Not happy with Kobalt 227 piece socket set

Geo-TH,In

Well-known Member
Against better advice from people here, I purchased a 227 piece socket socket set from Lowes for $99. It comes with too many 1/4 and 3/8 inch sockets that have duplicate sizes, 6 & 12 point. There are no 1/2 inch deep well sockets. The combo wrenches only go up to 5/8 and skip over the popular 9/16 size. Metric sizes start at 8 mm and stop at 13 mm. 8mm, 10 mm and 14 mm are the common metric sizes I use. Way too many worthless tools like screw driver tips that are held in place with a magnet. 1/4 inch nut driver tips without magnets to hold things in the nut driver. It comes with worthless light weight combo wrenches you may put a toy together with.

Can't decide it I'm going to take them back. Sure glad I didn't pay full price for them.
Bet there aren't 50 sockets that I'll use.

Live and learn.
George
 
unfortunately most sets are for presentation purpose and not for daily or practical use. it is marketed towards the upwardly mobile (yuppie) who lives in town, suburbs or their office. their vehicle trunk serves as their workshop where they can open it to stow their fancy gear out of site yet allows them to display the case proudly to those who may be commuting with them. seriously, i purchased a craftsman socket set for my truck box about 15 years ago where all wrenches, sockets and rackets was in a plastic case. each individual tool was placed in its specific location for storage and easy locate. within a year of use the case fell apart and i was left with all the various pieces dumped in a metal toolbox all lumped together. as with yours today, many of the 227 pieces are the small, cheaper made sizes which finds limited use. all this being said, the small sized units typically are very good for placement in the truck box or trunk.
 
I even checked the packing list, no 9/16 or 14 mm. No combo wrenches bigger than 5/8 or 13 mm.

Guess I just bought a socket set. Not really complete without a 1/2 inch deep well set.

Bought this set for the pole barn only. I still have a complete set in another garage and my truck. So, this isn't my first set of tools.
 
Why didn't you read the what was in the set before you bought it???? What do expect-a full set of snap-ons for $99??????????????????????
 
Go on line and you will read nothing about what's in the the 227 piece set.

The reason for my post was to warn people not to buy this item.

So, why the charactor assasination?

I only EXPECT to be treated with RESPECT.
 
Sorry you don't like yours, but everything you just described would be on the box, or on Lowe's website...

I bought their 227 piece set in the fall of 2010, Im VERY happy with mine.

YES, its missing a few wrench sizes, IDK why either. But you can spend a few bucks to complete the set, thats what I did.

YES, some of those little tools are useless (IDK where all of mine are), but its a nice complete set of sockets and ratchets, especially when you consider the price. My set is USA made, but tool wise it seems identical to the Taiwanese set they sell now.

Any honestly, those sockets and wrenches are the BEST chinese hand tools I've ever used.

I now have four smaller sets, a 3/8" set of 20 or 40 pieces or something, a small 1/2" set I bought on clearence, and two smaller maxx-access sets I bought today.

I like Kobalts. Still.
 
I looked at that set yesterday, but I rarely use the sets that I have now - and my wife keeps telling me that I'm getting too old to be laying under a vehicle pulling wrenches.

I gave my younger brother that when I'm gone he is to load all of my tools and take them to our nephew on the farm. When he took over his folks farm he only had a few tools, so over the years I have given him a lot of tools, hardware and shop supplies. He often mentions how handy it is to have all the tools and hardware on hand as it is 40 miles from his farm to the nearest hardware source.

He told me yesterday that he now stocks various lengths of hydraulic hoses so he doesn't have to make a long drive if one starts to leak.
 
I bought a task force kit from lowes many years ago. It sounds alot like the one you bought. The wrenches went to 3/4 and the equivilant in metric,16? Lots of 3/8 and 1/4 sockets deep and shallow,1/2 were all shallow but went 1 1/4 without the 1 1/8. Got it for my work truck. Been a great set has everything to get you out of must mechanical situations,at least until the feild mechanic can show up. Think I paid $90 for it only replaced the ratchets just this year.To buy an equal set even from harbor freight would be over $150 and you still dont have the deep wells. I bought the few extra peices I commonly need great buy. Gets used every day. I do underground utilities so it is in an abusive work enviorment. Use it for a while it will grow on you.
 
Not happy ?? Take it back. Simple solution. Apply the money spent on these for something you will be happy with.
 
