Side by Side Comparison of: Titan vs Tool Aid

Great tool for crimping terminals. Racheting tool ensures proper pressure is applied to the terminal for crimping, releasing only once the crimp is fully formed. Easy grip handles ensure comfort. Only possible issue (probably common to all similar tools) is the head is fairly large, which could make it challenging to use in a confined space.

My new favorite crimping tool. Granted I never minded using the crimping tool on the end of my wire strippers but this is nice that it does the double crimp. I know some of the other crimping tools you can have interchangeable heads but these cannot be removed. For the fact these are much cheaper than the ones with removable heads and the fact I don't really need any other heads on mine at the moment I cannot complain.

One thing I will state though is after purchasing these I ended up getting some cheaper translucent fully insulated male/female spade connectors, these didn't hold their crimp that well and at first I thought it was this tool and that this tool was doing a crappy job. After doing some of these my old way with my strippers they still failed and lead me to believe it isn't the tool it is the connectors. Since then I purchased pricier connectors and these work wonders in this tool and haven't pulled out yet.

This tool is 1000 times better than the wimpy crimping tools you usually get in terminal 'kits'! Be aware that you still have to really bear down to complete the compression 'cycle', especially on the larger connector sizes. But the effort is most definitely worth it! This tool appears to finally eliminate my old habit of soldering connections to "just make sure" that the connection is sound. I've made a hundred or so connections now, and have really tugged on all of them, checking for looseness or wobble. Not a smidgen of movement in any of the connections; it's as solid as any soldering job and much, much faster! And, the crimping 'bite' is much wider than the wimpy tools, I've measured the crimp at 3/8", and it's actually two crimps side-by-side. And, the plastic insulator still looks pristine; a totally professional-looking connection all the way. Tools like this one are spoiling me in my old age! Buy this and you'll quickly throw away all those wimpy crimpers!

Gives a perfect crimp that won't pull out. I place one side of a butt connector in jaws and close to the point it is snug but not yet crimped. Then I insert the wire in that side of the butt connector and crimp. Do same for other side of butt connect, and crimp - comes out perfect. Tool easily releases from ratchet when tripped with trigger in handle in case butt connector needs to be repositioned. Be nice if they made a needle nose version of tool.

I plan on doing some PC case modifications soon, because people are constantly giving me computer parts that they no longer need or want. I want really good tools, because if you start doing anything electrical you need a nice strong connection otherwise you risk shorting something out, or worse case scenario, you can start an electrical fire. Not good. I bought a really nice wire stripper, so the next product I was looking for was a nice wire crimper. This crimping tool fits the bill nicely. I have some of those el cheapo crimpers somewhere in my toolbox, but I wanted something much nicer for the job. These things are amazing! Incredibly solid, and built to last for years. I wish all tool makers took as much pride in the quality of their products. I may not use them everyday, but I know when I do use them, they will make a nice crimp connection that will not come lose inside the PC case.

I finally broke down and got a ratcheting crimper. This is so much easier than trying to generate the crimp-torque required by crushing your hand. I have ditched my universal stripper/crimper for this beauty and the similarly awesome auto stripper. You are definitely upping the cash outlay with these, but I can promise they will make a job go much faster. Link to the Klein stripper included.Klein Tools 11063W 8-22 AWG Katapult Wire Stripper

Previously, when performing automotive wiring, I had always used the manual wire crimpers. Unfortunately, I would always have to use both hands on the crimper, in order to get a good connection. After a long wiring job, I would experience hand fatigue and soreness.After purchasing this ratcheting crimper, I can now complete jobs without difficulty. The crimper itself has 3 channels, each color coordinated to the corresponding butt terminal or ring terminal size: red for 18-22 gauge wire, blue for 14-16 gauge wire, and yellow for 10-12 gauge wire. In order to use the crimper, you simply place your wire in the appropriate connector, place the connector into the corresponding channel on the tool, and squeeze. The ratcheting mechanism is simple and can be performed with one hand, which allows you to stabilize the wire while crimping. After one crimp with this tool, while using only one hand, I get a connection that is stronger than using two hands with a manual crimper and have no concerns of the wire pulling out of the connection.The tool also has a release button, which can be used to release the tension if you mistakenly attempt to crimp in the wrong channel.The tool itself and is well made and I have no concerns with it breaking. However, if it does eventually break or malfunction, I would still buy this item again. With the amount of time that I have used it, it has already been worth the purchase price.I highly recommend this item!

