[thinkloop]

I never realized how bad Phillips was until I started renovating a home this year. They are truly the worst of all the options. They need to be phased out completely. Square is better in every way. A core problem with Phillips is not only that the cross is simply not the best shape to hold torque, which it's not, but that there is no consistency between the crosses themselves. With square, you only have to worry about size. With Phillips, you have to pay attention to the angles and character of the cross, in addition to size. One Phillips might be deeper or skinnier than another that looks the same. Matching the perfect driver to a screw is difficult in general, and near impossible by eye.

[nemo44x]

Phillips is great when you’re screwing in an area you can’t see. The bit slips in nicely and you don’t have to think about size. But yeah Robertsons are nice in many other instances.

[vinay427]

> The bit slips in nicely

As someone with very little recent experience with these types, could you elaborate on what you mean by this, at least compared to the Robertson screw?

[nemo44x]

Coming at the screw from an angle or not being able to see orientation. The bit just “falls in” nicely when you can’t see compared to other shapes.

[timbit42]

With Robertson, the screw will stay on the driver so you don't need to see it to find it.

[nemo44x]

Can do that with any head really. But imagine the screw is there already. And you don’t know the size. Phillips is probably better here. Not a common use case for most people.

[timbit42]

I've never been able to get a Phillips screw to stay on a Phillips screwdriver. If you do get it to stay, a butterfly flying by would knock it off.