While the trend to have impact wrenches with more and more torque certainly continues as we’ve seen in our recent ½” Air Impact Shoot Out. That being said there are also many professional out there willing to take a little less power for a smaller more compact tools. After all what good is more power if you can’t fit the tool into the work space. IR already has some great impacts for very tight spaces with the Hammerhead 3/8” 2015MAX and ½” 2025MAX ($249, each) however those top out at 180 ft.lbs. so can’t replace your everyday impacts. These new IR Compact Impacts 3/8” 15QMAX and ½” 35MAX ($139, each) look to be the best of both worlds with compact design but solid power up to 450 ft.lbs. which will handle a wide range of common applications.
The “compact” & “ultra-compact” impact wrenches have become much more popular recently with a fair amount of competition already out in the market: KTA Mighty Seven M7 3/8” 3611Q ($139) & ½” 4611Q ($139), AirCat 3/8” 1075-TH ($119) & ½” 1055-TH ($119) as well as Chicago Pneumatic units like the ½” CP7732 ($125), ½ CP7732C ($139) and the slim 3/8” CP7727 ($189). These new Ingersoll Rand impacts are a little late to the party but that’s not always a bad thing when it allows a little extra time to refine the product.
The 35MAX and 15QMAX offer an exceptional value for the $139 price point, these tools are part of the IR’s MAX lineup which means composite housing, 2 year warranty, twin-hammer design and the best internal guts IR has to offer. Ingersoll focused on delivering the best ergonomics/controls (notice the very large back controls), lightest tools in the category and the highest power-to-weight ratio vs any of the competition.
For more info on Ingersoll Rand Air Impact Wrenches give the pros at Ohio Power Tool a call 800-242-4424 and they will be more than happy to help you find the right tool for the job.