Hammerhead Bits – Impact and Screw Driving Kits Review

Understanding how impact rated bits work is the key to knowing whether you should buy them or not. Then, understanding what makes a good bit kit is the next step in making an informed purchase. The Hammerhead brand has been out for a few years, but the company is seeing some new life recently with the introduction of some new tools and accessories that have, so far, impressed us as being well thought-out and innovative. This week I wanted to see if their new Hammerhead Bits—which are available in a new 30-piece Impact Bit Kit (HAIB30-2) and a 50-piece Screw Driving Bit Kit (HASB50) are Pro-worthy.

Hammerhead Bits Features – Bit Grip

If we’re talking about the Bit Grip series (and we are), then it’s important to note that the claim to fame here is the very simple, but effective, Bit Grip magnetic collar. It works on any 2″ bit—not just those from Hammerhead (score one for flexibility and cross-platform love). The Bit Grip system lets you truly perform one-handed fastening. I don’t know about you, but I get real tired of dropping screws and fasteners on the ground when I’m trying to accomplish simple fastening tasks with my impact driver.

Bit Grip Magnetic Bit Retention

The Bit Grip eliminates this by using a magnetic collar with a more expensive rare earth magnet that has a holding force 4x stronger than insert bit holders using standard magnets. Because the kit includes a standard 1/4″ hex extender that works with 1″ bits, I found that swapping out bits with the magnetic Bit Grip collar was both simple, quick, and intuitive. You simply unscrew the back of the collar, feed the extender and bit through, and then rescue the rear of the collar into place. This keeps everything together and allows the spring-assisted magnet to function properly.

The Hammerhead impact bits feature bi-metal construction and an impact-absorbing design. Hammerhead claims their impact bits last 15 times longer than regular bits and twice as long as standard impact bits. Those claims are difficult to measure, and so we tend to simply do our own testing and compare against how other impact bits perform (more on that below).

Hammerhead 30-piece Impact Bit Kit HAIB30-2

• 28 impact bits
• Magnetic Bit Grip collar
• Magnetic insert bit holder
• Plastic case

Included Bits:

2″ Bits:

• 2 x PH2
• 2 x SQ2

1″ Bits:

• PH1
• 6 x PH2
• PR2 drywall
• PH3
• SQ1
• 2 x SQ2
• SQ3
• T15
• 2 x T20
• 2 x T25
• 2 x T27
• T30
• SL4-5
• 2 x SL6-8

Hammerhead 50-piece Screw Driving Bit Kit HASB50

• 48 screw driving bits
• Magnetic Bit Grip collar
• Magnetic insert bit holder
• Plastic case

Included Bits:

2″ Bits:

• PH1
• 3 x PH2
• PH3
• SQ1
• 2 x SQ2
• SQ3
• T10
• T15
• T20
• T25
• T27
• T30
• SL4-5
• SL6-8
• SL8-10

1″ Bits:

• PH1
• 6 x PH2
• 2 x PH3
• 2 x SQ1
• 2 x SQ2
• 2 x SQ3
• T10
• T15
• T20
• T25
• T27
• T30
• Hex 3/32″
• Hex 1/8″
• Hex 9/64″
• Hex 5/32″
• Hex 3/16″
• Hex 7/32″
• SL4-5
• SL6-8
• SL8-10

Hammerhead Impact Bits 30-pc Kit Field Testing

We tested the new Hammerhead bits by driving self-tapping #10 x 5/8″ screws into a combination of steel flashing and angle iron left over from a recent storage construction project in our steel building. The power tool used was the multi-speed Milwaukee M18 FUEL impact driver (though we also did some testing with an impact driver from the new Ridgid Gen5X tool kit). We did all of our testing in high-speed/high-torque mode. The idea was to quickly fasten a series of self-tapping screws into the steel until they stopped. Repeating this process over and over revealed the differences between standard bits and impact-rated bits very quickly. It simulated what happens when you’re attempting to drive a series of fasteners into steel quickly—not uncommon in the field, though you may use the medium setting to avoid the extreme stress we were putting on our bits.

In our testing, the Hammerhead impact-rated bits outperformed our standard #2 Phillips DeWalt bits by a factor of 5:2. That meant  that our average was being able to drive 5 screws with a Hammerhead #2 Phillips bit before the bit cammed-out on the 6th screw. With our reference DeWalt #2 Phillips bit, we broke the tips off, almost like clockwork, on the second screw. This reinforces the advantages and function of impact-ready bits: because they are made with a greater ability to handle portion, they will fail via cam-out as opposed to tip breakage. Standard bits are harder and will therefore show less cam-out, but they are more brittle and will break at a much faster rate.

With all of this said, we’d recommend using the medium setting, or even the low setting on your impact driver for the most effective results. This will keep you from shearing screws as quickly as we did here and give you longer life on these impact-rated bits.

Editor’s Note: As a general rule, you don’t want to use an impact driver when fastening steel roofing or siding self-tapping fasteners which feature mushrooming rubber grommets to seal the fastener against the material. Doing so will invariably allow you to more easily overdrive the fastener, causing a point of failure. Impact drivers are perfect for when you need to drive a self-tapping screw, in a metal-to-metal application, until it stops.

Hammerhead Bits Case Drop Test

Another indicator of a well-designed bit case is the ability to hold onto bits when the case gets tossed around. To simulate this, we tossed the loaded bit cases into a open-top tool bag from a distance of 15″. We weren’t throwing it like a Major League pitcher, mind you, just tossing it so that it experienced a sudden stop and perhaps a ricochet off the side of a bag or hand tool. A good bit case will retain bits when it gets jostled around. Our reference DeWalt bit case, for example holds onto bits like a starving man would hold a Big Mac…the problem is, those cases are equally difficult to get the bits in and out of—and that’s no good either. The Hammerhead cases are a good mix. With the 50-piece bit case we found that about 10% of the bits popped out when we tossed them into our tool case. That may seem like a lot, but the bits are very simple to push into place—so simple, in fact, that we were surprised more didn’t pop out with our “roughing the case” tests. The 30-piece Hammerhead Impact bit case actually saw none of its bits pop out during our tests. Overall, I like these cases and appreciate them over some of the more “overly protective” models on the market (I can do with some loose bits from time to time).

During some more extreme testing, the cases also didn’t sustain any damage when dropped onto concrete from 3 feet in the air. They took the hits well. The bits inside suffered a lot more jostling, and a majority came loose, but they were still contained within the case and very easy to access and replace.

Conclusion

Obviously we spend a lot more time testing the impact-rated bits over the conventional ones, but both performed admirably. I don’t doubt Hammerhead’s claim of 15x longer life on its impact bits, we simply didn’t test using identical methods. In our testing, the bits were at least 2.5x better than our reference bits—and that was an extreme test. Overall, I found the Hammerhead 30-piece and 50-piece bit kits to be convenient, well-designed, and durable. I love the magnetic bit collar of the Bit Grip system which is available on both kits. It’s convenient, it works, and it has a ton of holding power that will have you wanting to put one on all of your cordless drivers (I did).

These bit kits are being sold from May 15-June 3rd exclusively at Lowe’s. The 30-piece impact-rated bit kit is priced at just $19.98 and the 50-piece standard bit kit is on sale for $17.98.