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I got a set of these for Father's Day in '08, and finally had a chance to use them last week. Both of these caused me extra work, and knowing what I know now, I would think twice before asking for this product now. Two things I noticed: 1) because of the thickness of the metal strips inside, the outside of each socket is larger than a conventional one; 2) you very well might have to stick something through the top of the socket to get it to release whatever you've removed with it (i.e. sparkplugs). Having said that, I can say the product seems well-made (although I didn't realize it was another dang import). I expect it'll come in handy sometime, but I won't reach for it unless I have to.
As a mechanic, I love speciality tools. The tool is called GRIP-TITE, Grip WHAT. But I bought and returned this after one use. Maybe it works with perfect bolts/nuts, but I had a rusted and rounded off 9/16" exhaust nut, and it wouldn't EVEN GRIP THE NUT. Do not buy this if you expect a professional tool. This is for someone who works on nothing bigger than a tricyle.
The sockets work fantastic. This worked fantastic. It kept slipping.
When I tried to remove them to rotate my tires they completely rounded over. There simply was not enough leverage to loosen the lug nuts. I had several lug nuts on my car that were over-tightened when new tires were installed.
The drive size of the Grip-Tite sockets is 3/8",so I tried using a 3/8" drive breaker-bar(not included in the set). I used Grip-Tite 3/4" deep socket and wratchet handle to try to remove the lug nuts. The wratchet handle was not strong enough.
I then used an adapter drive (3/8" to 1/2"drive)(not included in the set)in order to use my 1/2" drive breaker bar. I got all the lug nuts off easily.
Under load it looks as if the pins are designed to slide a little and be forced inward against the flats of the fastener, so stripping does not seem likely at all.The set has 7 standard socket in the range 3/8 - 3/4" x 1/16", and 8 deep sockets in the range 3/8 - 13/16" x 1/16". Apparently no deep metric sockets are offered though, except for the double-duty deep sockets in this set.In an initial test of all the sockets, they performed as advertised. 3/4" and 19mm. I didn't try the sockets on any rounded fasteners, since I didn't have any to try them on at the time.All in all, I am pleased with the set initially. However, I wanted the deep sockets and this set is the only way to buy them at the moment. I would have preferred that more Grip-Tite sockets were in the set instead of redundant drive tools that raise the price of the set but don't add any functionality for me.Some of the sockets are 'double duty' in that they are offered as SAE-metric equivalents, e.g. The Grip-Tite is a unique 6-point socket with long rectangular metal pins held in place in each corner of the socket by a plastic retainer anchored at the base of the socket's inner wall. The sockets cover American nut and bolt sizes from #10 to 1/2".
With moving metal pins and a plastic retaining device, who knows how well these tools would stand up to regular use and the inevitable abuse. They held fasteners on removal without dropping them at all, even when I shook the sockets to test their holding power, and similarly they held fasteners inserted into them just as well during installation. Still, the tools do seem well made.Hopefully if the tools are a success, the socket range will be extended down to cover #8/32 or #6/40 fasteners, both of which are common machine screw sizes, and upwards from the 3/4"-19mm sockets. It would have been better to have entirely separate SAE and metric sets. I didn't really want the quick release ratchet and extension bar that came with the set since like probably most people that would buy this set, I already have plenty of drive tools, and I prefer American tools where available to Taiwan ones. For me it will be a niche tool since I have plenty of conventional sockets, and various extractor sockets as well.
In general I don't like this kind of tool because in some cases the match is not as good as you might like, and when I am working I usually need either SAE or metric, but not both. A metric set in standard depth that fills in the gaps in the metric sizes not covered by this set is available. I'll reserve these for their ability to hold onto fasteners, and give them a try with damaged fasteners if my extractor tools won't work. Some sets are now in Sears and other stores, so if they sell well maybe we will see 1/4" or 1/2" sets, and metric deep sockets as well.
Have not tried to use it on any "problem" jobs that the advertisement describes and have only used one size so far, however, on about the third nut I tightened one of the fingers broke. Have not contacted anybody about that yet so do not know how they will respond. Be aware that the walls are a little thicker than regular sockets so you cannot get into as tight a space as others. I do like the way they hold a bolt or nut as you try to insert them into close quarters.
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