Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Accessories). This thread is read-only.
We received a question the other day regarding bits. The question was what bits are better:
- Milwaukee Shockwave
- Makita Gold Bits
- Dewalt Bits
- Irwin Bits
- or another brand
I am just curious what all of you think are the best bits on the market.
Impact: shockwave
Cobalt:dewalt
Spade:irwin
Masonry: Bosch
Regular wood/pvc bits: its a draw, my Milwaukee black oxide are nice.
Hubby says Milwaukee or DeWalt.
have’nt used the other brand but i love my dewalt impact bit set.
In my years of doing electrical with my dad and now a new industrial company I have found that the dewalt bits tend to last longer that most others we have bought
Milwaukee shock wave are my favorite, Dewalt are good as well. Never used Mikita before.
Shock wave bits don’t last nearly as long as the Dewalt impact bits… Shockwave’s strip way to easy and bend easy from what I’ve seen…
Spade bits and most other big bore bits by far Irwin, I use mastercraft spade bit ones that work very good but no match for speedbor…
Regular old drill bits I use Mastercraft from Canadian tire…. Don’t need anything fancy for that… Have black oxide and titanium coated for that… Has everything you need for a home owner DIY guy and all work quite good and I got them on sale like here for 39.99
Step bits I use these here, picked them up for 9.99
Do you have any of the irwin auger bits?07Sierra wrote:
Shock wave bits don’t last nearly as long as the Dewalt impact bits… Shockwave’s strip way to easy… Spade bits and most other big bore bits by far Irwin… regular old drill bits I use Mastercraft from Canadian tire…. Don’t need anything fancy for that
I have the 3 pack set of speed bore… Crazy good bits Far as actual big auger bits nope, none of those
This is the set I have
Dewalt are the best… Makita Gold not to much but are nice for me…..
The Shockwave bits are the best in terms of performance, but they don’t last as long as the Dewalt. Impact bits are consumables. You don’t buy a Corvette to save on gas. No experience with Makita gold. Irwin’s Cobalt bits are very nice for real metal work. Dewalt’s Gold Ferrious pilot points breeze through thin sheet metal, but they don’t hold up in 12-10 gauge. Norseman Super Premium are awesome bits for metal and can be had for about the same as the Irwins.
But in regards to impact bits, the Dewalt’s will last longer, but you’ll strip more screws. Milwaukee wears out faster, but you’ll rarely ever strip a fastener.
I bought a set of Milwaukee black oxide drill bits a while back from Lowes. The have no problem going through whatever I put in front of them.
I love all my DeWalt stuff and always will because I can always count on it. But, lets face it Milwaukee makes stuff pretty damn good.
Conductor562 wrote:
The Shockwave bits are the best in terms of performance, but they don’t last as long as the Dewalt. Impact bits are consumables. You don’t buy a Corvette to save on gas. No experience with Makita gold. Irwin’s Cobalt bits are very nice for real metal work. Dewalt’s Gold Ferrious pilot points breeze through thin sheet metal, but they don’t hold up in 12-10 gauge. Norseman Super Premium are awesome bits for metal and can be had for about the same as the Irwins.
But in regards to impact bits, the Dewalt’s will last longer, but you’ll strip more screws. Milwaukee wears out faster, but you’ll rarely ever strip a fastener.
I rarely strip a screw with my Dewalt’s, If I wasn’t using proper pressure I would but with proper pressure behind my Impact it puts the screw right in… Built the whole deck here on each one robertson “2 bit on my impact and the father in laws… all about proper pressure… We each drove hundreds probably into the thousand or more of galvanized deck screws from 3 1/2″ to 1” and still haven’t ruined the bits
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I have broke one dewalt impact bit tip, the others are starting to wear now.
I’ve only broken one shockwave PH2 with an impact after 3 years of using them. Milwaukee Shockwave all day, any day.
