Astro Pneumatic Tool 1822 ONYX 1/2" Nano Impact Wrench v2 - 500ft/lb

I've stopped using an air ratchet completely, and this replaces many of my regular ratchet jobs (for loosening, mostly). This thing is amazingly small, and I think probably makes as much or slightly more power than advertised - when properly oiled. I thought Astro Pneumatic was one of those cheap-o generic names, but no way; this is *awesome*, especially for the price. And it's amazingly small. I bought it specifically to use with some bolt extractors on a rusty exhaust manifold in a tight space, but I've found that the light weight and small size makes it useful for lots of things. I picked up some impact wobble extensions from Harbor Freight (even HF can't screw up an extension) as well as several sets of the Astro low-profile sockets and the Gear Wrench x-drive pinless universal joint, and this thing is getting used everywhere.I specifically like the lever-style torque settings on the back; they make a real difference, unlike some impact guns where they should have one useful setting and several labeled as useless. I run on lug nuts with the thing set on 2 (out of 3) to keep the speed down a bit, and after just a couple of hammers, they end up just snug enough (60-ish ft-lbs) that I can set the car down and use a torque wrench the rest of the way. The light weight is great; I have a magnesium Snap-On 1/2" drive impact, and while it'll either remove or break off anything I'm gonna encounter on regular automobiles, it does get a bit heavy when you're upside-down twisted around a driveshaft with dirt falling in your face. This thing, in combination with a Flexilla high-flow swivel coupler (you *need* high-flow fittings for an impact gun, and that swivel is easily the best-flowing one anyone makes) can get into a tight space and not make you feel like your arm is going to fall off. I replaced an alternator bracket oil gasket on my BMW N62 recently (which is about a 12 hour job), and used this for pretty much the whole job. It saved a ton of time and effort compared to trying to use ratchets, snaked around all the stuff jam-packed into an E60 engine compartment.As some others have mentioned, it's a tad loud, I guess, but the big Snap-On is far louder. Really, I consider this gun average for an impact gun. The noise is not as annoying as my air ratchet, which, as mentioned, I no longer use.It's also really well made. The picture makes it look like maybe plastic, but it's a textured finish on a metal case. The trigger feels good, the balance is good, the "shiny part" looks sort of like nickel or black chrome and is well machined, and overall you can tell that it's well-made by people who give a damn about their product. I've banged it around a little in the weeks I've been using it, and while there are a couple of little scratches, it's held up well. I've also sold a few friends on this thing, because I can't stop talking about how much I like it. :D I would've been happy if I'd paid $250 for the thing; the fact that it typically has a 2-digit price is just amazing to me.Buy one. You won't be sorry.

Very good. Powerful, small, seems well made.I don’t know about 450 ft-lb, but rating an impact tool that way isn’t so great. It is, unfortunately, all we have to compare with, though. Elsewhere in these reviews is a complaint about its performance on loosening head bolts. I believe the review, but take a look at torque limiting extensions.. they are long, and torsionally springy, just like head bolts. When you apply an impact to something that deflects, the impact is lessened. Remember elon musk throwing the ball bearing at the cybertruck window? Oops, neither the window nor the bearing deflected much. The force exceeded what the window could withstand. If he had thrown it at the softer tire, the deceleration and force would be less, nothing would have broken. Same as throwing it at a pillow, but that doesn’t mean the pillow is stronger than the window, or that it wasn’t thrown hard. Same with the head bolt, the longish bolt would twist, only right at the moment the rotating hammer applies the torque, where a short rigid lug nut would come off. Try using any impact wrench with a long extension, it just doesn’t work as well. I notice sometimes that even a deep socket lessens applied torque vs a shallow one.Anyway, I really like this little gun, and was surprised by its power, whatever number is assigned to it. The reversing/power lever and trigger have a nice feel, also.I do think that when the applied torque varies a lot depending on the rigidity of the fastener, socket, and extension (if any), rating the power in ft-lbs is a poor way to do it. Thats what everyone does, though, so hopefully it gives some info for comparison. Maybe energy per blow when stalled?...I Don’t know.... probably true that this won’t loosen something torqued to 450 ft-lb. I’m tempted to call it a lie, but astro is just conforming to a not so appropriate unit. It is quite powerful for a little 3/8 drive gun. (Ft-lb torque and ft-lb energy are not the same, despite the unfortunate apparent sharing of units...one involves motion, the other is using the ‘ft’ only to describe lever dimensions.)