http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=power&Group_ID=803&store=snapon-store

So what do you guys think about these? I'm considering getting one as a Xmas gift for my dad who makes a living with his tools.

Been looking at the AT321 and the AT380. If anyone has any imput on the "composite body" on the AT365, I would love to hear it.

I own the at321 and it SUCKS! It's just a bottom of the line ingersoll rand gun thats re-labled blue point with a higher price. I notice they did drop the price on it though, i paid like $210 for it, while the exact same model ingersoll rand gun can be had for $150 or less. Some problems i've had with it....the retaining ring that holds the sockets on went week in about a month so sockets fall off it all the time, if you lay it on it's side it will switch from reverse to forward or vice versa which really sucks when you spend about 10 minutes to thread a bolt in and line your sockets and extensions and all that up and then hook your gun up to it and find out it took it out instead of tightening it, it has that weird slant on the rear of it, usually if you're changing sockets out you can lay an impact on its back, but you cant do it with this one because of that damn weird slant, the power controls are pretty damn hard to adjust, you sometimes need two hands to get those things to click up or down, and finally...it has almost no balls.

I dont own a AT380 but it looks like one of those cheap harbor freight kind of impacts.

I'd stay away from blue point air tools alltogether. They're all just re-labled brands that snap on seriously ups the price on, blue point itself doesnt make anything original to it's name, they're just a re-labler. If you buy ANYTHING from snap-on, make sure it's snap-on brand name, not blue point.

If you want to get a real impact, look into the higher end ingersoll rand ones like their 3/8" titanium composite body one.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200199424_200199424

You can find those for about $250 or much less on ebay, and i've never seen a 3/8" impact thats better than that. Snap on also makes a snap on brand 3/8 impact thats supposidly a monster

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=yes&tool=power&item_ID=75610&group_ID=19753&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

But i've never seen anyone buy it, it's a little too pricey and everyone i know who has that composite ingersoll rand is happy as hell with it.

I would look into aircats. i have a 1/2" impact, 1/4" air ratchet, and 90* die grinder from them. ALL of them outperform the IR tools they replaced, hands down.

I have the IR titanium 3/8. It is more powerfull than my mid grade 1/2 drive.

I'd say IR compsite. I got a cornwell and a mac 3/8's off ebay for $50 a piece. Cornwell, mac, and matco all sell rebadged IR stuff. Mac also has rebadged aircat. People don't seem to notice them as much and bid them up on ebay like the IR composite stuff.

I have a 1/2 bluepoint gun, and it's nothing to write home about. Most of their stuff is along the same lines as entry level IR stuff.

I just got a deal on a 2115Ti from eBay. I think it was 160 shipped. I've never used a snap on gun I liked.

bluepoint air tools suck, period.

My take on air tools:

For impacts, go with ingersoll composites
For Air ratchets, go with ingersoll
For Air hammers, Snap-on
For die grinders, harbor freight

The only other 3/8" or 1/2" impact I would consider is one of those Earthquake guns from Harbor Freight. I run a department that rebuilds 2-3000brake calipers per day, and our teardown guys destroy things. I went and bought one of every impact that I could find, and they liked the cheapo earthquake gun the best. We destroyed the direction change mechanism on the ingersolls within 2 weeks, and the high dollar snap on guns quit on a weekly basis. The Earthquake guns are powerful, reliable, and they haven't broken it in 2 years. The ingersoll composite guns don't last for shit in dusty/gritty environments because of the plastic pushbutton for on/off. They get all fucked up and the teeth strip off of them. For relatively clean shop use, they're awesome. If you're planning on using the thing in dusty/gritty environments, get something with a lever or slider to change direction. The snap-on guns with the levers on the back tend to break the levers off if the gun is dropped. Also stay away from Craftman air tools....they absolutely suck.

Not a fan of the Blue Point stuff, it all seems to be overpriced junk.

For impacts I will never switch back from the IR composite guns, I have excellent luck with them.

Thanks for the replies. I'm trying to keep it relatively cheap (although quality does not come cheap). I'll take a look at the Aircat and IR stuff and see what they have. I still need to buy a complete set of 3/8" extensions. Half of ours are so worn out, the sockets literally fall right off of them. Made for a shitty night changing my plugs and wires on my truck the past couple nights.

You really dont want to go cheap with an air tool. Not saying that the most expensive ones (ie the tool truck guys) would be the best, far from it. If you cheap out, like i did when i bought that blue point one, you're going to seriously hate the tool, and wish you paid the few extra bucks for something that works well. A composite IR one can be had for $200-$250 on ebay, and thats pretty damn cheap for something that actually works well. Aircat is cheaper, i've heard it's good stuff but i never owned one so i couldnt say.

I've been looking at this one: Aircat Nitrocat. I think 400-500ft-lbs is more that enough for 3/8's. Hell, I dont think our air compressor could push that (10gal tank, and the motor doesn't have the juice to turn on with more than 10psi in it)

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-8-NitroCat-Aircat-Air-Composit-Impact-Wrench-500-ft_W0QQitemZ180183890051QQihZ008QQcategoryZ22663QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


And if all else fails, the IR 2115ti:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ingersoll-Rand-2115TI-3-8-Air-Impact-Wrench_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ43988QQihZ020QQi temZ300175024000QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD4V

Hmmmph!

http://reviews.ebay.com/Air-Cat-Aircat-Impact-wrench-cheap-import-poor-warranty_W0QQugidZ10000000003845989?ssPageName=BUY GD:CAT:-1:LISTINGS:1

Hmmmph!

http://reviews.ebay.com/Air-Cat-Aircat-Impact-wrench-cheap-import-poor-warranty_W0QQugidZ10000000003845989?ssPageName=BUY GD:CAT:-1:LISTINGS:1

I dunno, i HEARD they were good, but i never owned one. I always was a little suspicious of how cheap they were...