Professional Tool Reviews for Pros

Milwaukee Matrix Carbide bits hit the market hard with their carbide design and lifetime tip guarantee. But that doesn’t mean it’s the One Bit to Rule Them All. In fact, Milwaukee Shockwave driver bits are still incredibly relevant beyond their lower price. In this Milwaukee Matrix Carbide vs Shockwave 3.0 comparison, we’re going to look at the best times to use both.

If you haven’t already, check out our article that goes into the details of Matrix Carbide driver bits and how Milwaukee designs them. Sorting our the Milwaukee Matrix Carbide vs Shockwave 3.0 debate boils down to the type of work you’re doing. Specifically, it’s about where your bits usually fail.

Milwaukee Matrix Carbide bits do their best work on highly repetitive tasks that cause your bit to fail because of tip wear. These are things like drywall, decking, steel stud framing, pre-fab, and more. They’re the kind of jobs that have you drilling more than 1000 screws a day into material that’s not terribly tough.

Milwaukee Shockwave 3.0 bits are better in tougher driving applications like 14+ gauge metal fastening, Tapcon installation, and hard plastics. These jobs tend to fracture the tip rather than just wearing it down and you’re likely driving 100s of screws a day instead of 1000+.

That’s pretty much the extent of it. By choosing the right bit for the type of material you’re fastening, you get the best life and driving performance out of your bits.

Are you using Milwaukee Matrix Carbide or Shockwave 3.0 driver bits yet? Tell us what you think about them in the comments below!

On the clock, Kenny dives deep to discover the practical limits and comparative differences for all kinds of tools. Off the clock, his faith and love for his family are his top priorities, and you'll typically find him in the kitchen, on his bike (he's an Ironman), or taking folks out for a day of fishing on Tampa Bay.

Diablo Has Improved Masonry Cutting with Turbo Cut-Off Blades If you’ve ever plunged a grinder or power cutter wheel into stone or masonry, you know how important it is for it to keep cutting well until you finish the work. Just as important as the tool you use is your choice of blade. Diablo’s aim […]

The Milwaukee M12 FUEL 16-Gauge Nibbler Helps You Ditch Jobsite Shears for Something More Versatile Whether you’re in the HVAC or roofing business or just general metalworking, cutting metal is an inevitable part of the job. In most cases, common jobsite shears can only perform straight cuts, making it difficult to maneuver in uniquely-shaped or […]

There’s A Milwaukee Sawzall (or Hackzall) For Every Demo Job In 1951, the Milwaukee Electric Tool Company introduced the world to the Sawzall. Since then, it’s become so well-known that it’s common for people to call a reciprocating saw from any brand by the Sawzall name. More than 70 years later, a lot has changed. […]

Milwaukee M18 Fuel Cordless Wet Dry Vacuum Introduces Versatility Like Never Before When Milwaukee invited us up to get a sneak peek of “jobsite cleanup” solutions, we were curious what they would have behind the curtain. Our wildest guesses were dead wrong, and the reality of Milwaukee M18 Fuel cordless wet dry vacuums is far […]

I think they really missed the boat by not making these for the purpose build drywall gun. that would have been a match made in heaven.

Hey, weren’t these bits too brittle and prone to breaking?

So how do they compare to the Wera Impaktor bits or the Wiha Terminator Impact bits?

And get rid of the crappy Phillips screw & drivers- go with Robertson.

Carbide and a impact driver is just a bad combo period. Better wear your safety squints for real!!!! Carbide combined with heat and a impact, there’s no telling what will happen.

As an Amazon Associate, we may earn income when you click on an Amazon link. Thanks for helping us do what we love.

See our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Pro Tool Reviews is a successful online publication that has been providing tool reviews and industry news since 2008. In today’s world of Internet news and online content, we found that more and more professionals researched a large majority of their major power tool purchases online. That piqued our interest.

There’s one key thing to note about Pro Tool Reviews: We’re all about the professional tool user and tradesman!

Copyright ©2008-2022 Pro Tool Reviews, LLC. All rights reserved.

Professional Tool Reviews for Pros