Harbor Freight's New Hercules Impact Driver Beats... Everything?

Today we test Harbor Freight's new brushless Hercules Impact Driver HCB81B against the Milwaukee Gen 3 2853 and Gen 4 2953 as well as pretty much everything else that's powerful in the category. But surprisingly, that's what it's going to take to topple this new spicy blue boy.

Torque, who started this channel, is working in product development for Astro Tools who don't make any impact drivers, but neverthless always consider multiple sources when looking at a tool!

[TorqueTestChannel]

As always, Torque who started this channel works in product development for Astro Tools - who don't make impact drivers, but it's always important to consider multiple sources when looking at a tool!

[PhillyFixed]

Milwaukee: "Our tool is slightly shorter and has 2 more LEDs!"

DeWalt: "We wrote XR on ours and added a speed switch!"

Makita: "If you know, you know. Just buy it."

Harbor Freight: "Hold my beer..."

[LilFoxAK]

been in the industry for 20 years. i remember people making fun of me for buying HF sockets, too cheap. this was back in 2011. glad HF is coming to stir the pot. i feel as if Milwaukee is getting to comfortable, def need some competition to let em know if they dont listen to their audience they will get left behind.

[htownblue]

Even fan boys have to admit that was impressive, and that doesn’t even account for the cost.

[codycalvo]

im a diesel mechanic and I use the Hercules every day its been a great tool very impressive

[xLTxVEGAx]

Hercules also has a new 4ah battery with 21700 cells, it would be interesting to see if their new impact driver can see any improvements

[sabrevanson]

wow the fact that the Herc managed to beat let alone keep up with the Millys ...just wow. I am impressed

[LatitudeSky]

Congrats to HF! I'm not in the Hercules system but this has my attention. This might be worth just having as a one-off. Or foot in the door.

[johnpenwell]

Well that explains why they had the older brushed model on firesale the last week. Add in the fact that you can get two of those 5 Ah batteries for $99, you’re not going to break the bank even if you don’t have the batteries for it.

[Thomas-buwf]

I bought the Hercules with a battery and charger for $97.99 at my local Harbor Freight. I’ve used it a couple times and it’s been a great tool so far!

[yihuandong]

Let's go, Harbor Freight! Keep up the good work! The industry needs a bit of stir!

[bstrickler]

Sounds like the Herc is a perfect candidate for my side job. Don't need ultra reliability, just something cheap that will break lug nuts a few times a day at most

[denoftools]

Am I too late for the fan boy screeching? 😂 joking aside I’d like to see the numbers on the Herc using the new high output battery

[backalleybuddy]

At this point. I have no idea why you would ever by a Snap-on "Electric" tool besides it being entirely made in the U.S.A.

At this point, many brands beat Snap-on impacts at a 5th the price and with twice the warranty.

If you do. Please tell me why? I am interested.

[michaelcrumlett]

Your videos keep getting better! Love the high speed camera work. I’ve been using the older Bauer impact driver in the shop for about 18 months now, and it has held up well and worked nearly as well as the DeWalt driver that it replaced. Honestly, I’ve been hoping the Bauer would show some signs of wear so I could justify buying something new. That Hercules might be my compromise solution. Maybe I’ll give the Bauer gear to my shop helper and buy some new Hercules gear.

[mattfleming]

I think the problem with going much above 170/180 on a 1/4" hex is that you're going to be destroying a lot of bits and adapters. There is a "practical" upper limit here- and that's the tooling. Eventually you hit a power level where it's no longer good at being a driver.

[joshuagarner]

I've had my Hercules impact and drill for a couple years now and I love them. If I had the choice I would always take Hercules over ryobi dewalt or any not just on price alone but performance too

[jmangus]

Couple that with the fact you can buy a quality high ah battery, Samsung 21700 cells for way less than Milwaukee/Makita/DeWalt. Just shows how the big names are ripping off their customers in battery prices. Hercules still has a long way to go, as they just don't have the variety of tools the professional needs to use, so better suited for homeowners or weekend warriors. Or those like me that don't mind having different battery platforms.

[themajasticcreature]

oh my god you caught it on camera. that millwaukee battery isnt a fluke, its a rreally common problem we face at work, we change batteries every 6 months or less, its either they split apart, the contacts break inside or the battery just goes into forever overheated mode where its flashing its lights and no charger will charge it. millwaukee has the worst battery and the worst battery mount from what i've experienced.

[jeffscomp]

I think the gen 3 milwaukee is still the best overall.