I Purchased this crimper to use specifically with the Forney heat shrink butt connectors with glue (there similar to standard butt connectors, but have a special built in heat shrink that is super strong and 100% waterproof). They crimp them perfectly every time, without damaging the watertight heat shrink tubing. Standard crimpers did not work as well because they sometimes damaged the heat shrink, and also because these connectors are heavier duty than standard ones, which means they take more crimping pressure to properly crimp them. I listed the 3 part numbers for the Forney brand butt connectors.Forney 54826 (blue, 14-16awg)Forney 54825 (yellow, 10-12awg)Forney 54827 (red, 18-20awg)

I have many little projects that require the same crimp each time, and this pair of crimpers does a great job. I have used manual crimpers for YEARS! and a ratcheting crimper is excellent for reducing hand fatique and helps ensure the same crimp pressure each time. With the multiport die set you can crimp several size connections without the need to change out die sets.

I bought this crimper hoping it was a less expensive alternative to crimpers made especially for crimping Anderson Power Poles (often used with amateur radio equipment). I spoke with a representative from the company that makes this tool to see if they knew of anyone using it in that capacity...but they did not. I told them I'd post a review after giving it a try.Pros1) Great price2) Very solid tool that appears to be well made3) Makes incredibly good crimps on insulated connectors4) VERY good at doing what it was built to do (crimping insulated connectors).Cons1) Does NOT work with Anderson Power Poles (note, this is not really a "con" as they never claimed it would. I am just pointing out that if your application is the same as mine, it is not a good choice). Trying to crimp Anderson Power Poles with this tool was problematic because power poles are not insulated (at least not the part that you crimp), and therefore the tool was not crimping tight enough. In addition, this tool slightly flattens the connector at the crimping point, which can be problematic for power poles when you try to insert the crimped connector into the housing.If you are looking for a solid crimping tool at a very good price point for crimping insulated connectors, then this is the tool you want. If you are looking to see if it can replace a specialty Anderson Power Pole crimper (the most prolific of which is currently twice the price of this tool), then I advise you to look for something else.Please note that I did NOT return this tool, as I was so impressed with how it crimps insulated connectors (and its price) that I decided to keep it for that specific purpose.

This is a quality tool. It crimps very well and makes sure you fully crimp whatever you are working on.I haven't used it much for larger wires. I have found when crimping 16-14 AWG butt connectors (blue) that if the wire going in it isn't 14awg it may not crimp down enough to hold the wire well - or at all. At that point just put the connector in the red 22-18 spot and it will crimp it fully without damaging the connector's jacket.I like being able to just lock onto a crimp connector so the crimper itself holds the connector while I insert the wire. It's almost like having a 3rd hand when compared to the el' cheapo crimper/stripper combos most folks use. A must-have product for the tool box.

This thing is great but it requires a bunch of force be put in to it to close the connector. If the handles were longer you could easily use two hands, and that'd really help.

I know it wouldn't fit in to small places if the handles were longer, but this thing really does require a ton of pressure.

Works as expected but do not use it extensively. Handle garage tool to have when doing wiring. Tool appears well built and should last a lifetime for me. Makes for a nice finish.

Seems not to work if your wire is not to the high end of the gauge and would slip some of my wire connections. And would have to re crimpe with other tool for smaller gauge.

Received mine today in a timely fashion from the seller. The quality, look, and feel are first rate and I expect to use these for many years. I'd have rated them with five stars were it not for the fact there were no instructions included. How hard would it be for the manufacturer to include a simple sheet with basic details on how to use different features of this tool? Thanks to Amazon's feedback / reviews I was able to learn what I needed.

Purchased to make 3M heat shrink terminals for marine applications. Using 16ga wire, the crimper cut through the insulation as originally set. Backed off the set screw to the most (-) setting, and functions well, although pretty tough on the heat shrink that covers both the wire and the terminal. Tried using largest die, but didn't crimp 16Ga adequately. I suspect the issue is that the 3M terminals are insulated and have an additional layer of adhesive heat shrink, hence thicker than normal insulated terminals. Do make a good crimp, but I found I had to clamp the wire because of the effort to crimp these terminals. Bottom line, good bank for buck.

seems to work well but haven't used it very much

Made and works well.

Works good for shielded connections like butt end connectors. Does not do a good job with other types. I have made a couple hundred connections with this re-wiring my truck. They hold well and have not damaged the connectors. Work the price just not perfect.

Decent tool. Has adjustment for crimp level, which is handy. Better then the cheap stripper crimpers you get everywhere. Not as good as some fare more expensive professional tools. A good addition to your tool box if you do a lot of terminal crimping. Works really great with some crimp connectors, less great with other terminals.

It built quality and solid, but the die size is not accurate. I have test all wire terminals Red AWG 22-18, Blue 16-14 and yellow 12-10. I noticed it only crimps good on large wire gauge size but not the small wire gauge size.I have to strip the wire longer, and fold it back double, then crimp it. It will hold tight. I did adjust the adjusting screw on the side, but it doesn't help at all but it make your hand squeeze harder. In short, the die size is not accurate.

