On the subject of socket tools, I had an issue today that reminded me how there’s another member of the family that should be in your kit — specifically, your carside emergency kit. I’m talking about the Gorilla 1721 Power Wrench.

Story time: We’re currently driving our RV down the Baja California peninsula in Mexico for the first time ever. This afternoon, 15 minutes outside a town we intended to stop at for lunch, one of the tires on our car tow dolly hit a pothole in the road that I couldn’t avoid in time. And since we happened to be driving our car separately today, the dolly FLEW upward and came back down hard enough to bust the tire and completely ruin the wheel. It was insane and scary.

Luckily we had a spare dolly tire and rim in our storage bay for such an occasion (thanks, past selves!) but we still would’ve been stranded without the right tool to get the wheel lugs off. Those things had been impact-wrenched on there by a mechanic previously, and our little socket wrench set stood no chance against them.

This is exactly the sort of situation the Gorilla Power Wrench was made for. The key feature that sets it apart is the ability to extend its handle from 14″ up to 21″ in length, giving you the torque (read: sheer brute force) needed to break loose even the most stubborn lug nuts.

It comes with two dual-ended sockets that together can fit the most common lug sizes: 17mm, 19mm, 21mm, and 23mm.

Also included is a small storage bag to hold all the pieces together when stowed away, but that’s admittedly the one cheaply made piece of the kit that will likely tear, so know that going in. The tool itself is perfectly capable of holding up to abuse, so you don’t have to worry about that at least.

Get the Gorilla Power Wrench kit for $27 on Amazon.