The Best Adjustable Wrench of 2025
We’ve noticed a number of generic Wide-Azz imitators at Amazon, being sold under names, like Duratech, MaxPower, and Lichamp. While these may be less expensive than our picks, our experience is that tools like this are lower quality with minimal warranties. We’d rather purchase a hand tool like this from a well-established company with a history of quality.
Channellock also sells the 8SWCB Xtra Slim Jaw WideAzz 8-Inch Adjustable Wrench, which is nearly identical to our pick (the same handle, jaw width, and overall build quality) but equipped with thinner jaws that are only 3/16-inch thick (looking from the top of the wrench). The jaws give this tool a better reach in tight, constrained spaces (the jaws of our top pick start at a thickness of ⅜ inch and taper to ¼ inch at the points). It’s typically more expensive and we think it offers enough of a benefit to justify an additional investment.
The Klein D509-8 Adjustable Wrench, Extra Wide Jaw was our previous runner-up, and it remains a very nice wrench. It differs from the Channellock and the Milwaukee in that it has stubbier, rounded jaws, so it has a harder time in tight spots such as an irrigation manifold. It also has a plastic-dipped handle, rather than a padded one. Like our Channelock pick, it’s an Irega-made product, and it’s of a similar high quality.
The Channellock’s Reversible Jaw 8 in Adjustable Wrench is interesting in that the jaw can be flipped so that a slightly serrated edge is exposed. This is potentially useful with round objects, like a pipe, but for grabbing things like that, we recommend a nice set of adjustable pliers.
The Husky 8-inch adjustable wrench and the Crescent 6- and 10-inch normal jaw set both have smaller-capacity jaws than our picks and lack the padding that makes our main pick stand out from the crowd.
The Bahco 9031 R US 8-inch wide mouth adjustable wrench is comfortable to hold, but the jaws are designed so that they are just out of parallel, with the tips slightly closer than the throat. This design causes them to lock on to the nut, preventing slippage that could result in possible hand injury. Unfortunately, it also means that, once you’ve tightened a nut, the wrench is nearly impossible to pull straight off. So if you’re doing more than one turn on a nut (and you almost always are), this feature becomes frustrating very quickly.
Like its wide-mouth sibling, the Klein D507-8 Adjustable Wrench Extra Capacity is a very smooth, very nice tool. It has a slightly larger jaw than the Irwin 2078608, coming in at about 1¼ inches. But at nearly $30 right now, it’s priced on the high side in comparison with some of the other tools we looked at. If you’re already at the $30 mark, you might as well kick in another few dollars and get the Channellock Wide Azz with the larger jaw capability.
The Stanley 90-948 8-Inch Adjustable Wrench sits in the same price range as the Irwin but lacks the same level of finish. The thumb turn has a grainy feel, and the lower jaw wobbles back and forth and up and down more than that of any of the other wrenches we tried.
The Stanley 85-610 10-Inch MaxGrip Locking Adjustable Wrench is a cross between an adjustable wrench and a set of locking pliers (aka Vise-Grips, a registered trademark). The thumb-turn adjustment makes the jaw snug, and then the lever that runs the length of the handle locks the jaw tight. A second, smaller lever unlocks the jaw. It’s a cool setup, and it’s useful if you’re constantly coming up against stuck bolts, but the smallest size this wrench comes in is 10 inches, and the max jaw width is not even 1¼ inches.
The Loggerhead Bionic Wrench is not versatile enough to be the lone wrench in a toolbox. Because this tool design completely surrounds a nut, you’ll have times when you can’t use it, such as if you need to tighten a connection on an existing pipe or hose.
Loggerhead’s Bionic Grip has an open-mouth design like a traditional wrench, but it maxes out at a width of ¾ inch and is really only for smaller tasks.
