Adjustable wrenches tested

You will not get far doing car DIY without a decent set of spanners, but inevitably there comes a time when you don’t have the right size – which is where an adjustable wrench becomes a workshop essential.

With one of these jack-of-all-trades in your toolbox, you can hold nuts while spinning off bolts with a spanner or tackle large sizes beyond your wrench set.

But which is the super sub for your kit? We tried 10 star turns to find out..

The test

Comfort is key here, as these tools can tackle large nuts and bolts and lots of force will be required. We tightened a 19mm nut to 30Nm, 35Nm and 40 Nm and tried to free it with our wrenches.

We checked how much force could be applied, comfort, plus other factors such as jaw width, size markings and build quality.

The final criteria we looked at was price.

Verdict

The test was a very close run affair,with one of the six-inch wrenches just pipping an eight-incher for the top spot.

AmPro’s Stubby T39841 beat the Clarke PRO 115 to take our Best Buy award, despite its size disadvantage.

A soft grip, jaw opening of 27mm and easy-to-read scale meant it knocked the PRO 115 off its perch.

If we could do without a soft handle, we’d pick the Irega, with minimal play in its jaw. Although it’s the most expensive on test, it took third.

* 1. AmPro Stubby T39841
* 2. Clarke PRO 115
* 3. Irega 99 Series Black

Cotnacts

* Sealey: 01284 757500, www.sealey.co.uk

* AmPro (Euro Car Parts): 0870 150 6506, www.eurocarparts.com

* Rolson (Maplin): 0844 557 6000, www.maplin.co.uk

* Irega (DIY Tools): 0844 880 5646, www.diytools.co.uk

* Clarke International: 01992 565333, www.machinemart.co.uk

* Howard Richard (DIY Tools): 0844 880 5646, www.diytools.co.uk

* Draper: 02380 266355, www.draper.co.uk

* Stanley (B&Q): 0845 609 6688, www.diy.com

* Halfords: 0845 762 6625, www.halfords.com