I was at my local Home Depot today, when I saw a display of Makita 1/4″ XPS impact socket sets at $10 each.
I don’t need more sockets, but… I always find myself running around trying to get the right cordless drill, impact driver, or impact wrench adapter for the socket most convenient for the task at hand.
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There are times when I hit up my master kit and get what I need, and other times when I just need one small task and dig through a portable kit hoping I have the right combination of accessories there.
Improvising usually works, but it’s less than ideal.
$10 each for a SAE set? I’m sold! I figured I might as well get a metric set too, as my older Makita 3/8″ impact sockets have served me well over the years.
Makita Impact XPS sockets??
Earlier this year I wrote about Makita’s XPS impact-rated screwdriver bits. I asked Makita USA as to whether their Impact XPS sockets were any different than when they were branded under previous branding (such as Makita Impact Gold), but have not heard back yet.
First there was Makita Gold, and now Makita Impact XPS. There was ImpactX in between, but I don’t remember seeing any ImpactX socket sets.
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As far as I can tell, these sets feature a newer Makita Impact XPS hex to square drive adapter bundled with the same impact sockets that Makita has been selling for years, or at least this seems to be true for the 3/8″ sockets, as the 1/4″ impact sockets seem to be a more recent expansion.
But you know what? For convenient close-reach purposes I bought these for, they’ll do the trick.
Makita wouldn’t be my first choice as an impact socket brand, and they’re also not among my top picks when it comes to power tool accessories in general, but I think these will work out nicely, especially for the price.
The current (sale??) price is $10 each at both Amazon and Home Depot. It’s also worth noting that Home Depot has free no-minimum shipping on both SAE and metric sets.
SAE Sizes: 3/16″, 1/4″, 5/16″, 3/8″, 7/16″, 1/2″, 9/16″
Metric Sizes: 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13 mm
Each set comes with 8 pieces – 7 sockets and a 1/4″ hex to square drive adapter, plus a soft plastic holder.
Price: $10/set
Buy Now: SAE via Amazon
Buy Now: SAE via Home Depot
Buy Now: Metric via Amazon
Buy Now: Metric via Home Depot
Here’s what the display looks like if you find yourself at a Home Depot:
See More: @ToolGuyd on Instagram
See More Impact Socket News:
Milwaukee Tool HUGE Shockwave Impact Sockets Expansion Coming in 2021
Jared
Skipped sizes, gross. 😛
But that does look like good value. I’m not sure I’ve ever bought Makita power tool accessories – never had a reason.
Adam
size, i believe.
While I like completeness (actually a problem sometimes), I don’t recall the last time I needed a 9 mm socket.
Jared
Oh I agree, hence the emoticon. 9mm is pretty useless. I do prefer having no skips at all when I buy larger socket sets, but something portable like this… small potatoes.
Julian Tracy
What’s the point? A 1/4” driver combined with these tiny size bolts – any decent chrome standard socket will do without any issues.
Makita accessories in general are about as crappy in fit and finish as Bosch. They’ve both pimped out their good names with shit accessories.
Stuart
Sometimes larger-drive sockets cannot clear obstructions, and other times it takes time to track down the right tool, adapter, and socket pairing to fit a task.
These will go in the garage or an installation tool kit. Sure, I can buy more chrome sockets to keep where I need them, but why? This is a cheaper and more compact option.
I anticipate time and effort savings, unless these sockets are absolutely terrible, but I’ve had decent experiences with Makita’s 3/8″ sockets and don’t see why these wouldn’t be as good.
Noah
I picked these up last year for the same price and they’ve worked out well. I don’t use them often but they are always conveniently located in my tool bag.
I bought an impact xps bit set and they generally seem like good quality. The magnet however came out of the bit holder (held in by adhesive). I wasn’t able to get it back in. The impact gold adapter I have has a detention ring for the magnet.
NigelDH
I got 3 pairs two years ago in the Holiday sales- one of each, to put in kits with my various impact drivers & tool bag.
A set of these, a set of impact spade bits, a set of drill bits and screw bits – and each of my impact drivers is ready to grab and go. So if I am working on say a trail build structure project – I can give someone a complete kit, and not have folks raiding for something they need and don’t have.
Hilton
I bought the SAE version a bunch of years ago but now I don’t see the difference between what Stuart posted and this one on Amazon;
tinyurl.com/4jazbaqf
Unlike old Dick Tracy, I find these very useful to pop into a pocket when you’re working up a ladder.
Adam
I carry one of the standard ones in my edc pouch for work. Really handy for when I need something bigger then my malco flip driver.
John804
I have one of each, and they’re great to toss into a tool bag for “grab and go” purposes. I throw them in the bag with the camper or when I’m heading over to a friend’s place to help out. They’re compact and work well for me. The holder keeps them all together in the bag very nicely. I should get an additional set of each. Thanks for the tip!
Nathan
first off seems a reasonable find. Price is right.
One thing I would point out – here lately with the newer designed impact rated sockets I find I recommend people buy them in place of chrome sockets if you have to.
