If you’ve ever built a racecar, you’ve no doubt had to put together a hose or two using a set of AN fittings. And ever since, we’ve all cursed those wonderful Army engineers who designed the fittings and hose system that helped to power our country to the Moon, but in reality, they are a great innovation that’s helped to standardize fluid transfer systems for the racecar builder and hobbyist alike.

Gone are the days of using hard aluminum lines combined with rubber line at the terminus – instead, we have the ability to use either stainless braided hose or fabric-covered hose in conjunction with a variety of fitting designs to meet our needs. But putting those hoses together has often brought the strongest man to his knees – all of that high-quality fluid transfer comes at a price, and it’s often bloodied fingertips and the ability to learn curse words that have never existed.  

Thankfully, there are innovations in the marketplace from companies who have heard your cries, and one of them is this neat set of aluminum Soft Jaws that fit right into your bench vise and add that third hand that’s so often needed during AN hose assembly. Perma-Cool, a company that has been in the fluid transfer and vehicle cooling business since the 1970’s, has produced that helping hand you need. The jaws are magnetized, meaning they won’t fall out of the vise when you loosen it up, and the aluminum construction means that your expensive fittings won’t be damaged during assembly – which is definitely not the case when you’re trying to wrestle three wrenches between your knees without pinching your hand between them. They also permit you to wrench from the top, side, or bottom, depending on what works for your hose assembly. Made in the USA and at a cool low price of only $27.16 – you’d be silly not to invest in a pair after spending hundreds of dollars on fittings and hose.