The progression in bit drivers has the advantage of better grip on the fasteners. 20 years ago it was all "phillips" which meant using a cross slotted head specifically engineered to slip under high torque - really. It was put on the Cadillac assembly line as a clutch in the driving tool was harder to engineer than sloped surfaces which would cam out when tightened.

And it's still not a bad idea, just overused. Nobody really liked it and the special drivers quickly popped up to actually defeat the purpose - the "improved" phillips with no torquing out, or, at least less of it. I put together a pool deck around 2004 using phillips head screws with an "anti slip" driver and got it together.

Then about ten years later, it needed repairs, and somebody had introduced "box/square drive" which worked better. They were still phillips compatible screws but the center was a box driver and those were so good it could snap the head off in tough wood. The drill drivers were improving, too. I did those repairs with stainless screws in the most exposed parts, and they are highly resistant to rust being 304 alloy, but they are a tad soft. They won't take misalignment well over a few insertions when reusing them.

And just after that, Torx leaped into the mix, a #25 being common in deck screws, and as box stores switched completely I was forced to also. Still, that worked even better so no complaint. All that resurfaced as I recently remodeled the pool deck and had to switch up thru three bit drivers doing the work. As they were all exposed fastener installation the older steel screws are in the worst condition. Basically remove them with vice grips now. Salt chlorination ruined them faster than the 35 year old screws on the balcony deck.

My recent adventure in assembling a new pool has resulted in driving a few hundred sheet metal screws and discovering the reason that the apparent combo phillips/box driver wasn't working well was because it wasn't #2 - it was a #3. I didn't even know they came in sizes and the complete lack of details in the instructions never specified it. I discovered it looking at a retail display, grabbed some and lo! they fit better! Good deal, I got to use the new driver on the last 4 - four - screws.

Next time you go into a box store with a few minutes on your own, check out the various bits to drive fasteners and be forewarned, it's not a one size fits all any more, it's a free tiny bit in the box of screws you don't need and 15, 20, 25 torx, #2 and #3 box, #2 phillips anti slip, and 20 ga finish brads for trim to go with the #15 torx finish screws. I note that the blow molded case for my 12V driver doesn't have enough slots for those drivers. Nobody does that.

Im trying to minimize my footprint on batteries and cartridges yet the fasteners are getting out of hand. The days of straightening nails to reuse them are long gone.

Oh. Well. God save Canada and their imported Chinese screws. Of course I now have a handful left over from the standard quantity packs they threw into the shipping box and That Coffee Can is now a bit fuller. There's a reason why estate sales have an entire table of cans of screws for auction. In the day my dad would screw the lid to a baby food jar under the shelf and then attached the jar of screws out of the way. I'm stacking 1 pound coffee cans. Theres over two dozen now. It's a handyman thing.

Stock up on some Reed & Prince bits.

Fits Phillips screws without the camout. The ribs they put on some Philips bits really don't do all that much.

Robertson (square) bits are also tapered.

Keep a few Pozi-drive and JIS bits onboard too.