Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is a handy tool for lots of things as other reviews will tell you, but with all the FUBARs and Annihilators and other multi-use hammer/prybar combo tools out there, how does it compare? As owner of one of the best of these tools, the 18-inch Dead-On Annihilator, I can tell you. (Note that my review of the Annihilator will tell you the difference between the 14-inch and 18-inch versions of that tool, if you're comparing those.) Feel: The Trucker's Friend is lighter than the Annihilator thanks to its fiberglass handle where the Annihilator is all steel with a hard plastic sleeve around the grip. The Friend's actual grip is shock-absorbing rubber designed to provide an extremely good grip even if you have on thick gloves. The ridges are set to keep it from sliding out of your hand. The Annihilator's grip is hard plastic and does not aid grip or absorb shock at all, and was my main complaint about that tool. Using the Annihilator as a hammer without padded gloves is painful. Construction: The Trucker's Friend is well-made. It has enough steel below the blade and hammer poll to protect the handle from overstrikes, and the steel is good axe-steel, probably drop-forged. The fiberglass handle is stronger than most people could break. The Annihilator stood up to two days of demolishing a fence for me, but reviews for it show that others aren't so lucky, so there may be quality-control issues with that tool. The Friend doesn't appear to have that problem. Since MY Annihilator is fine, I'll call this a tie. Power: The heavier weight of the Annihilator should make strikes with it more powerful than the Friend, but it doesn't because too much of the weight is in the shaft. The Annihilator's thick steel shaft counterbalances the head too much, so a lot of power you put into a swing doesn't go to the striking end. Add to that the butt spike on the Annihilator which keeps you from holding it at the end for maximum leverage, and it's not as good a hammer as it should be, even if you use it with both hands. The Trucker's Friend, however, is very well-balanced, with all the steel in the head and the grip at the end, so you lose little power in a swing. The location of the hammer head and center of the axe blade is not ideal for striking/chopping, being a little too far from the tip, but it's as good as possible if you want that prybar tip. Using the Friend with one hand is at least as powerful as the Annihilator with two. The Trucker's Friend is hands-down better in this category. Prying: This is one area where the Annihilator is a decent tool, better than a claw hammer but not as good as a real prybar. The Trucker's Friend is the same in that regard, but a little more versatile because of the two prying claws. The one on the end is just like you'd find on the straight end of a prybar and works great for all the same things. The one on the hammer poll is a little awkward, but will give you great leverage on those jobs where it works. The grip helps a lot with this, too, and the fiberglass handle is strong enough that few people could break it. I'd call this category close, but with an edge to the Trucker's Friend. Nail pulling: This was the Annihilator's best category, with three separate nail pullers, and I'd say it was the best single nail-pulling tool I've found. The Friend is definitely not as good for this job. A claw hammer would be better, in fact, but it will get the job done. Annihilator wins this category. Axe: The Annihilator doesn't have an axe blade, but it does have a drywall blade and you can use the prybar head as a splitter or general destroyer. The Friend it better either way. The rounded blade isn't actually very good for chopping wood, as it's likely to glace off if you miss slightly, but it would make it even better for destroying drywall than the blade on the Annihilator, and is far better than using the prybar head for chopping. The Trucker's Friend is the clear winner here. Other Tools: The Friend and the Annihilator both have tools that I've never used. The Friend has a chain hook, which probably would be very useful for an actual trucker, while the Annihilator has a board straightener that, frankly, I can't see how it works. Since these tools are specialized, you have to decide for yourself which would be better. However, the spike on the butt end of the Annihilator makes using it awkward and a little dangerous and actually makes it less useful, while the Friend has no such detrimental tools. Overall, the Trucker's Friend is lighter, makes a better hammer and axe, and easier on the hands than the Annihilator. It's easier to hold onto and carry, and you don't have to worry about stabbing yourself. Unless you need one of the tools on the Annihilator that the Friend doesn't have, I definitely recommend the Trucker's Friend for general use. That said, it is not as good as having a hatchet, claw hammer, and prybar, but it's so light and handy that it's easy to have in your vehicle or pack, and having this is much better than having one or none of those other tools.