Put another way. you want a set of 1/4 drive deep sockets. You might as well get the cheaper impact rated socket set rather than getting the chromes. Why – they cost less, aren’t really much thicker walled – will last just as well – and hey are impact rated.
Applies fairly constantly at the moment for any drive size especially when you look at kits from people like SK.
So in this case I think that’s a great find. provided they give a good snug socket fit and are quality.
Randy
Bought these with your link to replace a lost set from moving. Thanks for the convenience factor. I hope the quality is okay.
Bob
If your looking for quarter inch drive sockets and in relativley small sizes why bother with impact rated sockets? Price? I guess the black oxide finish is cheaper to manufacture than the chrome. So impact rated set is gonna be cheaper. For me I’d rather have the thin wall. Small fasteners always seem to be in a tight spot.
I use my DeWalt impact gun with a 1/4” hex to 1/4, 3/8 or 1/2” drive adapter whenever possible. I typically use my chrome and impact sockets interchangeably on the small sizes. Usually I favor the chrome because of the thin wall. I have not had one of the chrome ones split yet. I’ve got a mix of old craftsman KD, SK, Proto, Wright etc.
Just curious are you guys noticing a lot of your chrome sockets splitting from use with your impact gun? Maybe I’m just getting lucky or maybe my old yard sale chrome sockets were made better than the offshore suff you find in stores now? Not sure I believe the latter as guys swear by those Horror freight ones.
But at the end of the day for 10 bucks and that nifty little plastic holder throw it in the tool bag and if you lose it or it gets stolen you’re not gonna care too much.
I’ve got a cheapo set of Lyle torx heads that came in the same style of plastic holder. Love them. Convenient to grab and go. I just wish I could get some of those plastic style holders in a generic version to mix and match a custom set of sockets.
Jared
I’m guilty of using chrome sockets with impact guns on occasion. I’ve never split a socket – but I have stripped/worn out the insides a bit.
Usually this comes up because I’m working on a piece of farm machinery or at a neighbors place and don’t have my full impact set nearby.
This also came up recently when removing driveshaft bolts on my pickup. Ford uses 12pt 12mm bolt heads on those. I even planned ahead and bought a special Sunex 12pt flex impact socket to use – but the thick walls of the impact socket and the joint made it tricky to use on the rear bolts of the front driveshaft.
I think Sunex makes a regular version too, but I wasn’t going to wait for another order or spend that much twice to get the job done, so I just sacrificed a chrome socket. The wear on that 12pt socket was obvious when I was done. I even ground the socket down before reassembling so the bolt was held deeper in the socket on fresh grooves.
Nathan
At lot of your 1/4 driver “impact” sockets aren’t any thicker than a normal chrome socket. The “impact here is rated for your impact driver – not an impact wrench.
so I don’t think they are a far comparison to a 3/8 drive or 1/2 drive impact socket that is meant directly fit onto a impact wrench of heft.
But what does impact rated actually mean? It’s less about a max torque rating as it is about a stress rating. Now I’ve broken a 2 chrome sockets in my life and 3 extensions. In all cases – broken by hand not with a machine. And always at the worst time.
But impacts. Repeated beating at _____ torque level can create stress fractures in the surface – which widen over time. So you might not crack that socket with your impact wrench today – but 2 years from now it might well let go as you are hand tightening an exhaust bracket. Impact sockets if you notice while often thicker at the base are often deeper radiused and usually made of a different grade of Steel than the chromed counterparts.
in my case every socket and extension I broke happened to be either cheaper version (autozone socket) or previously suspect. I think for example the one extension had already been over torqued years ago by someone standing on a breaker bar.
So for these I wouldn’t put too much on the impact rating. They don’t appear to be very thick in comparison. Meanwhile though – take a look at the SK and Tekton impact 3/8 drive sockets. They are also not very thick compared to the chrome versions. Once you get out to 1/2 drive the differences widen because impact wrenches with 1/2 drive anvils put out alot more torque.
PJB
I just picked up both sets at my local HD. I will keep them handy with my impact drivers. Once thing would have been “really nice” is if the outside of the plastic holder would have some indication if it is SAE or METRIC. Simple S or M would be enough. The way that the pieces set in the plastic you cannot read the sizing. Overall quality of everything seems very nice. This I believe is the first Makita accessory I have in my arsenal.
Frosticus
One is blue, one is red. Many tools use this color indicator. I bought a set for driving lag bolts. Black sockets are easier to see when dropped in a bucket of silver/gray lag bolts.
Farid
I bought these years ago, when they were labeled impact gold. I’ve commented about them before and they have been extremely useful. They are convenient to just toss in ta tool bag be ready to go. I’ve used them on the car,hang wall cabinets, and install lag bolts and concrete screws, and have yet to have one fail. My only complaint is the wall thickness on the smaller sockets is a actually a little too much!
I was happy with the sets I have, so I I bought a set of power bits. They have held up much better than Milwaukee shock wave so far. I might have to donate my spare Milwaukee sets.