That failure is what has happened to all my harbor freight clamps. Cheap plastics. Spend a bit more and get a much stronger clamp. For sure don't get their really cheap ones($5), total garbage.

Nice testing almost went with jorgensen ratchet clamps , but each clamp might not be made the same at the same place using the same materials

Seems like you are using FPM interchangeably with CFM. Big difference.

I love that shirt! And thanks for making this comparison video!

Holy crap that was interesting and informative. It had some of everything. Suspense, comedy, danger and knowledge.

WTF! Stop fk'ing with the clamp! I wanna know how much pressure the clamp will SUSTAIN, not how strong your grip strength is. "Clamping force" isnt a peak number when the force continuously fluctuates downward.

You missed a bigger drawback of the $6 HF clamp: it leaves oily pad prints on your wood. And you can’t wash it out of the plastic pads, it seems to be impregnated so they will always leave oily footprints no matter what.

I started watching this video to decide between Irwin and Bessey 600. But it is obvious to the naked eye that you are biased against HFT and deliberately break them. Why haven't you done the same with other brands? I mean using another clamp for stretching. This is very unfair. And if you add to this the ridiculous prices of HFT products, then it is doubly unfair. Treat the samples you test as if their brand was not written on them. Thanks for the review!

I wish I saw this before so I could support Jorgensen's cool innovative design :)

I'm glad those are your tools your abusing and not mine.

11:04 The releasability jumped from an 8 right back down to a 5, eh? Great video overall, though!

Those transitions at the clamp hanging section are bloody awful

Nils, the quality and usefulness of this video and your related blog post just flabbergast me! I've been in the market for some new pistol grip clamps and though I've watched and enjoyed several of your videos, for some reason I wasn't subscribed. (I've since resolved that!) Anyway, this was awesome! I was already sold on the Jorgensen E-Z Hold clamps and this video makes me wonder if you've ever considered doing a deeper dive into the entire range of their clamps. I was just at Lowes and was surprised to see that they have them in several clamping capacities and even have one with aluminum components that put me to mind of the "Six Million Dollar Man". Anyway, I couldn't just let this one go by without a comment. Well done. Scott

I would have been interested for those over performers to know what the bar deflection was at their "rated" load

The only issue I had with your method was that the use of another clamp to squeeze could have stacked the deck against the two that broke. Not sure if you agree, just my observation. Very nice comparison on so many different clamps. The little Harbor Freight guy might be a good choice for me. I don't need 400lbs of squeeze and I could buy a whole bunch at that price!

I suggest performing a toilet paper test around the gate while closed and operating. Sliding blast gates can leak by incomplete internal closure which your test quantifies. The second point of leakage is around the exterior of the gate sucking air in from outside the system. The combined air leakage equals the total efficiency loss. I suggest mounting your monitor between the blast gate and the vacuum to capture all leakage. Toilet paper being very light will move with the slightest air movement therefore identifying areas of air leaking into the system. I used this simple test on my whole system to identify leaks into the system. and found every sliding blast gates leaks into the system. The blast gate design simply is a very inefficient design. A ball valve and butterfly design at least overcome the external leakage into the system, however the butterfly design appears to be more problematic making a tight closure. Does anyone make a commercially available ball valve blast gate?

Jorgenson for the ability to connect them

If you're going to take such a small measurement and then eyeball where the line should go you need to be squeezing like 10-20 times and do half a second of math dude. PSI is not the same as clamping force. It's entirely variable based on how large the surface area between the pieces being clamped and has absolutely no relation to the clamps whatsoever. More clamping force means larger pieces can be clamped with the same PSI. And you have to measure the clamps' deflection at the same load rating. You can't push them all to different loads and compare them across different circumstances bro. A weaker clamp with the same bar will end up performing better with less deflection. Same for releasability. I love how you use another clamp to squeeze the harbor freight tools as far past their rating as you possibly can then act like going overspec is normal and they break under normal conditions. Overall your testing methods suck resulting in highly variable results across many dimensions of testing. Overall completely dogshit video, with no real information. I hope you get a lawsuit.

Very nice. Great info thanks for sharing

Never have I claimed to know it all but after watching this video I think I might know it all. I have a special tape measure that is for pipe diameters but I guess you could use a string to replace it. I just always have it so it gets used whenever I need it. I have to justify the price I paid for in 20 years ago. The master plumber I worked with told me I would always need it. I can count the times I have really needed it without having to take off my boots. Lol

I thought i knew it all but two tips I took from this video. 10+ years in the trades and never thought about using the tape measure a little off angle to get = parts or using the tape flipped over to draw a line. I know I will use those tips someday in the future. As a plumber I didn’t use dry erase I use permanent markers to have a couple measurements on my tape that I always used for underground and top out to get stuff in ADA compliance. Whenever I am training a new person I always make them use my tape or mark their theirs so they don’t mess up.

