Accessories

Very useful, some limitations
I do renovations of old homes and don't come across bolts very often so I don't like to keep a whole socket set cluttering up my tool bag or truck. However, I do come across them occasionally and have found this "universal" socket wrench to handle virtually every situation in one handy little tool that has earned a spot in my tool bag.

Removing a wrought iron railing the other day, one of my carpenters asked if I had a socket set to remove the bolts holding the railing to the brick, and I handed him this. He looked at it suspiciously but tried using it and now he wants one. Even though the bolts had been painted over several times, the Gator Grip removed them with no problem, and probably a regular socket would not have fit.

The only time it didn't work for me was when I needed to tighten some concrete anchors and the bolt extended through the nut further every time we tightened it. Eventually the bolt stuck out far enough that that Gator Grip could no longer touch the nut. However, a standard socket wouldn't have worked anyways, it ended up requiring a deep well socket so this was a fairly specialized application.

Is it the perfect tool? No, and if I knew I was going to be doing something that required a lot of bolt tightening or removing, I'd probably plan ahead and bring a regular socket set. However, it is a great tool to keep around for those unexpected situations, and it will handle the majority of those situations very well.

This is the most useful socket wrench ever!!!
I have had one of these since they were advertised on TV years ago. It is the best all-purpuse hex wrench on the market and I especially like that it comes with an electric drill attachment. I have used it for many DIY home projects and it has worked wonderfully. It is strong enough to drive a 1/4 inch by 4 inch hex screw directly into a stud with no problem. I would have expected one of those pins to have fallen out by now, but they are obviously really secure and made of incredibly strong steel.

I bought a second one after I moved and couldn't find it in one of my boxes for a while. It was nice to see that they didn't start using cheaper, less effective materials after so many years. I am impressed.

Decent tool
I've had mine for several years. I've been fairly please with it. I do bear it some suspicion every time I grab it. The bottom line is that I don't have a lot of confidence with it when I grab it. Some tools are truly friends -you know dependable, working as advertised -while some are,....well, are suspicious and are they worth in the fold or in the trash heap?

It will take some getting use to at first in centering the nut or bolt on the socket. Also, you must completely cover the nut area with the pins otherwise it could easily slip off, and with the tool being top heavy, it is difficult to do. I find my fingers firmly attached to the businiess end of the socket to prevent slippage and keeping it on the fastener. The slippage can result in rounding like in one of my car's oil drain plug. If you have it secure, it can stand some good torquing but because it is top-heavy, it becomes a learned skill. For really small nuts or fasteners with small area, it becomes very difficult in keeping the socket engaged unless your are completely on top of it. Large and tall ones maybe easier.

I find it useful if I see that I might fasten scores and scores of nuts and bolts. I use this to start them and the job can go by quickly with this tool. After the structure is free standing, go back and torque them properly.

I would wait for sales. IMHO it is worth $10 and would not pay the close to $20 for it.

Semi-adequate for light stuff
Overall this was pretty disappointing, but one has to wonder whether some industrial designer could fix its inherent flaws. It's cheaply made and has a lot of slop in it, and sometimes the spring isn't strong enough to pop the pins back into position -- pain in the neck to re-position.

It's far too inferior in quality to be used for serious mechanical work, but it might be handy if you were installing a whole bunch of big plant hangers, or something else strangely shaped.

The basic idea might be workable, but the actual tool is of the "99-cent tool bin" quality.

Works pretty well
I've used this socket several times and it works well. I used it to take apart the steering parts of a Murray riding lawn mower, it was very nice not having to hunt for sockets in my disorganized tool box. I haven't put huge stress on it, but it's survived fine so far. Even though it appears to be a deep socket, the pins only push in so far, so I would guesstimate it won't work with nuts with more than 3/4" or so of the bolt sticking out.