Hi All,

Looking to replace my aging cheap socket set with something more compact and higher quality.

I'm aware of some brad names but undecided.

Teng, Snapon , Draper, Wera, Draper etc.

https://www.toolden.co.uk/hand-tools...ocket-toolkit/

 

I use Teng bit expensive but top quality

 

I've heard the quality is up at the very top. seems a lot of resellers undercut teng by upto 50% the kit I linked is the guts of £300 from them directly

 

Worth it in my opinion you will have it for the rest of your life 👍

 

As silly as it sounds, the set I have (old B&Q one) apart from a few missing items sockets, its good condition and hasn't let me down. The main pet har it, the crappy quality case that doesn't hold the sockets securely so it its not 100% flat they end up all over the place.

It it a good assumption these higher end cases don't have/or less likely to have that issue.

 

Agree with Russell there. My dad has had a couple of Teng kits for as long as I can remember tinkering with cars and i'm 37 now. They dont get any sympathy either!

 

Teng is good, I quite like Sealey as well

 

Halfords professional gear ain't half bad not badly priced

 

I've got an old B&Q one (TorQ), I recently dismantled a ratchet and put it back together, other than that they've had years of use and are still going strong. It was actually bought for me as a gift when I was younger so I didn't choose it but they're my main socket set still after all these years. My case is also falling to bits like yours though. They no longer make the TorQ branded ones so as far as I can tell no spares available. Luckily my ratchet only needed re-assembly and no replacement parts!

Halfords stuff is decent, certainly for non-professional use. It's also very well-priced if you use a trade discount (anyone in the midlands is welcome to come to Halfords with me to use mine), and most Halfords tools have a lifetime guarantee with no receipt required so you can just bring it in broken and get a brand new one.

 

Halfords pro stuff aint bad i have some of there ratchet spanners with lifetime guarantee but have broken quite a few if used to loosen a tight nut or bolt you are better of cracking them free then using the ratchet spanner the rest of the way

 

I’ve got by with Halfords Pro for my tinkering for over a decade now.
Good value tools.

 

Had my Halfords Pro set for over 20 years. Nothing has ever broken.

 

I've always heard good things about Halfords Pro. Seems a decent value way forwards, might treat myself next month....

 

I've got a bunch of Halfords advanced and also never had a problem with them. Great tools for the money.

I also have a bunch of Bahco at work. It's only used for our "makespace" so no heavy use, but they are also nice tools, and cheaper than Halfords Pro (on Amazon).

 

Ive got Teng at work and tbh my top box is good quality but the socket set and spanners are poor for the money. Mate had a clock off them as well and that isnt equal to other brands for the money.
Got some Blue Point stuff at home and halfords advanced stuff and its far better quality and cheaper.

 

Another halfords advanced or pro fan. Every time they have a clearance sale I pick up sets for £10 to £20, I now have 1/4" and 3/8" sets still in their wrapping. Another must from halfords is the 18" breaker bar, the 24" is too bendy but the 18" is perfect. I also keep a cheap Aldi 1/4" set in the boot of the car as it also has screwdriver and Torx bits - junked the cheap ratchet and replaced it with a decent one. Wouldn't do any serious work with it but good roadside kit. If I didn't have the halfords kit I'd get the bahco stuff.

 

I've got a mixture of Snap On, Blue Point, MAC (All inherited from my Dad), Kamasa (Had since I built my first motorbike at 16, and I'm now 47) and Halfords. For home use the Kamasa has been really good and more recently the Halfords bits (Screwdrivers, 1/4" socket set and Ratchet Spanners), The Snap On stuff is really nice, especially the really fine ratchet mechanisms but it's over the top for home use and if you're not in the trade it can be difficult to get replacement bits like overhaul kits for the ratchets.

