Pomona Minigrabber vs Minipincer

[richfiles]

I have been looking to expand my home work bench, and wanted to get a good collection of test leads (BNC to banana, BNC to clips, banana to clips, double ended clips, etc). I had always preferred Pomona Minigrabbers at my old job, and was simply gonna buy the same, but could not help noticing that Pomona also makes a product called Minipincers. So, the big question... do any of you have any experience with both types, and specifically, what is your experience with the Minipincers. Do they "grab" as securely as the Minigrabbers do? My understanding is they are easier to attach and release, due to them NOT needing to be attached from the side of the lead. I can vouch for how easy it is to accidentally short two leads when dealing with a stubborn Minigrabber. Price difference between them is negligible to nonexistent, so does it pay to favor one over the other, or is it best to just have a couple of both?

In the test bench ring, we have Minigrabber vs Minipincer

Ding, ding!
Round 1!

richfiles

[Rerouter]

seems there aimed more at smd components on board, where the mini grabbers are more aimed at dip pins and through-hole

at my work we have only barely used the mini-grabbers, what would better suit us is a sharp insulation displacement grabber and a narrow pin probe, (were currently making due with multimeter probes in a 3rd hand thingy)

[nanofrog]

seems there aimed more at smd components on board, where the mini grabbers are more aimed at dip pins and through-hole

This is how I see it as well, assuming the pitch is large enough to accommodate the pincer without creating shorts.

what would better suit us is a sharp insulation displacement grabber and a narrow pin probe, (were currently making due with multimeter probes in a 3rd hand thingy)

Ever tried pogo pins/pogo test probes?

The 3rd hand approach will work to hold them as well, so should be inexpensive to try.

[robrenz]

I have lots of both but I really like the pinchers better. I find them more universally handy and quicker to attach and release. If you grab very fine wires you may need to tune the bend of the pinchers so they touch each other before they retract inside the nose.

If you have a hour to waste you can watch my video of how I turned Pomona pincers into kelvin clips.  If you watch it, the tip I made for these is more useful than the standard round nose.