SO screwdriver bits worth it?

[carterbeauford]

I've had my eye on an SDM400A for a while, found an empty case on Ebay and contemplating stocking it with individual bits as I can afford them. just can't bring myself to spend $175 on a set of bits. I built a whole deck with USA #2 Craftsman bits but they're Chinese now. are the SO bits worth the price? do they not break and not strip out? I've had good luck with my Instinct soft handles.

I like to stick with SO because of free shipping and ease of ordering/replacing individual tools.

 

[ken w.]

I personally think that most bits are made by the same company. I have a set of Snap On bits and driver. The bits didn't last any longer than the large assortment I got on Ebay.Just my opinion.

 

[Matt_C]

Don't think I've ever broken a SO bit (although I have broken a SO screwdriver tip), and have busted a few non SO bits; broken a flat, rounded off several phillips, twisted a couple torx. As far as Phillips #2 bits, and T25 & T27 bits, I exclusively use SO bits for those. Mainly cos the SO Phillips bits are the ACR ones, which I do feel do a better job, and the T25 is probably my most used torx (the 27 I only use on a couple applications, but in those instances, you really need some cranking power, and the torx bits I've twisted were non SO ones; the SO one I have has never twisted. That said, neither has the non SO T27 1/4" socket, so maybe it was just poor quality T27 bit I was using)

I'd be hard pushed to justify that kind of money (£103 GBP) on a set of bits too, so I just buy a few here and there, and they're about £2 each over here...

 

[saturnman]

I bust snap on bits all the time, although I have yet to actually burst a t 15, they do twist rather nicely. I think that all bit are made by the same company, and I would not be afraid of china made stuff, even snap on comes from there now...

 

[zkling]

I'd go wera, wiha or apex. You can occasionally find USA craftsman bits. One of their screwdriver kits still comes with all USA bits.

 

[Dave455]

The Snap On bits are good. I believe they are made by Zephyr.

The other big maker in the U.S. is Apex. They are good too, but I prefer the Zephyr / Snap On.

Other manufacturers that spring to mind are Wiha, Wera, Ko Ken and of course PB Swiss. They all manufacture their own and all are slightly different! I find the PB by far the toughest!

The latter firms mostly manufacture bits to metric dimensions of course, which may or may not be important to you!

 

[Quijote]

Wiha makes awesome bits. Machined in Germany. In sets or "contractor packs" they are pretty affordable.

 

[carterbeauford]

looked at Wiha, had some Wear Impaktors and wasn't thrilled with them. main advantage of SO over Wiha is not having to pay shipping for replacement bits.

 

[Farmall450]

Heck yeah. They're great.

 

[Grigg]

They're great because they're tough, well made, work and fit well, and have free replacement.
The downside is if you lose them you don't get the free replacement.

I have 2 of the snap-on bit sets, one I bought new and another used for like $12. I'm pretty good about keeping them and not losing them so I like them and am glad to have them.

If you are likely to lose them then $2-3 per bit (if I remember right) might be a waste.

Grigg

 

[cheechi]

Look at it from a value perspective. You could spend $5-20 on a dewalt 20 pc set (or whatever they have at lowes/hd) and have a few phillips in there. Maybe you also need a torx, square, or flat occasionally. So you have them on hand. How many screws can you drive per bit? Not thousands, but many. Similar results with cman, bosch, ridgid, milwaukee. All china, but all are a relative baseline quality. Cost per screw fairly low we'll say.

Zephyr/SO bit are what $3 each from the SO site? you can drive many screws with it, let's say the number is 1000. Cost per screw fairly low we'll say, but you get just the one.

$175 bit set means again you have a variety of bits on hand if you need them, but cost per screw if you mostly use phillips is incredibly high compared to the other two. Not to this extreme, but a bit set from Wera/Wiha is going to be relatively high cost per screw compared to the two above.

For my money, I'd get the dewalt sets when they go on sale after the big holidays. They get stupid cheap. Replace the commonly used ones with SO individuals, or smaller wera/wiha sets that have the bare essentials for your use. I think that's the most cost effective way to do it.

also this

 

[eschoendorff]

I've used the Snap On Phillips Anti-Cam-Out bits for quite some time. Every now and then I use a cheap bit or a Craftsman and I really don't notice much of a difference. The Snap On ACO bits cam out just as much as an ordinary bit.

This is one area where I think you could save a little money without regretting it.

 

[Tejaas]

I love the Snap-On ACR bits, but I use the Apex bits more often nowadays.

My Snap-On guy doesn't ever have a healthy supply on hand and I got really tired of waiting a week to have him come around, just to find he is out of stock.

Now I just buy the 8 or 9 types I use in quantities of 25 from Apex online. It's more upfront but now I never find myself without mid-project on a weekend or the like.


~Tejaas~

WTB: Snap-On Orange Hard Handle SSDP63 in Very Good Condition!