This crimper is vastly superior to non-ratcheting crimpers. It really crimps well, and gives much better crimp connections. With non ratcheting crimpers I would sometimes have the crimps fail, and the wire pull out of the crimp connection due to lack of thorough crimping.This unit crimps well, and gives a solid connection.The unit is not as smooth as more expensive units that I have used at work. If you are going to be doing a lot of crimp connections (such as professional work) you will want a more expensive unit. This is fine for the occasional user.Pat Robinson

I'm not sure what I was expecting, or maybe I'm using it wrong, but I am not sure about the ratcheting part. The results are very good...crimps better than most others I have tried...but I find that it still requires a lot of force which is what I was trying to avoid.

While handling it, it feels like a good quality tool, but once you start squeezing there's no going back - unless I missed something. You have to clamp all the way in order for it to release.... and that to me is an issue.

It is a solidly built unit, but it takes too much muscle to use. I am a fairly strong. I do weight and exercise regularly and still feel it takes too much effort to complete the ratcheting motion. I cannot imagine using this to crimp more than ten terminals without overstraining wrist.

Very disappointing that this tool comes with ZERO instructions. After a while, I figured out how to release the ratchet device--which is NOT very convenient. And, there appears to be something I can adjust, as there is a screw with a star-wheel that I can turn to "+" or "-"; I guess I'll have to figure that out by trial and error. I suppose I can go to the company web page, and hope to find something there. Point is, I shouldn't have to.

Not mind-blowing but once I adjusted the die tension I was able to get pretty reliable crimps.

It's functional but the ratchet release can not be operated by hand, you have to have another tool like a small screwdriver to release it. Not a good design.

Very sturdy tool. However, I can't figure out how to release the jaws after they are clamped. As far as I can determine the little lever just ahead of the lower blue handle must be tripped to release the jaws. With the jaws clamped I cannot get a finger between the handles to push the lever. There must be an easier way, but it did not come with instructions, or the instructions were lost in transit. This tool would be 5 stars if there is indeed an easier way to release the jaws.

Nice tool, very well made, one problem no instructions, come on people this tool is getting bad reviews because of that. It took me 20 minutes of trial and error to figure it out, I have it working, beautiful crimps but what does the dad gum dial do. Did more adjusting on tool works perfect now when your done crimping the tool now release automatically. The dial controls this adjustment

This gives consistent good crimps. It works great with heat-shrink connectors too, doesn't cut through the plastic.Exception: with 12 gauge wire and connectors with 10-12 gauge range, there is not enough pressure to give a solid crimp.

It works great for every connection I have tried so far except for 16 AWG in a blue connector. For those you have to crimp using the red jaws and then crimp them again using a traditional crimper, otherwise the wire just slides right out.

Overall, this is a good tool, does a very good job crimping as long as the wire gauge and connector are match up correctly.I found that under certain situation when you need to crimp 2 different size gauge wires with the same connector, the smaller wire will not be crimped thoroughly. I find you will have to strip off extra and double over the wire to make up the larger gauge and then crimp it, it holds fine.Pros:Good crimp compression surfaceComfortable handles.Takes the guess work out vs. non ratcheting crimped.Leaves the insulation in tack.Cons:The release lever is difficult to use with the handles fully compressed.I have fairly strong hands and found that high quality hd yellow butt connector are hard to compress. The cheaper yellow butt connectors are easy. Could use extra compound leverage design.No instructions on features, there appears to be a star adjustment wheel, but not sure what it's for.This tool is very suitable for the homeowner or serious hobbyist.

Used for a 2-month project to crimp 10 gauge wires and worked great for about 4-6 weeks but after this initial period, the 10 gauge crimps weren't as tight and secure as before. Even after adjusting available adjustment wheel, the crimps were not up to spec. Originally loved the functionality and quality (5 stars), but the lifespan was disappointing (2 stars).

Makes barely acceptable crimps (works better on really high strand count wire), and not super reliably. "Die" is a stack of metal plates with a gap in the middle resulting in uneven pressure on the connector, and the shape of the die isn't quite correct either.

I was WISHING this tool would assist operators with poor grip strength to perform #10 terminal crimping . . . instead it requires MORE grip strength than the dimple type crimp.

The crimp was really wide and hard to keep on the half of the connector, when pulling on the wire to test the crimp I had several that slipped out and ended up using the #18-#20 crimp on #14-#16 connectors

Good quality, but bad design. Limits crimping to a fixed amount of compression. If you don't have exactly the right gage wire for each connector, you are not going to get a good crimp. And the crimping chambers are sized so that you cannot put a larger fitting in a smaller chamber to get a tighter crimp. Old-fashioned plier-type crimper still works the best for me.

