Wanna throw something out there and I don’t want to disrespect anyone. But I feel we need this floated on GJ.
I think there are tools whose strength is critical to their function. If you pull hard on a wrench, and it slips, that effects all of us equally. Whether you are a first timer, or seasoned pro, having our hand tools function at the edges of the performance envelope benefits us all and could be the differentiator between completing a job or not.
The physics behind impact sockets is different than our other tools. In time, cheap impacts become wallered out (plastic deformation). In time, they could fatigue and crack and throw bits. Cheap impacts could be unsatisfactory, unsafe and unwise for pros. From the impact socket’s point of view, there’s a huge difference between pros who bang away on them hours every day, and all the rest of us. This is a tool where I think we should take the experience & anecdotes of our pro members, with a grain of salt. What performs for them may not apply for the rest of us (unlike chrome tools).
“Only pros need pro grade tools” is a point that’s been made and argued repeatedly here. It’s argued because it doesn’t stand up, on paper at least, and for some of us anecdotally as well (ex. Snap on socket, or Wright wrench removed a fastener others could not, etc). But for impact sockets specifically, all the brands will remove the fastener. The differentiation between brands is how long they last.
So here’s what I think: Any decent thin walled lug socket will perform similarly at removing lugs for a long time. An expensive, well made version may last longer, hold its shape longer. So choose expensive only if you are using them 10X each day. Buy cheapies if you are using them 10X per year.
For normal, non lug specific impact sockets, I think the cheapy clunky chunky impact sockets perform better and last longer than the thin walled (often more expensive) versions. So if you need high torque, buy something like Pittsburgh, and they should work well and last a long time. Obviously if they don’t fit for your application, buy the thinner walled models, but don’t pay crazy money for them.
Caveats:
- If you work with your impact gun more than most, maybe you NEED better quality impacts
- If your gun produces >1000ftlbs of torque, and you find you NEED that torque, maybe you need better quality impacts (at least choose the chunkier models)
- If you want decent quality impact sockets just so they are easy to fit to your gun, or you need a particular warranty, choose the better brands
- If you use your impacts with your long ratchets or breaker bars, you will quickly see the difference between something like harbor freight and snap on impacts. Those same sockets used on an impact gun may be indistinguishable.
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