The Best Budget 1/4 Torque Wrench? 

Agree. Really like your work. Great content and well put together with the necessary caveats at the low end of the scale. Thanks for expanding my knowledge!

Best demo ive ever seen. more power to you

Recently picked up the lexivon one. Liked how it is easy to read. Also big fan of the spreadsheets!

Fantastic breakdown! Well done!

Fantastic video. Thank you so much for taking the time to professionally test these lesser expensive torque wrenches. Not everyone can afford Snap-Off.

thank god I found your channel in time i was about to buy me a torque wrench this month

I have a Tekton TRQ21101 (10-150 in-lb) that I paid $42 four years ago. Current price is $59. It checks within 0.1 Nm on a calibration meter. I already have 3/8 and 1/2-inch torque wrenches and needed a 1/4-inch drive unit that went down to very low torque for fasteners too small for my 3/8 wrench. The padded case is only 2-1/2 x 9-1/2 inches so it is very compact.

really like your work, precise data bundle, it deserves all the hype

Great video, strait to the point and no bs. I appreciate the spreadsheets.

Thank you for the video Friend. I am in the market for a 1/4" torque wrench and your video helps!

Your channel and the TTC have shown me that some of HF tools are a good choice for the DIY. I wished I've seen your videos on the Quinn torque converters before a purchased the Kobalt and Craftsman torque wrenches. Thanks.

Had to Sub...well done😊

Got the Lexivon so far so good!

Awesome video! I needed a good inch-pounds torque wrench to seal up the primary cover on my Harley. The engine is rigid mounted to I have to check the bolts regularly. I'm going with the Tekton personally. Thanks for the data!

Thanks for another excellent test. I have the Pittsburg. Mine isn't nearly as accurate as yours, and the click action makes it very hard to use under a 100 inch pounds as you mentioned.. It's unusable in low low part of its range. I have a Snap-On 40 to 200 inch pound wrench I bought 30 years ago. It's still accurate and has an excellent crisp click. In the low torque ranges you might look at bicycle torque wrenches. Apparently at least some if not most of the carbon fiber bicycles have torque specifications printed right next to the fastener on the bicycle frame. For work on Chainsaws and some parts of an ATV, as well as the carbon fiber frame bicycles, it's really handy to have a torque wrench that's calibrated in Nm. All of the bike wrenches I looked at had Nm as their primary setting scale. I bought a Vibrelli 1/4 inch drive that has a range of 2 to 20 Nm and comes with a set of bits selected for bicycle use. The case has room for a 1/4 - 3/8" adaptor and a T27 Torah bit which is used all over the place on Stihl Chainsaws. Near as I can tell, it's within specification and works very well for low torque applications. There are a lot of Bike Torque wrenches on Amazon and RU-vid but I've not seen anyone do a test of the quality you do. Perhaps some day you might take a look at them?

Seems like made in TW are your better options. Not surprising. Thanks for testing!

Wow what an awesome video

Cool. I ordered the Lexivon just yesterday after having the top bolt come out on my brake caliper. That won't be happening again.

hold your hand on the handle where it breaks and clicks. you can feel the click when it breaks even when you cant hear it.

I just grabbed a pitsburg 1/4 for doing valve cover bolts...I also have the 3/8 and 1/2 versions... one thing in common with all their models is that the clicks are not pronounced, usually soft and in the case of the 1/4 , its almost inaudible at low settings but you can feel the break point....Alot of bad reviews for this brand have come from ham fisted, unaware souls who were wanting a loud click to let them know and instead kept on torquing past the break point till a bolt sheared...as long as they are reasonably accurate, I can forgive them not being loud..LOL they do have a rough feel as far as the rotation and machining finish...adding alittle oil into the handle makes the rotation abit smoother... my other gripe is the scale etching is pretty awful ,making seeing the numbers a real chore... not much you can do about it....one tip for any of the HF tQ wrenches is to pretest them,to make sure the break point Will trigger, Before you start torquing away with trust in it...I do this by setting my calibration, then applying torque on some Other pretightened bolt, just to see and feel for the release point... I have times with these where they were Notgoing to release at all and had I done my real tightening, I'd for sure have stripped the threads awaiting a break point that wasnt coming... sometimes ,something sticks inside these..putting the switch to Loosen and applying torque, then back usually frees them up... adding that little bit of oil to the mechanism probably will help prevent this...Really excellent testing showing actual performance over just cost and appearance..

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for your video Noticed that Precisebuilt is the only brand that is green in all your test results. I'll give Precisebuilt torque wrenches a try.

I’m honestly shocked at how well the Pittsburghs have done in your testing across the board. Not the best but for $12 on sale I’d say pretty damn impressive for something I think most (myself included) would be quick to write off as junk. I wish more companies did what EPAuto, lexivon, and Tekton do by making the numbers readable. You see that even on higher end wrenches, the chromed over cut numbering is a pain to read. Also that’s a good discussion point about technique at the end especially with these lower torque wrenches.

