TACKLIFE Master Hex Bit Socket Set, 35 Pcs Metric and SAE Allen Socket Set, 1/4", 3/8" & 1/2" Drives, S2 Steel Machined Bits - HBS1B

I rarely purchase an item on Amazon then end up dissatisfied. I pride myself on reading most if not all of the reviews to get an accurate rating of the item. In the case of this 35 piece master hex bit socket set I was fooled but I do not blame myself because the major weakness was barely mentioned in the reviews which is misleading. The bits are very undersized so they wobble inside the hex bolt heads. I am not talking about a slight wobble but a significant wobble. This is unacceptable and a deal breaker. I read all of the approximately 40 questions & answers and 100 reviews before purchasing and only one reviewer mentioned this problem but thought the problem was minor. That was from April 29, 2019 titled “Extremely nice for the price”. He gave it 4 stars. The 100+ reviews averaged 4.9 !!!! One person asked the question: “is the size accurate?” so it was answered by ATL US seller on Dec 12, 2018 “Dear friend, please rest assured that all bits are precisely CNC machined , insuring accurate sizes.” Is there any chance that my particular set is more undersized than most other sets? I doubt it. I must send it back then look for a set that has a nice secure fit. I do not want to strip the bolts on my expensive bicycle and others’. I am giving this 1 star.Update to initial review about 2 weeks later:An interesting fact has been brought to my attention by one of my biking friends and my conclusion is I was too critical of the Tacklife 35 piece master hex bit socket set. After reading my review, my friend Scott called me a day later to inform me that he took all of the hex (Allen) keys he owns and tested them for how tight they fit inside the various sized hex bolt heads on his 3 bikes and a few other items in his household. He told me that all of his keys had a fair amount of “wiggle” including his goto set for over 10 years, the Park Tool AWS-10 Fold-up Hex Wrench Set. Since I and most other hardcore cyclists know that Park Tools is the king of bicycle tools I immediately told him “I find that hard to believe” so we agreed to collect all of our metric hex bits, keys, drivers, . . . then meet at his house for a thorough test. We decided to just test our metric sizes, eliminating SAE sizes (1/4”, 1/8”, . . .), because all 5 of our bikes, like most bikes, use only metric sizing in all of their fasteners and it shortened the time for testing. I have 4 metric hex sets while Scott has 7. Besides those 11 sets we both have many individual “L” hex keys accumulated over our and our parent’s lifetimes. Most of them came with items like furniture that needed to be assembled. The total number of hex bit pieces tested for fit was about 100 which is a large sampling. If an individual key was not labeled in its size then we eliminated it from the test because it might be an SAE size. The predominant testing was done on the 7 common sized bicycle hex bolts (2.5mm, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10) with a quick wiggle test (rarely did we torque any bolt). We concluded that only 2 of the 11 sets had a tighter than average fit. The following is the list of all 11 metric sets:* The 7 hex bit sockets that come with the 1/4” Torque Wrench that comes with the $200 Bikehand Bicycle Repair Tool Kit* Husky Folding Hex Key Set* Tacklife 35 Piece Master Hex Bit Socket Set* Park Tool AWS-10 Fold-up Hex Wrench Set* The 6 separate “L” hex keys that come with the $200 Bikehand Bicycle Repair Tool Kit* Stanley Folding Hex Key Set* Klein Tools 7 Keys Folding Hex Set* Eklind Classic Steel Handle Fold-Up Hex Key Set 7 piece* Bondhus Set Of 8 Hex T-Handles* Craftsman 3/8” socket 6 piece Hex Bit Set (about 40 years old)* Black & Decker 7 Allen Bit Tips and one 1/4” Adapter (about 30 years old)The top 2 sets were the only ones, out of the 11 tested, that did not have a fair amount of wiggle. None of the above sets performed poorly including the Tacklife 35 Piece Master Hex Bit Socket Set which I initially rated 1 star. Poorly would be if while applying normal force:* any stripping occurred to the male hex bit head or female hex bolt head* The fit was so loose that the bit got stuck (wedged) inside the bolt head* The bit was of such poor quality that it broke offSo why did I initially give the Tacklife 35 Piece Master Hex Bit Socket Set just 1 star instead of the 3 stars I now switched to? Because coincidentally I had established getting use to a tight fit while using hex pieces to service my 2 bikes in the last 5 years since my main tool was the Husky Folding Hex Key Set which is one of the two sets with a tighter than average fit. Now on top of that, at the same time I ordered the Tacklife set a few weeks ago, I also ordered the $200 Bikehand Bicycle Repair Tool Kit. This tremendous value kit comes with 2 hex sets. One set has 7 hex bit sockets which I used for a week with the included torque wrench before trying the Tacklife set. These 7 hex bit sockets are the tightest fitting hex bits I have ever used. Too bad the Bikehand set only supplies 7 hex bit sockets as opposed to the 34 (17 metric) that come with the Tacklife which is why I ordered the Tacklife at the same time I ordered the Bikehand. It is especially disappointing that the Bikehand is missing the commonly used 2.5mm size hex bit socket. The Bikehand does include a separate 2.5mm “L” hex key along with 5 other “L” hex keys which make up the 2nd hex set but I can not use an “L” hex key with the torque wrench and these 6 separate keys are, if I had to choose, the loosest fitting hex pieces amongst the 11 sets. How strange is that? The tightest fitting set and the loosest fitting set out of the 11 sets tested come in the same excellent $200 bike repair tool kit! Now because I was use to the tight fitting Husky set for the last 5 years and then got the pleasure of using the super tight fitting Bikehand hex bit sockets for a week, I was conditioned to expect a tight fit with my hex tools. When I finally tried the Tacklife hex bit sockets in their nicely packaged case I was shocked by the comparatively loose fit. Thanks to my friend Scott I found out that the Tacklife fit is the average fit of all hex pieces. Even though I have changed the 1 to a 3, conclude that the Tacklife set is a decent set, have only stripped a few hex bolt heads in my adult lifetime which happened to be from cheap bikes, I will still return the Tacklife set. Call me anal, OCD, perfectionist, ..... The feeling of a perfect fitting tool evokes a confidence that I don’t want to give up. Now the search begins for a complete (32+ pieces) hex bit socket set with an ultra tight fit. My torque wrench and bikes deserve the best !A few additional notes:* Scott and I and everyone else we polled said they have never had a hex key that was so oversized it could not fit into its matching hex bolt head.* After all the Park fold-up set keys demonstrated a fair amount of wobble, I was so surprised that I thought it was because the tips had worn down after over 10 years of heavy use by Scott so, using a Dremel cut off disk, Scott removed 1/4” off the tip of the 5mm key to create a fresh unused tip. After the cut the amount of wobble was exactly the same! This means even a high quality name like Park Tools is manufacturing at least some slightly undersized hex keys. It also tells me that Park Tools uses high quality tough steel because this Park set is by far his most used set and the 5mm key is his most used key. No detectable wear after over 10 years of heavy use!