It would not crimp the butt connector tight enough. After crimping I could still pull the wire out of the the connector with very little effort. I had to grind down the stops with a file to allow the tool to crimp tighter. After filing the stops it seems to be working better.

Doesn't work very well with blue insulated blade terminals had to put them in the red crimping slot

I used the pliers this weekend and crimped a few connections for small 18 gauge wire, when I tugged on the connection to ensure a tight fit then wire pulled out. I tried several times and the wire kept pulling out. I went back to my Klein wire crimpers, the wire did not pull out if it.

it ratchets as it should but the crimps are on the very edged instead of the middle as a generic tool should do. they just need to put the crimp in the middle

Works ok but doesn't get the connector tight in a lot of cases. I have to go back and use another tool to complete the job.

This crimping tool is far better at crimping than anything I've used in 45 years. They also ratchet tight to where you can stop and get another hold if you need to go tighter, BUT, the release button is HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE. It is located right under and between the handles when tight to where you can NOT get your finger in to release it. I did use a small screw driver to stick back into the small opening, squeezed the handle to release the pressure some, then shoved the screw driver forward to push the lever forward releasing the ratcheting grip to remove and fully open the crimping tool. REAL BAD design on the release. If nothing else, the locking ratcheting button should have been down on the handle to where you could get to it easily. Kind of like the release on "vise-grips." I just hope the company realizes this and re-designs them SOON.A TIP--BUT WITH A TRADE OFF!!They are better designed crimping tools out there and I would advise looking elsewhere before buying this tool. I'm quite unhappy with mine. BUT, if you do buy these you may want to make them to where they release a little bit better for you. I opened them up to where you could see the ratcheting locking teeth and took a file and took off the first (or top) 3 rows of teeth off. This gives you enough room for your little finger between the handles to touch the locking device so you can push forward to release the pressure AFTER your finished crimping. But, you better have crimped your wire as far and as tightly as you want the first crimp or you just might pull the wire right out of the tool and wire insert or whatever wire connector your using. I love the wide crimping that this tool gives my wire connectors and ends, BUT I HATE where the locking device is. The locking device just isn't practical-PERIOD. I would advise looking at other wide crimping tools first. They can't be any worse without re-designing this type on your own OR using a screw driver to open. They feel good and they crimp good. Otherwise, I would have given them 1 star!I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND!!

This tool did not effectively crimp 22 AWG wires. Wires were too loose in the terminals.

This is another example of the Chinese garbage that Amazon is flooded with nowadays. It looks nice and the handle is cushy, but it makes terrible crimps. The compression is effectively fixed by the way the jaws are formed, and it's not enough to reliably hold onto the smaller gauge of wire in any of the terminal sizes. Plus the double jaw just crushes the "skirt" on the insulation and sometimes cuts through it. I'm not sure what terminals all the people who wrote 5 star reviews are using, but none of the ring/spade or quick connect terminals I have will work in it. The die is screwed in to make it look like you can change it out, but there are pins going through that can't be removed unless you disassemble the entire handle, which is riveted together. I recommend the Eclipse Lunar or Crimpro frame and insulated terminal die, which is available elsewhere...

Sheared a pin in the jaws first time it was used.

Doesn't crimp 22-18AWG connectors, well it does if you expect the wires to fall out of the connectors.... Had to goto my old school crimpers to get the job done...

The crimped connectors often comes loose and not secure enough and could be dangerous at having it come off could cause short or worse, fires for high voltage applications. after crimping with these, I still have to use another crimper to secure the connection making it useless.

Did not fully crimp connectors wires came right out

Yes they work.Do they work good? No. using proper gauge wire with the corresponding terminal connector, half the time it does not crimp tight enough to keep it on the wire.

even after adjusting the tool properly I could never get a solid crimp, will return

This tool does not make secure crimps on red or blue crimp connectors. Every attempt I made to get a secure crimp on a 16 gauge stranded wire resulted in a connection that was easily pulled apart from the lug. I tried this on both red and blue type lugs and the result is the same. The only way I could make the crimp hold was to use pliers to finish the job. The scary thing is that the lug insulator has crimp marks that give the appearance of a good crimp, but the metal cylinder inside the lug is barely compressed. The yellow lugs I crimped with 10 gauge stranded wire are nice and tight.

This thing just plain does not work every crimp i make does not hold I have gone back to my old tool maybe there is just something wrong with it I would return it but im past my 90 days and i never used it till about a week ago if yo get one check it out before the 90 days passes

Very hard to crimp even after adjustment.