2022 test15 productsHand Tools
Which Hex Bit Socket Brand Wins?
A head-to-head test of 15 hex bit socket options with the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.
Budget pick
Kobalt
Price shown in test: $22, 7-piece set
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Made_in | Fit | Torque_5_32_inlbs | Torque_5_16_inlbs | Impact_wrench_test | Wear_and_tear | Torque_3_32_inlbs | Kit_contents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Kobalt$22, 7-piece set | Taiwan | nice and tight fit | 182, best of the 5/32 test, 18 in lbs more than the second place Husky | 1,417, moved into second place behind the Husky in the first pass of results but finished fourth in the final ranking after the Sunex, Husky, and Master Hex results came in | survived both the small impact wrench and the Earthquake without damage; made it to 185 ft lbs before the impact-rated adapter broke, then passed 200 ft lbs with a new adapter, no damage to the socket itself | experienced the most visible damage (bending and rounding) of the 5/32 test group despite posting the best torque number | not tested | not tested |
| 2Sunex$34, 16-piece stubby impact hex driver set | Taiwan | not tested | not tested, skipped because the set does not include a 5/32 socket | 1,531, best of the 5/16 test and the only top finisher with no visible damage despite the high torque load | no problem with either impact wrench, got very close to 200 ft lbs without an issue, no damage | not tested | not tested, one of the 7 brands without a 3/32 size | not tested |
| 3Neiko$46, 32-piece set (16 SAE and 16 metric), second most expensive brand tested | Taiwan | pretty decent fit, less taper and sharper edges than most | 166, second place behind the Kobalt | 1,391 | survived both impact wrenches with no damage; test stopped at 222 ft lbs when the reviewer ran out of spare torque adapters, not due to any failure of the socket | not tested | 36, best of the 8 brands with this size | not tested |
| 4Master Hex$39, 34-piece set (17 SAE and 17 metric) | no information on the packaging regarding where it is made | pretty loose fit, similar to the Lexivon | 134, performed nearly the same as the Lexivon | 1,450, third place, held up with no visible damage thanks to less taper and sharper edges than the Lexivon | held up fine; made it to 233 ft lbs, the highest ft lbs figure reached in the impact test, when yet another torque adapter broke, no damage to the tool | not tested | 28 | not tested |
| 5Husky$18, 7-piece set, sold at Home Depot | Taiwan, finished in mainland China | definitely a lot tighter fit than the Pittsburgh | 160, third place, 27 in lbs better than the Pittsburgh, no visible damage | 1,500, second place behind the Sunex by 31 in lbs; destroyed the test bolt but the high torque load caused notable wear and tear to the tool itself | not designed for impact tools but held up through both wrenches; ultimately broke at around 185 in lbs under continued torque | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 6GearWrench$64, 39-piece set, most expensive brand tested | Taiwan | not tested | 151, quite a bit better than average | 1,401, fifth place, no visible damage | held up fine through both wrenches; made it to almost 222 ft lbs when yet another torque adapter broke, no damage to the tool | not tested | 33, a little too much taper to match the Neiko | includes hex, torx, Phillips, and slotted bits with a flex socket design and off-corner loading |
| 7Neiko Impact$30, 14-piece set | Taiwan | much better fit than the Craftsman | 159, one in lbs short of tying the Husky, small amount of wear and tear | 1,235, gave up early this round; edges not very sharp, reducing contact area with the bolt | survived both wrenches; the test bolt itself broke before the socket, no damage to the tool; specific ft lbs figure not stated in the transcript for this brand | not tested | 34, moved into the lead at the time but experienced the most visible rounding damage of the 3/32 group; later passed by the Neiko's 36 | not tested |
| 8Carbyne$34, 14-piece set | Taiwan | about the same as the Neiko Impact | 155, performed much better than average, no visible damage | 1,310, could not get a good grip on the fastener; no visible damage though | impact wrenches could not damage it; torque adapter got close to 200 ft lbs, near the adapter's own failure load; no visible damage to the socket | not tested | 32, small amount of rounding, same result as Capri Tools | not tested |
| 9Capri Tools$23, 13-piece set | Taiwan | nice fit | 153, nearly as well as the Husky, tool still looked as good as new | 1,217, held up with only minor wear and tear despite losing grip | made it past both wrenches without a problem, managed nearly 200 ft lbs without breaking, adapter survived too, no damage | not tested | 32, a bit more taper than some other brands, reducing contact area | not tested |
| 10Craftsman$25, 6-piece set | Taiwan | pretty loose fit | 135, barely outperformed the Pittsburgh, no visible damage | 1,388, performed quite a bit better than the Tekton, no visible damage | made it past the impact wrenches without a problem; the tool along with its socket adapter survived to 194 ft lbs without damage | not tested | not tested | does not include a storage case or socket rail, unlike most other brands tested |
| 11Tekton$25, 8-piece set | Taiwan | doesn't fit quite as tight as the Kobalt | 140, moved into fourth place behind Capri Tools, no visible damage | 1,292, performed a little below average again, small amount of wear and tear, moves into fourth place behind DeWalt | didn't struggle with the impact wrenches; made it to nearly 200 ft lbs when a socket adapter broke, not the Tekton itself | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 12DeWalt$20, 17-piece set (9 hex plus 8 torque sockets), 3/8 in drive | Taiwan | pretty loose fit compared to the Husky, quite a bit of taper, edges not as sharp as the Husky | 132, performed about the same as the Pittsburgh, no visible damage | 1,351, moved into second place behind the Husky at that point in the test, no visible damage | not tested per the transcript, which states the DeWalt kit does not include the 3/8-in hex bit socket needed for this test | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 13Lexivon$39, 32-piece set (16 SAE and 16 metric) | Taiwan, developed by Lexivon in the USA | isn't nearly as tight as many of the other brands | 136, slightly below average, no visible damage | 1,270, below average again, no visible damage | handled the impact wrenches just fine; made it to almost 224 ft lbs before breaking another torque adapter, no damage to the tool | not tested | 24, worst of the 3/32 group; a lot of taper and more rounded corners than the competition | not tested |
| 14Pittsburgh$15, 9-piece set, least expensive brand tested, sold at Harbor Freight | Taiwan | doesn't offer a very tight fit; takes quite a bit of effort to remove sockets from the rail | 133, held up with minor wear and tear despite letting go | 1,253 (just over 104 ft lbs) before rounding out the fastener, small amount of wear and tear | not designed for impact tools but survived; the bolt began stretching at 175 in lbs and the Pittsburgh outlasted the bolt with no visible damage | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 15Mix Power$18, 14-piece set | China | measured as undersized at 0.153 in, the most undersized of all brands tested; extremely loose fit compared to the Pittsburgh and Husky | 95, worst of the 5/32 test, no visible damage despite the loose fit | 1,032, snapped under load with significant damage, worst result of the 5/16 test | survived the first 15-second impact test but began visibly twisting under the Earthquake wrench; a second Mix Power sample snapped at almost 150 in lbs, described as two broken Mix Power tools total | not tested | 26, small amount of rounding | not tested |
How it was tested
- maximum torque before failure using a 5/32 hex bit socket
- maximum torque before failure using a larger 5/16 hex bit socket
- durability under an impact wrench (15 seconds with a smaller impact wrench, then 15 seconds with a large Earthquake impact wrench), then maximum torque via breaker bar and adapter until failure
- maximum torque before rounding using a 3/32 hex bit socket (only 8 of 15 brands include this size)
- physical size accuracy versus the nominal socket size