I’ve used both fairly extensively. I stand behind my observation. Proper pressure is easy to maintain in some places, other times not so much. Bits and blades are consumables, it’s important to regard them as such. I’ve found that using Robertson, Torx, or ECX screws reduces bit consumption drastically. What many people don’t realize is that the Phillips screw is purposely inferior. It was designed to cam out rather than be “over tightened”.
I think the general observation is like 50/50… both seem good
Milwaukee Or dewal
Milwaukee Or dewal
For impact bits, i’ve used: Dewalt, milwaukee, makita, ridgid, kobalt, and wera
Best Impact bits are hands down no competition: wera
Second contender i would say is: dewalt
For Drill bits: IMO the Dewalt titanium
Spade bits: bosch daredevil, then irwin
Masonary: bosch
Wear impact
I haven’t been impressed with any of the big box store brands to be honest when it comes to Phillips bits. They all strip out at the tips, or just shatter from the forces. The worse bits I ever used were some Kobalt bit’s Lowes had on sale they were so bad for Impact rated bits they either shattered or stripped out after driving one screw worst bits ever I know they were on sale but I wouldn’t have spent a penny on shitty quality like that.
I would say Dewalt impact ready bits are my favorite. They seem not strip as easy and I’ve never broken a bit while using an impact driver. Milwaukee shockwaves are great except for the Phillips bits, they seem to slip too much. Kobalt is a good value since Lowes always has sales going.
Worth a read: click
…..That being said, I keep both Milwaukee and DeWalt bits on my truck. I do think the DeWalt bits hold up a little better. But, I always reach for the Milwaukee for two reasons: The case is smaller and it has the longer bits.
I use mine for fairly easy work though, so my opinion might differ than those who use them extensively.
That is some pretty surprising results!!
The Makita ones the guys just reviewed are of good quality. It was the old Makita ones(like a year or two ago) were abosulute junk. They might aswell of been made from melted butter.
My first impact bits were the Milwaukee shockwave and man was I disappointed. They wear out super quick and the grip is terrible. They were very irritating to use. I still have a couple from the original set I bought because I hate using them. Those were p#2 bits and they are a bit smaller than standard #2 bits. Quickly after I bought the Milwaukee I bought a impact set from dewalt and none have disappointed. Long life and great grip. Although I prefer the Milwaukee impact magnetic bit holders over the dewalts.
I cant offer much on which brand is better, although I do appreciate everyones input as it helps me choose what accessories to buy. For some outside work I have moved away from square bits and have gone to the torx as they seem to grip better and strip less for what I have done so far. The dewalt bits I was using would strip some of the screws out and after a couple screws got stripped the bit was rounding up and was becoming useless. These were just cheap dewalt bits that were on sale. I guess I learned to spend the extra on any of the bits mentioned here, to save the frustration of stripped heads. Thank you.
DamnYankee wrote:
Worth a read: click
…..That being said, I keep both Milwaukee and DeWalt bits on my truck. I do think the DeWalt bits hold up a little better. But, I always reach for the Milwaukee for two reasons: The case is smaller and it has the longer bits.
I use mine for fairly easy work though, so my opinion might differ than those who use them extensively.
Interesting read and results!
I may just give some of those Bosch ribbed a try.
To date, in my own experience as a contractor, I’ve liked the Milwaukee Shockwave the best. I’ve not had any problems with them breaking or stripping out that I can remember. Had a few that I’ve worn out, and retired, but no failures. But I don’t beat on my tools either – I try to take really good care of them!
For me the dewalt and hitachi work great but havent tryed the makita or irwin Milwaukee is good
I have used Makita gold, Milwaukee Shockwave, and the Dewalt bits. I have to say for an impact driver 1. Makita gold bits. 2. Dewalt bits. 3. Milwaukee shockwave. I hate the shockwave bits. I have twisted almost all of the bits that came in my large set. Dewalts seem to work good. Makita’s are by far the best. they last the longest and the coating does not ware off after time and use like the shockwave bits.
