Why not just throw your thoughts out initially
Ok. Here are my quick thoughts for
my use.
Ernst - I really dislike these. I like the fact that the rail itself is wide and stands up pretty well, but that's about it. The twist lock feature works inconsistently (easy for some sockets and tough for others) and sometimes the entire clip twists on the rail which can move it slightly. Moving the clips along the rail is also a pain. Some more pretty easily while others do not. Once locked, they are very sturdy. They also come with small labels that stick to the clips which may be helpful for some.
Olsa Tools/ABN - These rails and their retention clips are good. If you plan to lay your sockets down or utilize both sides of the rail, it's really hard to find something to complain about. They are cheap, solid, and you can get more clips pretty easily. The clips are super easy to adjust. In my case, for deep sockets, they are not super stable while upright. I can't put them side to side in a drawer and close it and have them stay up.
Ares Magnetic - These are probably my favorite. Solid rail, good clip retention, and they are easy to adjust. The magnetic backing is strong enough to have large, tall sockets on them and stay up in the drawer even when closing it a little harder than I should. The only thing I could complain about is that they only come in one color. But from the link below, it looks like you can get them in SK green now too.
VIM Magrail TL - I've heard about these rails for years and I understand while people rave about them. There are no clips, only guide posts which screw down to lock into position. You organize them the way you want and simple set the socket over the guide post. Magnets embedded in the rail keep the socket in place. The magnet is quite strong and it also attracts through the back side of the rail holding it securing to the drawer bottom. This makes the rail very secure, able to hold sockets upright even while slamming the drawer shut. The downsides are that the magnet is so strong it is not easy to remove the rail from the drawer when you need to. Another downside is it takes a little while longer to adjust the clips since you sometimes have to adjust several at a time, especially if you need to insert a new size or shift the sockets down.
I am not done with the hunt. I simply want socket rails I can place side to side in the drawer, will stay upright when the drawer is closed forcefully, flexible enough to add additional clips or posts, and can be picked up when fully populated with deep sockets just grabbing a couple of the sockets. Finding that balance of securely stuck to the drawer, yet not so secure that I can't easily pull out the rail if I need to take it across the garage/house is what is key. So far, the Ares rail works best for that.
Is the Olsa rail bent as **** or what?
I saw that when I looked at the picture. It's a camera issue. The rail is straight.
Do the Olsa and ABN clips interchange?
SK has new socket rails out in green in different lengths & three drive sizes
https://www.eppys.com/tool-storage/organizers/Socket Rails/3-8-dr-16-magnetic-socket-rail.html
The Osla Tools and the ABN rails and clips are identical in every way except color/logo.
The SK rails looks like identical copies of the Ares magnetic rail.
