ToolGuyd: The Kobalt Double Drive screwdriver (previewed and reviewed here a year ago) features unique gearing that greatly speeds up fastener driving applications. For the 2012 winter holiday shopping season, Kobalt has come out with a new 32-piece Double Drive screwdriver set, discussed below, as well as an innovative Double Drive ratchet set.
6 comments:
The double drive screwdriver seems a neat concept, & i agree that it would be nice to not have to turn the entire screwdriver 360 degrees over and over and the stationary base is pretty cool too, but as nifty as the whole concept is it kind of makes me roll my eyes. Screwdrivers are one of the most simple, effective, and straightforward tools out there besides maybe the hammer and I don't think it really needs "improvements." Its that whole "if it ain't broke don't fix it" thing. and speaking of breaking this double drive seems like it has much higher potential to break than your good old fashion normal screwdriver does. While I applaud Kobalt for trying to be innovative, it just doesn't seem worth it to me.
I'm curious if the Double Drive Screwdriver "shifts" into a higher torque, low-speed drive instead of a high speed, low-torque drive that the article refers to. Although I see the appeal of a screwdriver that can get you through the initial easy turns of installing a fastener, I'd be more interested in being able to switch down the gearing when needed to get a little more power out of each rotation of the handle.
I have used a similar screw driver to these, and I can say that under low-pressure situations, they are great. The screws go in faster and more effectively, except, as Will mentioned above, they are fairly low torque. And, of course, they usually feel a little fragile in the hand, as if too much pressure on it will break the mechanism. I still think that a powered screw driver is still your best bet
I'm a big fan of ratcheting screwdrivers, especially when your'e doing a lot of work on electronics and cable or tools and machinery especially. However, I'm not sold on the design and function of the Kobalt Double Drive yet. I'd say the biggest advantage this set has is the precision driver, combined with the spinning base it seems that it would be much more useful than its larger counterpart.
The double drive screwdriver sounds very nice and I would consider buying it if I was in the market for some new tools. The features like interchangeable tips and easy of use make it very appealing. At the same time I think that although the tool is cool the overall trend that I see this tool as part of is not as good. Tools get more and more complex ever year with more bits and bobs that make them just that little bit fancyer. But the cost, both monetarily and with the learning curve, stops being worth the diminishing returns at some point. I can understand that people who use their tools everyday for their job may feel that they need the best possible tool so that they can do the best possible job, but I think that the quality of the job is far more dependent on how well the user understands the tool then the complexity of the tool. So as cool as the Kobalt 32c is I don't know if I'm a fan.
I'm a fan of any new, cool tool that is more efficient than a previous tool. Especially an innovation on something as simple and old as a screwdriver. If there is room for improvement on screwdrivers and toilet paper (yes, they recently improved toilet paper design), there is always the potential to improve on almost anything. And that excites me.
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