The Wera Rapidaptor has got to be one of my favorite tool accessories of all time.
There are several varieties – I prefer the 889/4/1 K, which is a 2-inch bit holder with self-locking and quick-release collar.
It securely holds 1″ screwdriver bits, and also 2″ power-style bits.
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Once inserted, the bit holder and inserted screwdriver bit form a rock-solid connection that feels almost as if it’s a one-piece construction.
Combine its solid connection with quick insertion and release capabilities, and the Rapidaptor is a joy to use.
The only downside is that the Rapidaptor can only be used in hand tools and cordless drills and screwdrivers; it’s not impact-rated. Wera does have other bit holders – Impaktor – that are impact-rated.
I bought my first Wera Rapidaptor 13-1/2 years ago, and would buy it again, and again, and again.
Price: $15-16
There are other ways to get the Rapidaptor, such as part of a Wera Tool-Check, which is available in imperial (via Amazon) and metric (via Amazon) sockets and screwdriver bits.
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If you don’t need any sockets, there’s a less expensive 30pc Bit-Check (at Amazon).
You will also find a Rapidaptor at the end of the Wera Kraftform Kompakt screwdriver kit (at Amazon). This one is longer, but functions the same. You can buy the extended length Rapidaptor separately (~$20 at Amazon), but that’s more than half the price of the entire screwdriver set.
Wera’s mini screwdriver handle (~$19 at Amazon) also features a built-in Rapidaptor.
You’ll find this awesome little accessory built into a lot of Wera hand tools, and included in many kits and assortments.
Not all of them function the same way. Wera Zyklop square drive screwdriver socket adapters, for instance (1/4″ at Amazon, 3/8″ at Amazon), don’t allow for the same one-handed bit insertion.
Whichever format it comes in, the Rapidaptor is awesome.
The bare Rapidaptor was a great introduction for me, and I would also recommend Wera’s mini screwdriver handle as a potential starting point. The Kraftform Komakt also has a fantastic implementation, and you can remove the long Rapidaptor for use with other tools.
The 889/4/K has a magnet. The 888/4/K (at Amazon), does not have a magnet. There’s also the 887/4R (at Amazon), which has a ring magnet at the front.
Mark M.
Agree 1000%. A few years ago, on a whim, I bought the DeWalt 12v screwdriver (DCF601 I think) and that thing with the Rapidaptor is one of my most reached-for tools. Bit changes are super fast and the ability to use both 1″ and 2″+ bits is fantastic. You’ll only think it’s overpriced until you use it.
John+E
Curious as to why you need the Rapidator on the DeWalt screwdriver. DeWalt have the best quick-release chucks on any power tool I’ve ever used. I actually prefer its smaller predecessor ( DFC601?) and its smaller chuck. It’s my most used cordless tool by far. I tend to use 3″-6″ bits in it for the longer reach and maneuverability so the Rapidator becomes superfluous but I still have one.
Lyle
I run the same setup. The smaller (and older) Dewalt 12v screwdriver is the DCF610. The newer (fatter but shorter) one is the DCF601. I have both, in fact several of the DCF610. The bit holder on the Dewalt impact drivers and screw drivers is excellent and I don’t use my Wera rapidaptors on them because it is unnecessary. I also normally use 3” or 6” bits on the Dewalt 12v screw driver.
Tom
The Dewalt bit holder on the 12v screwdrivers and impacts is not designed for the 1” insert bits, they don’t have the deep radial groove needed. Eventually you’ll get one stuck, they can require the chuck stripped to remove.
Lyle
Yeah I don’t use 1” bits on anything. They are like an emergency backup if something happens to my longer bits. I’d never even try to put a 1” bit directly into any tool, I’d always use some kind of bit extension exactly for the reason you state.
Mike M.
Mark, I carry the exact same setup. Dewalt 12v screwdriver and Wera BitCheck with Rapidaptor. Use it on almost all of my jobs. Rarely get out the bigger tools because it’s just so darn handy. I’ve actually contemplated buying a second and storing it for the day this one gives up.
Jared
I’ve got the longer rapidaptor that comes with the multi-bit screwdriver. It comes out and separates, but I don’t use it much outside of that screwdriver. Maybe I should – I worry about losing or damaging it with a power tool. Are these impact-safe?
It still feels kind of expensive to me to buy on its own. I picked up the screwdriver, albeit on sale, for about $26 (Canadian too, so that’s like peanuts in USD 😄).
