UK - Upgrading Sockets - Koken, Stahlwille, Snap On

[nezzman]

Home gamer here, and I am looking to upgrade my sockets, currently have Facom 3/8 shallow, which I am happy with, bahco 3/8 deep, and bahco 1/4 shallow.

I want to change the 1/4 and 3/8 deeps to something a bit better.

I looked at koken zeal’s, but I can actually get 1/4 and 3/8 Snap On sockets (new) on eBay for £170, the koken are working out at £210 with shipping.

Is it worth the extra for the koken, or would I be better with the zeal deeps in 3/8 (£100) and standard in 1/4, making it about £150.

I can get the stahlwille 1/4 set for £60, but doesn’t include 15mm, and they don’t do 3/8 deep in 6 point.


Has anyone experience with any of them, I am looking for something that will last, and provide good bang for buck.

Or am I stupid, and should I just be content with the Taiwan bahco sockets.

Cheers all

 

[Dave455]

I can understand you wanting to upgrade the Bahco. There is good and indifferent from Taiwan, and I haven’t been impressed with the Bahco I’ve seen. U.S. readers note, we don’t get the same Bahco you do!

One of the attractions of KoKen is that it’s relatively inexpensive. The price you quote sounds high. Is there any reason you wouldn’t get the regular KoKen? A quick look suggests you can get both sets for £107 including VAT. There might be better deals.

I like KoKen, but I wouldn’t pay a premium over Snap On prices for it.

Stahlwille is nice - it’s my ”go to” in 1/4” drive metric and would definitely be an upgrade on the Bahco. I wouldn’t be bothered by lack of 15mm. I don’t know how often you encounter that size, but it’s an ANSI (American) size and you will probably only find it on modernish U.S. vehicles. I’d be going for 3/8 drive by this size anyway.

Faced with a straight choice between the Snap On and the Z Series for more money, Definitely go Snap On, but be wary of ebay, and bear in mind you have no warranty…!

 

[silkman]

Whats the problem with the ones you have? They have sloppy fitting in bolts, sloppy in ratchet, no knurling to turn them by an oily hand?

What ratchet(s) you use?

From the brands you mentioned I'd go with Facom. Cheaper than they used to by (although not the same quality) but great lifetime warranty.

 

[nezzman]

Thanks for the input.

Yes, I could get the standard koken sockets for around £120 shipped.

Currently, there’s nothing wrong with my bahco sockets, I would just like an upgrade to something a bit better quality.

I’m thinking the stahlwille for 1/4, and the snap on for 3/8 deeps.

 

[nezzman]

Whats the problem with the ones you have? They have sloppy fitting in bolts, sloppy in ratchet, no knurling to turn them by an oily hand?

What ratchet(s) you use?

From the brands you mentioned I'd go with Facom. Cheaper than they used to by (although not the same quality) but great lifetime warranty.

I have snap on flex head ratchets I bought from eBay, 3/8 used, 1/2 and 1/4 both at less than 1/2 price, brand new.

Tbh, I would like something made in Europe, or the USA.

The bahco are ok, I would just like an upgrade to be truthful.

 

[Snapped-off]

Is Hazet a contender? I'd like to pick some up next time I'm in Europe.

 

[germanwrenchguy]

Is Hazet a contender? I'd like to pick some up next time I'm in Europe.

Hazet ***** in a lot of ways imo. there 3/8 deep sockets are just weird, their standard 1/2 socket sets are all 12pt.
Stahlwille is the way to go if you're looking for German sockets

 

[Snapped-off]

Hazet ***** in a lot of ways imo. there 3/8 deep sockets are just weird, there standard 1/2 socket set are all 12pt.
Stahlwille is the way to go if you're looking for German sockets

They don't make any 6pt in ½?

 

[germanwrenchguy]

They don't make any 6pt in ½?

I dont shop for hazet so I dont know if they dont make any but never have I seen someone having or getting 6pt 1/2 drive sockets

 

[nezzman]

I did look at Hazet. As said, the deep drive sockets are weird looking.

I am debating getting the following.

Snap On 3/8 deep (edited)
Koken 1/4 extensions
Koken 1/4 UJ

Stahlwille 1/4 sockets

The deep drive Snap On 3/8 is the same price as the Koken for the sizes I need.

 

[Mr_B]

^
That seems a good pick of the cream from your brand choices at reasonable sourcing costs for you .
You could probaly cut the cost if found another option for 3/8 deeps, while snapon good solid and slim socket the ergonomics are shite. no proper knurl or at minimum a more grip potential soft satin style finish and I don't buy slippery sockets regardless of brand/prestige .

 

[nezzman]

Ok, so I made the purchase.

I gave it a good bit of thought over the past few days, and tonight added up costs to see what made most sense.

To buy the Koken deep sockets, it was the same price as snap on, for the sizes I wanted, so I hit that on the head.
To buy the Stahlwille 1/4 sockets, it was £15 cheaper than the Snap On, I contacted the seller on eBay and got a bit of discount if I bought both 3/8 deep and 1/4 shallow from him.

I already have some Stahlwille sockets in eTorx, so I wanted to see what Snap On sockets are like, so this is what I bought.

