Which Mechanics Tool Sets Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 10 mechanics tool sets options head to head. GearWrench came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video. Shoppers cross-shopping socket sets, bolt extractor socket, 6 point socket vs 12 point socket and ratchet set land here for the head to head that settles it.
GearWrench
Price shown in test: $300
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
DeWalt
Price shown in test: $173
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
DeWalt
Price shown in test: $173
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“And the GearWrench has a best average finish of 3.4. If you also take into consideration that the GearWrench also provides the best tool selection, the $300 price tag seems to make sense. This would definitely be my choice if the budget allows.”
Best in 1 of 9 measurements, including Ratchet failure load.
Best in 1 of 9 measurements, including Box end wrench torque, single attempt.
Best in 1 of 9 measurements, including Box end wrench torque, single attempt.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Spec claims
- 1GearWrench 243-piece set90-tooth
ratchets, includes a universal joint, most comprehensive wrench set of the lineup (6 to 19 mm, 1/4 to 3/4 in), largest metric socket 24 mm, largest socket up to 1.5 in, packaged in China with goods from Vietnam and mainland China, heaviest set at about 45 lb
- 2DeWalt 247-piece set
largest Allen key 5/16 in / 7 mm, SAE wrenches 11/32 to 5/8 in, metric wrenches 10 to 16 mm but missing a 12 mm wrench, 3/8 in drive covers 10 to 20 mm and 1/4 to 7/8 in, made in Taiwan, weighs just over 33 lb
- 3Husky 300-piece set
claims 72 teeth for a 5 degree working arc swing, wrench sizes 1/4 to 11/16 in and 10 to 18 mm but missing some metric sizes, hex keys up to 10 mm / 3/8 in, packaged in China with goods from Vietnam and mainland China, weighs about 41.5 lb
- 4Kobalt 297-piece set
missing full-size wrenches, missing adapters and a universal joint, largest Allen wrench 1/4 in / 8 mm, made in Vietnam, weighs 24.31 lb, pretty light
- 5DuraTech 497-piece set
claims a 90-tooth ratchet, Allen keys up to 3/8 in / 10 mm, wrenches 11 to 17 mm and 5/16 to 9/16 in, includes about 40 zip ties counted toward the piece total, made in China, heaviest set at that point in the video at just over 43 lb
- 6Craftsman 262-piece set
claims over $950 of value, hex keys up to 5/16 in / 7 mm, ratchets have 72 teeth, wrench sizes 3/8 to 9/16 in and 10, 12, 13, 14 mm, made in Taiwan, weighs 30.5 lb
- 7VEVOR 450-piece set
does not include a 10 mm wrench, includes sizes 11 through 17 mm, ratchets have around 72 teeth, made in China, weighs 40.9 lb, pretty heavy
- 8Workpro 450-piece set
around a 45-tooth ratchet, notably lower tooth count than most other brands, largest Allen wrench 1/4 in / 8 mm, wrench sizes 5/16 to 9/16 in and 11 to 17 mm, no manufacturing country stated, weighs 41.8 lb, the heaviest set at that point in the video
- 9Amazon Basics two-in-one mechanics tool kit and socket set
least expensive set tested, ratchets have around 72 gear teeth, narrow selection of drive sockets and hex keys (largest 1/4 in / 6 mm), no wrenches included beyond a very limited set, no manufacturing country stated, weighs 16.57 lb
- 10FastPro 249-piece set
two ratchets with 72 teeth, hex keys up to 3/8 in / 10 mm, wrenches 5/16 to 5/8 in and 10 to 17 mm, includes extensions, nut drivers and adapters, made in China, weighs just over 24 lb, about the same as Kobalt
Tool retention (pieces out of place)
- 1GearWrench 243-piece set11
- 2DeWalt 247-piece set15
- 3Husky 300-piece set1
the best tool retention result of all 10 sets
- 4Kobalt 297-piece set22
top tool tray was pretty hard to remove
- 5DuraTech 497-piece set6
- 6Craftsman 262-piece set4
- 7VEVOR 450-piece set22
bottom tray struggled quite a bit
- 8Workpro 450-piece set3
the best tool retention among the brands introduced up to that point
