Review: Astro Pneumatics Hose Clamp Pliers

You know those hose clamps that you need to use pliers with? The ones that invariably twist, and the pliers snap shut, pinching your fingers/hands, and are a major PITA to hold open as you try to place them over the hose end?

Amazon.com: Astro Pneumatic (AST9409A) Hose Clamp Pliers: Home Improvement

These rock.

It's a pair of locking pliers that has the mechanism for opening the clamps on a 3' cable. This gives a couple advantages:

1) the mechanism fits in places where you cannot get a pair of pliers
2) the mechanism locks itself open as you open the clamp, allowing you to open the clamp, and then thread the clamp over the hose (or fitting), and align exactly where you want it, before releasing the tension on the clamp.

I picked this up last week to replace the water pump and radiator in my Subaru WRX. I stumbled across it while hunting for hose clamps that wouldn't cut up silicone hoses. I picked it up because it seemed like a good idea, and wasn't too expensive.

I wish I had bought one of these 10 years ago, when I first gained garage space for working on cars/bikes and started fighting with those :mad2: clamps without this.