Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Overall this is a very practical choice of torque wrench, mainly because of its dependable accuracy and affordable price. No torque wrench does everything and there are plenty of different designs to best suit particular applications and personal preferences. eg. shorter vs longer, fixed versus flexing head, direct indicating vs signaling, reversible etc. I own a number of different torque wrenches including a couple of the latest Snap-on TechAngle models, some direct indicating beam types, and a few Tohnichi dial type (but nothing with a wind-up spring). They are all different and none can be described as best, just best for a particular application. Unless a wrench is needed for some kind of production or repetitive use, the first consideration should always default to accuracy. A long term reliable 4% wrench is much better than a cheap wind-up model claiming 3% accuracy when new! IMO the only clicker wrenches worth considering are the split beam type, as most acme branded wind-up-spring clicker types are scary unreliable and best avoided (stretching springs & very inconsistent click mechanisms). Snap-on and Norbar etc make good ones like that but are quite expensive to buy and still require regular calibration after that to keep in check (more money and time). This wrench is very similar to the Snap-on version (which is also made by Precision Instruments) and I own both... but the differences are not what you may expect! Yes, the Snap-on is a bit prettier with better polish on all sides not just on top, a slightly nicer storage case, and a nicer looking ratchet head marked Snap-on USA; but my Snap-on version also has a very rough setting adjustment that sticks when turning the thumbscrew, plus the thing cost significantly more money. The Snap-on split beam wrench has a nicer soft fitting that seals around the end of the metal housing near the socket drive end, while the Precision Instruments model kind of looks unfinished there and actually rattles against the split beam inside. Both wrenches ratchet and both offer ratchet rebuild kits. The SO has 36T ratchet and the PI has 32T. However, the Snap-on has a superior flex joint for the head. It moves easily and a more sensible amount (more than twice as far). For some strange reason the PI pivot is very stiff and the range of movement is only very slight. The TechAngle has more flex again. There are a lot of swings and roundabouts here, so bear with me. My PI wrench actually has a louder and more reassuring 'click' than the SO, which is very significant when you consider that's the only signal you get. The SO has a black setting dial and the PI a white dial, however this new PI seems to have traces of corrosion or metal debris on its dial. I've attached a few pictures to show what I mean. Anyway, leaving the finer nit-picking aside, this is a great wrench in a great size range, which sells for a very competitive price on Amazon. It offers reliable long term accuracy far superior to wind up clicker models, is quick to set and easy to use, doesn’t need to be relaxed (wound down) after every use, and operates consistently over a wide range of its scale (20-100%, unlike most other clicker wrenches which tend to work best at mid- scale). Definitely a lower liability choice for things like lug nuts, where extreme accuracy is far less important than consistently being quick and accurate (torquing 90 ft-lb nuts to 93 is perfectly fine, but rattling them on to random figures like 150 pounds is stupid.. even worse if some are 100 and others 180!). This wrench only works in clockwise direction (from above) which is fine, and shouldn’t get anybody into trouble because the non-reversible ratchet head also serves to protect it from abuse. One obvious limitation with this wrench is the fact it offers no indication that a set value is being approached, so just bear that in mind. There would seem to be some irregularities between these wrenches in manufacture, so I can only report the experiences I've had with mine. Hope this helps someone. Added: the Snap-on split beam wrench came with a proper calibration (test) certificate to prove its actual performance, but the Precision instruments wrench only came with a 'Calibration Compliance Certificate' stating it is accurate to within 4%.