I have a 1/4 drive torque wrench I use on my carbon fiber bicycle. It goes from 3 nm up to about 25 nm. Most of my torques are between 5 and 15. I always set it and then get it “warmed up” by clicking it a few times on another bigger fastener first, before using it on the intended fastener.

I used a Harbor FREIGHT one. Felt it not accurate. You video show that I might have turn the wrench too quickly. Great video😊

The way most of these are made the actual line is very hard to see... and most people just don't set them properly.... so if they do overshoot Out of the 4% range (which isn't very high) could just be user error.. a lot of times You can just back it off a hair and be accurate a hundred percent of the time.... they're not digital so setting these is critical...👍 Nice work....

No luck with Pittsburgh 1/2", 3/8" or 1/4", all broken within a few weeks. I have a Harbor Freight 1/2" digital, very nice the first five years then it stopped working. They don't have it anymore. Maybe just bad luck . I like my 1/2" Kobalt and 3/8" Craftsman, looking for a 1/4". Kobalt only go down to 50 in-lb, maybe a 10-150 in-lb TEKON. I once had a 1/4" analog dial Snap On, that was a sweet torque wrench. First time viewer, nice comprehensive breakdown.

Great video, I was kind of afraid the HB torque was going to be complete garbage but it seems to be great value for the money.

I have a UYECove 3/8 click, would have been nice to see. I returned a $200 digital for the click type because i was standing there playing with it too long.

Awesome TestI'm looking at the Lexivon 1/4" drive Road/Mountain Bike TW kit. I'm wondering how durable the Yellow numbers will be over time?? I like the range 17.7 to 230.1 In/Lbs but the graduations are in 1.8 increments. If it fairs as well in the Testing as the Lexivon TW you have then I should be able to make it work✌😎☮

My Knipex insulated torque wrenches operate in a similar manner and require a lot more feel to be able to use them correctly, very easy to over torque with them. How many of those wrenches have laser etching for the torque settings. They are much better to read than the engraved ones, but I wonder how long they will last?

Surprising results for Pittsburgh tools but good quick buy if your in a pinch and want one for a single job. All their torque wrenches have passed . Crazy considering the price

I had to check my 1/4 Pittsburgh torque wrench- and it is for sure made in China. My 3/4 and 1/2 inch are made in Taiwan. For the dollar, theyre hard to beat.

My Pittsburgh is the same way I have to go by feel to tell when it hits the correct torque, it doesn't have a very audible click.

I know these tests cost you alot and aren't cheap to make but a 3/8s 10-80 or 5-80 ft lbs test would be great I'd like test incrimates be at lowest, middle and highest settings. So we can see if they shine or die at higher lower or middle ranges. Thanks for the content sir.

There's some tool tubers saying the epauto tekton and lexivon ( flat bar style with knurled lock nut) are all they same. Did this seem like the case to you personally?

Unfortunately the printed numbers on Epauto began to fade away after 2 to 3 uses, so the accuracy went off the window since I can't read it anymore

Sold Lexivon is the one I’m getting thanks

Anyone have experience with the EPAuto brand? I'm thinking of getting the 1/4' and 3/8' for engine work but didn't want to spend $$$ for a one time use sort of thing, but also didn't want something that's going to be inaccurate out of the box and end up breaking headbolts or something.

Thank you...... looking for a new wrench to install rod barring while in car.

I'm looking for a torque wrench for my bike under $50. Bonus if it comes with the allen heads. 20-150+ but it's really important for it to be accurate at 20 for the low end stuff. Suggestions?

Pro Bike Tool ( $ 69.00 ) no complaints so far. It comes with the hex sockets.

It is the best quality in the world (Torque Wrench EVT) I have owned seven pieces for 50 years and they have never broken down

How about using the old fashioned torque wrench with the needle and scale as a baseline?

Great review. I have a Harbor Freight and it is not accurate on low setting.

which one do your recommend for a lawn mower? between 30 and 50 lbs?

the Pittsburgh on sale is 9 dollars

Do you have a 1/4 digital comparison?

The wrenches with the printed instead of stamped in # can be scratched off or unreadable as they get banged up and removed

How do the number of teeth come into play?

I think I would automatically avoid any brand that doesn't come with a calibration sheet

The capri have gone up in price more then double now

"Kgcm" means "kilogram centimeters".

1000 cycles, what's that mean? 1000 clicks?

A 1/4 torque wrench is a waste if it doesn't go down to at least 10 lb. Plus I would never see a need to go above 100 lb with something so small -- that is what my 1/2" is for. I would love a short 3/8 that goes down to 10 lb.

No Husky?

I bought a Pittsburgh one, and the damn thing doesn't click.

Sometimes Harbor Freight is the king. Most of the time its not though!