Craftsman vs. Harbor Freight Plastic Socket Rail

[carder69]

I have been buying the Craftsman plastic 3 piece socket rail set when I had a 10% coupon. They seem to never be on sale at $12.99 and the a package of 5 clips is $2.99 so it is cheaper to keep buying the 3 piece set to get extra clips.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00941829000P?keyword=socket+holder

Then walking through Harbor Freight I noticed a similar looking 3 piece set for $4.99. Bought it and I it has more clips per rail e.g. 16 clips vs 10 clips for the 3/8 size. So I have spent close to $100 on these and I could have done it for a third of the cost. The craftsman do not say made in the USA. The quality is very close and they fit the craftsman rail perfectly.

 

[BeansBaxter]

I have about a dozen of these and they have held up OK so far. One broken 1/4" clip but I would imagine that would have broken on the Craftsman version as well.

 

[usmc_noma]

i have the ones from hf also and i'll give it a pass. i've got several metal craftsman rails and they're hard as hell to get off. with the hf plastic ones they hold good and i don't have to mess with it as much to get off.

 

[sprint7]

I have both the Cman and HF and there is NO DIFFERENCE between the two. Even the ribbing on the back is the same.

 

[usmc_noma]

been awhile since i've been to hf, but do they sell those plastic rails individually?

 

[carder69]

The HF in Indy only had the 3 piece set - still cheaper than Cman single rail at $6

 

[pmohr]

I've found the Craftsman rails to be a little sturdier, the HF ones bend rather easily. The Matco rails are far sturdier than both, however.

Another guy in the shop gave me a few old Matco socket rails he no longer needed, and they're dimensionally very close to the HF/Craftsman rails, the clips slid on perfectly. So, best of both worlds; a sturdy rail and a rather cheap and abundant supply of socket clips.

Just got a few SK rails in from toolsource as well, they seem to be even better yet.

 

[The Muffin Man]

Majority of the 1/4in pegs were slightly over sized preventing them from being usable. Though 10 minutes with a dremel quickly resolved this problem.

 

[strkar]

I have the HF rails and they work just fine. I give them a pass.

 

[Catamount]

Wanted to give a huge pass to the Pittsburgh plastic socket rails. This spring I bought the Craftsman 299 pc socket set and have been looking for an efficient way to store them. I am too OCD for the HF Hansen knock-offs and I loved the Craftsman rails but they were too spendy.

I ended up buying 9 HF rails for around $35 and found out that I'm one 1/2" rail short so I will be buying a 10th set, plus maybe a few extras for my impacts, etc. It's a great deal. They are well made and sturdy. I will be bolting them to some sheet metal once I get the configuration sorted out.

The Pittsburgh set is $3.99

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piece-14-38-and-12-socket-rail-set-68101.html

The Craftsman set is $12.99

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00941829000P?sid=IDx20070921x00003h&srccode=cii_5784816&cpncode=31-27477349-2

I took some pictures, here you go:

 

[PT Doc]

If the hf is too flexy, fill the back with an epoy to stiffen it up.

 

[xj31]

I have and like the Craftsman rails but the price on those is tempting. I just can't do harbor freight.

 

[Catamount]

I have and like the Craftsman rails but the price on those is tempting. I just can't do harbor freight.

Why? The Craftsman rails are no-doubt made in China as well. The only thing you're missing out on with these is a 66% markup.

 

[thehazmatguy]

*Groan*

I wish I would have seen this thread last week. I've wanted some socket organizers for a while and looked at the Harbor Freight stuff. The Harbor Freight workers seem to take it pretty personally if you open a box to look at something - so I didn't get a good look at these. I didn't want the Hansen's because... well, check the current Hansen's thread. Other rails were ommitted due to cost (kobalt). I also wanted differentiation between metric and SAE so I ended up buying the Craftsman. I only bought a set of each (the 3 pack of Metric and the 3 pack of SAE) to give them a try. It's only been a week but they seem to hold well.

Because of the color difference between metric and SAE, I will stick with the Craftsman version. In view of the HF version, this is now much less important: I liked that you could buy the clips separate, the rails separate or as a 3 pack.

I spent a mint on extra socket clips though! I think they were $3 for five clips and I bought 2 bags of each size (1/4, 3/8 and 1/2). I could buy the HF sets, pirate the clips and be money ahead. I guess I'll return all those clips I bought.

 

[bart1]

I use wright rails and like em. Have one Ernst and it is at least as nice.

 

[Major Ramifications]

I haven't checked lately, but all of my Craftsman plastic socket rails were made in the USA. I really like them, I actually threw my old metal Craftsman rails away.

 

[TSirotock]

I have the Craftsman, like them, use them for hex, torx, flex, etc. Mine are marked "Made in the USA." That kept me loyal.

 

[Catamount]

Wow, I'm surprised they're made in the USA but I take back what I said! Anyway, at $4 for a set of 3 rails, I stand by my statement that it's a great deal for the HF rails.

 

[xj31]

Why? The Craftsman rails are no-doubt made in China as well. The only thing you're missing out on with these is a 66% markup.