- 9Amazon Basics two-in-one mechanics tool kit and socket set6
- 10FastPro 249-piece set15
Open end wrench torque, 1st attempt (in-lb)
- 1GearWrench 243-piece set523.6
- 2DeWalt 247-piece set550.2
moved into the lead, described as built like a tank
- 3Husky 300-piece set462.1
about average
- 4Kobalt 297-piece set488.5
moved into the lead, described as pretty good for a stubby wrench
- 5DuraTech 497-piece set515.42nd
moved into 2nd place behind DeWalt
- 6Craftsman 262-piece set557.2
very wide jaws helped take the lead from DuraTech
- 7VEVOR 450-piece set427.9
gave up even sooner than Amazon Basics
- 8Workpro 450-piece set470.73rd
3rd place behind Kobalt
- 9Amazon Basics two-in-one mechanics tool kit and socket set447.4
gave up a little bit early
- 10FastPro 249-piece set363.6
described as fast to throw in the towel
Open end wrench torque, 2nd attempt (in-lb)
- 1GearWrench 243-piece set511.52nd
very close 2nd place behind DuraTech
- 2DeWalt 247-piece set503.8
held on to the lead at that point
- 3Husky 300-piece set424
lost quite a bit of ground
- 4Kobalt 297-piece set485.8
held nearly the same, called a pretty durable wrench
- 5DuraTech 497-piece set512.81st
moved into the lead over DeWalt, finished 1st overall after both attempts
- 6Craftsman 262-piece set509.23rd
fell behind DuraTech, finished 3rd overall after both attempts
- 7VEVOR 450-piece set400.3
jaws apparently stretched, gave up even sooner
- 8Workpro 450-piece set443.43rd
held 3rd place
- 9Amazon Basics two-in-one mechanics tool kit and socket set413.8
about a 7.5 percent loss in performance
- 10FastPro 249-piece set366.9
improved only a little
Box end wrench torque, single attempt (in-lb)
- 1GearWrench 243-piece set1,352
did not round the nut but bent badly
- 2DeWalt 247-piece set1,8201st
only partially rounded the nut, 1st place overall on this test
- 3Husky 300-piece set1,6993rd
almost as good as Craftsman
- 4Kobalt 297-piece set1,576
moved into the lead at that point
- 5DuraTech 497-piece set1,526
continues to outperform Workpro
- 6Craftsman 262-piece set1,7302nd
2nd place behind DeWalt
- 7VEVOR 450-piece set1,204
performed a little better than Amazon Basics
- 8Workpro 450-piece set1,3513rd
3rd place at that point
- 9Amazon Basics two-in-one mechanics tool kit and socket set1,185
nut rounded
- 10FastPro 249-piece set1,081
fast to throw in the towel again, the weakest box end result of all 10 sets
Ratchet arc swing (passes per 360deg, fewer is better)
- 1GearWrench 243-piece set20.42nd
2nd place behind Kobalt
- 2DeWalt 247-piece set24.74th
attributed to a really wide handle
- 3Husky 300-piece set24
close to Craftsman's result
- 4Kobalt 297-piece set18.1
the single best/most efficient result of all 10 sets, explicitly named the most efficient ratchet in the test
- 5DuraTech 497-piece set22.7
continues to outperform Workpro
- 6Craftsman 262-piece set24.3
hurt by a very wide handle
- 7VEVOR 450-piece set22.5
moved into the lead at that point
- 8Workpro 450-piece set23
a little better than average
- 9Amazon Basics two-in-one mechanics tool kit and socket set24.5
- 10FastPro 249-piece set31.6
the worst/slowest result of all 10 sets
Back drag (grams)
- 1GearWrench 243-piece set316 g
- 2DeWalt 247-piece set250 g3rd
- 3Husky 300-piece set298 g
a little better than Craftsman
- 4Kobalt 297-piece set272 g
- 5DuraTech 497-piece set412 g
a little better than Workpro
- 6Craftsman 262-piece set328 g
a little more than average
- 7VEVOR 450-piece set208 g2nd
- 8Workpro 450-piece set466 g
really struggled on this test
- 9Amazon Basics two-in-one mechanics tool kit and socket set168 g1st
best result of all 10 sets on this test
- 10FastPro 249-piece set280 g4th
4th place behind Kobalt
Ratchet failure load (ft-lb)
- 1GearWrench 243-piece set276.21st
1st place overall, described as having a reputation for strong ratchets
- 2DeWalt 247-piece set267.62nd
2nd place overall, drive broke
- 3Husky 300-piece set2643rd
- 4Kobalt 297-piece set258.3
