The Vise-Grip self-adjusting wirestripper is the best wirestripper, period. […] No muss, no fuss; it just works automatically.

—Kevin Kelly, Recomendo

One of the things I never expected when my wife and I first decided to move into an RV was the fact that you’re going to be dealing with electrical wires a LOT. Whether it’s replacing a trailer → tow vehicle power connector, installing exterior light housings that fall off while driving (it happens), or splicing on a new 30A fuse holder for the battery’s positive terminal, you’ll find yourself doing all sorts of wire stripping and crimping.

The VISE-GRIP 2078300 wire stripper by Irwin Tools is among the best in the field, maybe even the gold standard. It automatically adjusts to wire gauges between 10–24 AWG, so you don’t have to keep resetting it for different wires. For thinner wires, you can turn the tiny swivel knob near the top to make micro-adjustments for better results.

It also has a little adjustable stopper you can slide left or right to lock in the length of sheath being stripped off, which is super handy if you have a bunch of the same type of wire to deal with on a job and you want them all to be stripped evenly and efficiently — you can just go down the whole line one after the next, bam-bam-bam.

Since you’ll often need to crimp connectors and terminals while working with this stuff, you’ll be glad to know that this tool has a built-in crimper that crimps 10 to 22 AWG (insulated or non-insulated), as well as 7–9mm terminals.

This is really the ultimate wire stripping tool and will serve you well over many jobs. Get it for just $20 on Amazon.