tekton or harbor freight impact sockets

[bigjeff94]

Hello all, during my summer and winter breaks from I work as.an apprentice mechanic at a cement plant. One of the guys I work with had a dewalt xr 20 volt 1/2 drive impact. Talking to my uncle who works as an automechanic I mentioned how handy it was for replacing air chutes, pump doors, belt scrapers and just about everything else and he surprised me with one for Christmas. Now I've been looking at a good set of deep well impact sockets for it. I've been looking mostly at the harbor freight and tektons but also the grey pneumatics from harry epsteins. Any recommendations ?
Thanks
Jeff

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and best wishes for a happy New Year

 

[xbeatles4x]

Well I just bought tektons. I was torn between them and the harbor freight and decided on the tektons because they are suppose to have a great warranty and are a more complete set.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I wouldn't pay Tekton's markup for Taiwan imports. If you aren't going to spring for made in USA, I'd buy whatever made in Taiwan you can find the cheapest.

 

[xbeatles4x]

I wouldn't pay Tekton's markup for Taiwan imports. If you aren't going to spring for made in USA, I'd buy whatever made in Taiwan you can find the cheapest.

That is the biggest problem with this forum.

 

[stang2007]

I have the HF impact sockets, and for a DIY user they are more than enough.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

That is the biggest problem with this forum.

What's the problem?

It's well known that Tekton sources from the same factories as HF, so why pay a bigger mark up? Tekton has a great warranty, but so does HF without the delay of having to wait for a replacement in the mail.

 

[bobbycos]

I have the HF impact sockets, and for a DIY user they are more than enough.

exactly

 

[Ign]

I too recently got the 3/8" drive Tektons because the sets were more complete than HF. Haven't used them yet, but initial fondling was positive LOL.

 

[619DioFan]

I have several sets of tekton impact sockets. really like the fact that they don't skip sizes. the quality is very good IMO. Tekton has a very good customer support system in place.

 

[xbeatles4x]

I wouldn't pay Tekton's markup for Taiwan imports. If you aren't going to spring for made in USA, I'd buy whatever made in Taiwan you can find the cheapest.

Your statement made it seem as though unless it was made in the USA then they are ****. I was just saying that that logic is rampant on this forum and typically misguided.

OP there is a guy on this forum that typically reviews tools. Here is a video comparing the socks.

 

[kingstrider]

I have the HF sockets and they work great for the money. The Tekton set costs about twice as much but does include one more socket and a cute box to store them.

 

[toyoguy81]

I have and use both at my home shop. No problems here

 

[MoparTrucks]

Your statement made it seem as though unless it was made in the USA then they are ****. I was just saying that that logic is rampant on this forum and typically misguided.

OP there is a guy on this forum that typically reviews tools. Here is a video comparing the socks.

I am subscribed to his Youtube channel and really enjoy his reviews. He gives great info and its a very professional presentation.

 

[oldgoat]

I've never used Tektron but have HF impact sockets and the only problem I've had with them was that they have thicker walls so they were harder to get into tight places. Other than that they have been great. Gave a set of HF impact sockets to a friend that didn't have a complete set for doing a favor for me. He is one of the SO or none people until he used these and while finding the same results as me decided that they were plenty good for what he did.

 

[SMKS]

In another thread it was made clear that the Tektons use Cr-v.

The better HF sets do skip a couple sizes, but are made with cr-mo, which is generally considered a better material for impact sockets. The cheaper HF sets are cr-v.

For me, Tekton impacts aren't worth the extra cost. You're paying considerably more and getting a material that isn't as good.

 

[stikman56]

HF! I use them at work and have for years with zero issues. Unless you want to spend more, I guess. Walls are thicker than some others, if that makes an issue, then go with another brand,I guess.

 

[Bull]

The thing about HF is they have different types (Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh Pro) and then different part numbers for what appears to be the same basic thing i.e. a set of impacts.

I bought a set of impacts and a set of swivel impacts at HF when taking apart the front brakes to get at the corroded ABS sensors on my dad's Silverado. On that one job, I broke one swivel impact and one regular. We are talking first use here, on HF's own Earthquake gun. Good thing I had safety glasses on. I have pics of the tool carnage.

So, just be careful which set you pick up from them.

 

[texascrane]

FWIW, I think it's worth stepping up to the Sunex or Grey Pneumatic sets. They're not much more than the harbor freight sockets. The NAPA sets are rebranded Sunex and there are way more Napa locations than Harbor Freight locations if you ever need to get warranty service or buy a single socket in a specific size.

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/C...et-1-2-Impact-Metric/_/R-NPT610308_0006572281

 

[DanInVA]

I have looked at the hf pro impact sockets before, but never pulled the trigger on them. Most people say they are pretty good, but I would rather have a complete set.

I figured I would share, I was playing around on the web and noticed that the pro impacts look identical to Northern tool's klutch brand. http://m.harborfreight.com/10-pc-12-in-drive-metric-impact-deep-wall-socket-set-67915.html
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200624103_200624103

I only bring this up because I have some of the klutch sockets I bought to fill out another set. Northern has then for sale individually, so if you have the hf set, it may be something worth looking into.

 

[mggreen]

Bigjeff94, A little more money $218.99 with free shipping but you can get a Ingersoll-Rand 83 piece 1/2 and 3/8 inch, standard .5/16 - 1 1/4 Metric 9mm - 27 mm. Both with deep well and standard in a nice carrying case at www.factoryauthorizedoutlet.com. Just got one to carry in my truck with my Dewalt 20 volt 1/2 impact. I love them.

 

[mggreen]

Hell I'm terrible at some computer things, sorry about web address. Just Google Factoryauthorizedoutlet Ingersoll- Rand 83 piece impact socket set. Some of those key words will bring it up. Sorry. Damn good set of sockets! Hope this helps.

 

[mggreen]

Bigjeff94, A little more money $218.99 with free shipping but you can get a Ingersoll-Rand 83 piece 1/2 and 3/8 inch, standard .5/16 - 1 1/4 Metric 9mm - 27 mm. Both with deep well and standard in a nice carrying case at www.factoryauthorizedoutlet.com. Just got one to carry in my truck with my Dewalt 20 volt 1/2 impact. I love them.

 

[SMKS]

The thing about HF is they have different types (Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh Pro) and then different part numbers for what appears to be the same basic thing i.e. a set of impacts.

I bought a set of impacts and a set of swivel impacts at HF when taking apart the front brakes to get at the corroded ABS sensors on my dad's Silverado. On that one job, I broke one swivel impact and one regular. We are talking first use here, on HF's own Earthquake gun. Good thing I had safety glasses on. I have pics of the tool carnage.

So, just be careful which set you pick up from them.

What Bull is referencing is that he broke at least one of the cheaper HF sockets, the cr-v versions. I remember that thread.

I'm no metallurgist, but my understanding is that cr-mo is less brittle and less likely to crack/shatter, which is how Bull's sockets failed.

 

[boiler7904]

I've had Gray Pneumatic impact socket sets for a few years with no complaints.

1328RD SAE 6 Point
1430MRD Metric 6 Point

I don't remember where I bought them in late 2009 but they don't stand out as being overly expensive.

If I buy a Milwaukee M12 1/4" or 3/8" impact, I'll probably go ahead and pick up a set of smaller Gray Pneumatic impact sockets to go with it.