Customer Reviews

Gator Grip ETC-200MO Universal Socket

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I'm often surprised at people's expectations in a product, especially my own. You see an ad on TV and you just know how much it's going to change your life for the better.

What this product does well is fits multiple shapes and sized screws and nuts for quick removal. I used it to tighten the lag bolts and screws on my son's play structure. It worked on 90 % of the hardware. I also used it in conjunction with my cordless drill to remove numerous eye hooks, bolts, screws, etc that weren't needed anymore. This would have taken several frustrating hours without the Gator Grip.

What this product does less well is install bolts, screws, and nuts. It's springloaded which makes it awkward holding the hardware while installing. Just like any socket or wrench made, you need to have the tool squarely placed on the item you're using it on. Otherwise it may slip.

Overall, the Gator Grip met my expectations, made certain chores easier and allowed me more leisure time with my family.

For my first Gator Grip project I decided to tighten about a hundred of 5/16"x1.25" bolts to 175 inch-pounds. The bolt heads were damaged, some more than the others, making a regular socket hard to fit; this looked like a perfect Gator Grip application.

I am happy to report that the Gator Grip worked as expected. However, about 1/3 way through the job I had my first failure - one of the pins got stuck and wouldn't come out unless I remove the Gator Grip and push the pin through the other side. That pin was getting stuck continuously, and by the time I was done with 96 bolts, several of the Gator Grip pins would have the same problem.

Unfortunately, I have to testify that Gator Grip is a somewhat delicate device, and should not be used for anything but for light duty jobs.

Update: I got my Gator Grip socket replaced under warranty. The process was fast and easy. Because of that I'd give this product one more star if I could.

If you know one of those poor souls whose toolbox consists of an 18" long slotted screwdriver, Grandpa's hammer, and hacksaw , then this is the essential nut and bolt tool for them.

Within six months of getting a Gator Grip for Christmas, it was indispensable in two large projects--refitting new lumber on an old rotten picnic table, and in putting up a new garage door opener.

The other reviewers are correct--it's NOT FOR EVERY JOB. Because the pins are cylindrical, it occasionally slips on the bolt head, and it lacks the gripping strength needed for working on something like your car engine. And it WILL NOT remove a nut if there is more than 1/4 inch of bolt sticking out the back end.

HOWEVER, if you are up on a ladder, and/or working with many odd-sized nuts and bolts, this tool is a Godsend. For overall home maintenance, play set assembly, garage door opener installation, or putting together knockdown furniture, it can't be beat. (I only cussed about fourteen times while installing my new Garage door opener, and that was a record!)

As a GIFT, I'd recommend this tool especially for those people who are NOT handy around the house.

This would be a great gift for the independent female in your life--the one who does the home remodeling herself, or for a couple's first home/apt. Although I haven't used it on a bike, I'd think it'd be an excellent addition to the cyclist's tool bag.

It's not a replacement for a traditional socket wrench by any means. Excellent, however for odd-size/shape bolts, nuts, etc. Worked perfectly on square, slighly stripped, probably metric, lag bolts was dealing with.

My friend had one of these sockets when we were taking apart something that had 1/2" and 3/8" nuts. It worked great.. most of the time. What it won't do is work where the nut goes on the bolt very far. If the bolt proptrudes beyond the nut, the gator grip will not catch it and will instead grab ahold of the threads and reduce them to a useless mess. I think if you got used to it, it would hold a respected place in your workshop or toolbox

The Gator is a great tool, so far it's worked on just about everything I've tried it on. Highly Reccomended.

I used this product to take apart a child's metal swingset. I was able to use it for the many different size screws and nuts without having to continually change the socket. It was worth the money for the time it saved me on just this one job.

Gator Grip? more like Gator Slip. I've tried it on various things in my home and on my car and it have been completely useless. It does not provide a good "grip" of the nut and just keeps on slipping off and I have to constantly re-adjust it. It often will grip for about a half of a turn and then it slips off. Sometimes it takes a while just to make it get a grip of the nut at all.
... For $[money amount], I can just buy myself a regular set of sockets and wrench.
My recommendation would be don't waste your money and save yourself the frustration of trying to get it to work well. For all the time you waste getting it to grip and all the re-adjusting, you can find the correct sized socket and take off the nut already (you can probably put it back on and take it off again before you even take off the nut once with the Gator Grip).

The GatorGrip is a tool almost everyone can find useful. For those with few tools(ie. a screwdriver and a pair of pliers) it can serve as a decent replacement for a basic socket set and let you tackle the majority of fasteners around the house. If you're the type that uses pliers to put a bed together you need to get a GatorGrip. For those with a complete set of tools, from hobbyists and do-it-yourselfers to professional mechanics, the GatorGrip is a great addition to your toolbox. It's useful as a one-size-fits-all socket for quick jobs and great at removing rusted/damaged fasteners. A week after getting the GatorGrip I used it to remove a severely damaged drain plug. It was able to grip the plug even though half of the head was gone and didn't slip or break even with a breaker bar attached. Dirt and grime can cause some pins to stick occasionally but the GatorGrip is suprisingly tough.

I have to address the negative review titled "Gator Strip" that says:
"I've seen these in retail stores that have a sample display. I went to try it out and here's my findings: The Gator Grip had stripped all the nuts and bolts on the display. So I really wasn't able to try it with an unstripped nut."

Of course the sample nuts and bolts were stripped - the purpose of the display is to show how the GatorGrip works on even stripped and damaged fasteners. The samples on the display are examples of common nut and bolt damage. The GatorGrip didn't strip them.

Overall this was pretty disappointing, but one has to wonder whether some industrial designer could fix its inherent flaws. It's cheaply made and has a lot of slop in it, and sometimes the spring isn't strong enough to pop the pins back into position -- pain in the neck to re-position.

It's far too inferior in quality to be used for serious mechanical work, but it might be handy if you were installing a whole bunch of big plant hangers, or something else strangely shaped.

The basic idea might be workable, but the actual tool is of the "99-cent tool bin" quality.