You're right, and I said I was tempted but I just can't do harbor freight anything. Just can't do it.

 

[mmack66]

You're right, and I said I was tempted but I just can't do harbor freight anything. Just can't do it.

Why not?

 

[mark40sw]

http://store.harryepstein.com/search?q=socket+rail
Epstiens has the Wright brand sold in components.

I have Craftsman, Wright & tried HF.

HF seemed like they were made of a brittle plastic.

The Wright & CM are identical and made of a tougher nylon material. I went with Wright from Epstiens because of the ease of getting diffent lengths, clips & red/blue coloring.

 

[bart1]

I also ordered my Wrights from Epstein and recommend them.

 

[Davefr]

Believe it or not SO metal socket rails are an excellent deal. They're strong enough to hold lots of sockets. (far superior to the crappy ones in stores like HF)

Price is about $2.50 - $3.00 per rail set and free shipping.

 

[tribbles]

Holy thread necromancy, Batman!

 

[Catamount]

Holy thread necromancy, Batman!

Well, my bump was on topic but the lastest posts seem to be more about people telling us all what their favorite rails are... including metal now!

 

[theoldwizard1]

I wish I had seen this thread when it first came out. I would have saved my self some money !

 

[O_M_Jeep]

here is another example of CM vs HF, you can plainly see here the only difference is the monsterous mark up. Twice the price, the exact same product.

HF - $12.99

CM - $24.99

 

[xj31]

Why not?

Not really sure. Pride? Arrogance? Maybe stupidity. I just don't have a good opinion of them and their products

 

[Exceller8]

I bought the HF and Craftsman today and I must say the I like the Craftsman much better. I do think they're worth 3X what the HF ones cost. The Craftsman that I bought are still made in the USA which is a real plus for me.

 

[DMAR]

The HF ones may look similar to the Craftsman rails, but they are much cheaper/flimsy feeling. I spent a few extra bucks and got the better quality CM holders...

 

[thejudges69]

How do you all stand these up in your boxes? I've bought the socket stands and kind of like them, I remember when I was young my dad riveted all his metal stands into the top of his box. I could not bring myself to drill a gazillion holes in my socket drawer. I've bought the HF socket stands, there kind of bulky but I like not fighting a plastic clip to get the socket off


I'm really curios tho how does everyone keep these standing or do you lay them down?

 

[thejudges69]

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piece-metric-socket-trayorganizer-68102.html these are what I bought

 

[Catamount]

Alrighty, I ordered some more rails for my impact, hex, flex and torx sockets and now I'm pretty much as organized as I'll ever be. I was planning on securing them to some sheet metal in the bottom of the drawer, but they're packed tight enough that they're not moving when I close the drawer forcefully.

This is 32 HF socket rails. I'm very pleased with their quality (and I'm usually not a big fan of HF).

Here I'm trying to convey that they are NOT that flimsy and do not bend as easily as some might have you believe. Overall, these are GREAT for the price and I'd recommend them to anyone looking for a cheaper alternative to the Craftsman rails.

 

[nine4gmc]

Impressive, I have been leery of any plastic rails but this has cleared up all of that!

 

[Super Sport]

I have both in my socket drawer, and much prefer the Cman. They are not as hard of a plastic so they are less likely to break, and don't hold onto the socket as tight. I have had to break a number of the HF studs because they would not let go of the socket.

I often buy something for $40 and add these to my cart and use the 5 off 50 code, making them roughly $6 for 3 rails. Not bad for a better quality, USA-made rail.

 

[shoturtle]

having played with the HF ones vs the Craftsman ones, The craftsman pegs are made with a higher grade plastic. And the pegs stay put where you put them. The hf ones are sloppy and moves around easily.

 

[Kyle86]

Yes I have the HF ones. Yes they are great holders! Yes you should buy them!

My only complaint is that the 1/4 are easy to break but they give you a **** load on them so no biggie!

 

[NC-Fordguy]

having played with the HF ones vs the Craftsman ones, The craftsman pegs are made with a higher grade plastic. And the pegs stay put where you put them. The hf ones are sloppy and moves around easily.

^This

I have them both, prefer the crafty. Also have one that came with a set of wright sockets. They appear to be the same as VIM.

Crafty, Wright and Vim all seem to be the same quality

 

[geardoc]

The HF trays I bought became brittle and broke very easily. The plastic rails I got from them, have chipped and cracked.

 

[BMB]

Just an FYI,
But it looks like Harbor Freight has changed their rails slightly.
I recently bought a couple of the three packs (last ones they had in stock) and went back to a couple more a week later.

The newer rails are a slightly different color (no big deal), but they appear a little thinner and the recesses for the mounting holes are shallower and don't allow the peg to slide over a screw head easily.

The big problem I have with them is the pegs from the new ones will not fit the older rails, as they are too tight to slide onto the old rail. This may not be a big deal to some, but I mix and match pegs on different rails, so now I have to test pegs from rail to rail to see which fit. The new style 1/4" rail pegs also seemed to have several pegs that will not even accept a socket.

So, it seems like they have cheaped out what they have already cheaped out.