Shrinkflation hits Hypertough Socket Holder

[milky2k]

I've bought some Hypertough socket holders in the past from the Walmart. They seemed good, no complaints here. I went back recently to pick up some more and noticed there weren't as many socket studs as before. I compared them to my older set and there are only 10 studs now instead of 12. Also, I thought the older socket holders were made in Taiwan, the current version is made in China. Not sure what happened with the original supplier. Maybe their contract ended with Walmart and they will pop up somewhere else? Hopefully, I liked these rails and now I need to look for something similar. Just posting this is a heads up.

 

[KnurledNut]

Those appear to be a completely different design. Any noticeable difference in socket retention? The old ones were pretty decent and affordable.

 

[Y00PER]

New ones are thinner, and I think the socket holder piece it's self will slide onto a different size rail (could put a 1/4" drive socket on your 1/2" drive rail)... Old ones were for sure made in Taiwan

 

[Steve_P]

Nothing to be surprised about here. Wal-Mart is notorious for switching vendors, or product design, every year, or whatever the contract was for, in order to maintain the same price, or get a lower price. Every year or so I buy a few of those plastic shoe storage type boxes, and it seems they're different every time.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

Shouldn't be a surprise.

Walmart is constantly pressuring their suppliers to reduce costs to save even pennies on an item, and it's for all existing items - not just new stuff. This goes the same across the board - food, tools, home supplies, etc. And it never ends.

One penny saved on each item adds up to millions of extra dollars per year for the Walton family to sit on.

 

[bonneyman]

Perfect to go with the new sockets sets that skip sizes, too!

 

[Grokew]

Perfect to go with the new sockets sets that skip sizes, too!

True, and I don't know if I should laugh, or cry...

 

[danielbuck]

Every year or so I buy a few of those plastic shoe storage type boxes, and it seems they're different every time.

dude, yes! I use plastic storage bins to store parts and things, and it seems like every few years when I need to buy a few more I can't find the exact same bins anymore, so they don't stack right or have the same lids. Bugs the **** out of me. I should just buy 100 of them at once and be done with it, find some place to store all the empty bins until I need them.

 

[bonneyman]

True, and I don't know if I should laugh, or cry...

It's OK for a grown man to cry....and then we'd all laugh!

 

[Skellyii]

I've bought some Hypertough socket holders in the past from the Walmart. They seemed good, no complaints here. I went back recently to pick up some more and noticed there weren't as many socket studs as before. I compared them to my older set and there are only 10 studs now instead of 12. Also, I thought the older socket holders were made in Taiwan, the current version is made in China. Not sure what happened with the original supplier. Maybe their contract ended with Walmart and they will pop up somewhere else? Hopefully, I liked these rails and now I need to look for something similar. Just posting this is a heads up.

Good catch!

I hadn't noticed the change. I've been using the HyperTech rails in my travel bag for quite a few years. There seemed to be a shortage a few years back so I nabbed a few extras.

I liked them because they were cheap, and I could take them apart and mix 1/4" and 3/8" socket holders on the same rail, and use the red rails for SAE and the blue rails for Metric. With the old style I think I once fit 16 sockets on a single rail. I also cut a few down to fit only 6 sockets.

I was comfortable butchering them, since at the time I bought them they were <$5.00. I wouldn't do that with a $30 socket rail. Looks like the newer ones are wider, and you might not be able to fit as many socket holders per rail, if that's something important to you.