Stuart
They are NOT impact-safe.
I considered buying the long Rapidaptor separately, but it’s such a good value as part of the Kraftform Komapkt screwdriver kit.
I feel that this is a better way to get it – with the handle and bits – and if lost, broken, or used heavily for cordless drill or driver use, replacements are always available.
Richard
Also worth saying that impact rated doesn’t mean stronger, if anything it usually means it’s designed with a failure region.
I use these in my m12 surge with no problem. It hasn’t hurt the holder or the surge or my bits.
The risk is that if it fails it might shatter instead of sheering, but unless there’s a material defect in the holder I don’t think the surge is strong enough to break it. YMMV of course, don’t take safety advice from randos on the internet. Etc. etc.
Also I LOVE the rapidator. I use the long one as my normal holder for the surge and have a short one that I use with impact rated hex drill bits (so I only have to carry one tool instead of two).
The only downside is it’s wider than a magnetic only holder so it won’t get as many places. Not to worry, I carry one of those for backups and use the nice holder 99% of the time.
JoeM
It’s among my “I’ll get around to it” accessories. Right now I have a DeWALT version that, although magnificently perfect for what I do, I only have one of them, and at least 2 Drills to use it on. I think it’s redundant on the 680 Gyro, as it has a built-in quick release. But my Drills could probably use a decent upgrade, and I’m already fond of Wera and Wiha when it comes to Screwdriver bits and accessories. Are they expensive for what they are? Yes… Do you get what you pay for? Absolutely! Wera and Wiha are not messing around. Their design engineers must be mad scientists, for how exacting they want their tools!
And Stuart, you said:
“I bought my first Wera Rapidaptor 13-1/2 years ago, and would buy it again, and again, and again.”
May I ask… What’s stopping you from doing so? They’re a good investment to have multiples of, don’t you think?
Stuart
To answer your question, I do have multiples! Rapidaptor bit holders came with my Bit-Checks, Tool-Checks, and Zyklop socket sets.
I have many! If I’m away from a standalone Rapidaptor, I head for the nearest set and grab one from there.
JoeM
Oh! You kinda made it sound a little bit like you regretted not having more of them. Sorry for the misunderstanding, Stuart!
I’m gonna go with Atlas, they’re big into Wera and Wiha. I’ll see what kinds of Rapidaptors I can get my hands on. Only really ‘need’ two right now. But maybe, also, I can find that mini handle in their listings, and maybe the ratcheting Kraftform with the Rapidaptor on the end. I’d be pretty set at that point!
I love having backups to may most used accessories. Yes, I’m capable with tools. But I’m also a bit of a Klutz. I don’t want to damage anything, or lose it. So I like having multiples.
Koko The Talking Ape
Agreed, and that Kompact screwdriver kit makes a nice gift too.
But I just can’t get behind the Wera handle shape. And the soft rubber sections turn to cheese eventually (at least, according to AvE videos.)
Stuart
It depends on what you use them for. I have Kraftform screwdrivers going back 10+ years, and they’re still in great condition. No stickiness, no falling apart, no holes.
While they’re not as easy to wipe clean as hard handles, they clean up nicely with tool wipes or typical degreasing spray.
As for the handle shape… you either love it, hate it, or deal with it. I like it and deal with it.
Jared
I’m in the “deal with it” category. It is definitely not my favorite screwdriver handle, but it isn’t offensive either.
It’s nice in some grips – spinning the top with your fingers, for example, when you don’t need max strength. If I need to employ the gorilla-grip though, I much prefer the fuller-feel of Felo or Bacho.
MM
I’m in the same camp regarding the handle shape. It’s alright. It’s not terrible, it’s not great.
I don’t own any Wera tools with the modern rubberized handle though I do own a few with orange acetate handles. They look like this but without the black color at the tips. Mine are at least 45 years old, nothing wrong with the handles whatsoever.
https://ggstore.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/WER10001.jpg
In case the image doesn’t work:
https://ggstore.co.za/product/screwdriver-wera-set-btip-6pc-w/
KokoTheTalkingApe
Ah, that’s good to know.
John+E
AvE will happily give you his opinion on just about anything and everything. Often it’s worth exactly what he charges for it
Big Richard
Well put. Personally I can’t understand a word he says and I can’t tell if he is trying to be funny or clever. But what I really cannot understand is why so many people take his opinion as fact. Just about any tool blog you will see someone saying “well AvE said that…..”.
