Best Socket Rails for Tool Bag - Still Ernst?

[bwringer]

I'm in the process of assembling a largeish tool bag to carry in the car. This will be a pretty damn complete kit, since I seem to have become the "canoe" guy among my friends and family. You know, "canoe" look at this while you're here?

Anyway, I'll be toting a fair selection of sockets, and I'd like to make sure they stay nice and neat and attached through whatever carrying, bouncing, and jostling happens.

I have and absolutely love several Ernst socket rails in my garage, the plastic ones with interchangeable clips. These mostly hang on to sockets like grim death. Very effective, and very easy to use -- just a quarter turn to remove or install the socket. Once in a while you get a socket with a shallow or misplaced detent, but that's not the rail's fault.

Should I go forth and buy more Ernst socket rails and clips, or is there some new socket grabbing hotness in tool town I need to know about?

 

[dmparksa]

I have a tool bag that I carry on my bicycle to friends' houses to help work on their cars. I grabbed a few of the 13" Ernst socket rails for my portable tool bag. I also made myself some tool rolls out of some Cordura I had laying around for my screwdrivers and wrenches.

If you can get a metal/cantilever box instead of a bag, I'd consider going with magnetic socket rails(Koken, US General, Ares, Olsa, etc.). They might save some space since you can stick them to the lid or the insides.

I don't see a reason you should go with another brand if you like them.

On a slightly off topic, I've been looking at this little box for keeping in the car...

 

[William Payne]

The best socket rails I have ever used are the metal ones that Snap-On sells with their sockets. It has been a while but if they are still the same as they were in the early 2000's those things were TIGHT. You had to really pull to get the socket off.

 

[LNKMK8]

The best socket rails I have ever used are the metal ones that Snap-On sells with their sockets. It has been a while but if they are still the same as they were in the early 2000's those things were TIGHT. You had to really pull to get the socket off.

The problem with those are the edges of the rails can be rather sharp and hard on a tool bag. I really like this style from Wright:

Clip Rails

www.wrighttool.com

Hold tight, fairly cheap, and you can buy more clips to add to rails as needed. Note these are the same as the Craftsman ones that Sears used to sell. HJE offers these:

Search results for: 'Wright Socket Rail'

www.harryepstein.com

 

[mslim]

The best socket rails I have ever used are the metal ones that Snap-On sells with their sockets. It has been a while but if they are still the same as they were in the early 2000's those things were TIGHT. You had to really pull to get the socket off.

The ones I have from the mid eighties are fine. I recently bought some and the were sharp. I went back to my Olsas.

 

[WWheeler]

Urethane flexible socket rails are my portable toolbox/toolbag go to. They don't cost much at all, are indestructible AFAICT, and they hold sockets really well. Kinda weird to get used to at first, especially when new as they hold sockets really tight. You have to learn how to twist sockets as you push or pull them on and off and then it becomes super easy to do. You just give them a 90deg twisting motion and come off and go on easy peasy. If you try to just pull or push without the twist well, you're going to hate them because they are going to fight you.

There's nothing better or even close IMHO for a travel toolbox as you can grab a whole strip and take it with you and swing it around and toss it under a vehicle then drag it around with you then toss it back in your box, bag or bucket are whatever you're storing them in. and they don't let go of sockets until you want them to and you can't hurt them. If you drive over them with a truck you might hurt your sockets but you sure won't hurt these holders.

I bought my first sets (orange) in the 90s at Northern and I'm still using them. When I wanted more I found that Northern doesn't carry them any more so I had to keep looking and the only other place I was more recently able to find them was online though this welding supply company. WeldTab. where I bought several strips of theirs in red & black. Same thing just different colors.

Socket Holders – weldtab.com

 

[bwringer]

Weird -- I actually do have some of those exact urethane socket holders from Weldtab, and, well, they just don't hang on to sockets very well. There's absolutely no way they would work like they do in that video. There would be sockets everywhere, a broken window, etc.

I gave up on them and stuck them into the bin of bad ideas under my bench.

Maybe I got a bad batch or something? I really can't explain it.

