forcenot tested
Claims
- 1DeWalt
'impact ready,' rapid load design, packaging states it can be used with any impact driver delivering up to 2,000 in-lbs of torque
- 4Makita Gold
tilts 15 degrees
- 11Bauer
heavy-duty guaranteed, premium alloy construction
- 14Milwaukee Shockwaveup to30
times life claim, custom alloy 76 steel for wear and shock resistance
- 15Master Force
'impact rugged'
- 2Boschnot tested
- 3Torque Smithnot tested
- 5NEIKOnot tested
- 6TEEMOnot tested
- 7Performaxnot tested
- 8Irwinnot tested
- 9Warriornot tested
- 10Herculesnot tested
- 12ARESnot tested
- 13Makita Impact X (standard)not tested
- 16Hyper Toughnot tested
- 17Hartnot tested
- 18Ryobinot tested
Material
- 3Torque Smith
chrome vanadium
- 5NEIKO
chrome vanadium steel
- 9Warrior
heat-treated chrome vanadium
- 12ARES
heat-treated chrome vanadium steel
- 16Hyper Tough
chrome vanadium steel
- 1DeWaltnot tested
- 2Boschnot tested
- 4Makita Goldnot tested
- 6TEEMOnot tested
- 7Performaxnot tested
- 8Irwinnot tested
- 10Herculesnot tested
- 11Bauernot tested
- 13Makita Impact X (standard)not tested
- 14Milwaukee Shockwavenot tested
- 15Master Forcenot tested
- 17Hartnot tested
- 18Ryobinot tested
How it was tested
- maximum static torque before failure (in-lbs, using a digital torque adapter)
- impact wrench clamp load at failure (PSI, using a two-hydraulic-ram test rig, low/medium/high impact mode)
“DeWalt's not kidding when they say their adapter is impact ready. Very impressive performance.”
