Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

Impact driver bit set

Updated: October 2026

The tip snapped on the third decking screw, and the listing only said extra hard. An impact driver keeps hitting the bit, and a hard tip with nowhere to flex is what shears. Buy an impact driver bit set only if the listing describes that use. Everyday buying is the [screwdriver bit set buying guide](/hub/screws-and-accessories/bit-set/sub/bit-set-buying-guide). The table is the [bit set comparison](/hub/screws-and-accessories/bit-set). Figures are from amazon.co.uk on 15 October 2026. This is not a measurement of bit life. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The tip snapped on the third decking screw, and the listing only said extra hard. An impact driver keeps hitting the bit, and a hard tip with nowhere to flex is what shears.

Our top picks

Milwaukee Milwaukee Shockwave 38-piece

Best overall

Milwaukee Milwaukee Shockwave 38-piece
3.2/10about £21.95
View offer
Amazon Basics Amazon Basics 42-piece

Rank 2

Amazon Basics Amazon Basics 42-piece
4.9/10about £10.08
View offer
GEINXURN GEINXURN 41-piece

Rank 3

GEINXURN GEINXURN 41-piece
4.9/10about £12.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Why ordinary bits snap
  2. 2.The three listings that talk about impact
  3. 3.What extra hard does not mean
  4. 4.When the clutch is the better tool

Why ordinary bits snap

A combi drill on the screwdriving collar clicks and stops adding torque. An impact driver delivers rotational blows. BuildWiz says standard bits fatigue under those shocks and points at a torsion zone, a narrowed section of the shank meant to twist so the tip does not take the whole blow. Toolstation describes the same flex. That is their description, not a test of these twelve sets. A clutch drill, as on how to use screwdriver bits, still drives ordinary timber fixings. Buy an impact-rated bit when you are already snapping tips. A torsion zone does not forgive a Phillips bit in a Pozidriv screw.

The three listings that talk about impact

Three listings describe impact use. Amazon Basics, at £10.08, calls the design impact resistant and names Phillips, slotted, and Torx. Pozidriv is not on the contents line, so keep a separate PZ2 for tick-mark woodscrews. One reviewer notes that bits still break over time. GEINXURN, at £12.99, claims an impact shock-absorbent zone and names Pozidriv, including a 150 mm PZ2. It has 195 reviews. The bits arrived in a plastic bag, and one review says the edges wore quickly. The Pozidriv line is why it stays on the shortlist. Milwaukee Shockwave 4932492009, at £21.95, names Torx, Phillips, and hex. The listing does not quote a shock-zone sentence, so the name is not proof this box contains the flex zone. A combi drill belongs on the best screwdriver bit set page.
Milwaukee Milwaukee Shockwave 38-piece

Testsieger

Milwaukee Milwaukee Shockwave 38-piece
3.2/10about £21.95
View offer

What extra hard does not mean

Extra hard on the Bosch sets is a hardness line, not an extended torsion zone. The £8.36 Bosch 32-piece set does not call the bits impact rated. Bosch Professional GB sells a separate PRO Impact set. A 31-piece version is about £46.94–£52.38 on the maker’s page and is not one of these twelve ASINs. Blandford Tools tells Wera Bit-Check buyers to use Impaktor for impact machines. Impact rated is not shatterproof. GEINXURN edges wore quickly, and Amazon Basics reviewers say bits break over time.

When the clutch is the better tool

If the screws are short and you can use the clutch, stay on the combi drill. Move to an impact driver when the screws are long or you are already replacing snapped tips. Then buy a listing that describes the impact feature, still match Pozidriv, and expect tips to wear. If the fixing states a torque, neither set is the right instrument.

Common questions

Will ordinary Bosch extra-hard bits survive an impact driver?
The extra-hard listings in this comparison do not say they will. They describe a hard 1/4 inch bit and a holder for drill use. One buyer of the 43-piece set planned to try them in an impact screwdriver, which is an intention, not a result. If your tips are already snapping, buy a set that describes impact use. The £8.36 Bosch remains the first box for a clutch drill, not a substitute for the maker’s PRO Impact line.
What does a torsion zone look like?
It is a narrowed, often machined, section of the shank behind the tip, there to flex under the blow. BuildWiz and Toolstation both describe it that way, and Milwaukee’s Shockwave page describes a shock zone on the brand line. You should be able to see it, or the listing should describe it. A smooth extra-hard bit with a marketing adjective is not the same part. These bits were not sectioned in a workshop.
Is the Amazon Basics set a Pozidriv set?
No. The contents named on the listing are Phillips, slotted, and Torx. It is a fair impact-claimed set for those drives at £10.08, with 25 mm and 50 mm bits and a magnetic holder. It is the wrong box if the screws in your hand have Pozidriv tick marks. Buy a PZ2 as well, or choose the GEINXURN pack, which names PZ2 and an impact zone and ships as loose bits.
Does Shockwave in the title prove the flex zone is in this 38-piece box?
No. The brand site describes a shock zone for the Shockwave line. The listing for 4932492009 does not quote that sentence, and it does not include a size table. What the listing does name is Torx, Phillips, and hex, at £21.95, with 551 reviews. Reviews praise durability in a Milwaukee drill and complain about a fiddly case and bits broken on arrival. Read the name as a brand, then check this box’s contents.
Is a £46 Bosch PRO Impact set the same product as the £8.36 extra-hard set?
No. The £8.36 set is the 32-piece extra-hard mixed set, model 2607017319, in this comparison. The PRO Impact set on Bosch Professional GB is a different range, with an extended torsion zone described by the maker, and a 31-piece price around £46.94–£52.38 on that page. It is not one of the twelve ASINs. Do not mix the two prices, and do not import the maker’s robustness comparison as a figure measured here.

Related pages

Impact bits and ordinary bits

Bit set

Best screwdriver bit set for a first UK combi drill

Screwdriver bit set buying guide for recess and case

How to use screwdriver bits without rounding the screw

Pozidriv vs Phillips and how to tell the crosses apart

Sources

Public UK sources on drive ends, Pozidriv and Phillips, impact-bit wording, satisfactory quality and work equipment. Listing prices and star counts are from the amazon.co.uk extracts kept for this comparison on 15 October 2026. Prices move.

  1. ISO 1173:2001, assembly tools for screws and nuts (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. Bosch Professional GB, extra-hard screwdriver bits (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. Screwfix, types of screwdrivers (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. Bolts.co.uk, Phillips and Pozidriv (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. Milwaukee Tool UK, Shockwave impact duty bits (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. GOV.UK, accepting returns and giving refunds (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. HSE, PUWER overview (retrieved 16 October 2026)