ltt screwdriver LTT Screwdriver - Construction trade ready but a little out of its element

[CuriousBread]

I'm a construction electrician and I have been field testing the LTT screwdriver for about 2 weeks now. TL;dr version is - LTT screwdriver is ready for the construction trade however there are caveats. 

• Appearance and "street cred": On first look, my coworkers and my foreman thought it looked like "bob the builder tools" and I don't blame them. In the traditionally macho mucho field of construction full of BULGING ribbed tools, PULSATING and ENGORGED with testosterone, the LTT screwdriver is decidedly understated, no big labels, no big ribbed edges, no big rubber paddings. It's a screwdriver. There are pros and cons. The pros are no one is going to be stealing your screwdriver because very few people know what it is. Cons, if you're putting up a "professional theatre" where you have all the pro tools to make yourself appear more competent than you are, the LTT screwdriver won't be landing you much street cred compared to the likes of Wera and Knipex. 
• Ratcheting mechanism: This is the part where the LTT screwdriver REALLY shines and make all the people making fun of the way it looks shut up. You hand people the screwdriver and they start using it, they shut up immediately lol. It is BUTTERY smooth, low back drag, very little slop, with very satisfying ratchety clicky hand feels. 
• Durability: It's been dropped from anywhere between 16ft to 12ft multiple times onto concrete. No damage. Bit stays in the shaft. We do have a few bits become loose inside the bitholder but at 16ft drop, the plastic body held up well save for a few dings and nicks. 
• Bits selection: The standard bit selection shows what the LTT screwdriver was meant for. It was meant for tech-work, which means the bit sizes are Veeeeryyy small, for tinyteeny hexes and philips. Not a ding against the LTT screwdriver, just shows what it was originally intended for. For construction work, you're going to have to put your own big bits in. 
• Room for refinement for a "heavy duty" LTT screwdriver: If LTT were to release a HEAVY DUTY version of the screwdriver for construction trades, it really only need a few small changes. The thing about how tradies use screwdriver is, they use the end of the screwdriver as a hammer to bash things into place. (see the end of my other screwdrivers) Now while the LTT bit-holder end-cap is strong, it is still only made of plastic and I wouldn't dream of bashing the end against anything. To make it heavy duty, an upgraded metal end-cap with the shaft of the bitholder reinforced for impact load would be ideal. Shorty bits, while it lets the screwdriver hold more bits, when you are wearing gloves the tiny teeny bits becomes a bit difficult to get out, for the heavy duty version, normal sized bits would probably be more appropriate for glove use. 
•  

 

All in all. I rate the LTT screwdriver an 8.5/10 for construction use. It has a very nice ratecheting mechanism and is great to hold. The smooth assembly doesn't bother me much since most self-respecting tradie should be wearing gloves in the year of WorkSafeBC 2024. So as long as you remember this is not meant for heavy duty use and don't use it to pry things or hammer things, the LTT screwdriver would do you well in the construction trade. 

[BiotechBen]

26 minutes ago, CuriousBread said:

I'm a construction electrician and I have been field testing the LTT screwdriver for about 2 weeks now. TL;dr version is - LTT screwdriver is ready for the construction trade however there are caveats. 

• Appearance and "street cred": On first look, my coworkers and my foreman thought it looked like "bob the builder tools" and I don't blame them. In the traditionally macho mucho field of construction full of BULGING ribbed tools, PULSATING and ENGORGED with testosterone, the LTT screwdriver is decidedly understated, no big labels, no big ribbed edges, no big rubber paddings. It's a screwdriver. There are pros and cons. The pros are no one is going to be stealing your screwdriver because very few people know what it is. Cons, if you're putting up a "professional theatre" where you have all the pro tools to make yourself appear more competent than you are, the LTT screwdriver won't be landing you much street cred compared to the likes of Wera and Knipex. 
• Ratcheting mechanism: This is the part where the LTT screwdriver REALLY shines and make all the people making fun of the way it looks shut up. You hand people the screwdriver and they start using it, they shut up immediately lol. It is BUTTERY smooth, low back drag, very little slop, with very satisfying ratchety clicky hand feels. 
• Durability: It's been dropped from anywhere between 16ft to 12ft multiple times onto concrete. No damage. Bit stays in the shaft. We do have a few bits become loose inside the bitholder but at 16ft drop, the plastic body held up well save for a few dings and nicks. 
• Bits selection: The standard bit selection shows what the LTT screwdriver was meant for. It was meant for tech-work, which means the bit sizes are Veeeeryyy small, for tinyteeny hexes and philips. Not a ding against the LTT screwdriver, just shows what it was originally intended for. For construction work, you're going to have to put your own big bits in. 
• Room for refinement for a "heavy duty" LTT screwdriver: If LTT were to release a HEAVY DUTY version of the screwdriver for construction trades, it really only need a few small changes. The thing about how tradies use screwdriver is, they use the end of the screwdriver as a hammer to bash things into place. (see the end of my other screwdrivers) Now while the LTT bit-holder end-cap is strong, it is still only made of plastic and I wouldn't dream of bashing the end against anything. To make it heavy duty, an upgraded metal end-cap with the shaft of the bitholder reinforced for impact load would be ideal. Shorty bits, while it lets the screwdriver hold more bits, when you are wearing gloves the tiny teeny bits becomes a bit difficult to get out, for the heavy duty version, normal sized bits would probably be more appropriate for glove use. 
•  

 

All in all. I rate the LTT screwdriver an 8.5/10 for construction use. It has a very nice ratecheting mechanism and is great to hold. The smooth assembly doesn't bother me much since most self-respecting tradie should be wearing gloves in the year of WorkSafeBC 2024. So as long as you remember this is not meant for heavy duty use and don't use it to pry things or hammer things, the LTT screwdriver would do you well in the construction trade. 

