Historically, impact wrenches were predominantly pneumatic, or air powered, which left them squarely in the domain of professional mechanics. The expense of an air compressor putting out a large volume of air at close to 100 PSI is usually needed to run a typical ½-inch pneumatic impact wrench, can be a significant investment.

Cordless, battery powered impact wrenches have gotten better as battery technology improves, have brought prices down, and made them a viable alternative to their pneumatic cousins. In fact, cordless impact wrenches have a tremendous advantage over pneumatic versions: mobility. Not being tied to a compressor with an air hose, these tools can easily go to wherever they’re needed.

We called in five impact wrenches to update this test, from a heavy-duty, high-torque model, down to a compact, medium-duty model. We subjected all five to the same challenges, and identified the strong points of each. Five of the impact wrenches tested originally are still exceptional tools, and still available. You can find them lower on the page.