I know the ones I started using first (300) are the ones I reach for most often. They don’t hold the best but I know how they are going to work. in my hands how it is slides and how to whip them open with one hand it just the one I used the most. I wish I had started with a better clamp so they feel as comfortable but back then thats all I could afford or was available. Now I own most of the ones you tested and they definitely work better for most jobs but my old ones are familiar and I just find myself reaching for them because it’s just what I’m used to. Like a broke pair of jeans or your favorite work boots.

and this is why you should never trust those videos. I never tried any of the black ones because they are too flimsy. I have 6 aluminum ones and replaced them with the orange ones. Best change in my shop in 2023

All the tests where you gripped the clamp with another clamp are meaningless (which includes the two catastrophic failures. The ratings should reflect only what can be achieved with normal bare-handed power, because that's how they're used. All you've proved is that it's dumb and dangerous to do it that way. It makes the comfort rating meaningless as well., since that will affect how hard you can close it by hand.

Bonus features for the Bremen and Pittsburgh is that they are also spreaders. Also I don’t think the releasability scores should be factored in when you are clamping it beyond its maximum capacity. You should see how they do at around 300 pounds instead of almost 450, because if you’re testing it at those pressures, you’re clamping your work too hard anyways. Great vid!

I think you are looking at the amount of squeezes the wrong way. The smaller movement may produce more torque/pressure.

I watched episodes 1 and 2... Excellent tips but you left out a very important one for plumbers: One can use a tape measure as a temporary support when soldering copper pipe in a vertical position... I saw it on a plumber's video. Difficult to explain but in a run down... heating a joint or elbow will cause same to fall off the pipe due to expansion... These episodes were a lot better than the lame ass advice in other videos on crimping tools!

WHERE IS WOLFCRAFT BRAND THEY ARE THE BEST I'VE HAD THEM 20+YEARS BEEN THROUGH THE WARS STILL SERVING ME WELL

I lhave used all of your tips except the one to divide a board into equal parts. It was good to see you demonstrate all the tips. Thanks.

This is exactly what I needed when I searched for "best trigger clamp". Keep up the good work.

I get the DeWalts when they are on sale at Home Depot. For the bigger things I have a bunch of Tay Tools parallel's that they no longer have. Wish I had bought twice as many of those.

My Roughneck spreader one handed clamp is perfect for me & others here in UK Looks most like the Bessey & Jorgensen with same release and rubber comfort handles.

Good video.

Tell ya what Bremen has won me over lol... parallel clamps are better in some ways if not just as good as bessy...everyone likes them and no questions life time warranty....super fare comparison, nice job man...

You only used a clamp to clamp the Harbor Freight clamps. Seems you should have tested them equally. Flawed!

Nice safety glasses.

As someone who has managed joinery shops of over 40 joiners. A point that’s hard to touch on with a simple one time review is durability. The Irwin clamps definitely fail quicker after daily usage. The internals are quite weak wear out quite quickly resulting in next to no clamping force. The dewalt do the same but lasted a bit longer. I’m about to buy the Bessey as have got 2 friends in the industry who’s besseys have outlived many of the Irwin and dewalts I’ve had. Great review by the way.

You're clamping force as a percentage of claimed force is completely ridiculous when your scale Maxes out before the clamp does. And then you arbitrarily just decide you've put enough force into a couple of them (without even stressing them) - and then use a clamp to squeeze the handle on another until it breaks.

Your knee bend tip was great. Can’t believe I didn’t think of that. Excellent 🤙

6 pounds of wrist power is above average lol

Just awesome!

I just discovered your channels, great job on everything! And no wasted time, love it!

Which one is the best for a 68 yr old woman who just does projects around the house?

G’day mate, I just wanted to say that you have a good channel and that you make some good videos. I believe that if you change the name of your channel to something else , eg another word in front of woodworking you will probably have more people find it. Hope this helps. Cheers 🍻 🍻

Thorough, informative, entertaining, a bit long.

Those for 6 are better than beast and dealt easy.

I’m impressed your welds actually held over 600lbs. Makes me a lot more confident in my own. Im guessing you use a 110 flux core machine?

Which one has the best pressure .

Very very good, informative video. Thanks.

Awesome video. Thank you! I’m putting together my first dust management system using Powertec 2 1/2” fittings. When it came time to get the blast gates I was overwhelmed with all the choices, and Powertec certainly leaves a lot to be desired with their product descriptions. So I did a Google search. Surely I’d find a dozen videos and just as many message boards and forums from people comparing every Powertec blast gate. But nope! I couldn’t find any good resources. Except your video. It kept popping up no matter how I worded my search. But honestly, the title threw me off. I decided to watch thinking I might get some useful supplementary info, but I was very happy when the video started. This is exactly what I was looking for! I’m a bit surprised you don’t have more views, and I think if you changed the video title you might get better results. Just an idea. After all, I had no idea this was a side-by-side comparison of Powertec blast gates until I started watching. I’m sure many other people are in the same position. Thanks again for this useful info. You’ve made my decision so much easier.