My uncle is a small contractor and I mentioned it to him, showing him the pros and cons of it, and the deal reamer over his favorite Klein Tools electrical work driver was that LTT didn't have a built in wire curler for outlets. Liked the hand feel, liked how smooth the ratchet was (doesn't like ratcheting drivers) and liked the strong magnets in it. 

[CuriousBread]

16 hours ago, BiotechBen said:

My uncle is a small contractor and I mentioned it to him, showing him the pros and cons of it, and the deal reamer over his favorite Klein Tools electrical work driver was that LTT didn't have a built in wire curler for outlets. Liked the hand feel, liked how smooth the ratchet was (doesn't like ratcheting drivers) and liked the strong magnets in it. 

LTT has the bones to make an excellent trades oriented screwdriver. As it stands it's more a generalist. I do like the strong magnets a lot, my Picquic just lose bits left and right as they get stuck on the Robbie screws. Rarely happens with the LTT. 

[FrozenIpaq]

Never use a ratcheting screwdriver as a hammer, regardless of how durable the end cap is. The issue isn't the durability of the end cap or butt of the screwdriver, but the impact on the ratcheting mechanism will cause it to break. I've actually learned this the hard way thinking an old screwdriver (ratcheting) could take it - I completely broke the mechanism from the impacts using it as a make-shift hammer (it wasn't even that hard). That goes for all ratcheting screwdrivers - hindsight is 20/20 but just wanted to mention that changing up the cap won't change that fact.

[NadiaMayer]

How do you feel about the electrical certification for high volage isn't that a electrical requirement I forget the limits as I don't think it 1000 volt rated

[ToboRobot]

14 hours ago, FrozenIpaq said:

Never use a ratcheting screwdriver as a hammer, regardless of how durable the end cap is. The issue isn't the durability of the end cap or but of the screwdriver but the impact on the ratcheting mechanism will cause it to break. I've actually learned this the hardware thinking an old screwdriver (ratcheting) could take it - I completely broke the mechanism from the impacts using it as a make-shift hammer. That goes for all ratcheting screwdrivers - hindsight is 20/20 but just wanted to mention that changing up the cap won't change that fact.

Yeah.  There is no point in making the screwdriver stronger for bashing it with a hammer, there are other tools for that.

The right tool for the job, means the tool isn't designed and modified to do everything, it has a specific focus.

LTT screwdriver is a great addition to many tradepeoples tool box or belt, but stop thinking it is a replacement for everything.

[CuriousBread]

On 2/18/2024 at 4:01 AM, NadiaMayer said:

How do you feel about the electrical certification for high volage isn't that a electrical requirement I forget the limits as I don't think it 1000 volt rated

Depends on the work. There's a no hot work policy in my company so voltage ratings are not necessary. 

[FlyingPotato_is_taken]

@CuriousBread There are accidents: Larger building (under construction) and they did the rooms/apartments. Somebody mixed up the labelling for the apartment and they wanted to test a section/apartment that was completed. 

Result? Due to the mislabel another work area/apartment was turned hot and electrical shocked the work crew there. The court case verdict was controversial but that's a different discussion.

[manikyath]

On 2/15/2024 at 4:11 AM, CuriousBread said:

they use the end of the screwdriver as a hammer to bash things into place.

at my place of work all the cordless drill batteries are dinged up, because we use our drills as hammers the same way...

 

you're truly a professional when everything is a hammer.

[Kid.Lazer]

1 hour ago, manikyath said:

you're truly a professional when everything is a hammer.

I was always taught "A ratchet isn't a hammer." Based on the appearance of my ratchets, I wasn't a good listener...

 

[zman11516]

a all metal one is coming

 

[Agall]

On 2/17/2024 at 2:34 PM, FrozenIpaq said:

Never use a ratcheting screwdriver as a hammer, regardless of how durable the end cap is. The issue isn't the durability of the end cap or but of the screwdriver but the impact on the ratcheting mechanism will cause it to break. I've actually learned this the hardware thinking an old screwdriver (ratcheting) could take it - I completely broke the mechanism from the impacts using it as a make-shift hammer. That goes for all ratcheting screwdrivers - hindsight is 20/20 but just wanted to mention that changing up the cap won't change that fact.

Ratcheting mechanism and the magnet in the tip are both reasons to not hammer on a screwdriver like this. Its very easy to break the magnetic in the tip on top of the ratcheting mechanism.