Irwin is one of the most common names in the single-hand aka "quick clamp" world and I've owned a few of their clamps for several years to use in various DIY jobs around the home. One of my chief complaints I've always had with the Irwin clamps was that the non-marring pads got loose within just a few uses, so I've always had an issue with grabbing them, starting to clamp something, then having to stop what I was doing to retrace my steps through the yard or house to find where the pads fell off (I'm sure I'm not the only one); the Irwin's also seemed to lose their clamping strength and the trigger torque after about 6 months, but still serviceable for a third hand so long as I didn't need a lot of pressure for anything like glue ups or to keep something from spinning while drilling. I then gravitated to DeWalt clamps simply because my local hardware store was out of Irwins one day, I didn't trust the cheap construction of the store branded clamps and the DeWalt clamps were the only namebrand option; I was cautious at first knowing that hand tools are not necessarily DeWalt's bread and butter, but after 3 yrs of use I can honestly say I've not had the same issues as I had with the Irwin branded clamps. As I've started to first into woodworking, I've found the old adage that "you can't have enough clamps" is indeed true (or extra "hands" in my case this week with a project. I didn't need anything with a lot of clamping power, so was looking for quick clamps and ran across this 4pc bundle under Jorgensen. Again, was optimistically cautious about these clamps, but didn't want to pay the DeWalt price and felt going back to Irwins was a step backwards; I'd read where the "Pony" name was dropped from the Jorgensen branding, and that manufacturing moved overseas to China, which also concerned me. After receiving the clamps, I have to say I'm overly impressed and amazed at their quality. The clamps are very strong and I wouldn't be afriad to use them for glue-ups on smaller projects like puzzle boxes, jewelry boxes, ect. The non-marring pads are well engineered to stay in place, and do not easily slide on and off like Irwin and other brands; instead, they have thick lips that you actually have to work a little to pop them off, and then can pop them back on. The release trigger is also well positioned within the body of the trigger; I was always scraping my knuckle across the release trigger of my Inrwin and DeWalt clamps. These clamps are more versatile the the other brands as well. 1) switching the end around for use as a spreader is simple and tool-free with the press of a button in the clamp's end to release it from the bar, vs having to remove the mechanical stop in the bar as I've seen with other brands. 2) You can attach 2 Jorgensen clamps together to make a longer clamp if needed, as the clamp ends are molded with matching puzzle shapes that securely join 2 clamps together, keeping the use of the united clamps to a single hand - no more trying to line up opposing clamp faces with both hands while juggling the clamps and the work pieces you may be trying to clamp together! This 2nd feature was unexpected, but I can recall over a dozen times I the past 2 years I could have used this feature if only it existed on my Irwin or DeWalt clamps! For anyone on the bubble, I would encourage you to give these clamps a try! For now, Amazon is still showing the 4 PC package priced just 25% more than the cost of the 2pc PKG, so it's a very strong value while supplies.lasts at the current price. I'm actually ordering another set for myself to keep in the garage where they will see frequent use, and sending all the Irwin and DeWalt clamps to the basement and backyard shed for when I'm in a quick pinch for something without scrambling to the garage for a clamp.