Snap on 3/8 deep and 1/4 shallow
Stahlwille 1/4 4,6 and 10 inch extensions
Stahlwille 1/4 UJ

Now to off load my Bahco stuff, it seems to sell ok on eBay UK, so I will get it listed tomorrow.

That's giving me a good socket set for what I use mostly. I find I grab my deep sockets in 3/8 before the shallows the majority of the time.

As for my Facom 3/8 sockets, I have to say, I really like them, Taiwan made, but they have been very good, and I got the full socket set, extensions, UJ, ratchet, the lot for £130 on offer about 2 years ago, the price is now £207!

My setup will now be:

Facom 3/8 shallow (Plus extensions, UJ...)
Snap On 3/8 deep - My most used socket style
Snap On 1/4 Shallow
Stahlwille 1/4 Extensions and UJ
Bahco 1/2 Shallow (Plus extensions, UJ...) - I don't use these enough to justify upgrading
Bluepoint 1/2 Deeps (I basically never use these, but don't want to sell them incase I need a big size in deep)
Stahlwille & Halfords Advanced eTorx sockets
TopTul Hex, Torx and Spline Sockets
Halfords Advanced 1/2 Impacts

 

[silkman]

Stahlwille 1/4 4,6 and 10 inch extensions

For working on european cars 1/4 long extensions are a must. A Facom 250mm one is my only Facom part, together with two VDE screwdrivers, everything else is Hazet and BGS for specialist stuff.

And of course Hazet makes standard and deep 6pt sockets in 1/2".

 

[nezzman]

For working on european cars 1/4 long extensions are a must. A Facom 250mm one is my only Facom part, together with two VDE screwdrivers, everything else is Hazet and BGS for specialist stuff.

And of course Hazet makes standard and deep 6pt sockets in 1/2".

I did look at Hazet.

I could get 3/8 deep for £128, but I didn’t really like the design, plus the price was higher than the others I was looking at.

how do you find the Hazet?

 

[silkman]

how do you find the Hazet?

They are the tightest fitting I've laid my hands on, both on bolts and on the ratchet. Love them.
This has absolutely zero play


My basic set, 1/4" and 1/2", have never used a 3/8" anything. Facom 1/4" extension and a few non-Hazet extras.

 

[02camaro86]

rather than upgrading just for the sake of upgrading, have you considered keeping what you have and adding some snap on semi deep sockets? i grab them more than i do deep or shallow, they just seem perfect for all situations. cant comment on koken sockets since i only have 1 but i have loads of snap on and they are great.

 

[Iridium rand]

You definitely aren’t stupid for wanting to upgrade, anyone here can understand that desire I’m sure. Though your money could certainly be spent in far better ways, unless they’re slipping and rounding off bolts, size marking worn off or chrome is peeling etc. any good sockets don’t have that big of a functional difference regardless of what you pay (different features however can change that, knurling, color coding, nut gripping etc.)

Personally I think the ratchet they’re going on is a much better place to upgrade, yours is excellent already but always room for improvement and never hurts to have extras to keep each socket on so you don’t have to swap constantly during a project. Also consider getting a different style of sockets to fill out a new niche, as in deep, swivel, wobble etc. that you may not already have covered and if you feel they’re that much subjectively better then in the future go ahead and upgrade the ones you already have based on that experience.

 

[RickyPetite]

Not sure if you are still looking at extensions. I have 1/4 and 3/8 sets of Koken extensions (wobble plus) and love them. The knurling is top-notch and really useful when you are threading by hand.

 

[Dave455]

Sounds like you’ve got something that works for you.

I wouldn’t be in a big rush to offload the Bahco. There are many occasions when you can use a “grade 2” set of sockets, especially when your only others are top end!

 

[nezzman]

Thanks for the replies.

I just use my sockets as a home gamer. I don’t want to fill my box out with mid deeps, deeps, shallows…
Deep and shallow in 3/8 and 1/2, and shallow in 1/4 has got me by this far, though thanks for suggesting semi deep.

As for ratchets, I have the Facom Italy 3/8 and 1/2, then Snap on 3/8 and 1/2 locking flex heads, pretty much covered there.

As for selling the kit, I think I am just going to hold on to it for now, maybe keep it at work.

Yes, I have read that the quality of sockets isn’t really that noticeable, in comparison to ratchets, spanner’s and the likes. My Facom 3/8 Taiwan sockets seem to be holding up really well, though I kind of regret not buying Stahlwille instead, but when I first bought my tools, I had no real clue about what was good, and what wasn’t.
I would guess dirt cheap sockets, they might not be great.

 

[silkman]

Thanks for the replies.

As a DIY I think you're pretty much covered. Spend the rest on fun and games.

I've found that for specialist stuff BGS is very well priced, at least here. Don't know of course what you usually work on (cars? bikes?)

Do as I do, buy as you go, meaning get the tools for the job you plan to do. Single sockets, not sets. If the job requires a special socket / tool it will most likely not be in a set anyway. BGS is top for this.

 

[TJMtl]

Exactly what I was going to suggest as well. For the times you need to hammer the socket on a rusty bolt it will be good to have the cheapies on hand.

Sounds like you’ve got something that works for you.

I wouldn’t be in a big rush to offload the Bahco. There are many occasions when you can use a “grade 2” set of sockets, especially when your only others are top end!