 

[WWheeler]

I've never had an issue with them letting go of a socket until I twist it off. Even with 1/2 deep wells they work really well for me for my on-the-go sockets. No other style rail we could find could withstand the bouncing around in the toolbag in our work trucks and still have every socket in place whenever needed. Anything metal, steel or aluminum, or worse yet, plastic, gets destroyed just bouncing down our rural highways and gravel roads. These have been better than perfect for us.

 

[ecotec]

I just grab whatever is in my spares, giveaways, and donations drawer.

The ones that I use in my work tools are Carlyle from years ago when I bought some mid-length and swivel socket sets when there were good Real Deals at Napa.

If Sockets start falling off of one of the clips, I just replace the clip or the whole rail. I do not really care about color… 99% of my job uses SAE.

I do not spend money on this because our tools are only insured for a negotiated value… plus, socket sets are not on our tool list anymore. They are provided by our contractors. I still bring my own, regardless of that fact. As one can imagine, the most commonly used sockets are often missing from the sets… I do not like having to rely on the contractors sets. I only use contractor sockets for metric. If I use a specific one… I grab one out of my spares so I have that specific one for the duration of the job… of a different brand than the contractor has so I cannot be accused of anything. I never have been, but I do not want to invite that kind of scrutiny into my life.

 

[ecotec]

Deleted. Double post.

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

Not to hijack the thread but has anyone tried these?

I don’t like being stuck with the number and size sockets someone else chooses, when flying with tools it important to have exactly what I need and nothing more. With these it looks like you can build exactly what you need.


https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07YNHPCFM/?tag=atomicindus04-20

 

[roofdweller49]

The best socket rails I have ever used are the metal ones that Snap-On sells with their sockets. It has been a while but if they are still the same as they were in the early 2000's those things were TIGHT. You had to really pull to get the socket off.

The 1/4" ones are too tight or the clips were misformed and the socket doesn't get enough tension. Had to pry my 4 and 5mm off with a screwdriver

 

[Shocker]

When I put together a go bag like this, I always grab the boxed sets. They do take up more space, but everything stays in place.

 

[Al Borland]

When I put together a go bag like this, I always grab the boxed sets. They do take up more space, but everything stays in place.

Also makes it obvious when a part is missing. Problem is finding a set in a reasonably compact case/box.

 

[captain14]

Also makes it obvious when a part is missing. Problem is finding a set in a reasonably compact case/box.

That’s the problem with a lot of the newer sets, the container box is huge compared to what they used to be.

 

[bbrins]

I prefer the Wright/Craftsman/Kobalt style rails. I've tried the Ernst rails and had issues with them letting go of sockets when exposed to heat while working in the sun. With the Wright ones, I might occasionally lose a deep socket if I'm rooting through my tool bag in a ham fisted kinda way.

 

[BarrelRoll]

The wright clip rails look a lot like the husky socket rails. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-3-8-in-Drive-Socket-Rail-H3DRAIL/202923451 Price wise the wright look really close to the husky though the convenience factor of running to home depot for another is nice.

I have a bunch of the husky rails at work. My junk gets thrown in a tool bag and either thrown in the back seat of a pickup bouncing through a mine or dragged up a half dozen flights of stairs. For the money they work. My rail of large 1/2" metric deep sockets sometimes loose 1 or 2 depending on the job at hand. I mix and match drive sizes on the same rail as needed. I break a couple clips a year though keep some spares around from mixing and matching. I'm not very upset when my apprentice sends a rail for a high altitude drop test and breaks a clip off, he usually does the damage about the equal to that of a snickers bar. There's probably a better option though at this point would be a very expensive change with 14 or so different rails in my box, mostly 1/2" and some 3/8", I might use a dozen 1/4" clips. I have gone with blow molded cases for some of my go to sizes though that's a whole other option.

With the cheaper rails keeping them short seems to work better. My 1/2" sets are divided up into 2 rails with splits where it makes sense for what I work on. My metric impact deeps are the right size for various atlas copco rotary screw compressor fill plugs. If I know I'm headed down to a **** co I can grab the 1 rail and my 1/2" impact and have the right size to add oil if it's decided to self lubricate the cabinet. For a home jobber you could make the split at standard lug nut sizes on a 1/2" rail for example.

 

[Grokew]

That man was about to cause me a panic attack. All I could imagine was a socket being ejected and breaking a window or hitting someone, or something. Don't try that while demonstrating your product to a live audience in a convention center. Cool stuff.