Not happy ?? Take it back. Simple solution. Apply the money spent on these for something you will be happy with.
 
i understand that, but if you got 227 pieces for under a hundred bucks you know your buying consumer goods, these are aimed and the "standard american" he really doesnt exist other than in studies, but 'he' is something like this, he is in his mid 30's makes 200K per year from a office where he does... something... he lives in the suburbs with his trophy wife who actually loves him , or is it his money? he has a relatively small perfect yard which is so good that a big box store riding mower will actually work on it, and he uses this set to fix everything, which has snug fasteners, not tight fasteners, now us.. we live in a rual or semi rural area we drive tractors and have machinery with fasteners which are either tight as in 6 foot cheater pipe tight, or havent been loosened in decades, which means there not going to be easy , we need to step up to better stuff, to work on this you need to go with mac, matco snapon, ect or the next lower grade found in good auto parts stores,all of which come with a lifetime warranty, prepare to pay big bucks, for them but you will pay once for them, and apparently its always good, i traded in a 3/4 drive sears ratchet i broke, this thing belonged to my grandpa which means it was pushing 80 + years old when i broke it, i had my doubts, it didnt even look like modern ones, but when presented to a sears store in the next town they just gave me a new one, these days you either got to buy many tool sets, or pay big money and buy a good set, [ then you got to figure a way to keep up with all of them]
 
I like Lowes and dislike Home Depot. Only in desperation would I but tools from either. I think I have plenty of hand tools, rarely find a need for anything else. Lucky me. I do visit pawn shops, flea markets and garage sales now and then and sometimes find some good bargains. As for buying a "set" of tools, all my sets are pieced together over the years and will eventually be in my kids possesion. I have very few import tools because of the way I"ve collected, hence very little of what I have ever breaks.
Lowes like any other big box retailer will offer a super duper item to draw in the customer hoping they will look around and purchase more "stuff" in hopes of adding to the profit line. As for the 227 piece set you purchased, you got exactly what you paid for and as you discovered later it was not such a great deal and you wisely returned it.
Again, I like Lowes but I usually go there to buy something I need, not want. Purchased a toilet tank and bowl there last week, installed it and it works great!
 
Anything that Jimmy would use well into the night has to be wonderful.

Anything from CHINA in my view is never bought into my shop.
 
When fessing up for a for a dumb mistake I for my penence say "may my next Christmas gift be a dog bone wrench."
 
I usually try to avoid the really high number of pieces sets because they are filled with tiny parts like allen wrenches and screwdriver bits that are basically not what I am buying the set for.
 
(quoted from post at 08:34:45 11/24/12) Already took them back and got a refund. I wrote a bad review on the tools too.

Get the Craftsman 145 piece set, it should go on sale at least one more time before Christmas. If not, just bookmark the page or make it your home page untill it does go on sale. You will be very happy you took back the Kobalts...
 
Someone gave me a dog bone wrench for Christmas, it's hanging on the wall of barn and never used.

I just wanted a complete set of organised sockets in trays, my third set, to be on the bench of my barn. I love my craftsman's sets. Guess it off to Sears.
 
Suprised you even got any 1/2 sockets at all, Also supprised tht there were not a few pairs of pliars in the set as well. Those sets are designed for the city home owner that has to make a few repairs around the house only or assemble a new piece of furniture or grill, that sort of thing, not for a country home use and for what they are designed for the purchaser is usually happy with them as when that handle on a favorite skillet gets loose there will be a tool that will tighten it but they are not designed for going out and repairing a car or any farm machinery. 1/4" drive would be good for removing the door of a refrigerator to get it thru the house door and that kind of things. And your $99 set would cost me $89 normal and this next month for a few days it would cost me $79 but I have so many tools that it does not pay me to even look at them.
 
Suit yourself but I would take them back. Does not sound like they will do the work you require. In other words you will have to buy more tools. They put lots of small sockets in a kit to make it LOOK like you are getting a lot.

Think they are also made in China.
 
I worked in the auto body work trade most of my working years. When the Guvment said we'd all have to switch to metric tools, i bought 3 different socket sets from the roving tool man. Those sets had everything i'd need for fixing the new cars that had metric fasteners. A product of Korea! The tool man said they'd never break, but he guaranteed them any way.
Now, some of you know how long ago that was! And i am still using them, in lawn mower and tractor repairs. They have lasted as long as i needed them. Nothing broke, but the ratchet did wear out after about 20 years. The tool man has gone to his final reward, but his tools are still working!
 
We do a lot of Scraping at my shop. Pull Car parts. Those tools are handy, but break easy and you loose them often.

I am not saying these are GREAT Tools. But, I was with a guy at Pick-N-Pull and we had my Craftsman tools taking off some parts with a 3/8 ratchet and it broke, it was like NEW. This frind had a PM Pouplar Mechanics and used a Cheater bar and is still using the ratchet to the very day. HOW CaN that be?
 

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