I am redoing my kitchen with new cabinets and as a result, was putting in a lot of screws. Some I could access with my drill driver, others were not easily accessed or were too small to work safely with the drill. My hands were getting a bit achy and so I was looking for something better.
My favorite handle pattern has been from Craftsman screwdrivers. They have two features that I like:
- It has a narrow waist toward the front. The waist in the front is nice for spinning with your thumb and pointer finger when you don’t have much resistance and want to go fast.
- It has a smooth ball on the end, which I hold with my pinky loosely as I turn and readjust my grip as I am turning it. The pinky grip allows for fast use without fumbling during the driving. Since the ball is smooth, you can put your palm against it for extra pressure.
There are two drawbacks to these handles though.
- The handles are made of Cellulose Acetate Butyrate which is strong and long lasting, but under heat and moisture, degrades and gives off butyric acid, which smells like vomit. Than handles stink and make my toolbox stink too.
- The handles are just a bit too small in diameter. Which means you have to grip tighter than necessary to turn them.
I have a large Master Mechanic screwdriver that has a bigger diameter handle is scaled up in size to nearly perfect, but the ball section at the back is fluted like the handle, which makes it bumpy for the pinky spinner trick, and is more painful to the palm when pushing hard against it.
I saw an add for MegaPro screwdrivers and decided to give one a try. I bought the MegaPro 8-in-1 driver because it uses the same 2″ bits that I use in my drill, but will also use the shorter bits. The bits store in the handle with an ingenious spinner pop-out.
Why do I love this driver so much? Let me count the ways:
- The handle is bigger in diameter. I can grab it and easily generate the torque I need, without having to use a deathgrip. It has some bumps for grip, but is not fluted or knurled so it does not chew up my hand. Some MegaPro drivers have rubber overmold. I chose one that didn’t, because in the FL heat, some rubber overmold stuff breaks down, so I tend to avoid it on principle. At nearly double the diameter, it translates directly to double the torque.
- The cap that hold the bits, spins freely. I wrap my pinky around it, and I can use my other fingers to grip and and release. It actually turns my hand into a ratchet system. The benefit is that I don’t have to mess with changing ratchet directions. My hand always knows the direction I want to go. This works incredibly well. Faster than a ratcheting driver and no ratcheting noises either.
- The cap is large and rounded so when you need to use two hands to really apply some major torque, one hand can push on the spinning cap while the other does the turning.
- The bits are secure and quiet. No rattles and they are easy to access.
- Toward the front of the handle there is a waist to you can turn it with your fingers for faster rotations when there is no load.
- There is a free spinning ring just in front of the waist, for holding with your fingers of one hand while driving with the other. It leads to more stability.
- This particular model, (the 8-in-1) Comes with standard 2″ bits. It can use the shorter bits as well as the longer 2″ bits. Most of the other MegaPro models use double ended bits with a ball detent. Sure that makes it 15-in-1…so more options in the handle, but it makes them a harder to find and more expensive to replace. The 8-in-1 is also their least expensive model.
- Made in USA (or Canada depending on the model).
- Lifetime Guarantee
I am not being paid for this review, nor was I gifted anything. I paid full price for this screwdriver and I would do it again. I have 20 other screwdrivers in my shop, but I never reach for them anymore. I reach for this one every single time.
I like the 8-in-1 but there are lots of other MegaPro screwdriver options to choose from.
Here is a nice video tour of the factory and assembly process.