Looser hex fit than some. I work with all new machinery, & its not bad enough to bother me, & some bits are better than others. The bits are in smaller than usual drive sizes, such as the 1/2" bit being a 3/8 drive. I find it an advantage. Better clearance. These arent impact bits, you need impact bits, buy them. These work wonderful for my needs. The case & all the bits inside are beautiful, havent jammed a bit inside a screw, but they are looser than vastly higher priced bits. Maybe assess your use, & if its rusty bolts installed 10 years ago with red loctite, maybe youd have an issue. If you think an $800 set from s.o. will help you, I'll be here to laugh when it doesnt.

This is used for my new designed project.I am so happy for this purchasing.All sockets are functional and high quality.It comes with English unit (mm) and American unit (in). They are really helpful due to engine mounting hole are most English unit, I can use those English unit to fit bolt head.

Great assortment of larger hex sockets which I discovered are difficult to find elsewhere.The 1/2” drive sockets are very durable when applying 100+ lb/ft torque on bolts. I use the 3/8” drive sockets seldom but when I do they are just as durable and withstand the necessary torque applied.One minor thing I didn’t care for is there isn’t an (3/8” to 1/2”) adapter or a spot in the case to put one. Definitely not a big deal.All in all my expectations have been met and I’m purchasing another set to keep spare sockets in my toolbox.

Nowadays you never know if your project is going to include SAW or Metric hardware, so you need to be prepared for both. This Hex bit socket set is much easier than using those horrible L shaped Allen keys which hurt your hands. It also includes a multitude of sizes in both Metric and SAE to account for most jobs you'd need to complete. The quality seems nice, and for the price, the value just cannot be beat.

Nice Quality tools I work as an industrial mechanic and I use these daily they hold up well very impressed

<UPDATED 1/24/21>: Updating from 2 stars to 3 to reflect their customer service. After I'd written my review, Tacklife reached out and offered to refund my money despite it being more than a year since my original purchase. Still not sure if I would purchase from them again, but I do appreciate a company that's committed to making things right.<Original review>: Decent initial quality for a wide range of bits at a great value price. But, as is often the case with cheap stuff on Amazon, you get what you pay for. In this case, low quality steel that turns into a rusty mess within a year.I bought the whole set because it was inexpensive and had great reviews even though I usually only use a handful of the bits pretty infrequently (~3 months).I’d noticed a bit of rust on the bits I use the most when I last used them (3 months ago, about 9 months after purchase) and thought it odd, but cleaned it off and used as usual.I live in a dry, temperate part of California and these are stowed in their case in my garage (next to a bunch of other sockets and wrench sets which are much older and have NO rust). So I was quite disappointed when I went back today I noticed that every single piece had rust on it like the random 8mm piece I pulled out and tools photos of.Keep in mind this is a bit that’s never been used or pulled out of the case and has been stored in a dry garage.In short, crappy, low quality steel. Buy these if you’re in a pinch and need a bunch of bits on a budget, but avoid like the plague if you’re wanting to add a good set you’d like to have for a while.