Tool shopping .... Champion - Amkus - TNT - Hurst - Genesis

[Brian79z]

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[BoxAlarm187]

A couple of years ago, we did the demo thing as well, and then went head-to-head on a day that we invited four specific vendors in. After all of the testing, we selected TNT, and haven't regretted it for a second. We run the only heavy rescue in our county, so go all over the place cutting cars apart, and we've had great success with speed and power that the TNT tools have given us.

Two nearby stations are running Amkus, and warned us to stay away. I know a lot of departments love their Amkus tools, but our neighbors don't like the weight, speed, nor cutting ability of thair Amkus tools.

At work, the special service companies are running Hurst of various generations, and at this time, there aren't any plans to replace them.

As with anything, your mileage may vary, but we're big fans of the TNT products.

[Bones42]

We run Hurst low pressure in one agency and Holmatro Core in the other.

Both work well. High pressure tools have less weight than low pressure but both get the job done.

[slackjawedyokel]

we have had good luck with Genesis - our present tools are 5 years old now so I cant speak for the current models.

[backsteprescue123]

We run Genesis both at work and the volunteer house and have had absolutely no problems with them. We aren't the busiest, but we run a good amount of extrications and the tools certainly get put to use often (and abused often). If you stay up on PM and take care of them, they will serve you well.

Our set at work is probably about 5-7 years old and the two sets at the volunteer house are maybe 3 years old. As I said before, the things are great. We did a head to head comparison while we were looking at upgrading from some old Hurst sets and the Genesis won hands down. Amkus was a not too distant second, but after that it seemed as if the others just didn't stack up. From what I heard the Genesis guy was great to deal with and honest throughout the entire process. The Hurst guy was also honest and a great guy but the committee just felt that their tools couldn't really beat the Genesis.

[chief60]

We went through this earlier this year. Genesis, Hurst, TNT all came in and gave us a demo and we used their tools for a while. We ended up selecting the TNT tools (4+ sets total, $165,000 total) Genesis were good tools, we had no compliants demoed well and like the dealer. Didn't come close on pricing I think the dealer was even alittle mad about the lack of cooperation from the manufacturer to try and get tools in the area. Hurst we have had for 20+ years but the tools just didn't compare. TNT had good tools and the dealer has been great. After we ordered our new tools we had an extrication ona Pontiac G6 and the crew couldn't cut the B-post with the Hurst tools we had (they were older about 10 years) crew did well and worked around it and completed the extrication. the next day we went to the holding yard and cut the entire door frame out with sawzall and cutters. When the TNT tools came in we finished the cut where the tools had started and cut above and below with a single cut , barely slowed them down. We have had 15 or 16 extrications with the new tools so far with no issues. I will say the tools have not been perfect we had an issue with the computer on the automatic pump. It allows the tool to operate without moving any switch. Called the dealer, he was here in 4 hours, looked at the pump and said they needed to fix it and took it. Left us with their demo pump. We had ours mailed direct back and they came by a week or so later to get their back up. They have been great!

[johnsb]

We have Genesis at my fulltime and VFD. A few years ago they did a 3 month head to head with several brands. Genesis was hands down the best. Service is stellar, but we are just an hour and a half from the dealer. The 2 day Crash Course is awsome, 200 cars to cut on. Their tools are the most ergonomic in my opinion, you don't get as tired and sore using them on a long extrication.
I can't say anything bad about the others, except stay away from Phoenix tools, I've never seen tools break so easily.

[Brian79z]

Thanks for the honest responses... keep them coming..

Is there anyone out there that has any opinion on the Hurst Edraulic battery tools? They were cutting the same as the gas tools... and in one case - better.

[sklump]

We have had TNT for years and have upgraded along the way. They have always done their job. Their warranty is no bull LIFE TIME. They also put on a 2 day service school, after that you can service your own tools which saves alot of $

[backsteprescue123]

Thanks for the honest responses... keep them coming..

Is there anyone out there that has any opinion on the Hurst Edraulic battery tools? They were cutting the same as the gas tools... and in one case - better.

I've only had the chance to use them once or twice in classes and while them seem like they might work well for some department, I don't think I could see us using them.

[BoxAlarm187]

If you are considering the electric tools, I'd suggest you look into the Genesis tools, mostly for the fact that you're not locked into expensive proprietary batteries like the Hurst eDraulic series.