As you said, often his opinions are worth exactly what he charges for them, and the rest of the time they are worth less than that.
Munklepunk
His brain doesn’t comprehend the difference between mass production and custom made. He thinks every single tool should be hand fitted with the highest quality parts sparing no expense and everyone from the most basic homeowner to the top end Master craftsman should pay for it.
fred
Hand-fitting is fine until you need to replace a part. In our metal fabrication business, we had a customer bring us a problem – looking for a solution. they had purchased hundreds of access plates and flanges from an Asian supplier at a very good price. Each pair of castings (plate and flange) had great fit – but it seemed that the perfect fit was achieved by hand grinding – such that no two plates or flanges were exactly the same. That might have been OK as long as you never mixed up the flange and the mating plate or had to replace either part. We had no inexpensive fix for the problem.
KokoTheTalkingApe
I don’t think that’s true at all. When he critiques a tool, he talks about materials (sintered gears vs forged or machined, glass fiber content in plastic composites, etc.), mold quality (whether it’s been tweaked by hand with a grinder, whether there are through-holes to help the molded-on rubber parts stay secure, etc.), parts quality (trigger switches from Germany vs China), and other considerations which I find pretty fair. For instance, he’s torque-tested box wrenches to destruction. To my knowledge, he has never called for hand-fitting, nor for sparing no expense, nor has he complained about mass production of tools, or cheap but good value tools, even if they don’t have the highest quality parts.
Granted, he’s certainly not the be-all, end-all for tool reviews. For one thing, he rarely tests tools against each other, and he never tests them in real world performance. He doesn’t look at new tools often, and he’s not interested in woodworking tools (like sanders.)
But I’ve learned a lot from watching his videos. He and ToolGuyd are what I consider the two most solid commentors on tool quality.
Lyle
I don’t agree. I mean his style isn’t a one size fits all and he’s certainly not the end all authority, but he is really smart and obviously has a list of knowledge and experience with material science and product manufacturing. Like any other videos or things on the internet, I learn what I can and ignore the stuff that isn’t relevant. He’s spending his money destroying tools and pointing out things so that we don’t have to. I think there are items that I could probably fix myself now after watching his videos.
KokoTheTalkingApe
Yep. His opinion on COVID reflected his training and experience with the subject, which is zero.
Still, I saw him gouge a chunk out of the green rubber inserts in a Wera handle with a screwdriver. That made me take notice, at least.
Munklepunk
I was being a bit hyperbolic. However I have seen enough of his videos where he gets a lower end tool and explains why everything is junk. He doesn’t seem to be able to reason out that cheaper brands like ryobi don’t need the best switches or the best motor. Almost like the idea of a price point misses him. My favorite is when he grabs a tool, breaks it down, tells everyone why it will fail, but it’s a known reliable tool that has been tested for many years.
I still watch him though.
Tim D.
I’m pretty sure AvE rides his tools hard and puts them up wet.
That being said, I fall into the love the shape category for the Weras. I personally do not care for most hard acetate handled drivers and hate the stink of them. I’d rather replace weras every decade than use most hard handled drivers.
I’ve got a set of wooden felos that I haven’t put much use on yet, but they seem pretty comfortable too.
Bort
Ave is a cartoonist gimmicky YouTuber his opinions have no value.
Andrew
I’d alao like to comment on how good Wera bits are, not just the rapidaptor.
I’ve bought a couple of the lent calendars that came with bits, and I make it a point to keep them around when I have work to do with a drill. I have yet to experience the smearing over that other cheaper bits seem to have.
John+E
I think you mean advent, though I’d be really happy if they made a lent one as well. 40 doors to open!
Joellikestools
I too mix up the two purple seasons.
Andrew
Haha, you’re right, for some reason my mind went to lent.
40 days would be most excellent, and I give them the the rights to run with that idea, lol
John+E
Make sure they cut you a royalty check. ; )
Lyle
The Wera bits are ok. The only problem that I have with them and with many others is that they do show surface corrosion after a while. I’ve struggled with finding bits that don’t corrode like this. I bought a bunch of different brands from KC Tool once just to compare. I live in Hawaii so I’m sure the humidity has something to do with it. For a long time I preferred the chrome plated Milwaukee bits that come with their 11 in 1 screwdriver. However, they aren’t very good, the tips wear out rather quickly and they aren’t made with the same tolerances as many of the German tools. A few months ago I picked up a Makita bit set and so far I’ve been pretty happy with the fit and finish on those bits. We’ll see how they hold up over time. If anyone else has any suggestions I’d love to hear it.
