The Ultimate Trigger Clamp Showdown - 12 Clamps Compared

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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

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.

6 pounds of wrist power is above average lol

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.

you did the harbor freight clamps dirty... I didn't see you using a clamp to squeeze on any other clamps

Awesome video. Thanks for sharing this information. 👍🏾

Great sense of humor but most importantly *great data*. I am looking for a clamp to cinch deck boards together after watching DrDecks' videos on the topic. Unfortunately the Irwin attachment to convert their clamps for this purpose is unobtanium, so I decided to search for a clamp with adequate clamping force that has the jaws shaped in a way that would allow a bit of grinding to allow them to get in between boards. Looks like the Jorgensen and (possibly) the HF Bremen might fit the bill. I appreciate the time you put into this, best of luck with your channel!

Love the Tootsie pop, how long does it take to get to the center reference. You seem far too young to know that reference. 😆

Once I bought my Bessey 300 pound clamps, I don't think I can go back. They are so nice to use, and they feel incredibly strong. I still have some older 100 pound Irwin / Quick-Grip clamps for smaller jobs. I owned a couple of those Pittsburg clamps before, they were terrible. Mine felt weaker than the 100 lb clamps, they would just slip. I don't care if they're cheap, they just work terribly. Dollars per pound of clamping force is not a useful metric. A cheap clamp seems like a good idea until you think about usability, the cheap clamps are terrible to work with. I'm sold on Bessey, strongly recommend them to anyone.

hey come back and make more videos !!!!!!

I've had several of the Pittsburg black and grey clamps and none of them work anymore, I am looking forward to trying the Bremen ones though.

IRWIN

Use another clamp on the clamp trigger to max it out

I have about a hundred clamps and none of them is store bought. I get them cheaply at garage- and estate sales. Once I get really good ones the not so good ones have to go and I usually sell them for more than I paid.

I’m confused you said the Dewalt was easiest to release, but then you gave it average releasability at 5 and then the harbor freight was harder to release but then you gave it a higher rating for releasability at 6

Jorgensen due to the ability to link them. Or the Wood River, at least it's made in Taiwan, not Commie China.

That jorg extension trick is neat. I’ve had this bessy clamp for years and it is excellent. I bought one of the cheap harbor freight this year and it came apart within a few uses.

the amount of squeezes actually should be higher scored for more squeezes as it allows more variation in pressure. Also, you should have done a clamp overnight as the harbor freights have come unclamped many times in my experience, I have sold them all at garage sales for a $1, they are complete crap and they break.

terrible welds!

Good video. Both the Irwin and the Bremen (Harbor Freight) you can slip the end pieces off and put on the other end to make spreaders. Dunno about any of the others.

Very technical measurement of bow. Well thought out test. You earned a new subscriber. Thanks for taking time to test the clamps we consider. $7 for the HF clamps and if it breaks, there's a lifetime warranty. No receipt required.