That's awesome. I have a deep appreciation for Harbor freight tools. I started my first job out of highschool with a small collection of harbor freight tools my father bought me and still use mostly harbor freight brands to this day. They have always been good tools at a great price and I feel now more than ever that you get alot of quality in the tools at a budget friendly price. Very impressed by some of the newer brands they have been putting out on the market lately.
I buy well over half my tools at harbor freight, honestly holds up better than the other various crap I've bought except for older craftsman and kobalt stuff.
Dude. They don't suck. They're not bad at all in most cases. Even if they do suck, the warranty makes up for it. You basically cut quality control and pass it on to the customer in the smartest way possible. The people who use em a ton and actually give a shit will test them pretty extensively in the store and they'll use them pretty hard. The people who will use it once or twice and that's it won't inspect it in the tools and will probably end up with the leftovers that the pro guys won't take. The pros get tools that'll last and the normies get the junk. Both are happy cause both will get one that lasts as expected. The warranty takes care of the in between cases. Absolute genius. The corners you cut are amazing. Very well curated. Every corner that's cut is cut with value in mind and not just cheapness. Corners aren't perfectly round, items aren't faced as well, rougher surface finishes. Just things that don't change the performance at all. It's a very well balanced act. There are cases where I've needed a better tool, but they're rare. Once I've needed a better extension since the hf extension snapped under the load of a Honda crank bolt. These are pretty impossible to begin with though. It received my kobalt impact and my Ryobi impact before getting the beans of a 6ft breaker bar. I just don't get the hate.
Do you take trade-ins on old US General Tool Chests LOL. I've outgrown my 17 year old 44" combo unit HAHA!!! It has sat out on an open air carport all its life, yep its dirty, but everything still functions perfectly on it...Looking at a 56" model but it looks as though the end cabinets are only for the 44" models....I'd have to go up to the Icon stuff to get end cabinets...and the prices on that brand are ridiculous. So I'll just stick with what I have until Harbor Freight can figure out how to get an end cabinet system that fits the US General 56" boxes LOL.
@@wildbill23c I have a Craftsman box with hf end cabinets. Only mod required is to cut a tiny notch on the front and back to accommodate the hf end cabinet design. End cabinet is a bit deeper than the main box, but they're the same red.
Absolutely nailed it. I run a small bodyshop with less than 10 techs, and whenever I take on fresh apprentices they're always wanting to go straight to snap on and take on the debt, I tell them to buy cheaper tools and if they do break them with continual use then to upgrade that tool to something more expensive as they are clearly getting the use out of it.
yea it makes no since to buy a overpriced tool you are not using much, buy the cheaper tools and find out which ones wear out the quickest ... those are the ones that are probably being used and pushed the most. You don't want a 45$ o-ring pick set when your 10mm ratcheting box end wrench fails
What you said, but it also builds tool knowledge. So many kids just jump into the expensive stuff thinking "oh, legacy tools, grandpa had them etc" and skip an entire chapter worth of shop education which does end up biting some of them in the end.
@@aserta I have a complete metric socket set 6mm to 24mm and so many of those sockets I've never used because the ISO standard skips sizes. Although there are out of standard fasteners. But they're rare. Why I got that set is another story. It was a deal I couldn't pass up.
The industry needs more people like you. My first dealer job was working at Mercedes’ and man did everyone try and say I couldn’t do the job without snap on tools, thankfully I didn’t go down that rabbit hole.
Dude I buy whatever is cheap and if I break it I upgrade it. I'm cheap l and I have a full arsenal of shit I need to get my jobs done. Gotta be resourceful
I'm a shade tree mechanic, and I own mostly Harbor Freight tools. So far the only tool I broke was a 10mm ratcheting wrench, which was replaced with no questions asked. I've beaten on the impact sockets with an impact and a three foot breaker bar and so far have broken bolts not the sockets.
I'm someone who had several USA made wrench sets craftsman and great neck and even their tawain made ones,, and when someone who will remain un named hint borrowed over 65 percent of all of my tools most all the replaced wrenches and sockets are Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh pro...
I have a 149, and 194 PC mechanic tool set that is basically the truck crash and roadside service kit, that replaced the craftsman sets I had, and I have got two decent deals on gearwrench 1/4 90t and the 3/8 120xp like 51-55 PC set and they are the tool box set of good sockets, and now that 74 PC complete set of 3/8 shallow and deep sae and metric tekton and the mid sized combination wrench set
I went to “school” for mechanics over 20 years ago. The very first day was a 2 hour long sales pitch from Snap-on. I went to Sears once a week and bought what I needed piece by piece. I spent several thousand dollars. Got good tools and have only had to rebuild my very first ratchet (that is over 30 years old) once!!
I went to a mechanic school 12 years ago had the same sales pitch from Snap-on did buy a small tool set half of it is stolen now don't needed since I inherited my dad old Craftsman tool set
Still got my small Craftsman ratchet set I bought at Kmart back in 2005ish. Nothing in it has broken and the finish on them still looks like I bought them yesterday. I'm actually kinda curious how the Made in China ones would fare with age over the USA ones.
I do use Snap-ons that I brough when I enter the company I am working for but their deals was way cheaper then street price or "school" price that I heard of, much closer to some other reliable brands that I would otherwise brought, I guess the bigger the company the better the deal, that have a side effect though, as everyone in the company was using Snap-on in some ways and everyone is very "protective" about their own tool box compare to others who shop their own tools.
I went with the tool trucks when I started as a dealer mechanic, I had a lot of basic tools that were largely craftsman, that worked fine. Later years, the only time I would get something off the truck was for specialized tools, that you couldn't get anywhere else. Struggling to get something apart vs having the specialized tool designed for the job, makes a HUGE difference when you're working flat rate
Agreed. Specialty tools are a whole other thing. I build custom guitars and have spent the money on certain jigs/tools that make my job easier and more efficient. In those cases, it's money well spent.
This is very true, though most often the various trucks aren't the actual manufacturer of the specialty tools they carry. Lisle is one of the big names to look into there. I have a number of things direct from them that are identical to ones off the trucks minus the added branding.
There is nothing like have the correct tool for the job. It’s not worth the fight. Even as a hobby mechanic I own a load of specialty tools. I just pick them up as I need them but a 150 dollar tool for the job is worth the pain and suffering. Plus for me buying the tool is still cheaper than taking it to a mechanic.
Cheap tools and being cheap make for bad days. New people don’t understand this. You bought a $1 Harbor Freight screw driver to do brakes, oh you stripped out the Phillips ? And now you lost money on a flagged out brake job? $50 impact driver off the truck that pays for itself first job but the youtuber that said not to buy quality tools ever said skip it. Now you earn less than a high school kid at McDonald’s
I tend to buy on the low-mid quality when buying tools. If I have something break because I use it a bunch, I go more mid-high. If it breaks because it's junk, I'll go to the next step up. ~20 years of amateur wrenching, that plan has done me really well. I really appreciate this testing to help us all make some better choices.
I know a mechanic that will buy the cheap Pittsburgh and other brand wrenches, purposely and use them when he needs to modify a wrench or screwdriver, or something in order to be able to reach a bolt or something, you can cut a wrench, heat it and bend it, etc...but he's like no way in hell am I cutting my Snap-On or bending my Snap-On wrenches for that, so sacrificing a $10 wrench VS a $100, yep I can easily see that logic too. I have done the same, I'll buy that basic tool, if I wear it out or break it, I'll upgrade to the next brand higher until I find one that works. Much better than starting at the expensive end of the line for no reason.
I can say Jarred is speaking 100% truth here, as someone who grew up in a gear head family, as my real father was a certified welder, logger, farmer, mechanic, well driller, and overall handyman, and I first learned to wrench on farm equipment about the age of 6 in the 80's from him, and my step father was the son of an old school service station owner in the 60's, in the 70's he drag raced for MOPAR, in the early 80's he ran his own landscape business, then by the late 80's, he became a Master ASE Certified tech, then by the late 90's ran the maintenance department of a major hospital, and along with my 2 step brothers who are natural gear heads with their own storied careers, having raced just about everything from BMX bikes to Go-Karts, Dirt Bikes, drag cars, tractor pulls, etc.. growing up and to this day still do antique tractor pulling, I had, and still have a big learning tree of what to do, and what not to do, which led me to eventually in the very early 00's to becoming a heavy equipment mechanic for a site prep construction company with my real father, and later on working for a New Holland/Kubota dealership that was also a landscaping company, till the mid 00's when I finally had to change careers due to bad knees/shoulders from overdoing it being a small framed guy, and I watched both my father, and step father over the years get caught in the tool truck trap 1st hand spending thousands of dollars they really did not have just to make a living when during the 80's, 90's, and 00's, when they really could have gone to SEARS, and mostly gotten by with the Craftsman tools, except for the really specialty items like 2in hydraulic wrenches with an odd angle, etc.. So guys don't do it, as places like Harbor Freight, and even Walmart with their HART line have really improved, and shown you don't need to go into massive debt to get started in the mechanics trade!!
@@cgg6450 That looks kind of like those no-name "mechanic" sets, or homeowner sets you find in catalogs for $100 LOL. They overinflate that price because they know people are dumb enough to hand over their credit card because it says Snap-On. I can see some Snap-On stuff, as I think the those companies do make some specialty tools you can't find elsewhere, but you gotta really need that tool to make it worth what that tool truck is selling it for...many people just find other methods to avoid buying that stuff due to the cost, or they make their own.
