The 7 Best Hydraulic Knockout Sets
Editor's Notes
September 05, 2019:
Although new battery-powered innovations from companies like Milwaukee and Greenlee (in collaboration with Makita) have begun garnering greater attention throughout construction industry, hydraulic-powered options remain the standard of excellence in knockout punches, and a logical next step for anybody who’s looking to upgrade their old ratcheting tool.
Greenlee, the company largely credited with pioneering these technologies in the 1920’s, still dominates this category, and is featured prominently throughout our rankings. The Greenlee 7310SB came out on top of the pile here – with its diehard reputation and full selection of dies, while the company’s 7806-SB wasn’t far behind – and well-noted for its portability and flexible head.
Though all the options ranked here should be up to the task of punching a hole, users shopping in this category will want to pay special heed to the rated force of each respective pump (measured in tons) – to get a sense of the tool’s power, the total weight of the kit – which has obvious implication in terms of ease of handling and transporting, and the scope of the die set included – as some kits will only include up to two-inch dies and others up to four-inch.