Icon Tools at Harbor Freight

[Matt42]

My wife and I visited the local Harbor Freight to pick up a few small things today. I had a look at the Icon brand of ratchet wrenches they've recently introduced as their top line. They compare them to Snap-On. (You can compare anything to Snap-On, if you don't mind looking stupid, but never mind.)

My 1/4 inch drive ratchets seem to disappear before they break. I don't know if my wife's chickens carry them off or if it's some weird cosmic thing.

The regular, non-flex head Icon 1/4 inch drive ratchet wrenches are priced at $30 and made in Taiwan. The wrench I tried out seemed really decent, kind of like what Craftsman or Wright Forging were like in the early 1970s. The reversing lever seemed crisp and not so loose that it would reverse itself while I might be working upside-down, under the cowl, in the dark, by feel. I can't find Wright any more and Craftsman's ratchets are made in Taiwan or China.

So does anybody have any experience or opinion about Icon from Harbor Freight? (Other than that it's from Harbor Freight.)

 

[Wayne M.]

I had the long 1/2” flex head icon ratchet in my hand and almost took it, BUT I don’t like the silly plastic handle. If it were all metal, I might have done it.
That said, I’m a die hard SK traditional round head ratchet guy. I have a few snap on ratchets at home, but at work, everyday to make money? S-K. I just looked quick on Amazon, and the basic 1/4 drive round head S-K is $45. I saw one at a swap meet last weekend for $20.

 

[jhenderson]

Swap meet? Between Craigslist and eBay I thought those were extinct.

 

[Wayne M.]

Swap meet? Between Craigslist and eBay I thought those were extinct.

Mostly, but one in a while like at the antique engine shows and such, you get the good stuff, like last weekend I was at he Pumpkin Run (a whole nother walk ‘round the barn) and there was a whole table full of tool truck stuff- mainly SnapOn, and I was drawn, again to a long 1/2” flex head ratchet. Price was $130 negotiable and probably more than half off new. It was in low use condition, and a new version. I didn’t have that dough on me.
I did find a diamond logo era SK 1/2 standard length ratchet in a dollar junk bucket once. After some TLC and a overhaul, I’m still using it 10 years later.

 

[mwilson]

Matt,

It can’t be any worse than the $100.00 flex head 1/4” drive Snap On I bought 3 years ago that has already had one kit installed and now it needs another one.
When tightening a fastener it will bind up and not release for another stroke.
It is a disapointnent at best..

Did it the other night when I really needed it to work correctly, miserable spot in the cold after dark. It almost got chucked out in the woods...

 

[JR]

Some HF stuff is actually ok. Haven't tried that line but my cousin has been abusing the Pittsburgh line of impact sockets and wrenches in the shop at the farm for a good bit now. They've held up surprisingly well. He's a die hard snap on guy but between the farm hands and everyone else that comes in and uses the shop he stocks cheaper stuff in the event it comes up missing.

FYI Wright stuff is readily available if you willing to buy online. My stock is all Proto and Williams with a few odds and ends Wright stuff. Lately if I buy something new it's generally Williams or Wright. Proto still makes good stuff but they aren't the same company they used to be. Last I knew Williams is still made by Snap On and Wright is still American owned and 100% made in USA (Barberton OH). Their facility is about an hour and a half from me, I made it a point to drive by it a few years back when I was passing through Akron. It's a pretty impressive looking facility. You do have to watch, Wright sells a value line that competes with the entry level tools. The upper tier line is lifetime warranty and rebuild able.

eBay link to 1/4" ratchet

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/283063774035

Wright's new catalog, in case you are interested. Based on the price you listed for the HF some of the Wright line may be competitive price wise. Even if it's a little more I know where my money would go.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjAPegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw38BDVuOogCbxTMkZodbS-J

 

[jhenderson]

Snap On marketing is becoming over the top. My buddy just bought a set of long, zero offset metric box wrenches. Actually it was 2 sets. Rather than sell 12-21 mm or make a break at 15, they sell odd or even sizes in a set. While they’re beautiful I’d have a hard time coughing up the $$$ while feeling I was being used poorly.

 

[Ozymandias]

Matt,

It can’t be any worse than the $100.00 flex head 1/4” drive Snap On I bought 3 years ago that has already had one kit installed and now it needs another one.
When tightening a fastener it will bind up and not release for another stroke.
It is a disapointnent at best..

Oh yeah, I remember that ratchet, that's a pain...

 

[AEdelheit]

I bought a few Icon ratchets as they are affordable and lifetime warranty so figured didint have much to loose. Better then typical HF stuff but no Snap On.

 

[Wayne M.]

A great source for industrial rated tools like Wright, and a dizzying selection of pneumatic stuff is here.
http://www.landmessertools.com/

 

[Timd32]

Gotta love Amazon.......

 

[seafish]

^^^^Ouch...I'm ALL for owning and using quality tools in my shop and life, BUT there is no way in hell that I would pay over $435 for a set of screwdrivers, even with the free prime shipping !! LOL!!!

 

[CRodi]

View attachment 116762 Gotta love Amazon.......

You better hurry, before some other tdr member scoops it up, only 2 left in stock.

 

[dieselshadow]

BUT there is no way in hell that I would pay over $435 for a set of screwdrivers, even with the free prime shipping !! LOL!!!

So at $435, you’re good? LOL

 

[seafish]

So at $435, you’re good? LOL

LOL !!!!!!!!!!

 

[Timd32]

^^^^Ouch...I'm ALL for owning and using quality tools in my shop and life, BUT there is no way in hell that I would pay over $435 for a set of screwdrivers, even with the free prime shipping !! LOL!!!

It's not eligible for Prime, need to add shipping.

 

[TFucili]

And I thought my Snap-On bills were high...

 

[JR]

That's literally a 400% mark up for that set.

Not sure how that's even legal!

 

[jhenderson]

It’s called capitalism. If you own it, you can ask whatever you want for it. By the same token, nobody has to buy it. This is opposed to socialism, where it would cost 1/2 as much( still twice what it’s worth) but everybody would be required to purchase a set.

 

[Loghead]

^Guy on youtube doing a review of ICON hand tools.
Combination wrenches are good according to him.
Fixed ratchets are also good according to him.
Chrome sockets and flex ratchets need improvement.

HF has started upgrading some of the tools they offer - they're offering a line of welders and plasma cutters that have received some decent reviews; Vulcan is the brand name...

Here's what I fear about all of this:
Snap-On tools are overpriced for all but the pros IMO, but buried in that price is a ton of engineering and development that doesn't come cheap.
However...they're not so expensive that the Chinese Army can't buy them and reverse engineer them - stealing intellectual property is their specialty.
So, either Snap-On becomes just another tool brand - offering some bargain brand at junk tool prices - or they go belly up.
So not only will virtually all of the fasteners we buy come from China, so will the tools to tighten them.
It's a stupid position we've put ourselves in.