I got all the tools a guy could want, and I STILL found this segment very appealing. I love that you are honest and upfront about the reality of the tool industry. There are only a handful of corporations that own all the big names world wide. I especially like that you did the experiment with your own dollars and not by sponsorship. As for power tools, I'm currently a Milwaukee guy bc they were the first to have a sweet cordless impact, but I'm eyeballing Rigid recently.
The cordless tool line is another one of those rabbit holes you can get sucked into real quick. For me I got my start with Dewalt 18VXRP 4 piece set I won as a door price about 18 years ago at a store. So I just stuck with Dewalt and slowly just added to the tool line as I needed...course now I've got the 20V and 60V/Flexvolt stuff...but its mainly due to once you have the batteries/chargers you tend to stick to one particular platform due to already having the batteries/chargers. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Milwaukee, Makita, etc. Ridgid makes some great stuff and I have been eying their stuff recently as well. I don't have any Ridgid hand or battery tools...I do have a Ridgid TS3612 10" contractor table saw, and the Ridgid 13" thickness planer....both I've had for probably close to 20 years, both work great...I've heard several say their cordless tools are great too and wouldn't be surprised. They're more foreign made now sadly than they used to be, but what isn't anymore honestly.
Great job on this Jared! 100 percent agree with everything you've said! In the late 90s I bought the craftsman master set, and still use 90 percent of that set almost 25 years later. Nothing wrong with purchasing inexpensive sets.
I just started working as an RV tech about 2 months ago, the snap on and matco trucks come every week for us. I'm glad I can say that most of my tools are from harbor freight and home depot. I've probably only spent $2,000 total on my box and tools, counting a few Milwaukee tools. Thanks for making these videos Jared!
I started to get trapped by the tool trucks. I was lucky enough to have a well seasoned mechanic decide to mentor me. He very quickly set me straight on buying tools. Thanks Mac
I just found this channel recently and watched the first parts of these reviews about a week ago. As soon as I finished the HF video I thought it needed a follow-up. I was so excited to see this on my lunch break! Thanks so much to Jared and the whole crew for making awesome content!
I've had husky tools since I started wrenching. Still use them so many years later. Pretty good quality. Only had one ratchet stop working, but it's an easy fix.
The Husky and Cobalt lines at the big box home stores are not terrible, and one thing I do like about those stores is say I've got a set of wrenches and it skips a couple sizes like 14 or 16mm, you can buy those individual tools and fill in your set without buying another whole set of wrenches. Much better to spend $13 for one good wrench than $40 for a whole set of cheap ones just to get that one missing size. Reminds me I have a 3/8 drive Husky ratchet that froze up that I need to run in for a replacement.
Excellent advice. I never had the money to be a snob about tools when I started wrenching... I did over the years learn 'which' tools it was wise to spend decent money on and what could be semi budget kit. The old adage 'you get what you pay for' does come into play, but the 'reasonable' tools (used correctly) will definitely still get the job done in a professional setting.
Snap-On is still out in front but others are catching up. So it is hard to justify the premium S-O charges. Snappy ain't 10 times better than the next guy. Today it's more like 10% better. So you're not really getting what you pay for.
I've been using a $200 mechanic set from home Depot made by husky. It has saved me thousands and the last 7 years working on my own car. I still have it and all the tools work perfectly fine.
As an apprentice, I appreciate this channel. Also, as a 47 year old apprentice I have only spent money on stuff that I use every day. I got my basic tool set from the apprenticeship program and have spent $250 so far.
Jared I want to thank you for this. You're doing a great job steering people just starting out into the right direction so they're not stuck eating instant ramen every day. I'm going through an apprenticeship right now for a multicraft (factory) mechanic and Harbor Freight was suggested to me. Years ago ago I was an hourly tech for a dealership, using really bad hardware store tools, used and even dipped a little into the tool truck. (Although I couldn't afford most of it) what's left are my home tools. I'm buying my new work set from Harbor Freight.
The lounge area and garage organization is looking good! Also always appreciate opinions from Wizard and Jared. These guys have spent a few lifetimes in the shop and know what they're talking about
I bought that HF tool kit 6-7 years ago and it's never failed me. I've done basic stuff from oil changes and brakes and I just got done replacing the inner axle oil seals on my F250. I've replaced trailer axles, home projects and everything else. I recommend it to everyone. It's been left the rain, tossed in the trucks and everywhere else on 20+ cross country trips. You'll often find in on sale for $99 like it was this past weekend.
I bought that 500 piece set too. And it worked perfect for me and my brother when we work on our cars. The issue i had was the screwdriver sockets. Those are crap material. The other thing is i had to buy an icon swivel head 10 in ( 3/8 ) rachet because the quinn works, but its too small. Not enough leverage to loosten bolts. For pliers i went with what worked for me for a long time, craftsman
I loved this review. I'm a shade tree mechanic I guess, if even that. I fix mine and my girlfriends cars, 3 in total. Normally I do a lot of DIY work and build PC's. Most of my tools are from Harbor Freight and they've done awesome. Back when I worked at a Chrysler dealership (I was the service advisor at the counter not a technician) the guys laughed at me using my cheap tools to do work on lifts after hours. Told them the same thing I tell everyone when it comes to what I work on/build/customize/program; my work speaks for itself and any new mechanic should feel the same. The quality of the work you do says far more about you than the tools you use to do that work.
love the honesty about where a young mechanic should spend his money. On some things I'm a buy once, cry once kind of guy. But depending on your needs and resources that doesn't always make sense.
I'm starting a new job at HF next week. The manager got to know me by how often I would buy from them and offered me a job. Good people. There are some things that I will not buy from HF, knowing that Snap-On makes a more reliable tool (torque wrench) and some things that are made in the same factory as a tool truck equivalent (Cheif long barrel air hammer, made in the same factory as Mac). The one significant advantage for HF, you never need to wait on the truck if a tool breaks. Just my two cents.
When I started wrenching 47 years ago I was dazzled by the shiny tools from Snap On and I would brag that every tool I had was Snap On but my home tools today are mostly oddball names and they work just as well as the tools I had way back then.
I’m a A&P mechanic, most of my tools were originally from Craftsman, from the 1990’s. Over time I added specialty tools from Snap on, MAC, MATCO, Gearwrench and etc. Good quality budget tools will do 90% of the job, and only snipe those specialty tools you really need off the trucks.
I have a nice collection of vintage Craftsman tools that I inherited from both grandfathers and my dad. When something breaks or goes missing, it’s Harbor Freight 80% of the time. What Jared said is true, they make mostly good tools now, pretty much every body does. Woodworking tools are another thing
Most tools are made in China today or Taiwan even the top quality brands like DeWalt Craftsman Milwaukee and others so the Pittsburgh would be about the same as far as quality I mean sure DeWalt Craftsman and Milwaukee are better quality but not by a lot Harbor Freight has really improved their tools over the years I have some of their wrenches and their awesome.
Nice work Jared.. it's true about Harbor Freight.. and yes there are 'better' assumed names out there, but as far as hand tools, I've broken more name brand tools than I have HF tools.. especially since the Quinn lineup started.. they're actually very much Snap-Onesque .. anyway great video series thanks again!
Jarred, I want to thank you so much for putting this out there for everybody, especially the young guns just getting started! Guys, LISTEN to Jarred! There's NO GLORY listening to the tool truck fanboys & spending MAJOR chunks of your paychecks on tools just for bragging rights when you're just getting started!
Once again, another great video giving real experiences and advice about tools. I get people in all the time saying they saw you using Harbor Freight tools in your videos, and I have absolutely let my higher ups know that you are an influence on at least our local population. I always appreciate the honesty about the tools, it really helps me give my customers better information. While I do use a lot of the basic tools we sell I am not by any means giving them as rough of a time as a mechanic.
I'm a commercial kitchen tech, hot side, and I have the HD box with mostly HF tools. My main load out is the Bauer roll chest with the medium case on top, and it took almost a year to have the 7/16 wrenches to spread, broke 1 socket and I swap out my $89 clamp meter every 3 months from grease getting in the wheel switch. The Hercules cordless "screwdriver" has been dunked in oil and water, run over, still works great. I avoid most automotive specialty tools from bad previous experience
On the idea of the apprentice program thing at 17:30, I had a friend going to her local community college and she wanted to learn to work on cars because she had helped her dad out a good bit and enjoyed doing it when she was younger. They wanted her to buy a tool set that was the school approved set for like $3,500 to $4000 and this was like seven years or eight years ago. She couldn’t afford it so I helped her by getting online pulling up the tool set and finding out what all it included, and went on Amazon and made a wish list on there of all the same tools that came in that tool set for her to get it and it ended up being like $500 including the toolbox itself. The amount that some of the programs expect you to pay so that somebody else can get a huge markup is insane.
I worked with a kid about 15 year ago, and he wanted to be a graphic designer, so he signed up for a reputable local school whom specialized in such matters. One of the requirements at the time was a Apple iMac which he was to provide, and the school would provide Photoshop suite at an extreme discount. I am a computer nerd so he asks "man I just bought this sick dell like last year and it didn't even cost me that much" and yea sure enough his dell he bought for medium weight gaming kicked the snot out of the iMac they were requiring, kid's not made of money, not from a well to do family, he sold the dell, scrapped up the difference working OT, got his education ... and the last time I talked to him he was working for one of the local billboard companies (he still lives in our little burb). It sucks but trade schools especially, have rackets setup with companies, so a good kid like P from a bad part of town, living with his nanna, basically had to waste money just to learn how to do what he was already good at ... cause they liked Apple and not Dell ... even though they both ran the same software. Its shameful
As a Military Aviation Mechanic I can 100% put my stamp of approval on this video. A lot of guys don’t use crap on and similar because their quality has been caught up to by stores like Harbor freight. Our standards are higher than most major airlines and we have not had any issues that would cause concern with tools.
