As an American living abroad I can honestly say I don’t miss being required to drive everywhere. Haven’t owned a car in six years and there’s like 2 times a year I need a car so I just rent one. Way cheaper that way.
Philips are designed the way they are so that they “cam out”. Meaning if too much force is applied to the screw, the driver will intentionally pop out to avoid damaging the tool or the fastener. Its a feature, not a flaw. A Robertson (square), torx, or hex will let you apply enough force until the screw or the driver fail catastrophically.
Fuck this. Torx, Hex, square drive are all positive engagement. Phillips is literally designed to cam out. Slotted is just the first head type to have existed because of how easy it is to make, but is far inferior to every other type.
A good square bit for my impact is a lifesaver as an electrician. Pretty much every conduit fitting set screw can take flat, Philips, or square. When you’re reaching out one-handed from the top of a ladder, you really don’t want to cam out all the time.
Tbh 99% of the hate for hex is probably because Allen keys exist, and are included with everything. Those things are just pure hell. Hex is fine if you have proper drivers for it, but a lot of people don’t.
Note: Speaking as someone that lives in America, I’m sure the rest of the world has already solved this.
Yeah, I’ve had hex strip before as well. It’s always been on the smaller sizes for me though at least. Like sub M3 or 1/8" ish. And of course, cheap hex keys are just asking for it at those sizes. On the other hand, I’ve definitely never had a torx head strip out on me.
sopuli.xyz
Active