test stopped when the handle bent
- 5DuraTech 497-piece set244.6
almost as well as Workpro, gear set badly damaged
- 6Craftsman 262-piece set233.5
low-profile head not designed to handle a lot of torque, drive broken
- 7VEVOR 450-piece set224.3
gave up a lot sooner than Amazon Basics, drive broke
- 8Workpro 450-piece set247.9
performed well for a budget ratchet, drive broken
- 9Amazon Basics two-in-one mechanics tool kit and socket set263.7
described as performing well for a budget ratchet, drive broke
- 10FastPro 249-piece set246.4
internal gear teeth experienced catastrophic failure
All measurements (3 more)+
Spark plug and fuel bowl test
- 1GearWrench 243-piece set
all tools including the correct spark plug socket are in one tray, called one of the best organized sets in the lineup
- 2DeWalt 247-piece set
has all the right tools for both
- 3Husky 300-piece set
has the correct spark plug socket; fuel bowl requires reaching into two trays
- 4Kobalt 297-piece set
no 10 mm wrench so a ratchet and socket were used to drain the fuel bowl; does not have the socket needed for the spark plug
- 5DuraTech 497-piece set
no 10 mm wrench so a ratchet is used; no spark plug socket, requires a deep socket and two separate tool trays
- 6Craftsman 262-piece set
all spark plug tools on one tray, called convenient and well organized; fuel bowl requires two trays
- 7VEVOR 450-piece set
no 10 mm wrench with the set; spark plug requires a deep socket from a different tray since a correct socket is not included
- 8Workpro 450-piece set
no 10 mm wrench so a ratchet is used; no spark plug socket, requires a deep socket across two separate trays
- 9Amazon Basics two-in-one mechanics tool kit and socket set
spark plug wrench is too small and no socket is large enough to remove the spark plug, described as falling short on this test
- 10FastPro 249-piece set
all tools needed to change the spark plug are available; fuel bowl can use either a wrench or a ratchet and socket
Socket adapter failure load (ft-lb)
- 1GearWrench 243-piece set228.92nd
2nd place behind Husky
- 2DeWalt 247-piece set187.4
- 3Husky 300-piece set240.91st
described as a commanding lead
- 5DuraTech 497-piece set207.7
trails Workpro
- 6Craftsman 262-piece set195.2
broke
- 7VEVOR 450-piece set223.2
performed well
- 8Workpro 450-piece set220.2
performed almost as well as VEVOR
- 4Kobalt 297-piece setnot tested
- 9Amazon Basics two-in-one mechanics tool kit and socket setnot tested
- 10FastPro 249-piece setnot tested
Head size
- 4Kobalt 297-piece set
most compact side to side at 27.83 mm, most compact overall combined dimension at 348.4 square mm
- 6Craftsman 262-piece set
most compact front to back of all 10 sets at 10.29 mm, 2nd most compact overall combined dimension at 355.8 square mm
- 1GearWrench 243-piece setnot tested
- 2DeWalt 247-piece setnot tested
- 3Husky 300-piece setnot tested
- 5DuraTech 497-piece setnot tested
- 7VEVOR 450-piece setnot tested
- 8Workpro 450-piece setnot tested
- 9Amazon Basics two-in-one mechanics tool kit and socket setnot tested
- 10FastPro 249-piece setnot tested
How it was tested
- 1/2 in open end wrench max torque, two attempts per brand (in-lb)
- 1/2 in box end wrench max torque, single attempt per brand (in-lb)
- 3/8 in ratchet working arc swing, passes for one full 360 degree rotation within a 30 degree space
- 3/8 in ratchet back drag (grams)
- 1/2 in to 3/8 in socket adapter failure load (ft-lb)
- ratchet failure load under torque (ft-lb)
- ratchet head size / compactness (mm)
- tool retention (pieces out of place after shipping)
- toolbox organization and case quality (subjective rating)
- real-world task test: draining a small engine fuel bowl and removing a spark plug
“And the GearWrench has a best average finish of 3.4. If you also take into consideration that the GearWrench also provides the best tool selection, the $300 price tag seems to make sense. This would definitely be my choice if the budget allows.”
