Stratovarious
July 17, 2025
Edit 7 22 24The yellow bumper/grippers still fall off much tooeasily, but I used a pair of these for a couple hours today,holding down a 3/4'' 12x18'' board to be sanded,I noticed that if I use both hands and reallymanhandle the clamps, they held the board well.I guess I was afraid to ruin them before by puttinga lot of pressure on them, maybe they can handlemuch more than I had thought.Recommendation; When I release the clamps,I first squeeze them with medium force totake pressure off of the ratchet-release mechanism,I think that might make them last longer.Edit; 4 28 24There are some nice features, that I listed in the originalreview, however there are issues that would prevent mefrom buying these again (2);The yellow pads FALL-OFF so often that I keep themin a parts drawer, and without them the clamps don'teven fully close. When the pads are attached theystill don't clamp things like a 'real' set of clamps,no matter how hard I clamp them, they will putjust a very slight amount of pressure on whateverit is that I clamp.Original review;So, yes, I have to agree with others, these are not all that strong, inother words, if I clamp something really hard, I can still pull it free withsome effort. However for what my usage is, they will be fine, they look goodtoo, that accounts for something. For the price, (almost a give away price),they are winners in my book. Don't expect to squeeze blood out of a rockwith these, but they will hold things together fairly well.Full Open dimension JAW TO JAW approx 3 13/16 , first click approx 3 3/4(96mm and 95mm for the Brits)Jaw to throat distance (center) 3 3/16'' (81mm) full closed.Tool length 9 7/8'' (25cm)Tool Width (widest point closed) 5 3/16'' (13cm)The soft, robust, rubber jaw-pads are removable, which will be auseful feature for what I need them for.Great value, again considering my intended usage, I can't ding thesea star, I had a clue or idea of what they would be like when I purchased them.
DMB
February 25, 2025
These light duty clamps are great as a "third hand" for holding parts in alignment for subsequent final clamping with say screw type clamps. Overall the handi-grip is light and operates easily with one hand, smoothly loading and locking thanks to a fine pitch ratchet mechanism.Even though the handi-clamp frame members are all plastic the tool is ruggedly built and surprisingly rigid. However, the fine teeth on the metal ratchet mechanism can be overloaded if the average guy uses his full grip strength to achieve "extreme" gripping (clamping compression) loads. As well, if this is done there will be little clearance for your fingers to trip the ratchet unlatching lever between the tool's hand grips (i.e. a screw driver blade may be needed to trip the locking lever to unload the clamp).As an example In woodworking these Irwin handi-clamps will generally NOT develop the force needed on a caul to properly compress larger glue joints. In sum, don't expect that these light plastic handi-grips to be "Vise-Grip" or C-clamp substitutes -- they are not in that league. Again, this is a light tool to be used with one hand for quickly setting initial part alignment. Depending on your application, additional clamping tools may be required to assure satisfactory final clamping loads.
Ryan
November 27, 2024
I needed something to hold my Mazda's window in place while I replaced the power window lift motor, and this tool worked perfectly for the task. It's surprisingly light-weight, which I was initially worried about but came to appreciate, as it's very easy to manipulate. This was my first IRWIN tool but certainly won't be my last!