Which Masonry Drill Bit Brand Wins?
This head-to-head test of 10 masonry drill bit options has the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video. Shoppers cross-shopping masonry drill bit, concrete drill bit, carbide drill bit and carbide drill bits land here for the head to head that settles it.
Irwin
Price shown in test: $11.99 for five bits, about $2.40 per bit
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
High strength concrete drill time
- 1Irwin8.8 seconds
took the lead at that point
- 2Milwaukee Shockwave Impact Duty7.3 seconds
the fastest of all ten brands
- 3Diablo7.9 seconds
nearly a full second faster than Irwin
- 4Bosch10.2 seconds2nd
not the second fastest despite being the second most expensive brand
- 5Ryobi12.3 seconds
not nearly as fast as some other brands
- 6Makita XPH07Z bit set (the Makita XPH07Z 18V LXT drill was also used to power every brand's bits)11 seconds
- 7DeWalt Rock Carbide9.1 seconds
off to a great start
- 8Hercules9.3 seconds
a great job
- 9EZARC9 seconds2nd
moved into second place behind Irwin at that point
- 10Werktough13.9 seconds
the slowest in this test
Hardened vintage concrete test
- 1Irwin
finished in 29.3 seconds with only minor wear
- 2Milwaukee Shockwave Impact Duty24.7 seconds
the fastest of all brands that finished
- 3Diablo28.7 seconds
held up the best of all brands with very minor wear
- 4Bosch28.3 seconds
barely edged out Diablo for the fastest finish
- 5Ryobi
finished in 46 seconds with only minor wear and tear
- 6Makita XPH07Z bit set (the Makita XPH07Z 18V LXT drill was also used to power every brand's bits)
took 2 minutes 40 seconds to finish, tip pretty much used up afterward
- 7DeWalt Rock Carbide
did not finish, stopped after about 30 seconds at only 1 inch deep with a lot of tip wear
- 8Hercules
did not finish, stopped after about 35 seconds at just over 1 inch deep, tip pretty much wiped flat
- 9EZARC29.6 seconds
a fraction of a second slower than Irwin, with quite a bit of wear
- 10Werktough
did not finish, ran out of steam after about 30 seconds at only three quarters of an inch deep
Paver drill time
- 1Irwin13.6 seconds
- 2Milwaukee Shockwave Impact Duty16.9 seconds
- 3Diablo13.4 seconds
- 4Bosch13.2 seconds
the fastest of all ten brands
- 5Ryobi24.4 seconds
- 6Makita XPH07Z bit set (the Makita XPH07Z 18V LXT drill was also used to power every brand's bits)14.6 seconds
moved into second position
- 7DeWalt Rock Carbide34.8 seconds
the slowest of all ten brands, really struggled
- 8Hercules30.4 seconds
hurt by wear carried over from the previous test
- 9EZARC20.4 seconds
moved into third position after experiencing quite a bit of wear
- 10Werktough29.5 seconds
Porcelain tile drill time
- 1Irwin23 seconds
with only minor wear, notably fast for the second least expensive brand
- 2Milwaukee Shockwave Impact Duty24 seconds
(the original tile broke 14 seconds in, so the bit was retested on the same used tile)
- 3Diablo20.7 seconds
the fastest of all ten brands
- 4Bosch1 minute 50 seconds
struggled with the hardness of the porcelain
- 5Ryobi32.8 seconds2nd
moved into second place behind Irwin
- 6Makita XPH07Z bit set (the Makita XPH07Z 18V LXT drill was also used to power every brand's bits)
did not finish, made it about three quarters of the way through in three minutes, tip pretty much used up
- 7DeWalt Rock Carbide
did not finish, only a quarter inch of progress in three minutes, tip dulled
- 8Hercules
finished in 1 minute 32 seconds with quite a bit of wear
- 9EZARC
finished in 2 minutes 28 seconds
- 10Werktough
did not finish, only about one eighth of an inch through the half inch tile in three minutes, tip pretty much used up
Paver holding strength (tapcon pull force)
- 1Irwin
paver broke at 1,591 lb
- 2Milwaukee Shockwave Impact Duty
paver broke at 1,578 lb
- 3Diablo
paver broke at 1,473 lb
- 4Bosch
paver broke at 1,259 lb
- 5Ryobi
paver broke at 1,619 lb, the second best of all ten brands
- 6Makita XPH07Z bit set (the Makita XPH07Z 18V LXT drill was also used to power every brand's bits)
paver broke at 1,401 lb
- 7DeWalt Rock Carbide
paver broke at 1,672 lb, the highest (best) of all ten brands
- 8Hercules
paver broke at 1,408 lb
- 9EZARC
transcript renders the figure as 'a value near 1,044 pounds' (auto caption dropped a digit, exact number unclear); appears to be the lowest holding strength of the ten brands based on context
- 10Werktough
paver broke at 1,224 lb, the lowest confirmed holding strength value among the ten brands
How it was tested
- drilling speed through high strength cured concrete using a 3/16 inch bit drilled to 2 inch depth
- drilling speed and depth through hardened vintage concrete with a 3 minute time limit
- drilling speed through concrete pavers
- drilling speed and depth through half inch porcelain tile with a 3 minute time limit
- holding strength test driving a quarter inch tapcon screw into a bit hole in a paver and measuring the pull out force
“when you consider the price of the irwin which is the second least expensive brand and its performance arguably it is the best value”
