Quality sockets

[BigMarty91]

If you were to buy good quality 1/2 sq drive sockets for work what brand would you go for?
Snap on over hyped and overpriced? At £16-£17 a socket thats steep. S/h market still want silly money.

I've been using my 6pt deep teng impacts which I do like for their intended purpose however I'm after some normal chrome 12pt shallow sockets (10,13,14,15,16,17mm) i want them to last and be good quality with tight tolerances. They'll not get too abused and won't be hanging off them 50nm max

With me only needing 6 sockets a set probably isn't cost effective so probably looking to buy singles.

I look forward to a reply although its not a high traffic part of the forum I'm sure someone will have some wisdom for me

[Smoothound]

If you were to buy good quality 1/2 sq drive sockets for work what brand would you go for?
Snap on over hyped and overpriced? At £16-£17 a socket thats steep. S/h market still want silly money.

I've been using my 6pt deep teng impacts which I do like for their intended purpose however I'm after some normal chrome 12pt shallow sockets (10,13,14,15,16,17mm) i want them to last and be good quality with tight tolerances. They'll not get too abused and won't be hanging off them 50nm max

With me only needing 6 sockets a set probably isn't cost effective so probably looking to buy singles.

I look forward to a reply although its not a high traffic part of the forum I'm sure someone will have some wisdom for me

Halfords Professional would be a fair shout but I don't use mine professionally. They've been fine but any issues and they replace them no quibble

[BigMarty91]

I've seen a few people mention the no quibble replacement. Definitely worth a look. Cheers

[Cyprio]

Have a look at Facom quality brand.
Britool much better now than years ago.
Blue-point worth a look slightly cheaper version from Snap on.

As your torque is only 50nm have you room for a reducer to 3/8th drive
Might show up more options with 12 point sockets?


From my years as a vehicle technician I would disagree about Snap on being over priced and over rated.
For professional use they are worth the money. They have the right tools for every occasion.
From what your asking for they tick the boxes, thinner sidewalls than most, with that they are much stronger than the competition less likely to cause damage to nut bolt or housing, no quibble replacement for life.

[BigMarty91]

Have a look at Facom quality brand.
Britool much better now than years ago.
Blue-point worth a look slightly cheaper version from Snap on.

As your torque is only 50nm have you room for a reducer to 3/8th drive
Might show up more options with 12 point sockets?


From my years as a vehicle technician I would disagree about Snap on being over priced and over rated.
For professional use they are worth the money. They have the right tools for every occasion.
From what your asking for they tick the boxes, thinner sidewalls than most, with that they are much stronger than the competition less likely to cause damage to nut bolt or housing, no quibble replacement for life.

Cheers Cyprio, all my combination spanners are Facom and love them.
Most lads I work with are tight as cramp and buy the cheapest tools they can find (but that shows in their work) so haven't had much exposure to snapon as a brand. I fell for the buy cheap buy twice with bergen impact sockets when I first started, so in general I buy the best i can justify. We all use 1/2 from 13 upto 36mm if we forget something we can always borrow between ourselves and the one size ratchet can serve the entire range. I've come across a few more little fiddly jobs lately needing smaller sockets and a thinner side wall would be an advantage. I don't mind paying a premium if they're worth it!

[Stewlaws]

If you were to buy good quality 1/2 sq drive sockets for work what brand would you go for?
Snap on over hyped and overpriced? At £16-£17 a socket thats steep. S/h market still want silly money.

I've been using my 6pt deep teng impacts which I do like for their intended purpose however I'm after some normal chrome 12pt shallow sockets (10,13,14,15,16,17mm) i want them to last and be good quality with tight tolerances. They'll not get too abused and won't be hanging off them 50nm max

With me only needing 6 sockets a set probably isn't cost effective so probably looking to buy singles.

I look forward to a reply although its not a high traffic part of the forum I'm sure someone will have some wisdom for me

Halfords Professional would be a fair shout but I don't use mine professionally. They've been fine but any issues and they replace them no quibble

Had my set for years now, really good and at times used hard on some land rover maintenance and repairs. Never let me down. Fully recommended

[Steve Le maitre]

Draper Expert are relatively thin walled if limited access is a concern and they are cheap to buy / replace.

[Bob Watson]

For occasional home use, facom blue are supposed to be good, facom red are more pro use I believe.

I inherited a socket set from my late uncle. It has metric, imperial af and whitworth sizes. The whitworth come in particularly handy for worn nuts where a normal size slips, the whitworth sometimes can have an interference fit and get you out of gaol.

[Don’tTellEmYourName]

If you were to buy good quality 1/2 sq drive sockets for work what brand would you go for?
Snap on over hyped and overpriced? At £16-£17 a socket thats steep. S/h market still want silly money.

I've been using my 6pt deep teng impacts which I do like for their intended purpose however I'm after some normal chrome 12pt shallow sockets (10,13,14,15,16,17mm) i want them to last and be good quality with tight tolerances. They'll not get too abused and won't be hanging off them 50nm max

With me only needing 6 sockets a set probably isn't cost effective so probably looking to buy singles.

I look forward to a reply although its not a high traffic part of the forum I'm sure someone will have some wisdom for me

Halfords Professional would be a fair shout but I don't use mine professionally. They've been fine but any issues and they replace them no quibble

Another thumbs up for Halfords Professional range. Mine have had serious abuse I’m ashamed to say, but they man up and get the job done. Only used the replacement service once, the socket was six years old but replaced no questions.

[BigMarty91]

Has anyone bought halfords pro recently? After scouting around on the web people seem to say the new stuff isn't as good but absolutely rave about the older stuff. But that seems to be the case now with a lot of tool manufacturers.

I'm half tempted to try King Dick tools as they're still made in England with a good warranty.

[Mike F]

Have never had any trouble from Teng tools myself

[tigger996]

Never had any problems with Halfords, Draper or Goodyear.

[Paddy_R]

I have a set of the old Halfords Advanced. No issues though they only get occasional use. The old ones were 12pt, the new ones 6pt. So I don't tend to give them too much abuse - I have a cheap set of impact sockets for when I'm hanging off the breaker.

[JohnCopeman]

Kennedy Professional are fine for home/ occasional use.
Or buy el cheapo Senator and just bin when they are worn.... to be honest they still do the job.

[Matty]

I’ve got a few different bits from Bahco, quality socket set

[Alan_dalton]

Bahco

[Chico 48 PAC]

The only socket I have ever sheared was a Snap-on.

I have a mixture in my tools and have used sockets at work throughout my working life I really like Elora,Gedore, Stahwille and Britool, Britool seem to have got a bit cheap in the last decade though, go German and you will not go wrong.