Stuart
If surface corrosion is a functional issue for you, stainless steel is usually the recommended way to go.
Andrew
I have seen light rust on some of mine, but it’s on the surface and hasn’t seemed to affect the performance yet. I’m not on the islands, but we do have humid summers where I live, and cold falls/winters that can have condensation, and some of my friends chrome tools have rusted just sitting in the garage.
fred
Palmac has become one of the places (along with KCTool and Amazon) that I look to for Wera items – good prices – but need to spend $199 for free shipping. They had offered a 10% off deal at Columbus Day – and expect to see some other deals in the run up to Christmas. They sell this item for $11.52 but shipping almost double the price unless you buy more.
https://palmac.net/wera-889-4-1-k-rapidaptor-universal-bit-holder-with-magnet-05052502001/
Ball_bearing
The only product with a rapidaptor that I own is the 813r ESD. I like it l, but it has a tiny bit of play with E6 type bits (up down wiggling, I dont mind side to side wobble). In the descriptions it seems like the non ESD handles, and the universal rapidaptor adapters have a magnet inside (not the ones with the magnet on the rim). That would prevent any play with E6/powerbits due to the combination of ballbearing, and magnet retention (except for the tiny ammount of wobble caused due to the way the rapidaptor itself is constructed as a kind of floating sleeve).
Is that correct?
Stuart
I checked a couple of tools. The 813R ESD has very little play with power bits. But, there is a little more play between the bit holder and the handle compared to larger Rapidaptor-equipped screwdrivers, and this likely exaggerates the wobble a bit.
I don’t think a magnet would do much to prevent this. The wobble between the 813R ESD’s bit chuck and its handle is much greater than the small amount of wobble of a power bit in the chuck.
Ball_bearing
After reading this, I tried with a Dewalt power bit instead of the generic one, and there is almost no vertical/inline movement. It was the bit I was using that caused the inline movement, not the rapidaptor itself.
Thank you, Sir.
Stacey Jones
The amazon ad for this mentions it works with power bits and even shows a picture of a drill/driver. Very misleading!
Stuart
How is that misleading?
It does fit power bits, and can be chucked in a typical cordless drill/driver.
It shouldn’t be used with impact drivers.
Stacey Jones
Oh I guess the picture is a drill, now that I look closer, but all it says is “Hand & Machine”. I guess I just assumed if it’d work in a drill, it would work in an impact driver too, but I could see how that might not be the case.
Stuart
Ah, I could see that.
Stacey Jones
Not sure what this even means “1/4″ hexagonal, suitable for power nutdrivers with take-up as per DIN ISO 1173-F 6.3.”
blocky
I have several rapidapters, but the bit holder I use the most by far is this functionally identical one from milwaukee:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-SHOCKWAVE-Impact-Duty-6-in-Magnetic-Locking-Bit-Holder-48-32-4532/301809008
The 6″ version allows me to get easily into corners and even hold a tape measure immediately next to my fastener, if I’m setting something at a precise standoff. It’s my most grabbed bit holder and since it’s about the size of a pencil, it never falls sideways into the bottom of a tool pocket.
Like the Rapidapter, the locking collar makes it ace with 1″ bits, and it magnetizes just enough for my general use. Once in a while, I stack this with a 4″ kraftform kompakt rapidapter for extra reach, and the locking function gives a much better experience than chaining bitholders that only have a spring clip or a magnet.
Bort
I bought a similar Bosch adapter for 1/3rd of the price little bit smaller, works great, has held up in my impact driver for a couple years. I have some Wera screwdrivers that I like just fine but their tools are overpriced and over hyped.
Joel
I finally found the fastcap taper lock, and couldn’t be happier with it. I use it with everything from hand drivers to impact drivers. It can hold ANY bit, even the ones with no notch to grab onto.
https://www.fastcap.com/product/taper-lock
JML
I think the Wiha Centrofix powerbit holder is the best one made: https://www.wihatools.com/products/centrofix-1-4-inch-quick-release-bit-holder
I have all the Wera adapter variations (except for impact-rated ones) on their handles and for use with drill/drivers. The Wiha holder has absolutely no runout or play when a powerbit is inserted, unlike the Wera. And I did get the Fastcap taper-lock, thanks to this thread, to try out. Wiha also makes a holder for the 1/4″ bits, which works well.