We had a lot of people asking us "what's the difference between our original driver and this new Pocket Driver!?"
We thought we'd take some time to get down the main differences between them for the uninitiated, in the best way we know how, with the power of the GIF and some nice images thrown in for good measure!
Ok then, let's get started.
The Fundamentals
- Two-handed operation
- Designed to live in a toolbox/ that drawer everyone has with useful stuff in
- Perfect for heavy-duty tasks like building decking or torquing up a big bolt
- Single-handed operation
- Designed to be carried on your person or in a bag
- Perfect for light/medium-duty tasks like assembling furniture or tightening up a loose bike seat.
Arm
The arm is the big visual difference and is also made very differently from the original. The original handle is laser-cut out of sheet stainless steel, then bent to shape using CNC machinery. The Pocket Driver arms are milled out of solid billets of plate metal.
The pivot point is much higher on the Pocket Driver so it creates a T-Drive handle when popped out, so again is perfect for single-handed use and is much faster to use with smaller screws. The original Driver works best at 90 degrees when the arm is lowered, whereas Pocket Driver has four different arm positions to help you adapt to different situations.
We really liked the inline grip that was possible with the original Driver when its arm was in the closed position, which allows for quick use with plenty of torque as you can get a lot of purchase on the sides of the arm as you turn it. As we took the Driver into the micro realm, we really wanted to keep this feature but noticed the smaller form factor didn't let you get a great deal of power through it. With this in mind, we experimented with many different arm styles to find the perfect form and finally settled on a full wrap-around design that allowed you to pop the handle a fraction to create our offline mode, still allowing access to tight spaces, but with a bunch more torque.
The next major development was with the Pistol Grip mode and is what really stands out when you're using Pocket Driver as it perfectly fits in the palm of your hand... and also kinda reminds me of the cricket from MIB.
Here's a quick overview of the grip modes from the campaign page:
- Inline - Quick access, low effort assemblies with maximum control
- Offline - Great for hard-to-reach places where extra torque is required
- T-Grip - Maximum power for tough assemblies
- Pistol Grip - Ergonomic grip that can deliver a lot of power with plenty of control
Offline
Pistol Grip
Bit Storage
We were able to include bit storage in the handle on Pocket Driver, whereas on the original, this had to be introduced and as an extra addon. Starting from scratch allowed us to incorporate it from the start. Pocket Driver is able to store 2 x 25mm bits internally.
Size Bit Cavity (size of bits it holds)
Pocket Driver is much smaller, at about a third of the physical size but more importantly a lot lighter. With the original drivers, we couldn't make them in full stainless steel as they would have weighed far too much to be useful, but on Pocket Driver, we've been able to have a full stainless version. It still has a good solid weight to it but won’t pull your trousers down!
Power
Pocket Driver has a smaller arm and with one hand logically you will apply less torque through it, but that’s not a bad thing! Tailored for smaller screws, it gives much more control and there is less chance to damage tiny screws heads. You wouldn’t use a sledgehammer to put in a panel pin after all, unless you're Thor maybe…
Precision
Power
Getting Into A Small Space
The big Driver was more compact than a battery drill but still too big to get inside a modern engine housing. Pocket Driver can really get inside something and dismantle it from the inside out when you are up to your elbows in a job and can only just about reach with one hand; that’s where Pocket Driver comes into its own.
Custom Shoulders
Just a small feature, but the original Driver used off-the-shelf fixings. For Pocket Driver, we have opted for custom shoulder screws, normally used in precision engineering, to better regulate the fit of the handle so it can move flexibly and reliably while in use.
Chuck
The mechanical design of the chuck in Pocket Driver has been totally redesigned and has 10 castellations instead of 8 like on the original Driver. This allows for a much smoother and precise drive on those tiny screws. It’s a small addition, but being designed for finer work, this will really be noticeable when space is limited and less power is required. Interestingly it is more similar to the third generation Weltrecord from 1950.
Comparison Table
Now let's pop all that information into a nice and easy-to-understand infographic.
In Summary
Pocket Driver looks just as good and has the same build quality as our original driver, but for how you use it, well, it's a different beast altogether.
Original Driver - Two-handed operation for medium to heavy-duty work
- Building decking
- removing stuck bolts
Pocket Driver - Single-handed operation for light to medium-duty work
- Assembling furniture
- Getting into tight spaces
Designed to be a modern replacement for Allen/hex keys and be a damn fine micro ratchet screwdriver.