Damn man that was so on Point I'm a EX Mechanic in the UK for 30 Years and Yes Snap on stuff its luverly to use but I agree with you tools that will do the Job Buy Smart not for the Name if you need a few tools you can abuse then yes Snap on Cracker Bars and leavers shore will last you but starting out 100% I agree with you Awesome Vlog man thank you
I'm just a home shop mechanic, but I am out there almost every day. Bought a Husky $800+ box. Love it. Love the auto/soft close drawers. Good weight construction and the flat black powder coat/or maybe paint(?) is tough and still like new after 4 years. Tools are mostly Craftsman, but an overall mixture of mid and higher end tools if they could be found for a good price at pawn shops and estate sales. 25% of my tools are antiques handed down from my dad. They all have their place, story and uses. I have also kept some lower end tools through the years that can be used sacrificialy when needed. Power tools are all Craftsman or better quality except for my HF electric grease gun which I love! I've built the collection that I needed through the years and it works well for me. I guess there's a lesson hidden in there.
Yeah your a good man Jared, great advice for the young or new car builder, I'm 51 & still have some of my father's tools, as well as a heap that I've bought along the way, love your work & attitude big fella, Rj in Oz
I own tools from everyone. Mac, Snap On, Cornwell, Craftsman, Ingersoll, Milwaukee, Husky, Kobalt etc. I have purchased HF and can honestly say the quality has improved a lot over the last few years. Their ICON line seems to be as good as anything out there. I make my living as a field service tech and so the tools on my truck stay on the truck and my home tools are a lot of HF. If HF had the same quality as they do now 20yrs ago I would recommend the HF stuff for anyone starting out. IF you break it or wear it out then buy the more expensive ones like dead blow hammers. The Snap On is way better than the HF but most of the rest is pretty comparable. Good video Jared.
when I went to A&P (aircraft mechanic) school, they had a deal with snapon where everything was half off, and it STILL was over 10k for my box and tools. and over half my class had rust issues with their pliers within 2 weeks of receiving them. so, yeah, go to harbor freight and get the same thing if not better for less money
Man... I won't tell you harbor freight won't get the job done... but the tools from there are not better... or even close to being as good. I have a 68" epiq that is loaded with both harbor freight and tool truck tools and there is absolutely a quality difference.
GREAT VIDEO, APPRECIATE THE GUIDANCE FOR THE NEW GUYS, when I began my automotive journey I was steered toward the tool trucks yet choose harbor freight for basic stuff (ratchets/hammers), tool truck quality is indisputably better yet not worth going into debt for the basics.
You know, as a hobbyist and DIY geek, this is really (I mean extremely) helpful! Thank you Jared & Tavarish for takimg the time to do this. Also as a hobbyist ive constantly thought about biting the bullet and buying blue line because its "cheaper" than snapon but honestly like you said I dont have 3 grand to go dump into to a half-assed tool kit when I could spend a round about of a $1000 and get litteraly everything a hobbyist needs. Hope y'all are well and cant wait to see the next tool video, y'all truly are one of the best! W.E.D!
Before retiring I was a tech at a local Cadillac dealership for about ten years out of my life.Nearly every other tech that worked at that same dealership had name brand tools and name brand tool boxes. (nothing wrong with that) Some of these guys had vast tool sets that when combined must have cost about as much as the price of a brand new Cadillac car.I'm afraid that I'm just chronically cheap cause I could never get myself to pay the cost of SnapOn or Craftsman or any of the other name brand tools. Nearly all of my tools were Harbor Freight tools, if I had bought them new. Those that were used were just tools I'd had since forever.About the only exception was a Snap On impact wrench that I'd bought at a yard sale for about twenty-five bucks. Funny thing was that periodically my coworkers would come over to my work bay to ask to borrow one of my cheap-ass Harbor Freight tools when one of their high dollar name brand tools either got lost, stolen or malfunctioned somehow. For the price of just one of their name brand tools I could buy a spare of each of my individual tools and still have money left over. I didn't mind loaning them my tools. I knew that the SnapOn guy only came by the dealership maybe once a week or every two weeks. I don't really remember how often any more. It's just that my coworkers relied on their tools to make money just like I did. They couldn't stand around and wait for the SnapOn guy to show up with their free replacement tools. I was raised to be frugal. I found that the Harbor Freight tools did the very same thing that the name brand tools did, and they didn't cost nearly as much. If money were no object, I probably would have bought all name brand tools but as it was, I just didn't see the need to spend that kind of money.
Exactly.., buy multiple from harbor freight instead of waiting for the damn tool truck to come around.. they have really stepped up their game recently with their higher end offerings like Icon and Quinn... like seriously good stuff
Currently in the grips of the tool truck pyramid scheme, working my way out though. Mac got me for a $6000 toolbox, getting that paid off slowly. Lost my job during the pandemic, missed a couple payments, suddenly owed over $1200 as the “next” payment. Luckily I’m working it out with mac corporate, the interest is gone, the bank is out of the equation, and it’s staying off my credit. I have three truck accounts, totaling almost $2k. That Mac box has never been full. I like it, I’ll pay it off and keep it, I’ll pay off the tools I bought on the trucks (some for home use, most because I’m a heavy diesel mechanic and things DO break working on stuff that big, even quality stuff, it’s nice to have a replacement show up at work) That being said, I have a $200 US General cart I use far more than the big Mac box. I agree with you Jared. Listen to this man!
It has been even harder for mechanics lately. I left traditional and into performance during the good years. I have bough tool boxes just out of the shiny factor. If older me knew younger me, I’d tell him to save a lot of money
You absolutely nailed it. I'm definitely a victim of buying off the tool trucks. My entire work tool set is all major tool trucks. I really thought thats what i needed to be a good tech especially when trying to be one of the youngest honda certified master techs. But when I went to build my.home set for wrenching the garage. Its all been home depot, lowes, and harbor freight and they hold up just fine to the abuse I put them through and then some. Great informative video for anyone new to mechanics.
What’s crazy is my DeWalt 84 piece mechanics tool set is like $300.00 cheaper than one mechanics tool set from Snap On that’s literally crazy I could buy like 5 or 6 different DeWalt mechanics tool sets for the price of just one Snap On mechanics tool set lol
Pliers are something where you should buy the expensive ones. As with cheap pliers you migth be fighting hours with something that the good ones allos to do in minutes. For me Wiha, Knipex and Bacho have worked great.
Outstanding perspective on tool shopping. I used to be only Craftsman when I was young, I have a 3/8 ratchet that has been rebuilt 3 times in 40+years. Now I have 2 cabinets filled with HF stuff. Haven’t broken anything YET!
AMEN !!! finally an honest opinion about harbor freight tools. I 've done my home work ,I've researched the countless number of tool options minus the tool trucks, And i'm pro harbor freight all the way. No questions asked warranty. ,you can't beat that milwaukee ,snap on, matco etc all want proof you bought the tool(s) from them, harbor ,whether you bought it or not they replace it totally free.
I have a husky tool set since I was 15, as a Christmas gift, and I have beat the crap out of it, and the ratchet still works like new. I always lubed it up by putting the head in a cup of ATF or light weight oil, at least a couple times a year, which I do to all my ratchets. No failures from home to shop work!
The 25 inch Pittsburgh Pro 1/2 inch drive breaker bar for $19.99 is an absolute steal. You can catch them on sale for $14-16.00. Great option for a big breaker bar. It also has a plastic insert/rubber handle comparable to the big name bars. That's a great bar and would be right at home in your tool box. I work at Walmart in the Auto Care Center and Walmart does provide our tools to us. They contracted with Steelman for their Pro line, which is acceptable for a weekend type of use, but these tools get used hard everyday and we do end up replacing stuff fairly regularly. Again, their provided by Walmart. We don't get too deep into working on vehicles, we're mainly oil changes, tire installs, flat repairs, rotation/balance, battery installs, and external light installs, and precious little else. So we're not pulling transmissions out of cars, that's for other shops to handle. We try to get the vehicle in while the customer is in the store shopping and have it ready when they are done. Sometimes we actually make that happen too. From what I've heard about the Harbor Freight lines of tools, the Pittsburg Pro, Quinn and Icon, I'd run any of those over the Steelman line any day of the week if I were working professionally in a repair shop setting, no questions. I've not bought any of the Icon line, but have a bit of the Pittsburg Pro tools for my own personal use and they've done just fine. I also have a number of Craftsman tools and they do the job too, and Craftsman is my main tool line for my use. If I were going to change careers and get more into the vehicle repair in a shop setting, I'd give some serious thought to the Icon line augmented by Harbor Freight's other line of tool chests, like the Yukon and some of their portable tool boxes on wheels to support the Yukon.
I got the crescent 180 piece “mechanic tool kit” from Amazon “used” for 70 bucks shipped a few years ago that I keep in my truck. It’s still my go to for everything pretty much. The convenience of the small size and variety of tools comes in handy.
