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Don’t get me wrong the Harbor Freight impact swivels are Okay and work great when the swivel pin retaining spring stays in place which is most of the time. But it’s also missing common sizes, But. All of that is forgiven because the price is only 25 dollars and they do get the job done. Most of the time.
So my first thoughts on the Sunex swivel sockets where wow these things are nice especially for only 57 dollars. Then i started noticing some chinks in armor. For starters and as you will see or may have seen in the video. The square drive hole is almost perfectly square with no beveling to make installing the socket on your tool easier. While most may think this is not a big deal and it really isn’t A big deal or A deal breaker for me, but it does make putting these sockets on to your tool a bit more challenging and frustrating at times. Then i noticed that the size stamping is pretty small. I just don’t understand why tool companies assume that it’s tool buyers have exceptional vision. Again not a true deal breaker, but this is a review and I am obligated to pick nits.
The good: The good thing about the sockets are that they fit fastener VERY well and it’s made of chromoly instead of chrome vanadium steel. Impact sockets are more durable when chromoly is used. Chrome vanadium has a tendency to split and crack with repeated heavy use. The fact that it does have the sizes stamped into the steel and laser etched is a plus. Even though the size stamp is small, the fact that it’s there is a plus (some sockets are only laser etched). We all know that the laser etched size will wear off. So another good point for these sockets are that the swiveling action is VERY smooth and spring-loaded so it will not go limp when you need it to be stiff the most. ha… Ohh and it comes in a nice case.
The Bad: Small size stamps, square drive hole has no provisions to make installing them on your tools easier (you will need to look at them and line it up very often), the swivel pin retaining ring make the swivel socket base a bit on the larger side. Are these things deal breakers for you? You decide. For me they are not deal breakers. These are still great impact swivel sockets that gets the job done.
The Verdict: Ideally you would want to have A nice set of pin-less impact swivel sockets, But right now I personally just cant Justify the cost. Spending 225-300+ for A set of pin-less swivel sockets that only offer advantages in rare situations doesn’t work for me right now. This set is not perfect, but the flaws are in places that I can live with, the company cut costs in a way that won’t affect the operation of the tool and I am perfectly fine with that. The Sunex 3657 3/8″ drive 10 piece impact swivel socket set is an amazing value at any level of use be it the weekend warrior or the professional automotive technician.
A great socket rail to use with this set would be the GearWrench socket rail sold here GearWrench 83107 3/8-Inch Dr Slide Skt Rail, Blue thats what im using in the video
