Air tools have a definite niche and a growing following in some parts of the market. This has a lot to do with the increasing sophistication and reliability of the compressors from Far Eastern manufacturers - and of course the increasingly competitive prices too. Once seen as entirely the preserve of professionals, air tools can now be found in keen amateur workshops where their reliability, relative simplicity and sheer power are key. If you don't need the freedom of cordless - then air tools may be a good way to go.

As a company Draper has a vast buying power, and uses it's advantage to source some of the best deals around, and we, the end users, most often benefit from this. As I know from first hand experience too, Draper is also very careful about from whom they buy, and also have ongoing quality controls in place back in Eastleigh to ensure that quality is maintained. So when a new Draper product turns up for review it is the net result of a lot of work and consideration and not to be taken lightly.

The product in question is the Compact Composite Impact Wrench. The name gives away the USPs. Uniquely, in my experience, the main body of the wrench is made of a plastic composite. Handling it felt no different from handling a more normal alloy-bodied wrench because there are no seams to catch the hand, the smooth casing is lightly etched on the handle for better grip and only four screws hold the whole thing together. In other words nothing to frighten the horses here - it looks and feels robust and capable of a good working life.

What is different though is the weight, or the relative lack of it. This little impact wrench is really light compared to a similar alloy-bodied counterpart - it weighs a mere 1.2 Kgs compared to a more "normal" weight of just over 2 Kgs. It doesn't take a genius to work out that it is therefore going to be less fatiguing to use the lighter wrench rather than the heavier - especially if you are using it all day.

What is also most striking is just how compact this tool is. I have recently reviewed some small 10.8 volt cordless drivers, and this wrench is nearly as compact as these. From 3/8 nose to tail it measures 155mm and from the top to the base of the handle where the air line is plugged in is a mere 195mm. When Draper says compact, the tag really fits. This compact size will really have advantages for being able to work in confined spaces because the whole body is a slimline  60mm wide along its whole length. Many other air tools have a big bulge behind the handle that limits where it will fit.

With the right sockets and drives, I can imagine many a mechanic will be freed from the tedium of hand tightening or loosening with spanners.

In common with most air tools the controls are minimal and simple to operate. At the very back of the wrench a simple round selector switch can be turned to choose the right speed of rotation. I found this a doddle to operate and simply reinforced the ease of use of the tiny wrench. Forward and reverse modes are selected by a push-through switch above the trigger. Operated with one hand, this too couldn't really be any simpler.

At the base of the handle is the standard air inlet fitting, but this has been made so that the air line can rotate easily in the fitting, thus preventing air line tangles and making unavoidable tangles easier to unravel.

The specifications of the compact wrench are pretty impressive too. It can boast of 271Nm of torque and a free running speed of 9000 rpm. Operating air pressure needs to be 90 psi or 6.2 bar for efficient work.

Most of the professional users I showed this little wrench to noted immediately how compact it was. Some said that size wasn't an issue for them, but several others noted that having a compact sized driver could have advantages for their work. But as usual, looking wasn't enough - you really do have to try out a tool like this in a real situation. And the most surprising thing was not that the wrench was small, it was just how quiet it was in operation compared to alloy bodied, more traditional air wrenches. I never expected that professional working in noisy workshops would care about noise, but somehow it was important to them.

I guess that Draper would have an explanation of how and why the composite-bodied wrench was so relatively less noisy. Maybe the composite body absorbs vibration and noise better than an alloy body can, or maybe Draper specified a sound pressure level of 77.0dB(A) now that noise is being more fully recognised as a long-term hazard in the workplace.

My own experience of the Composite Body Impact Wrench in the relative calm of my workshop, plugged into my rather civilised Japanese-made compressor, is of a really capable tool that is light, easy to handle and quite powerful enough to tighten and loosen nuts all day if necessary. As a trade rated tool, this is what we would expect. The other advantages would become clear with daily use. What may trouble some users is that the composite body may take a bit of a hammering, because wrenches like these are often literally dropped onto concrete or routinely mishandled in some way or another. But Draper assure me they have been selling composite body air tools for over three years and have not had a cracked or broken housing yet.  In fact, Draper say, they seem tougher in use than the aluminium ones

From a dealer point of view of course, the advantages of dealing with a company like Draper are well known. Draper has a well-organised network with service and repair facilities available at Eastleigh. Stock and retail services like advertising and special deals are available, and you also have the confidence of knowing that someone else has done all the hard work choosing the tools so you don't have to.