CRAFTSMAN 159-piece, three drives review

What you are getting

A 159-piece set on 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2-inch drives, with 90-tooth ratchets at a 5-degree arc swing, a head “up to 25% thinner”, 6-point and 12-point sockets, combination wrenches, a full polish chrome finish, a blow-molded case with metal hinges and a full lifetime warranty. 10,569 g (372.8 oz). $149.00.

It is the only set on this shelf with both socket geometries

“Packed with a broad assortment of 6-point and 12-point sockets, combination wrenches, and drive tools.”

The shelf’s introduction treats this as the choice behind the whole category: “Six-point sockets grip the flats of a fastener and round it far less readily than twelve-point ones, which exist to find the bolt in a tight space.”

And the compromise card is blunter: “Six-point grips the flats and does not slip; twelve-point engages faster in a confined space and rounds off tired bolts.”

So the two are not better and worse, they are two tools. A twelve-point socket drops onto a bolt at twice as many angles, which in a confined space is the difference between starting the nut and not; a six-point one is what you reach for when the nut is rusted.

Set	Geometry stated
This set	6-point and 12-point
WETT	6-point
CRAFTSMAN 83 pcs	6-point
KS Tools 179 pcs, published	6-point throughout
The other four	not stated

Three of the eight American sets state a geometry, and the published KS Tools set states six-point throughout. Only this one carries both, which is why it is the set for someone who already knows which they want on a given bolt.

Ninety teeth and three drives, which is the shelf’s full ladder

“90-TOOTH RATCHET: Delivers 5 degree arc swing.”

The shelf’s introduction: “Drive size comes first: 1/4 inch for interior and engine-bay fasteners, 3/8 for most of the car, 1/2 for suspension and wheels.”

This set has all three. Of the eight here, three do: this, the Craftsman 262-piece and the Amazon Basics 201-piece — and of those three, the Amazon Basics publishes no tooth count at all.

So on the shelf’s two headline criteria together — three drives and a published tooth count — the field is two sets, both Craftsman, at $149 and $249.90.

Note the footnote Craftsman attaches to the thin head: “1/4 in. DR and 3/8 in. DR Only As Compared To CMMT81747, CMMT81748, & CMMT81749.” The 25 per cent figure covers the two small ratchets, not the 1/2-inch one. That limit is published, which is more than most relative claims on this shelf manage.

Two of its five bullets are the same sentence

Bullet one: “CORROSION RESISTANCE: Full Polish Chrome Finish; FULL LIFETIME WARRANTY.”

Bullet five: “CORROSION RESISTANCE: Full Polish Chrome Finish; FULL LIFETIME WARRANTY.”

Identical, word for word, in the same listing. So of five bullets, four carry information: the repeated one, the tooth count, the case and the assortment.

It changes nothing about the tools and it is the second instance of reused copy on this shelf worth noting — on the tire repair kits shelf, two brands share all five bullets between them. Here a single listing repeats its own.

What it means in practice is that the bullets are not where the specification lives. The product description carries the real content: the three drives, the 5-degree arc, the footnote on the thin head, the metal hinges.

Ten and a half kilograms, which is 66 grams a piece

Set	Weight	Pieces	Per piece
WETT impact	4,800 g (169.3 oz)	50	96 g (3.4 oz)
This set	10,569 g (372.8 oz)	159	66 g (2.3 oz)
CRAFTSMAN 262 pcs	12,474 g (440 oz)	262	48 g (1.7 oz)
Amazon Basics 201 pcs	7,480 g (263.8 oz)	201	37 g (1.3 oz)
Hi-Spec 30 pcs	950 g (33.5 oz)	30	32 g (1.1 oz)

Sixty-six grams a piece on a hand set with three drives means the piece count is weighted towards sockets and wrenches rather than bits — a screwdriver bit weighs a few grams, a 1/2-inch socket weighs a hundred and more.

It is an indirect measure and on this shelf it is often the only one, because five of the eight American sets never say how many of their pieces are sockets. Comparing 66 g (2.3 oz) here with 37 g (1.3 oz) on the 201-piece Amazon Basics set says something the piece counts do not.

No steel grade, and a lifetime warranty instead

“Full Polish Chrome Finish” twice, and “FULL LIFETIME WARRANTY” twice, and no alloy.

All three Craftsman sets on this shelf do the same. The WETT, Amazon Basics and Hi-Spec DT06003 sets name chrome vanadium and give no warranty term. The shelf’s introduction asks for “stated steel grade”, and Craftsman answers a different question well.

What is not published

No steel grade. No socket count inside the 159 — the 262-piece set from the same brand itemizes its contents and this one does not. No metric or SAE range. No case dimensions, where the Amazon Basics set publishes 450 × 330 × 90 mm. No torque figures for the 1/2-inch drive.

At $149.00 it is the only set here that brings both socket geometries, and the only Craftsman set that repeats a bullet.

Availability

On sale at around $149 on the American Amazon store at the time of checking.

Prices and availability are what Keepa reported on the date this page was updated; both move.