Milwaukee bits have worked good for me
Based on the pz2 bits
Dewalt – Tend to snap them quickly on site…Cheapest out the range
Milwaukee – Never used them but heard really good things about them
Wera – Dominate the market and I’ve never seen one snap. Cost a bit but there we’ll worth it..
Makita -Currently using..great value & last longer than the Dewalts
I like most things Milwaukee but will admit their shockwave bits suck the Phillips tips wear out way to quick
Impact bits I like the shockwave, they might not be the toughest but I like the fact that they will dull and not strip heads nearly as much as the competition! Like conductor said! I’m with him. Spade bits is simple Irwin speedbor, augers I like the Milwaukee version, masonry is hands down hilti and a kinda close Bosch
Impact bits don’t last to long but I’ve heard the the wera ones are the best
I like my Dewalt Impact Ready bits, I tries the Milwaukee Shockwave when helping a friend finish his basement, broke 2 bits in the first 30min of use, I might have gotten a bad batch but put a sour taste in my mouth, I just bought some Makita Golds, we’ll see how these go, I haven’t been 100% sold on these torsion bits yet, and now dewalt is coming out with a set….
Makita Impact Gold, no comparison unless you go with something like a Wera that will $et you Back $ome $$$.
Lol you can never have too many bits!
Punda1991 wrote:
Lol you can never have too many bits!
HOLY BIT SETS
The dewalt bits are like everything else dewalt makes there tough. I’ve never had a problem. But the milwaukee’s are nice until they start to get stripped and the black coating gets on a nice piece of wood. Never used makita’s but they sure look cool.
I stand by milwaukee and dewalt impact bits, I use both equally and love them both. I haven’t had any experience with others yet
Guess that technically depends what kind of “bits” we are talking about here.
Wera = defiantely cream of the crop as far socket bits.
Dewalt flextorq seem pretty good too.
For drill bits,since i work in a machine shop i wouldnt use anything other than precision or rocky mountain twist drills for regular drills.
Just pick up the makita golds and the new dewalt maxfit bits to test out. Been mainly a fan of the shockwave bits for so long. Just wanted to test out the different magnet screw holders. Also i believe that dewalt changed the name from flextorq to maxfit
I dont think the maxfit bits are impact rated but the flextorq are. I could be wrong but I was checking both out at homedepot today and thats what it seemed like. Actually picked myself up a makita gold set to try.
the maxfit looks like the flex, I think they are rated since they picture on back and details say they can be used in a impact
I have been waiting for a thread like this to pop up. I use mainly torx bits and have dewalt, shockwave, and Makita’s gold ones and have also tried some Irwin ones from time to time. I really like the shockwave and buy the most of those usually, but I have recently picked up some of the new Makita gold bits and really like them as well. I tend to loose or hand out too many bits to actually use one until its wore out but I will get shockwave ones that the star pattern will twist as it wears and will eventually get thrown when it wont make consistent contact with the screw.
For reference we use a lot of #9×3 and #10×3.5 screws in treated lumber and timbers all year round so they get tested. For larger GRK style lags I really like the APEX brand bit and holder I got from someone way back when and usually have a real hard time finding replacement bits for it.
I have seen and read reviews comparing Phillips bits, but would love to see a similar review on t25 bits. Hint, hint, hint.
I would also say that how bits wear depends on the impact gun used. I have brushed and brushless Makita that usually do the best and the new fuel impacts run soo hard they are usually the worst on bits and will sometimes break or fracture the tip of the bit.
I like my Milwaukee shockwave and my Ridgid set as well.
I’ve broken a dewalt bit and wore out a couple of milwaukee shock waves, though the dewalts did last longer ” black ones” I bought a new dewalt flex black impact bit the other day from sears and have already wore it down and I tried the grey one which seems a bit more better quality.
I love milwaukee and dewalt for impact bits.