Jared, you should do a torture test of the tractor supply job smart 324pcs mechanic set with the weatherproof box. It roughly the same price of the cheap Pittsburgh starter set. It be interesting to see your take on it.
when i started as an apprentice, my boss gave me all his Repco old (mostly broken) tools and brought new tools for himself. Repco had life time warranty so i traded in the broken tools ie handles falling off and ratchets slipping for new ones. i saved a lot as a first year. i was very happy with the hand me downs
I maintain 5 Saab 9-3, a cobalt SS and a k1500 truck exclusively with Harbor freight tools and Ridgid impact wrenches. Pittsburgh pro tools have been rocking for years now and I wouldn't change a thing.
I use two rifle cases as tool boxes mounted to my roof rack for mobile mechanic and when I’m off roading. It’s a mix of icon and snap on. I prefer my icon more oddly enough and been replacing my snap on with them because of better availability.
The best deal on the Snapon truck is the trade in tools and the free candy. I spent a large amount of money as a 19 year old mechanic, but it was nothing compared to the other guys. I had a full Craftsman set, and CH air tools. Slowly over time I got away from the CH air tools and into IR and those used bluepoints from the truck but I still have those same basic hand tools 23 years later, including the used craftsman box I paid $50 for. I guess that's a pretty good tip, you can get more for your money on the used market than you can buying new, and the warranty is transferable.
I’m not a mechanic but my son is., heavy plant mechanic. We bought him a tool chest which he has filled with predominantly cheaper tools. A few quality branded tools are there but not many. The cheaper tools have done everything required of them. He’s still spent 1000 of pounds but saved 1000s too. I think there is a lot of tool snobbery out there. My youngest son has just started his apprenticeship as a heavy goods mechanic, he will going the same way as his brother. Buy a box fill it over time with reasonable tools. Great honest video
This is solid advice. I've stuck with Craftsman and Husky my entire life. Fifteen years ago I got Husky set just like that Pittsburgh, on clearance for $35 at a Theisens Farm & Auto. I've only broken one socket in that set.
I have a Husky Roll cart with a little husky kit thats similar to your Gear wrench kit, I just moved all the sockets into organizers and put them in the box, and other miscellaneous tools, seems to work pretty well when working on boats
as a first year mechanic i started out with the harbor freight 300pc mechanics tool set then slowly started up grading my tools to mac snap-on and matco tools so far i still have all my harbor freight tools ive use the chrome sockets with the air impacts and they are still going strong
I’m a maintenance mechanic for heavy machines, we all have our own tools boxes and no one uses snap on. At most Milwaukee sockets is fancy. Milwaukee impacts at most. It’s about knowing how to use the tools now how much you spend.
there's a Pittsburgh pro 3/8 and 1/4 inch drive ratcheting wrench I bought because I couldn't get a regular rachet on a bolt one time. love it. I swear I use it more than a ratchet now
I love this thanks man honest n upfront I've got a basic basic basic tool set trying to build it cuz having the right tool at the right time is valuable
Love it, Love it, Love it. The info you've provided as a professional has been priceless. I too have been a continuous customer at Harbor Freight Tools for a lot of my Tools for personal use on my classic pickups. Thanks for what you've shared. Oh and guys and gals, he's right. Trucker Ray ✝️
20+ years ago my first box was the infamous Craftsman black triple stack. Best bang for your buck is the 42” or 44” Husky stack at HD for $800! An entry level tech or home mechanic wouldn’t outgrow that for at least 5 years. Always seek out alternative tool advice from non-brand hags!!!! There are great tools from lots of mid priced manufacturers (Lisle, Tekton, OEM tools, etc). If you know any tradesmen, see what tool brands they trust (electricians have fantastic screwdrivers and pliers brands that aren’t expensive)!
I bought the blue version of that YUKON tool box and I 100% agree with everything you said. The only negative to it is the drawer spacing is a bit on the short side but after working through making some of my own organizers, its holding up well. Mine gets abused just as bad as it seems yours has and I have had it for over a year now.
Thx. To be fair the gear wrench box had those three or four polycarbonate sheets to help prevent movement! However the other set is way to go for sure.
Harbor freight could film an ad in my garage. From the tech carts to the jacks to the sockets I own almost as much as my local store carries in stock. Another great video about real world experience!
I've been a professional for 20 years, my tool collection has been gathered together from all over. My daily abuse tools came from a tool truck only because somebody came by every week to handle warranty replacements. I have Snap-On ratchets that I can break/bend into a pretzel and I can get another one, no questions asked. Same thing with my sockets. I can crack one wide open and get an instant replacement brought straight to me. As for EVERYTHING ELSE, I love Harbor Freight and Home Depot. I have a bad habit of losing screwdrivers, so I spent the least amount possible on them because they ALWAYS disappear on me over the course of a year.
I appreciate this video because it confirms something I believed but didn't have the experience to say. for most of my life I was the guy that had two $500 crapboxes, but that's changed in the past few years. either way the $30 HF 64 piece kit has saved the day so many times. I'd like to see you cover what you take on road trips/to rescue freddy. details what/how you store/organize it. I work out of messy tool bags with loose categories. all my bags are getting worn out.
I used to race dirt circle track, and I built a complete track setup of HF hand tools so that if a breaker back somehow acquired "legs", I wasn't going to cry all the way home from my good stuff being lost. I used the box religiously for 5-6 years every Friday night... for their intended environment, the sockets, ratchets, extensions and wrenches did amazingly well. I never broke a single one of them. I actually got to where even in the shop, I preferred the wrenches because of how they fit in my hand. The pliers? Garbage. The only thing they would be useful for is a tarp hold down if it started to rain. The vice grip style did alright, but I wouldn't go back and buy them a second time. I bought the Earthquake XT 1/2' drive impact for the track, and I broke more than one lug nut stud. I was highly impressed with it. I also have a video of it taking off a Harmonic balancer bolt that another brand couldn't get off... both had the same weighted socket and the bolt was torqued to the same spec. How long it will last? God only knows but for the last 4 years its done well with all things considered.
I started out working in a garage using cheap Stanley tool sets from Walmart, a cheap ass $70 toolbox, some cheap ass screwdrivers and some Flea Market special tools along with some old Craftsman tools from my grandfather. To this day I still go for some of those old tools over my Snap-On and other big name brands. The only things that white toolbox of Jared's needs to be complete is some prybars, some hammers and chisels and it would be prefect for a person starting out. Great Video👍
If you're looking for better quality, Milwaukee stuff seems to be pretty good. I've used their screwdrivers, impact bits, and open end wrenches. I have snap on, mac, mastercraft, Halfords, and a bunch of other mutt brands. I'd say that the Milwaukee combination wrenches are as good for holding power and not rounding off nuts as the snap on wrenches are.
You should review homedepot tool boxes. I got a husky pro (flat black) 72” top and bottom tool chest around Christmas for $800 and it’s amazing. I can stand in the drawers and it won’t budge. Built in light. Plugs everywhere wood work station. I couldn’t be happier
Have quite a few husky and harbor freight branded tools. Honestly the only times I've needed better branded stuff was sockets and pliers. Cheaper sockets can crack an cheap pliers explode or dont hold up to use (specifically lock jaw pliers, the pin comes apart)
Great review Jared. An extrapolation from this is that for the home hobbyist, any of these cheaper brands are just fine. Long ways back when I was starting out as a service advisor, I mentioned that I wanted to look thru my techs snap on catalog as I was staring to make some money and wanted some nice tools. He said “why, craftsman, Home Depot etc are just fine for the home hobbyist.” I’ve had a basic husky socket set for nearly 20 years, a plethora of craftsman older than that which I use all the time. They have been great.
Fully agree. When i was younger i ran a harbor frieght kit for years. Made me money more than once. Now that im older im running Milwaukee hand tools, and Kobalt power tools. Run the tool you can afford at the time, upgrade when you need to.
GP Duo Sockets for the win. Thin like chrome sockets, but fully warranted for impact use as well. Have used one set for 10 years. Zero issues.
I'm going out to get a set of these and try them. Thanks wizard!
Well a recommendation from the Wizard is gospel in my book.
Obey the Wizard
More of a Craftsman, or Pittsburgh tools myself.
Wiiiizzzaarrd!!!
as a Harbor Freight employee I love to see genuine reviews of our products so i can better inform customers in my store
That's awesome. I have a deep appreciation for Harbor freight tools. I started my first job out of highschool with a small collection of harbor freight tools my father bought me and still use mostly harbor freight brands to this day. They have always been good tools at a great price and I feel now more than ever that you get alot of quality in the tools at a budget friendly price. Very impressed by some of the newer brands they have been putting out on the market lately.
I buy well over half my tools at harbor freight, honestly holds up better than the other various crap I've bought except for older craftsman and kobalt stuff.
Dude. They don't suck. They're not bad at all in most cases. Even if they do suck, the warranty makes up for it. You basically cut quality control and pass it on to the customer in the smartest way possible. The people who use em a ton and actually give a shit will test them pretty extensively in the store and they'll use them pretty hard. The people who will use it once or twice and that's it won't inspect it in the tools and will probably end up with the leftovers that the pro guys won't take. The pros get tools that'll last and the normies get the junk. Both are happy cause both will get one that lasts as expected. The warranty takes care of the in between cases. Absolute genius. The corners you cut are amazing. Very well curated. Every corner that's cut is cut with value in mind and not just cheapness. Corners aren't perfectly round, items aren't faced as well, rougher surface finishes. Just things that don't change the performance at all. It's a very well balanced act. There are cases where I've needed a better tool, but they're rare. Once I've needed a better extension since the hf extension snapped under the load of a Honda crank bolt. These are pretty impossible to begin with though. It received my kobalt impact and my Ryobi impact before getting the beans of a 6ft breaker bar. I just don't get the hate.
