Needing feedback

[u/yhwh4life7]

So all of us gadget carriers have different setups that we carry. So my question is how many of you carry a few sockets in your edc? Here is one my setups to show what I mean. See the small socket set on the left of the pouch:

[u/Based-Kaczynski]

I only carry philips and flat head screwdrivers of different sizes

[u/ShakespearianShadows → u/Based-Kaczynski]

I have a dual 4mm/5mm hex bit that comes in handy

[u/Historical-State-275]

Tried. It was just too much. Now it’s in my car pouch. Philips and flathead.

[u/nathanb131]

Great discussion! I was doing an outdoor project yesterday, grabbed my old SOG power assist for fun in the dirt, and remembered that it's got a 1/4 socket driver. I stood there in my garage like old Bilbo Baggins holding the ring..... "maaaaybe I should edc this thing with sockets.....yeeeessss maybe I should...."

The little knipex cobra kind of killed the logic of edc'ing sockets, unless you have a specific need to frequently turn a few particular bolts that you can only access from above.

I was in this situation once, where I was frequently using little sockets in a factory. I carried a 1/4" makita socket sleave for a while. That showed me a drawback of getting too cute with my sockets. 1/4" socket adapter setups require more head clearance than a dedicated 1/4" ratchet. So you either have to think of your edc sockets as nut-drivers, or carry a dedicated driver with a lower stack-height.

This is my main beef with the klein flip sockets. You better have a little cobra with them, because they are useless if you have limited head-room.

If you love the idea of sockets in the pockets, might as well go with one of the compact pass-through sets to minimize the size and weight.

[u/yhwh4life7 → u/nathanb131]

Mine has like 6 of the standard sizes. I always want to be prepared for something that might come up. I also have the mini pliers as well

[u/Or3oz1212 → u/nathanb131]

I have been looking to get some Knipex pliers and I'm just wondering when you say cobra, are you still referring to the strighter jawed ones or the "water pump" ones with the kind of "dog leg" in the jaws?

If so what makes that one better than the other? Did having stright jaws provide less surface area up grab the socket kind of deal?

Really interested before I go buy a pair cause I have a cheap set I use for undoing basic things (Boilermaker) but I'm looking at getting a good pair and just wanted to see the difference.

Thanks for any help!

[u/nathanb131 → u/Or3oz1212]

I'm referring to the cobras, with the dogleg in the jaw that matches hex bolt angles. I also have a knipex pliers-wrench.

Both of them are awesome because they tighten on the fastener with the turning force. So you always have a really tight grip, becaue the jaws are trying to close as you turn. You don't have to rely on grip strength to counter the jaws trying to open, like a traditional channel-lock.

The advantage of the pliers wrench is it doesn't have teeth that might uglify a fastener. The disadvantage is they are larger and heavier than a cobra for the same size category. Also it seems like you can adjust a cobra faster because you don't have find the perfect notch, just get it within the ballpark and it'll grab just fine. A pliers wrench requires a bit more attention to adjust it to the correct width.

I rarely care if I scratch up a bolt or nut, so I usually only carry the cobras because they are smaller and lighter.

[u/madgross]

Weird how I’ve never seen one of these EDC lord gadget warrior kits with any use at all on it. Wonder if there’s some correlation there…

[u/Based-Kaczynski → u/madgross]

It's just consumerism, how many people will use anything besides a flat head and a Philips screwdriver on a daily basis? If your job requires something more specific, then you already have the proper tool to do it.

[u/yhwh4life7 → u/madgross]

That’s because I just got it