Is Milwaukee's New M12 Stubby Impact Wrench Worth It? Here's What The Reviews Say

When you think of power tools like impact wrenches, you probably think of large, bulky implements meant to forcefully bend the world and its elements to their, and by extension your, will. The problem with bulky implements, though, is that they can't fit into narrow nooks and crannies. It's a bit of a problem when you've got a bolt in a tight corner of your current project car, for example, but you can't fish your powered impact wrench in there to tighten it, at least not without cutting up your knuckles.

To assuage this problem, prominent hardware manufacturer Milwaukee has cooked up the M12 Stubby Impact Wrench. As the name implies, it's a powered impact wrench with all the strength you need to tighten and loosen bolts, but with a much more compact body that you can safely squeeze into those little corners. 

Of course, it's one thing to say you've fixed a common problem and another to actually fix it. The ultimate judges of a power tool's efficacy are the users, particularly professional tool reviewers. Luckily for Milwaukee, it seems the users are in their corner on this one.

Briefly, let's cover what these impact wrenches are capable of. To clarify, Milwaukee released its original series of M12 Stubby Impact Wrenches a few years ago; the ones we're talking about here are the second generation, released in 2024. They come in two drive sizes, 1/2-inch and 3/8-inch, but both impact wrenches have the same general capabilities.

The new M12 Fuel Stubby Impact Wrench utilizes a Powerstate brushless motor to deliver anywhere from zero to 3,000 rpm of rotational action. With that spinning might, these tools can produce up to 550 pound-feet of breakaway torque, more than enough to yank loose even the most stubborn and corroded bolts. 

Even with all of this power, though, the wrench weighs a modest 2.2 pounds, eliminating strain in carrying it around with you everywhere. For some additional bells and whistles, it's equipped with a four-mode drive control to fine-tune how much power you're putting out, as well as an auto shut-off mode for when you need some quick hand tightening below 15 pound-feet of torque.

All of the M12 Stubby Impact Wrench's specs sound impressive, but can it actually bring home the bacon in practice? According to reviews, this tool has an entire pan full of bacon and the skills to fry it.

Tim Johnson of Pro Tool Reviews was quite psyched about both models of Stubby Impact Wrench, saying that both the 1/2-inch and 3/8-inch models are equally excellent for their respective purposes. When Johnson put the tools to the test on heavy-duty bolts, not only were both able to successfully fasten and remove the bolts with little difficulty, they were actually able to surpass their advertised strengths, clocking in at 450 pound-feet of fastening torque and 600 pound-feet of breakaway torque when pushed to their limits. Considering the original versions of these tools only had about 250 pound-feet breakaway torque, to call them an upgrade would be underselling it.

Hank O'Hop over at The Drive had similar praise for the new version of the Stubby, trying it out on the thickest, rustiest truck bolts he could find. The wrench handled them with confidence, even managing to outperform his favorite DeWalt 20-volt Atomic Impact wrench despite using a smaller 12-volt battery pack, though he notes that pushing the tool to its absolute limit regularly might not be a good idea. That aside, he awarded the tool a confident 8/10 rating.