Do you take trade-ins on old US General Tool Chests LOL. I've outgrown my 17 year old 44" combo unit HAHA!!! It has sat out on an open air carport all its life, yep its dirty, but everything still functions perfectly on it...Looking at a 56" model but it looks as though the end cabinets are only for the 44" models....I'd have to go up to the Icon stuff to get end cabinets...and the prices on that brand are ridiculous. So I'll just stick with what I have until Harbor Freight can figure out how to get an end cabinet system that fits the US General 56" boxes LOL.
@@wildbill23c I have a Craftsman box with hf end cabinets. Only mod required is to cut a tiny notch on the front and back to accommodate the hf end cabinet design. End cabinet is a bit deeper than the main box, but they're the same red.
Absolutely nailed it. I run a small bodyshop with less than 10 techs, and whenever I take on fresh apprentices they're always wanting to go straight to snap on and take on the debt, I tell them to buy cheaper tools and if they do break them with continual use then to upgrade that tool to something more expensive as they are clearly getting the use out of it.
yea it makes no since to buy a overpriced tool you are not using much, buy the cheaper tools and find out which ones wear out the quickest ... those are the ones that are probably being used and pushed the most. You don't want a 45$ o-ring pick set when your 10mm ratcheting box end wrench fails
What you said, but it also builds tool knowledge. So many kids just jump into the expensive stuff thinking "oh, legacy tools, grandpa had them etc" and skip an entire chapter worth of shop education which does end up biting some of them in the end.
@@aserta I have a complete metric socket set 6mm to 24mm and so many of those sockets I've never used because the ISO standard skips sizes. Although there are out of standard fasteners. But they're rare. Why I got that set is another story. It was a deal I couldn't pass up.
The industry needs more people like you. My first dealer job was working at Mercedes’ and man did everyone try and say I couldn’t do the job without snap on tools, thankfully I didn’t go down that rabbit hole.
Dude I buy whatever is cheap and if I break it I upgrade it. I'm cheap l and I have a full arsenal of shit I need to get my jobs done. Gotta be resourceful
I'm a shade tree mechanic, and I own mostly Harbor Freight tools. So far the only tool I broke was a 10mm ratcheting wrench, which was replaced with no questions asked. I've beaten on the impact sockets with an impact and a three foot breaker bar and so far have broken bolts not the sockets.
A lot of my bigger tools are from Harbor Freight pipe wrenches and bolt cutters
I'm someone who had several USA made wrench sets craftsman and great neck and even their tawain made ones,, and when someone who will remain un named hint borrowed over 65 percent of all of my tools most all the replaced wrenches and sockets are Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh pro...
I have a 149, and 194 PC mechanic tool set that is basically the truck crash and roadside service kit, that replaced the craftsman sets I had, and I have got two decent deals on gearwrench 1/4 90t and the 3/8 120xp like 51-55 PC set and they are the tool box set of good sockets, and now that 74 PC complete set of 3/8 shallow and deep sae and metric tekton and the mid sized combination wrench set
I went to “school” for mechanics over 20 years ago. The very first day was a 2 hour long sales pitch from Snap-on. I went to Sears once a week and bought what I needed piece by piece. I spent several thousand dollars. Got good tools and have only had to rebuild my very first ratchet (that is over 30 years old) once!!
Smart man
The good old days when Craftsman tools were actually good enough for a craftsman.
I went to a mechanic school 12 years ago had the same sales pitch from Snap-on did buy a small tool set half of it is stolen now don't needed since I inherited my dad old Craftsman tool set
Still got my small Craftsman ratchet set I bought at Kmart back in 2005ish. Nothing in it has broken and the finish on them still looks like I bought them yesterday. I'm actually kinda curious how the Made in China ones would fare with age over the USA ones.
I do use Snap-ons that I brough when I enter the company I am working for but their deals was way cheaper then street price or "school" price that I heard of, much closer to some other reliable brands that I would otherwise brought, I guess the bigger the company the better the deal, that have a side effect though, as everyone in the company was using Snap-on in some ways and everyone is very "protective" about their own tool box compare to others who shop their own tools.
I went with the tool trucks when I started as a dealer mechanic, I had a lot of basic tools that were largely craftsman, that worked fine. Later years, the only time I would get something off the truck was for specialized tools, that you couldn't get anywhere else. Struggling to get something apart vs having the specialized tool designed for the job, makes a HUGE difference when you're working flat rate
Agreed. Specialty tools are a whole other thing. I build custom guitars and have spent the money on certain jigs/tools that make my job easier and more efficient. In those cases, it's money well spent.
This is very true, though most often the various trucks aren't the actual manufacturer of the specialty tools they carry. Lisle is one of the big names to look into there. I have a number of things direct from them that are identical to ones off the trucks minus the added branding.
You hit the nail on the head. I do the exact same thing. Specialty stuff is needed sometimes but you can still a job done with less expensive tools.
There is nothing like have the correct tool for the job. It’s not worth the fight. Even as a hobby mechanic I own a load of specialty tools. I just pick them up as I need them but a 150 dollar tool for the job is worth the pain and suffering. Plus for me buying the tool is still cheaper than taking it to a mechanic.
Cheap tools and being cheap make for bad days. New people don’t understand this. You bought a $1 Harbor Freight screw driver to do brakes, oh you stripped out the Phillips ? And now you lost money on a flagged out brake job? $50 impact driver off the truck that pays for itself first job but the youtuber that said not to buy quality tools ever said skip it. Now you earn less than a high school kid at McDonald’s
I tend to buy on the low-mid quality when buying tools. If I have something break because I use it a bunch, I go more mid-high. If it breaks because it's junk, I'll go to the next step up. ~20 years of amateur wrenching, that plan has done me really well.
I really appreciate this testing to help us all make some better choices.
I know a mechanic that will buy the cheap Pittsburgh and other brand wrenches, purposely and use them when he needs to modify a wrench or screwdriver, or something in order to be able to reach a bolt or something, you can cut a wrench, heat it and bend it, etc...but he's like no way in hell am I cutting my Snap-On or bending my Snap-On wrenches for that, so sacrificing a $10 wrench VS a $100, yep I can easily see that logic too.
I have done the same, I'll buy that basic tool, if I wear it out or break it, I'll upgrade to the next brand higher until I find one that works. Much better than starting at the expensive end of the line for no reason.
I can say Jarred is speaking 100% truth here, as someone who grew up in a gear head family, as my real father was a certified welder, logger, farmer, mechanic, well driller, and overall handyman, and I first learned to wrench on farm equipment about the age of 6 in the 80's from him, and my step father was the son of an old school service station owner in the 60's, in the 70's he drag raced for MOPAR, in the early 80's he ran his own landscape business, then by the late 80's, he became a Master ASE Certified tech, then by the late 90's ran the maintenance department of a major hospital, and along with my 2 step brothers who are natural gear heads with their own storied careers, having raced just about everything from BMX bikes to Go-Karts, Dirt Bikes, drag cars, tractor pulls, etc.. growing up and to this day still do antique tractor pulling, I had, and still have a big learning tree of what to do, and what not to do, which led me to eventually in the very early 00's to becoming a heavy equipment mechanic for a site prep construction company with my real father, and later on working for a New Holland/Kubota dealership that was also a landscaping company, till the mid 00's when I finally had to change careers due to bad knees/shoulders from overdoing it being a small framed guy, and I watched both my father, and step father over the years get caught in the tool truck trap 1st hand spending thousands of dollars they really did not have just to make a living when during the 80's, 90's, and 00's, when they really could have gone to SEARS, and mostly gotten by with the Craftsman tools, except for the really specialty items like 2in hydraulic wrenches with an odd angle, etc..
So guys don't do it, as places like Harbor Freight, and even Walmart with their HART line have really improved, and shown you don't need to go into massive debt to get started in the mechanics trade!!
I laughed whenever that basic tool set from Snap on cost over $4,000.00 that’s robbery
@@cgg6450 That looks kind of like those no-name "mechanic" sets, or homeowner sets you find in catalogs for $100 LOL. They overinflate that price because they know people are dumb enough to hand over their credit card because it says Snap-On.
I can see some Snap-On stuff, as I think the those companies do make some specialty tools you can't find elsewhere, but you gotta really need that tool to make it worth what that tool truck is selling it for...many people just find other methods to avoid buying that stuff due to the cost, or they make their own.
I got all the tools a guy could want, and I STILL found this segment very appealing. I love that you are honest and upfront about the reality of the tool industry. There are only a handful of corporations that own all the big names world wide.
I especially like that you did the experiment with your own dollars and not by sponsorship.
As for power tools, I'm currently a Milwaukee guy bc they were the first to have a sweet cordless impact, but I'm eyeballing Rigid recently.
The cordless tool line is another one of those rabbit holes you can get sucked into real quick. For me I got my start with Dewalt 18VXRP 4 piece set I won as a door price about 18 years ago at a store. So I just stuck with Dewalt and slowly just added to the tool line as I needed...course now I've got the 20V and 60V/Flexvolt stuff...but its mainly due to once you have the batteries/chargers you tend to stick to one particular platform due to already having the batteries/chargers.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with Milwaukee, Makita, etc. Ridgid makes some great stuff and I have been eying their stuff recently as well. I don't have any Ridgid hand or battery tools...I do have a Ridgid TS3612 10" contractor table saw, and the Ridgid 13" thickness planer....both I've had for probably close to 20 years, both work great...I've heard several say their cordless tools are great too and wouldn't be surprised. They're more foreign made now sadly than they used to be, but what isn't anymore honestly.
