Have any of you seen the Dewalt “ToughGrip” screwdriver bits that are currently being sold as part of several “special buy” Dewalt screwdriver bit assortments at Lowes? I’ve also seen them on Amazon, through third party suppliers.
The Dewalt ToughGrip bits have silver-finish hex shanks, and darker colored bit tips.
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I can’t find any information about these ToughGrip bits on the Dewalt website, and so I asked my contact about them. Was it a new style?
It turns out that they’re a Lowes-exclusive design, for use in drills (and so they’re presumably not impact-rated), and with “a tip design to fit the most common fastener geometries while reducing cam-out.”
My guess is that the design was brought back so as to give Lowes a couple of exclusive screwdriver and bit set assortment options. There’s nothing wrong with that, assuming the quality is decent.
You can find these sets and other “special buy” bit sets at Lowes stores and online. It also looks like there are bulk packs and smaller sets.
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(Prices are as of the time of this posting, and will likely last the duration of the 2018 holiday shopping season.)
If you’ve used these before, what do you think?
I started using impact-rated screwdriver bits exclusively, except for hand tools where I’ll still use non-impact bits. They cost a little more, but it’s been more convenient to only have to buy one style of bits. The latest generation of impact-rated screwdriver bits are of great quality, and I can be at ease using them in any drill or impact driver. But, these new Dewalt ToughGrip bits look to be more economical. Maybe it’s time I bought some more non-impact bits to be used for cordless drill or screwdriver fastening tasks.
Popgun42 says
I like the Dewalt impact bits. My old hands do not like screwdrivers. I prefer cordless power. I have never had any problem with Dewalt impact bits. Stick with what works for me.
fred says
Its been a while now since I was buying in bulk – but back 6 years or so ago – we mostly found these sorts of bit sets to be subpar, The appeal is they give you lots of pieces at a low price – but you also get lots of pieces that you may not need – certainly not in multiples. Maybe one of these sorts of sets in the truck – might be OK to have if it includes a size you don’t often use. But otherwise why not buy what you really use in bulk packs and replace bits often at the first sign of wear? Bits are really consumables. We’d more often buy our most-used (PH2 and some Torx) bits in bulk packs. For most bits – we liked Apex, Wera and Wiha – but always heard(never bought any) good things (other than price) about PB Swiss.
Tom says
I thought I read somewhere that most impact rated bits (i.e. Shockwave and FlexTorq) only provide a benefit for fastening into metal. They provide no benefit to fastening into wood. I use both but find myself using these ToughGrip bits for most of the work I do because it provides better bang for your buck. They’re almost always on sale at Lowe’s, and I haven’t had any problems with them yet.
evadman says
I find that impact rated bits are a huge deal in removing screws from material. The non-impact rated ones tend to strip the screw, while impact rated ones do not. In fact, I have been successful taking out screws that I stripped using a drill/driver and regular bit with a impact rated bit and a impact driver.
I don’t know if it matters, but I have been using shockwave branded impact bits, and mostly dewalt non-rated bits.
Both bit types seem to be fine driving, but the non-impact bits certainly seem to strip heads of fasteners more often.
Curtis says
How about their drill bits? I bought a set of the Ryobi hex shank drill bits, and had great luck with them, but eventually I ended up wearing out or breaking enough that I bought a second set. The second set turned out to be garbage. All of them were simultaneously both soft and brittle. They didn’t drill well, or hold an edge and if you canted them slightly they broke. I remember trying to drill out a steel rivet and after blunting or breaking 4 of the Ryobi bits in a row, I went and dug up an old bit I had lying around and it went right through in seconds.
So now I’m looking for a brand of decent hex shank drill bits and preferably at a reasonable price.
TonyT says
Try Milwaukee Shockwave 15 or 23 piece set (one or both should be on sale for BF) or Bosch – I have the Shockwave, and it’s been good so far.
Curtis says
Thanks, I’ll give those a try.
Stuart says
I’d say the same – try Milwaukee Shockwave. I greatly dislike the idea of hex shank drill bits, but those are good.
Matt says
Why do you dislike the hex shank drill bits? I love them. It allows me to carry only an impact driver.
Stuart says
It’s lots of little things. Older hex-shank bits tended to free-spin, and the ones I tried were pretty cheaply made.
Modern ones are MUCH better. But, sometimes the bits aren’t accurate enough for what I’m doing. They’re optimized for construction applications, not higher precision tasks. I’ve had issues with Dewalt bits not fitting through jig bushings, while my USA twist bits fit just fine.
So if I need an approximately-sized hole, I’ll use hex-shank bits, often Milwaukee. If I need closer sizing. I skip construction brands entirely and go with industrial brands.
They also take me a little longer to chuck in a drill, which strangely isn’t the case with twist drills that have 3-flat shanks.
