We first used the Gearwrench Bolt Biter Bolt Extractors when we were at the SEMA Show in 2018. Then again, last year, at the 2019 show, we saw these again. They assured us that by the beginning of 2020, we would see the Gearwrench Bolt Biters hitting the shelves. Sure enough, we finally received our Bolt Biter bolt extractor set just a couple of months ago. We were pretty impressed then, and that hasn’t changed.

SEMA Show 2018: Gearwrench Bolt Extractors

Best Gearwrench Tools at SEMA 2018

Bolt Biter Bolt Extractor Features

Other bolt extractors typically use a spiral flute design that only allows the extractor to work in one direction. The Gearwrench Bolt Biter bolt extractor sockets include a straight flute design, and the ridges of the flutes taper to the middle. The further you move inside the socket, the closer the ridges get to one another. We realized that the more force that was applied to the Bolt Biters, the better grasp it achieved on the fastener.

You can purchase these as an 8-piece set, 15-piece, or 28-piece. Most of the bolt extractor sockets work on a metric and SAE size. For example, the 19mm and 3/4″ are the same, and the 13mm and 1/2″ are the same. For those really worn fasteners, Gearwrench includes minus (-) sizes, which means they’re a little bit smaller than the standard size. Our testing shows the reality of this.

Our Thoughts

It’s near impossible to be a mechanic and not have any type of bolt extraction tools. In fact, most any trade needs access to these tools on a regular basis. These Gearwrench Bolt Biter bolt extractor sockets work really well, and we’ve been impressed with the projects we’ve used them on. For $28, you get the 8-piece set on Amazon, which is a very good deal. Stepping up to the 28-piece set, you’re going to be in the $200 range. The bigger the sockets, the more expensive they are. Gearwrench backs these with a lifetime warranty. See the video for much more detail.