ARES Socket Organizers: Tray, Magnetic or Rail?

Best for
Big collections across all three drives

The ARES 60038 is the high-capacity rail set. It comes with 20 1/4-inch drive clips, 30 3/8-inch drive clips and 30 1/2-inch drive clips, for up to 80 metric or SAE sockets. The rails are 17 inches long and made of powder-coated black aluminum, and the clips use spring-loaded ball bearings to hold sockets firmly.

ARES’s patented clips glide onto any of its rails, so you can mix drive sizes, such as a few 1/4-inch sockets on a 1/2-inch rail. Extra clips are sold separately under part numbers 70081, 70082 and 70083. The listing says each rail holds 20 sockets but does not state how many rails come in the set, and 80 clips at 20 per rail implies four rails; confirm the count if drawer layout matters.

This is the organizer for someone with a large, mixed socket collection who wants every drive size on uniform rails. The 17-inch length needs a drawer at least that wide. If you have a smaller box, the 60002 or 70355 rails are shorter.

• Up to 80 sockets across 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 inch drive
• 17-inch powder-coated aluminum rails
• Spring-loaded ball bearing clips
• Limited lifetime warranty

The ARES 60036 set includes three blue magnetic trays, one each for 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2-inch drive, designed to store both shallow and deep metric sockets. The slots are sized for specific sockets starting at 4mm, 4.5mm and 5mm, so each socket has a place and you can spot a missing 10mm instantly.

The trays are heavy-duty, high-impact plastic with powerful magnets to hold sockets in place, and a soft rubberized covering on the bottom protects finished surfaces. They are portable, so you can lift a tray out of the drawer and set it on a fender or bench while you work.

The limitation is that this set is metric only. If you also own SAE sockets, the 60160 six-tray set covers both. Magnetic trays also take more drawer depth than flat rails when holding deep sockets, so measure before you buy.

The ARES 60002 set gives you two 48-piece socket holders, useful if you keep one set in the garage and another in a truck or at work. The listing says each rail is 13.5 inches long and holds 12 metric or SAE sockets, for up to 48 sockets per organizer. The rails are aluminum and use the same patented ball bearing clips.

The clip counts in the listing are confusing: it lists 24 1/4-inch, 24 3/8-inch and 48 1/2-inch clips across the two organizers, which suggests each organizer has more 1/2-inch capacity than the others, but it does not describe how the rails are arranged. The listed color is red and black, and mounting is described as countertop.

Choose this for two portable, mid-size kits that fit smaller drawers than the 60038. Because clips are interchangeable, you can rebalance drive sizes as needed.

• Two 48-socket organizers
• 13.5-inch aluminum rails, 12 sockets each
• Interchangeable ball bearing clips

The ARES 70355 rails are the compact option at 9.84 inches long, each holding 10 metric or SAE sockets. They are machined aluminum, light and portable, with removable end caps for easy clip changes and a wall-mount-ready design. The clips hold sockets firmly, even upside down.

The listing is inconsistent about drive sizes. The title says 3/8-inch socket rail, the features mention 3/8 and 1/2-inch drive, and the specifications list three items in red, blue and black. We read it as a three-rail set, but confirm the drive mix before buying.

These short rails suit a tool bag, a shallow top drawer or a small set you carry to a job. For a larger collection, the 17-inch 70087 rails hold more sockets each.

The ARES 60160 set is the complete magnetic tray solution. It includes three black metric trays and three green SAE trays, each in 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2-inch drive. Slots are sized for specific sockets, starting at 4mm for metric and 1/8 inch for SAE, and hold both deep and shallow sockets.

Like the 60036, the trays are high-impact ABS plastic with powerful magnets and a rubberized base that protects your tool box from scratches. The black and green color coding makes it easy to tell metric from SAE at a glance, which helps when you are mid-job and reaching blind.

One contradiction: the included components field lists three socket holders and 75 sockets, while the features clearly say sockets are sold separately and describe six trays. We believe the feature description, so do not expect sockets in the box. This set suits mechanics with both metric and SAE sets who want sizes labeled; see our guide to an extra deep socket set if you need sockets to fill it.

• Six trays: three metric, three SAE
• Color-coded black and green
• Magnets hold deep and shallow sockets
• Rubberized protective base

The ARES 70087 set includes three 17-inch machined aluminum rails, one each for 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2-inch drive. Each holds 16 metric or SAE sockets, and the spring-loaded ball bearing clips keep sockets in place even upside down. Removable end caps make it easy to change clips.

These rails are wall-mount ready, which makes them a strong choice for a garage wall or pegboard setup where you want sockets visible and within reach. They are light, with a listed weight of 0.41 kg. The listed item dimensions of 17 by 51 by 17 inches clearly do not describe a single rail, so rely on the 17-inch length stated in the features.

Pick this for wall storage or a long drawer. Unlike the magnetic trays, rails do not label sizes, so you arrange sockets in order yourself. If you work with compact sockets, our guide to half-size sockets shows how short sockets fit on rails.