Curtis says
I often do the same. The one thing I’ve found though is that an impact driver makes for a sloppy drill. Good enough for rough work and nice in tight quarters, but there’s a lot more slop there than with a conventional chuck.
Craig says
Anyone have any experience with the Bosch impact bits? They got couple on sale at Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/s/browse/ref=gbps_tit_m-4_6961_ff5af535?ie=UTF8&node=12141588011
Stuart says
I love them!
This set is $10.
I’d say try the 24pc $10 set first. It’s low-risk and the bit case is great.
Craig says
That’s perfect! Thanks!
mike says
That looks like the set I got at lowes last weekend for $5. Might be just mine since their website still shows them for $10.
bobad says
Screwdriver bits. Meh…
Had such terrible luck. DeWalt come in a tiny little box with very tight slots, and it takes a small pry bar to get them out. So I threw the yellow boxes away and now keep them in a nice tin box. Even though t “impact rated”, they don’t work so great, they strip out far too many screws.
Also, I need impact rated “long sets”. I find myself using them more than short drivers, because I’m unlucky enough that most of my screws are hard to get to. Well, these also strip my screw heads and soon wear themselves down.
I tried Bosch, and was excited about the “double ended” long bits with Torx on 1 end and square pr Phillips on the other. Pffffft! They don’t even fit DeWalt right, and ruined my impact driver chuck. Pure junk!
I also need impact rated nut setters, but can’t find any. None have split yet, so maybe non-rated ones are enough.
Screw quality is so shoddy these days it could be the screws, but I dunno…
Joe says
Milwaukee shockwave are good.and a good case. Bosch bits are the best in my opinion and their cases are the easiest to remove bits and place back…..love the clear lid Bosch case $9 around this time.
. … DeWalt cases are simply the worst , but the impact bits are ok…I find Makita impact bits the absolute worse.
Corey says
It’s always weird to see contrasting experiences between people with the same products. I’ve given shockwave bits probably a dozen chances in the last few years and every time, every set, in all my impacts, they’ve proven brittle and have snapped within a day or two max. Typically just running various lengths of wood screws and grabbers. DeWalts definitely last me longer, but usually strip themselves down whenever they cam out a screw. I had always heard that Makita gold was the best impact bits, and having since used them along with the black impact x Makitas, I’m a convert. I’m still running both original bit sets I ever picked up, the goods are probably around a year, and maybe 7-8 months on the impactx. I did have a guy ruin one of my 3″ ph2 impactx bits I lent him, when he power through camming 3 screws in 30 seconds. But other than that, with proper attention and use, they’ve been outstanding. I wonder what causes these huge variances in quality and performance?
Redcastle says
While bits can make a difference using decent quality fixings is equally important, I have bits from all the major manufacturers as well as firms like Engineer and Festool and have found that a PZ2 bit from manufacturer X fits screws from manufacturer A perfectly but used with screws of the same notional size from a different manufacturer there are problems. These days I generally conduct a stick fit test before starting to use a particular combination.
Popgun42 says
User error…
TZi says
I’ve had and used lots of various Dewalt bit that comes in the yellow boxes (because I’m buying the sets mostly for the boxes) and as far as I’m concerned, they’re pretty much all the same. I also have a couple sets of Milwaukee shockwave and a Bosch set as well, because I was trying their boxes. Those bits also worked exactly the same.
I’m mostly using the bits with impact driver, sometimes hardwood and sometimes regular studs. Sometimes removing old screws from misc material. I’ve only remember ever having 1 shockwave bit snap and 1 dewalt regular bit snap. I do replace my bits often though since i have a lot of them and I don’t like stripping screws.
Raoul says
I wish Dewalt would stick to one line of bits. There are at least 4 variations between Lowes and Hd.
Replace your bits when worn so you don’t have to put too much force on the fastener to get the bit to grip. One time I was using an Impact driver and #2 phillips bit and was holding the workpiece with my hand. The bit slipped and at full speed the #2 bit spun right through my thumb at the nail. It must have somehow slid past the bone, into the middle of my thumbnail and out through the other side. To say it hurt is an understatement. That was 10 yrs ago and I still have lump inside my thumb that aggravates me.
Timo says
They look a lot like cheap Milwaukee bits! Even the case looks identical apart the colour. I haven’t use them but those milwaukee ones didn’t fit screws at all. I wonder if they are better these days. I usually use Wera or PB Swiss and I got zero issues with them.
bobad says
Good grief dude, $10 for 1 screwdriver bit? A few sets of those cost more than a good impact driver. For that price, there better NOT be any issues. 🙂
Reno says
New name for the same old bits sets nothing new there not calling these impact but everyone thinks they are this new100 pc is a joke it has 48pcs of 1″ bits
TOUGHCASE, TOUGHGRIP , You would think that DeWalt come up with something better then this sounds like a name Harbor Fright would come up with