Great job on this Jared! 100 percent agree with everything you've said! In the late 90s I bought the craftsman master set, and still use 90 percent of that set almost 25 years later. Nothing wrong with purchasing inexpensive sets.
I just started working as an RV tech about 2 months ago, the snap on and matco trucks come every week for us. I'm glad I can say that most of my tools are from harbor freight and home depot. I've probably only spent $2,000 total on my box and tools, counting a few Milwaukee tools. Thanks for making these videos Jared!
I started to get trapped by the tool trucks. I was lucky enough to have a well seasoned mechanic decide to mentor me. He very quickly set me straight on buying tools. Thanks Mac
I just found this channel recently and watched the first parts of these reviews about a week ago. As soon as I finished the HF video I thought it needed a follow-up. I was so excited to see this on my lunch break!
Thanks so much to Jared and the whole crew for making awesome content!
I've had husky tools since I started wrenching. Still use them so many years later. Pretty good quality. Only had one ratchet stop working, but it's an easy fix.
The Husky and Cobalt lines at the big box home stores are not terrible, and one thing I do like about those stores is say I've got a set of wrenches and it skips a couple sizes like 14 or 16mm, you can buy those individual tools and fill in your set without buying another whole set of wrenches. Much better to spend $13 for one good wrench than $40 for a whole set of cheap ones just to get that one missing size. Reminds me I have a 3/8 drive Husky ratchet that froze up that I need to run in for a replacement.
Excellent advice. I never had the money to be a snob about tools when I started wrenching... I did over the years learn 'which' tools it was wise to spend decent money on and what could be semi budget kit. The old adage 'you get what you pay for' does come into play, but the 'reasonable' tools (used correctly) will definitely still get the job done in a professional setting.
Snap-On is still out in front but others are catching up. So it is hard to justify the premium S-O charges. Snappy ain't 10 times better than the next guy. Today it's more like 10% better. So you're not really getting what you pay for.
I've been using a $200 mechanic set from home Depot made by husky. It has saved me thousands and the last 7 years working on my own car. I still have it and all the tools work perfectly fine.
As an apprentice, I appreciate this channel. Also, as a 47 year old apprentice I have only spent money on stuff that I use every day. I got my basic tool set from the apprenticeship program and have spent $250 so far.
Jared I want to thank you for this. You're doing a great job steering people just starting out into the right direction so they're not stuck eating instant ramen every day.
I'm going through an apprenticeship right now for a multicraft (factory) mechanic and Harbor Freight was suggested to me.
Years ago ago I was an hourly tech for a dealership, using really bad hardware store tools, used and even dipped a little into the tool truck. (Although I couldn't afford most of it) what's left are my home tools. I'm buying my new work set from Harbor Freight.
The lounge area and garage organization is looking good! Also always appreciate opinions from Wizard and Jared. These guys have spent a few lifetimes in the shop and know what they're talking about
I bought that HF tool kit 6-7 years ago and it's never failed me. I've done basic stuff from oil changes and brakes and I just got done replacing the inner axle oil seals on my F250. I've replaced trailer axles, home projects and everything else. I recommend it to everyone. It's been left the rain, tossed in the trucks and everywhere else on 20+ cross country trips. You'll often find in on sale for $99 like it was this past weekend.
I bought that 500 piece set too. And it worked perfect for me and my brother when we work on our cars. The issue i had was the screwdriver sockets. Those are crap material. The other thing is i had to buy an icon swivel head 10 in ( 3/8 ) rachet because the quinn works, but its too small. Not enough leverage to loosten bolts. For pliers i went with what worked for me for a long time, craftsman
I loved this review. I'm a shade tree mechanic I guess, if even that. I fix mine and my girlfriends cars, 3 in total. Normally I do a lot of DIY work and build PC's. Most of my tools are from Harbor Freight and they've done awesome. Back when I worked at a Chrysler dealership (I was the service advisor at the counter not a technician) the guys laughed at me using my cheap tools to do work on lifts after hours. Told them the same thing I tell everyone when it comes to what I work on/build/customize/program; my work speaks for itself and any new mechanic should feel the same.
The quality of the work you do says far more about you than the tools you use to do that work.
love the honesty about where a young mechanic should spend his money. On some things I'm a buy once, cry once kind of guy. But depending on your needs and resources that doesn't always make sense.
I'm starting a new job at HF next week. The manager got to know me by how often I would buy from them and offered me a job. Good people. There are some things that I will not buy from HF, knowing that Snap-On makes a more reliable tool (torque wrench) and some things that are made in the same factory as a tool truck equivalent (Cheif long barrel air hammer, made in the same factory as Mac). The one significant advantage for HF, you never need to wait on the truck if a tool breaks. Just my two cents.
When I started wrenching 47 years ago I was dazzled by the shiny tools from Snap On and I would brag that every tool I had was Snap On but my home tools today are mostly oddball names and they work just as well as the tools I had way back then.
I think it’s crazy how much Snap on charges for their tools their prices are robbery
I’m a A&P mechanic, most of my tools were originally from Craftsman, from the 1990’s. Over time I added specialty tools from Snap on, MAC, MATCO, Gearwrench and etc. Good quality budget tools will do 90% of the job, and only snipe those specialty tools you really need off the trucks.
Maybe Ed will do the right thing and send you a Snap On set
I have a nice collection of vintage Craftsman tools that I inherited from both grandfathers and my dad. When something breaks or goes missing, it’s Harbor Freight 80% of the time. What Jared said is true, they make mostly good tools now, pretty much every body does. Woodworking tools are another thing
Most tools are made in China today or Taiwan even the top quality brands like DeWalt Craftsman Milwaukee and others so the Pittsburgh would be about the same as far as quality I mean sure DeWalt Craftsman and Milwaukee are better quality but not by a lot Harbor Freight has really improved their tools over the years I have some of their wrenches and their awesome.
Nice work Jared.. it's true about Harbor Freight.. and yes there are 'better' assumed names out there, but as far as hand tools, I've broken more name brand tools than I have HF tools.. especially since the Quinn lineup started.. they're actually very much Snap-Onesque .. anyway great video series thanks again!
Jarred, I want to thank you so much for putting this out there for everybody, especially the young guns just getting started! Guys, LISTEN to Jarred! There's NO GLORY listening to the tool truck fanboys & spending MAJOR chunks of your paychecks on tools just for bragging rights when you're just getting started!
Once again, another great video giving real experiences and advice about tools. I get people in all the time saying they saw you using Harbor Freight tools in your videos, and I have absolutely let my higher ups know that you are an influence on at least our local population. I always appreciate the honesty about the tools, it really helps me give my customers better information. While I do use a lot of the basic tools we sell I am not by any means giving them as rough of a time as a mechanic.
I'm a commercial kitchen tech, hot side, and I have the HD box with mostly HF tools. My main load out is the Bauer roll chest with the medium case on top, and it took almost a year to have the 7/16 wrenches to spread, broke 1 socket and I swap out my $89 clamp meter every 3 months from grease getting in the wheel switch. The Hercules cordless "screwdriver" has been dunked in oil and water, run over, still works great. I avoid most automotive specialty tools from bad previous experience
Thank you so much for being honest and upfront. It is so refreshing to see this kind of stuff.
Thanks for the linear editing without opening with spoilers. Much easier to watch from start to finish!
On the idea of the apprentice program thing at 17:30, I had a friend going to her local community college and she wanted to learn to work on cars because she had helped her dad out a good bit and enjoyed doing it when she was younger. They wanted her to buy a tool set that was the school approved set for like $3,500 to $4000 and this was like seven years or eight years ago. She couldn’t afford it so I helped her by getting online pulling up the tool set and finding out what all it included, and went on Amazon and made a wish list on there of all the same tools that came in that tool set for her to get it and it ended up being like $500 including the toolbox itself. The amount that some of the programs expect you to pay so that somebody else can get a huge markup is insane.
I worked with a kid about 15 year ago, and he wanted to be a graphic designer, so he signed up for a reputable local school whom specialized in such matters. One of the requirements at the time was a Apple iMac which he was to provide, and the school would provide Photoshop suite at an extreme discount.
I am a computer nerd so he asks "man I just bought this sick dell like last year and it didn't even cost me that much" and yea sure enough his dell he bought for medium weight gaming kicked the snot out of the iMac they were requiring, kid's not made of money, not from a well to do family, he sold the dell, scrapped up the difference working OT, got his education ... and the last time I talked to him he was working for one of the local billboard companies (he still lives in our little burb).
It sucks but trade schools especially, have rackets setup with companies, so a good kid like P from a bad part of town, living with his nanna, basically had to waste money just to learn how to do what he was already good at ... cause they liked Apple and not Dell ... even though they both ran the same software. Its shameful
As a Military Aviation Mechanic I can 100% put my stamp of approval on this video. A lot of guys don’t use crap on and similar because their quality has been caught up to by stores like Harbor freight. Our standards are higher than most major airlines and we have not had any issues that would cause concern with tools.
