I don't know about anyone else, but I've been on this board for a few years now, and I'm still waiting for someone to show me their collection of HF or other cheap sockets that all "broke the first time they used them"
Any well known brand of sockets work just fine - and there are hunders of people on here that can testify to that.. You will need to go through thousands or tens of thousands of bolts before you might find one so mutilated that a sub $20 6 point socket will skip on it..
It's always interesting the different experiences people bring to the table. If your experience is that all sockets are the same, it is very much different than mine. I see huge difference in performance between several brands of sockets I have used extensively. Same for slipping sockets when bolts round off. I have had numerous times where a cheap socket rounded a bolt out. Since I switched to better sockets, either they remove bolts better without rounding them off, or the bolts have gotten better and easier to remove since the time when I used poorer quality sockets. Since I have the same old vehicles, and getting older and more corroded, I suspect it's the tools, not the bolts that are better. I also do not have to rely on using thick, 6 point impact sockets for everything. I can use thin wall, chrome sockets, in 12 point, and rarely round anything off. Since I like using those nicer, lighter, thinner sockets, there is a definite advantage to me to having the better tools. Could I get by with cheaper tools? Yes. I proved that when I was starting out. Would I go back to them if I have a choice? Absolutely not!
I too cannot show the junk sockets I had 25 years ago, that literally broke or stretched the first time they were used. I also discarded them, and was smart enough not to buy more, but upgraded to what my father had used: Craftsman. Eventually, I found that those were not as good as some other random brand sockets I had picked up used, so I upgraded them to full sets of premium brands. I finally completed that process maybe 3 or 4 years ago when I replaced all my metric sockets and wrenches with Proto. I have noticed a marked decrease in how many failed bolt heads I have with the better sockets than I had with the lesser quality ones.
I can take pictures of the less than satisfactory Craftsman sockets that, although they did not break, demonstrated to me that they round out bolts more often than better quality ones. I can take pictures of them, because I'm slowly ebaying them to people that value them more than I do, so I sell them instead of also discarding them. I kept them for awhile to use on "tough jobs that might damage the good tools", but finally decided that was depression era poor folk mentality, and started using only the better tools, everywhere. They're made to be used, and if they wear out in my lifetime, I'd be quite satisfied that I got that much use out of them.
I can understand that you feel that HF and other less expensive tools are satisfactory for your needs, and many other peoples. What I cannot understand is the attitude that "any well known brand will work fine". It may or may not work fine, depends on what you are using them for, and how demanding that task is, and how often you repeat that task with the tool. There is a REAL difference between many brands, and for some people and some applications, that is a CRITICAL difference.
YMMV, but some people want, need, or just appreciate the performance of better tools. The difference between name brand tools isn't just marketing, although that is some of the difference in costs.
