BGS 5242 Review

No impact wrench — no matter how powerful — is worth anything without the right socket on the end of it. And when you move beyond passenger car wheel nuts into commercial vehicles, agricultural machinery, and heavy plant, the fasteners get larger, the torque climbs dramatically, and standard ½-inch drive sockets simply are not up to the task. That is when you step up to ¾-inch drive — a format designed to transmit the extreme forces that heavy-duty impact wrenches generate without the socket splitting, the drive square shearing, or the walls spreading under load. A proper impact socket set in ¾-inch covers common metric sizes from around 19 mm up to 55 mm, giving you the reach to handle wheel nuts on lorries and buses, blade bolts on agricultural equipment, track fasteners on excavators, and structural bolting on wind turbines. For heavy vehicle technicians, plant fitters, and agricultural mechanics, a comprehensive ¾-inch impact socket set is not an optional extra — it is the interface between your impact wrench and everything you actually need to undo.

Choosing a ¾-inch impact socket set comes down to size coverage, build quality, and compatibility with your impact wrench's anvil retention system. A good set should cover at least 19 mm to 50 mm in metric sizes, ideally extending to 55 mm for the largest common heavy-equipment fasteners. The sockets must be forged from chrome molybdenum (Cr-Mo) steel — not standard chrome vanadium — because Cr-Mo absorbs impact forces without cracking and tolerates the repeated shock loading that an impact wrench delivers. A rubber ring or collar is a practical feature that protects both the socket and the workpiece from accidental damage when working in tight spaces. The drive end should accept a locking pin and O-ring to secure the socket onto the anvil, because losing a 55 mm socket off a ¾-inch impact at full torque is both expensive and dangerous. BGS, a German tool brand with a strong presence in the professional workshop market, offers the 5242 set covering 17 sizes from 19 to 55 mm.

In this review we examine the BGS 5242 ¾-inch impact socket set. We cover the 17-piece size range from 19 to 55 mm, the Cr-Mo steel construction and rubber-ring protection, how the locking pin and O-ring retention system performs with heavy-duty impact wrenches, and what the set includes. We also honestly assess where this set fits in the professional market and where its limitations lie for specific applications.

The BGS 5242 is a 17-piece impact socket set with a ¾-inch (20 mm) square drive, covering metric sizes from 19 mm through to 55 mm. The full size range runs: 19, 21, 22, 24, 27, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 40, 41, 46, 50, and 55 mm — a comprehensive spread that covers virtually every heavy-duty metric fastener encountered in commercial vehicle, agricultural, and construction equipment maintenance. The sockets are forged from chrome molybdenum steel, the material of choice for impact sockets because it handles repeated shock loading without the brittleness that causes chrome vanadium sockets to crack under sustained impact use. Each socket has a polished finish for corrosion resistance and a black phosphate coating on the interior for grip on the fastener.

Each socket is fitted with a thick rubber ring around its circumference that serves a dual purpose. It protects the socket and surrounding components from accidental damage when working in cramped wheel arches or engine bays — the rubber absorbs knocks against rims, chassis rails, and body panels that would leave bare steel sockets chipped and rusting. It also makes the sockets easier to grip with greasy or gloved hands, particularly the larger sizes that weigh over a kilogram each. The outer diameters range from 38 mm for the 19 mm socket up to 77 mm for the 55 mm, and socket lengths increase from 51 mm for the smaller sizes through to 73 mm for the largest — the proportions you need for reaching recessed nuts on commercial vehicle hubs and tracked vehicle running gear.

The drive end of each socket features a machined recess to accept a locking pin and an internal O-ring groove. This retention system is standard on ¾-inch impact wrenches — the anvil has a through-hole for a pin, and the O-ring sits in the groove inside the socket, gripping the anvil to hold the socket in place. Together, they ensure that even under the extreme vibration and torque reversal of a heavy-duty impact wrench delivering 2,000-plus Nm, the socket stays firmly on the anvil. This is a safety-critical feature: a 55 mm socket flying off at full torque is a projectile that can cause serious injury or damage. The sockets are compatible with both impact wrenches and heavy-duty ratchets, though at these sizes, an impact wrench is the primary driver.

In daily use, the 17-piece range covers the fasteners that matter most. The 19 to 24 mm sizes handle smaller commercial vehicle fasteners and large passenger car hub nuts. The 27 to 36 mm range covers the bulk of lorry wheel nuts (typically 32 or 33 mm) and suspension fasteners. The 38 to 46 mm sockets address hub nuts, pinion nuts, and structural fasteners on heavy plant. The 50 and 55 mm sizes tackle the largest equipment fasteners — hydraulic cylinder mounting bolts, final drive nuts, and agricultural implement pivot pins. The sockets are not supplied in a case or rail, so professional users will want to organise them on a socket rail or in a dedicated drawer for quick size selection.

On Amazon France, the BGS 5242 holds a 4.5 out of 5 stars rating from 67 customer reviews and ranks #1,150 in the Socket Sets category. At approximately €165 for the 17-piece set, it positions itself in the mid-range for ¾-inch impact sockets — significantly more affordable than premium brands like Hazet or Stahlwille, while offering Cr-Mo steel construction and full size coverage that budget brands often cut corners on. The sockets are manufactured in Taiwan and carry a legal warranty. For workshops equipping their first ¾-inch impact setup, the BGS 5242 represents a sensible balance of coverage, quality, and price.

The BGS 5242 ¾-inch impact socket set is built for heavy vehicle technicians, agricultural and plant fitters, and workshops equipping a ¾-inch impact wrench for the first time — it covers the full metric fastener range needed for commercial vehicles and heavy equipment.