Damn man that was so on Point I'm a EX Mechanic in the UK for 30 Years and Yes Snap on stuff its luverly to use but I agree with you tools that will do the Job Buy Smart not for the Name if you need a few tools you can abuse then yes Snap on Cracker Bars and leavers shore will last you but starting out 100% I agree with you Awesome Vlog man thank you
Fantastic, heartfelt review! Thank you for your efforts.
I'm just a home shop mechanic, but I am out there almost every day. Bought a Husky $800+ box. Love it. Love the auto/soft close drawers. Good weight construction and the flat black powder coat/or maybe paint(?) is tough and still like new after 4 years. Tools are mostly Craftsman, but an overall mixture of mid and higher end tools if they could be found for a good price at pawn shops and estate sales. 25% of my tools are antiques handed down from my dad. They all have their place, story and uses. I have also kept some lower end tools through the years that can be used sacrificialy when needed. Power tools are all Craftsman or better quality except for my HF electric grease gun which I love! I've built the collection that I needed through the years and it works well for me. I guess there's a lesson hidden in there.
That shop is looking better every video!!! Thanks for the great content Jared,
Wish I learned this when I was starting out, get harbor freight first, whatever keeps breaking that’s what you invest in.
Great bits of wisdom there, Jared. Thanks for taking the time to get the soapbox out and do a bit of public awareness and education.
Yeah your a good man Jared, great advice for the young or new car builder, I'm 51 & still have some of my father's tools, as well as a heap that I've bought along the way, love your work & attitude big fella, Rj in Oz
Been looking to get a toolset for junkyard runs and another one to keep in my house, so this is incredibly useful.
I love your pure honesty and anguish towards brand name tools.
The Windows disconnect sound confused the heck out of me for a second 🤣
I know they're not cheap, but the Wera Joker wrenches are a big time saver
I own tools from everyone. Mac, Snap On, Cornwell, Craftsman, Ingersoll, Milwaukee, Husky, Kobalt etc. I have purchased HF and can honestly say the quality has improved a lot over the last few years. Their ICON line seems to be as good as anything out there. I make my living as a field service tech and so the tools on my truck stay on the truck and my home tools are a lot of HF. If HF had the same quality as they do now 20yrs ago I would recommend the HF stuff for anyone starting out. IF you break it or wear it out then buy the more expensive ones like dead blow hammers. The Snap On is way better than the HF but most of the rest is pretty comparable. Good video Jared.
when I went to A&P (aircraft mechanic) school, they had a deal with snapon where everything was half off, and it STILL was over 10k for my box and tools. and over half my class had rust issues with their pliers within 2 weeks of receiving them. so, yeah, go to harbor freight and get the same thing if not better for less money
Thank you 👍
Man... I won't tell you harbor freight won't get the job done... but the tools from there are not better... or even close to being as good. I have a 68" epiq that is loaded with both harbor freight and tool truck tools and there is absolutely a quality difference.
GREAT VIDEO, APPRECIATE THE GUIDANCE FOR THE NEW GUYS, when I began my automotive journey I was steered toward the tool trucks yet choose harbor freight for basic stuff (ratchets/hammers), tool truck quality is indisputably better yet not worth going into debt for the basics.
You know, as a hobbyist and DIY geek, this is really (I mean extremely) helpful! Thank you Jared & Tavarish for takimg the time to do this. Also as a hobbyist ive constantly thought about biting the bullet and buying blue line because its "cheaper" than snapon but honestly like you said I dont have 3 grand to go dump into to a half-assed tool kit when I could spend a round about of a $1000 and get litteraly everything a hobbyist needs. Hope y'all are well and cant wait to see the next tool video, y'all truly are one of the best! W.E.D!
Before retiring I was a tech at a local Cadillac dealership for about ten years out of my life.Nearly every other tech that worked at that same dealership had name brand tools and name brand tool boxes. (nothing wrong with that)
Some of these guys had vast tool sets that when combined must have cost about as much as the price of a brand new Cadillac car.I'm afraid that I'm just chronically cheap cause I could never get myself to pay the cost of SnapOn or Craftsman or any of the other name brand tools.
Nearly all of my tools were Harbor Freight tools, if I had bought them new. Those that were used were just tools I'd had since forever.About the only exception was a Snap On impact wrench that I'd bought at a yard sale for about twenty-five bucks.
Funny thing was that periodically my coworkers would come over to my work bay to ask to borrow one of my cheap-ass Harbor Freight tools when one of their high dollar name brand tools either got lost, stolen or malfunctioned somehow.
For the price of just one of their name brand tools I could buy a spare of each of my individual tools and still have money left over. I didn't mind loaning them my tools.
I knew that the SnapOn guy only came by the dealership maybe once a week or every two weeks. I don't really remember how often any more. It's just that my coworkers relied on their tools to make money just like I did. They couldn't stand around and wait for the SnapOn guy to show up with their free replacement tools.
I was raised to be frugal. I found that the Harbor Freight tools did the very same thing that the name brand tools did, and they didn't cost nearly as much.
If money were no object, I probably would have bought all name brand tools but as it was, I just didn't see the need to spend that kind of money.
Exactly.., buy multiple from harbor freight instead of waiting for the damn tool truck to come around.. they have really stepped up their game recently with their higher end offerings like Icon and Quinn... like seriously good stuff
Currently in the grips of the tool truck pyramid scheme, working my way out though.
Mac got me for a $6000 toolbox, getting that paid off slowly. Lost my job during the pandemic, missed a couple payments, suddenly owed over $1200 as the “next” payment.
Luckily I’m working it out with mac corporate, the interest is gone, the bank is out of the equation, and it’s staying off my credit. I have three truck accounts, totaling almost $2k. That Mac box has never been full.
I like it, I’ll pay it off and keep it, I’ll pay off the tools I bought on the trucks (some for home use, most because I’m a heavy diesel mechanic and things DO break working on stuff that big, even quality stuff, it’s nice to have a replacement show up at work)
That being said, I have a $200 US General cart I use far more than the big Mac box.
I agree with you Jared. Listen to this man!
It has been even harder for mechanics lately. I left traditional and into performance during the good years.
I have bough tool boxes just out of the shiny factor. If older me knew younger me, I’d tell him to save a lot of money
You absolutely nailed it. I'm definitely a victim of buying off the tool trucks. My entire work tool set is all major tool trucks. I really thought thats what i needed to be a good tech especially when trying to be one of the youngest honda certified master techs. But when I went to build my.home set for wrenching the garage. Its all been home depot, lowes, and harbor freight and they hold up just fine to the abuse I put them through and then some. Great informative video for anyone new to mechanics.
What’s crazy is my DeWalt 84 piece mechanics tool set is like $300.00 cheaper than one mechanics tool set from Snap On that’s literally crazy I could buy like 5 or 6 different DeWalt mechanics tool sets for the price of just one Snap On mechanics tool set lol
Pliers are something where you should buy the expensive ones. As with cheap pliers you migth be fighting hours with something that the good ones allos to do in minutes. For me Wiha, Knipex and Bacho have worked great.
lOVE my Kline Tools
Outstanding perspective on tool shopping. I used to be only Craftsman when I was young, I have a 3/8 ratchet that has been rebuilt 3 times in 40+years. Now I have 2 cabinets filled with HF stuff. Haven’t broken anything YET!
AMEN !!! finally an honest opinion about harbor freight tools. I 've done my home work ,I've researched the countless number of tool options minus the tool trucks, And i'm pro harbor freight all the way. No questions asked warranty. ,you can't beat that milwaukee ,snap on, matco etc all want proof you bought the tool(s) from them, harbor ,whether you bought it or not they replace it totally free.
I have a husky tool set since I was 15, as a Christmas gift, and I have beat the crap out of it, and the ratchet still works like new. I always lubed it up by putting the head in a cup of ATF or light weight oil, at least a couple times a year, which I do to all my ratchets. No failures from home to shop work!
The 25 inch Pittsburgh Pro 1/2 inch drive breaker bar for $19.99 is an absolute steal. You can catch them on sale for $14-16.00. Great option for a big breaker bar. It also has a plastic insert/rubber handle comparable to the big name bars. That's a great bar and would be right at home in your tool box.
I work at Walmart in the Auto Care Center and Walmart does provide our tools to us. They contracted with Steelman for their Pro line, which is acceptable for a weekend type of use, but these tools get used hard everyday and we do end up replacing stuff fairly regularly. Again, their provided by Walmart. We don't get too deep into working on vehicles, we're mainly oil changes, tire installs, flat repairs, rotation/balance, battery installs, and external light installs, and precious little else. So we're not pulling transmissions out of cars, that's for other shops to handle. We try to get the vehicle in while the customer is in the store shopping and have it ready when they are done. Sometimes we actually make that happen too.
From what I've heard about the Harbor Freight lines of tools, the Pittsburg Pro, Quinn and Icon, I'd run any of those over the Steelman line any day of the week if I were working professionally in a repair shop setting, no questions. I've not bought any of the Icon line, but have a bit of the Pittsburg Pro tools for my own personal use and they've done just fine. I also have a number of Craftsman tools and they do the job too, and Craftsman is my main tool line for my use.
If I were going to change careers and get more into the vehicle repair in a shop setting, I'd give some serious thought to the Icon line augmented by Harbor Freight's other line of tool chests, like the Yukon and some of their portable tool boxes on wheels to support the Yukon.
Vice Grip Garage always buys that Pittsburgh set for his rescues.
