Bought a cheap coax crimper for a big apartment job and it cost me half a day

I mean, it was one of those off brand ones from the hardware store, only $25. I figured it would be fine for a quick job wiring up a building in Phoenix. The first few ends went on okay, but then the crimp started slipping and mangling the connectors. I had to redo like 30 lines because the signal was junk. Ended up having to drive across town to get my good tool, which put me way behind. Has anyone found a decent budget crimper that actually holds up, or is it just a buy once cry once thing?

3 comments

3 Comments

grace60710d agoMost Upvoted

That Phoenix heat probably warped the cheap plastic parts.

the_faith8d ago

My Klein crimper has lasted eight years. You just proved the buy once rule.

alex30710d ago

Cheap tools are a false economy on a jobsite, full stop. That half day you lost is pure labor cost, which probably ate up any savings ten times over. Seen guys try to save fifty bucks on a knockoff only to blow three hours fixing bad work. The real cost isn't the tool price, it's the time and rep you burn when it fails.