 

I like the Halfords Advanced tools. Sure Snap On etc might be a bit nicer but the majority of the Advanced kit is still very nice and the warranty is about the easiest to get a replacement when something breaks, just pop into any Halfords store with the broken tool and they'll get you a new one off the shelf. I've even had the guys take an expensive full kit off the shelf for just the one tool. The discounts I get help too.

Some of the non Advanced tools can be a bit poo though. More than once I've returned them without even using them. The zero degree ratchet spanners spring to mind immediately, some of them wouldn't lock in either direction so would just spin constantly.

I've got an old Kamasa socket set somewhere that was handed down from my Grandfather that also is good quality but that doesn't really mean anything nowadays will be any good.

Wera, Snap On, Teng, Draper, Sealey, Stanley, Makita, Milwaukee, Park Tool (push bike tools) and various others also make an appearance in my tool chest. The thing I've learned is to not get caught up in what brand a tool is, just find the right tool for the right price and ignore the brand. Some great brands make some terrible tools.

 

Agreed here, my mate is mobile mechanic and uses theses, he said he really puts them through there paces and only ever had a few bust ones, and i believe you can take the socket back to halfords for a free replacement. i've bought a set myself now, they sell loads on ebay and they get heavily reduced now and again.

 

Another one for Teng.

 

+1 for Halfords.
Recently bought a 3/8 breaker bar from their advanced range. Comes with a lifetime guarantee.

 

halfords have a tool offer on at the moment (as they do most of the time...) https://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...hopsummerdeals

 

sandvik bahco used to sell them where i worked top class gear priced right, find them on ebay for good money, the rachet is like a watch winder oh and owned by snap on on the quiet

 

I have a Teng set that is 20 years old that is work as new , also have the halford advance set as well both are very good ...unless you have Snap on tools

 

Oh, I didn't know sandvik owned Bahco.

Sandvik make decent lathe/milling tools as well (obvs not what were after here, but at least that side of the business is quality)

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Teng-JUNE...item25dd2c049b

This set with Ebay offer code PURE20 is under £150 seems like a decent price?

 

Halfords- excellent quality and money for value
Draper- another well priced and good quality products
vonhaus- just starting using there items and they are excellent, cheap and really good quality actually

 

When did that pure20 discount code stop? I had one for 10% off other day bought Halfords set.

 

Same here, since 1997 I've had my stuff, it came with lifetime warranty and i've broken a couple of things but in all fairness it was me being a hamfisted **** & putting far too much torque on the smaller sized ratchets and extension bars, they replaced them a couple of years ago after walking in and explaining they used to do lifetime warranty on them as i don't think its offered anymore. for the price it cant be beat, i do have some Teng bits as well and would also recommend them, I have some snap-on stuff but i don't think its any better than some of the cheaper branded stuff like Teng so therefore think its a bit overpriced, i've had an older snap-on ratchet replaced and wasn't impressed with the quality of the new one they gave me, Snap on also like to re-brand certain things and add a huge markup which i really don't like, for instance their lower end mig welders are rebranded Cebora units which are fookin awful, you'll spend more time sorting out feeding issues than welding

 

Yank here; I don't recognize most of the brands you have listed here, but for 163 pounds, that kit probably has a bunch of mid-range tools, and you'll probably never use half of them. I prefer buying only tools that I need, and spending money for the better brands.

Now, there IS one brand I recognize there; that is Snap-On, which is a premium American brand, and I'm surprised that they sell tools over there. Here, Snap-On is sold exclusively through local mobile dealers who visit auto repair shops and manufacturing facilities on a periodic basis. Expensive, but with a lifetime replacement guarantee. I still have a 3/8" drive socket ratchet wrench that cost me the better part of $100 on sale 30+ years ago, and it's outlives a couple decent socket wrenches which I bought later. I have a few Snap-On specialty sockets (mostly things needed in brake repair), as well as a long, heavy screwdriver that's been used most often as a small pry-bar. Not one has ever failed. So, if Snap-On is within your budget and it's a tool you'll be needing for decades, that's what you should buy.