I got the crescent 180 piece “mechanic tool kit” from Amazon “used” for 70 bucks shipped a few years ago that I keep in my truck. It’s still my go to for everything pretty much. The convenience of the small size and variety of tools comes in handy.
Jared, you should do a torture test of the tractor supply job smart 324pcs mechanic set with the weatherproof box. It roughly the same price of the cheap Pittsburgh starter set. It be interesting to see your take on it.
when i started as an apprentice, my boss gave me all his Repco old (mostly broken) tools and brought new tools for himself. Repco had life time warranty so i traded in the broken tools ie handles falling off and ratchets slipping for new ones. i saved a lot as a first year. i was very happy with the hand me downs
Snap On is the biggest rip off on the market. In Canada they bankrupted a lot of tool truck owners when they started refusing to honor their warranty.
I maintain 5 Saab 9-3, a cobalt SS and a k1500 truck exclusively with Harbor freight tools and Ridgid impact wrenches. Pittsburgh pro tools have been rocking for years now and I wouldn't change a thing.
I use two rifle cases as tool boxes mounted to my roof rack for mobile mechanic and when I’m off roading. It’s a mix of icon and snap on. I prefer my icon more oddly enough and been replacing my snap on with them because of better availability.
The best deal on the Snapon truck is the trade in tools and the free candy. I spent a large amount of money as a 19 year old mechanic, but it was nothing compared to the other guys. I had a full Craftsman set, and CH air tools. Slowly over time I got away from the CH air tools and into IR and those used bluepoints from the truck but I still have those same basic hand tools 23 years later, including the used craftsman box I paid $50 for. I guess that's a pretty good tip, you can get more for your money on the used market than you can buying new, and the warranty is transferable.
Authentic advice and tips, about an endorsed product, that dont usually happens, another reason to support this awesomeness guy!
Jared. Do you understand that snap-on, even as we speak, is sending an assassination squad to Georgia?
I had no idea you were so close. I used to work in Locust Grove. I'm in Fayetteville, now. Love these videos.
I’m not a mechanic but my son is., heavy plant mechanic. We bought him a tool chest which he has filled with predominantly cheaper tools. A few quality branded tools are there but not many. The cheaper tools have done everything required of them. He’s still spent 1000 of pounds but saved 1000s too. I think there is a lot of tool snobbery out there. My youngest son has just started his apprenticeship as a heavy goods mechanic, he will going the same way as his brother. Buy a box fill it over time with reasonable tools. Great honest video
The original video is why I started watching this channel. Lots of great videos along the way. I was excited to see this review.
This is solid advice. I've stuck with Craftsman and Husky my entire life. Fifteen years ago I got Husky set just like that Pittsburgh, on clearance for $35 at a Theisens Farm & Auto. I've only broken one socket in that set.
I have a Husky Roll cart with a little husky kit thats similar to your Gear wrench kit, I just moved all the sockets into organizers and put them in the box, and other miscellaneous tools, seems to work pretty well when working on boats
as a first year mechanic i started out with the harbor freight 300pc mechanics tool set then slowly started up grading my tools to mac snap-on and matco tools so far i still have all my harbor freight tools ive use the chrome sockets with the air impacts and they are still going strong
I’m a maintenance mechanic for heavy machines, we all have our own tools boxes and no one uses snap on. At most Milwaukee sockets is fancy. Milwaukee impacts at most.
It’s about knowing how to use the tools now how much you spend.
there's a Pittsburgh pro 3/8 and 1/4 inch drive ratcheting wrench I bought because I couldn't get a regular rachet on a bolt one time. love it. I swear I use it more than a ratchet now
I love this thanks man honest n upfront I've got a basic basic basic tool set trying to build it cuz having the right tool at the right time is valuable
Excellent video. Thx!!! Every mechanic in school should watch this
Love it, Love it, Love it. The info you've provided as a professional has been priceless. I too have been a continuous customer at Harbor Freight Tools for a lot of my Tools for personal use on my classic pickups. Thanks for what you've shared. Oh and guys and gals, he's right. Trucker Ray ✝️
Just Bad A..!!!! Your honest opinion is the best!!!! Thanks!!!
20+ years ago my first box was the infamous Craftsman black triple stack.
Best bang for your buck is the 42” or 44” Husky stack at HD for $800!
An entry level tech or home mechanic wouldn’t outgrow that for at least 5 years.
Always seek out alternative tool advice from non-brand hags!!!!
There are great tools from lots of mid priced manufacturers (Lisle, Tekton, OEM tools, etc). If you know any tradesmen, see what tool brands they trust (electricians have fantastic screwdrivers and pliers brands that aren’t expensive)!
In like 2008-9 I bought a Craftsman 1/2" to 1/4" medium set for 89$ on a Christmas sale. Still haven't lost the most easy to lose. Great buy
Really great video. I hope this helps young techs realize they don’t need to go into tool debt off the rip.
My 8 inch kobalt adjustable wrench is with me every day ....just does work. Great tool
It’s nice to see somebody honest
I bought the blue version of that YUKON tool box and I 100% agree with everything you said. The only negative to it is the drawer spacing is a bit on the short side but after working through making some of my own organizers, its holding up well. Mine gets abused just as bad as it seems yours has and I have had it for over a year now.
Thx. To be fair the gear wrench box had those three or four polycarbonate sheets to help prevent movement! However the other set is way to go for sure.
Harbor freight could film an ad in my garage. From the tech carts to the jacks to the sockets I own almost as much as my local store carries in stock. Another great video about real world experience!
How do I find a man talking about tools I'm never going to buy so interesting...?
I've been a professional for 20 years, my tool collection has been gathered together from all over. My daily abuse tools came from a tool truck only because somebody came by every week to handle warranty replacements. I have Snap-On ratchets that I can break/bend into a pretzel and I can get another one, no questions asked. Same thing with my sockets. I can crack one wide open and get an instant replacement brought straight to me. As for EVERYTHING ELSE, I love Harbor Freight and Home Depot. I have a bad habit of losing screwdrivers, so I spent the least amount possible on them because they ALWAYS disappear on me over the course of a year.
I appreciate this video because it confirms something I believed but didn't have the experience to say.
for most of my life I was the guy that had two $500 crapboxes, but that's changed in the past few years. either way the $30 HF 64 piece kit has saved the day so many times.
I'd like to see you cover what you take on road trips/to rescue freddy. details what/how you store/organize it. I work out of messy tool bags with loose categories. all my bags are getting worn out.
I used to race dirt circle track, and I built a complete track setup of HF hand tools so that if a breaker back somehow acquired "legs", I wasn't going to cry all the way home from my good stuff being lost. I used the box religiously for 5-6 years every Friday night... for their intended environment, the sockets, ratchets, extensions and wrenches did amazingly well. I never broke a single one of them. I actually got to where even in the shop, I preferred the wrenches because of how they fit in my hand.
The pliers? Garbage. The only thing they would be useful for is a tarp hold down if it started to rain. The vice grip style did alright, but I wouldn't go back and buy them a second time.
I bought the Earthquake XT 1/2' drive impact for the track, and I broke more than one lug nut stud. I was highly impressed with it. I also have a video of it taking off a Harmonic balancer bolt that another brand couldn't get off... both had the same weighted socket and the bolt was torqued to the same spec. How long it will last? God only knows but for the last 4 years its done well with all things considered.
I started out working in a garage using cheap Stanley tool sets from Walmart, a cheap ass $70 toolbox, some cheap ass screwdrivers and some Flea Market special tools along with some old Craftsman tools from my grandfather. To this day I still go for some of those old tools over my Snap-On and other big name brands.
The only things that white toolbox of Jared's needs to be complete is some prybars, some hammers and chisels and it would be prefect for a person starting out. Great Video👍
If you're looking for better quality, Milwaukee stuff seems to be pretty good. I've used their screwdrivers, impact bits, and open end wrenches. I have snap on, mac, mastercraft, Halfords, and a bunch of other mutt brands. I'd say that the Milwaukee combination wrenches are as good for holding power and not rounding off nuts as the snap on wrenches are.
I have this box in red, no complaints. Every one of my drawers is "chaos". 😊 Thanks for sharing.
I dumped my huge hf tool set out of my bucket in the skid steer on accident from about 12 ft high... still all went back in the kit and works fine!
The Pittsburgh line of pliers is no bueno, but their Doyle and Quinn pliers and cutters have served me just fine!
You should review homedepot tool boxes. I got a husky pro (flat black) 72” top and bottom tool chest around Christmas for $800 and it’s amazing. I can stand in the drawers and it won’t budge. Built in light. Plugs everywhere wood work station. I couldn’t be happier
Have quite a few husky and harbor freight branded tools. Honestly the only times I've needed better branded stuff was sockets and pliers. Cheaper sockets can crack an cheap pliers explode or dont hold up to use (specifically lock jaw pliers, the pin comes apart)
Great review Jared. An extrapolation from this is that for the home hobbyist, any of these cheaper brands are just fine. Long ways back when I was starting out as a service advisor, I mentioned that I wanted to look thru my techs snap on catalog as I was staring to make some money and wanted some nice tools. He said “why, craftsman, Home Depot etc are just fine for the home hobbyist.” I’ve had a basic husky socket set for nearly 20 years, a plethora of craftsman older than that which I use all the time. They have been great.
Fully agree. When i was younger i ran a harbor frieght kit for years. Made me money more than once. Now that im older im running Milwaukee hand tools, and Kobalt power tools. Run the tool you can afford at the time, upgrade when you need to.