Snapon (brand) question -vs- others...

[Birdhunter1]

I will also add a plus one on Kobalt tools from Lowes. Granted above I mentioned Channel Lock makes the best Channel Lock type pliers I've ever used but Kobalt makes some dang good ones too. For what little Kobalt brand tools I have I find they are made well, they fit my hands well and they just flat out work well.
For Crescent wrench I like the Crescent brand but I have several Diamond, Fuller, a few Snap On and again a few Kobalt. If I was to rank them Snap On would be at the bottom of that list for every reason I could think of aside from comfort in my hand.

 

[chim]

It's been about 15 years since I used tools daily to make a living and when I did, there were changes over the years both good and bad with regard to quality. I remember early in my career when Klein screwdrivers (especially phillips) didn't hold up very well. The old transparent green S-K were my choice, and Vaco and Craftsman were OK.

Almost any hinged tool - Channellock, and I especially like the 349 linemen's. Years ago there was a rumor that Channellock was going to discontinue their 349's so I bough another one to make sure I'd always have one.

Battery tools - I'm heavy into DeWalt and the 20V Max platform in particular. They work very well and I can get them heavily discounted through our company. My DCF899 1/2" impact is at work right now waiting for our equipment mechanic (a vendor) to come and work on our Gradall telehandler. It involves removing a wheel, and they want to do a head to head between my DeWalt and their Milwaukee on the lug nuts.

 

[4570Man]

I try to stay away from China made products in general and I will spend more for a quality USA made product. I have some made in Taiwan and they aren't bad.

That limits your options a lot. I don’t know of very many tools made in the USA.

 

[Industrial Toys]

The Snap On Cordless Impact really puts others to shame.

 

[atsah]

That limits your options a lot. I don’t know of very many tools made in the USA.

There are a few. Even Master Mechanic is now made here..

 

[rgr33]

I have been a big fan of Channel Lock pliers of all kinds, and have a sizable collection of them, but recently I tried a knipex locking plier, and a pliers wrench. They are both pretty darn impressive, I can see them lasting a long time. I find myself looking for the pliers wrench more and more.

My screwdriver collection is a mixture of different brands, that survived serious abuse and lived. I got a discount on wiha and felo, so I got a couple to try. The wiha outperformed the felo, but both are improvements over the old craftsman’s and such.

I am still using the old pipewrenches my uncle gave me 25 years ago, tried aluminum, and self adjusting, but didn’t really take to them.

I literally buy $Dollar store hammers because my crew never seems to return them, same with folding pruning saws and sometimes wire cutters. I think they just mostly lose them.

 

[WranglerX]

I used to have a lot of Craftsman tools, were good enough for my casual use, and passed them on to my son (set is probably 55 years old) ...


With Craftsman introducing so much Chinese as of late I don't really know about what is good any more, and now with Stanley/Black & Decker taking over Craftsman line jury is out....

Now have Proto socket sets (standard & deep) and combination wrench sets (all imperial) ... They are good enough... My 49 year old set of Thorsen (life time guarantee) 3/8 drive metric sockets and combination end wrench sets still do their job after 49 years, well except for the 13mm socket, it broke out side, and contacted people who now own Thorsen brand and they wanted me to send it in for analysis... Screw that, cost more for postage then to purchase new socket....

One thing I always do is wipe them down and put them away at end of day.... Now I lose them in proper drawer and not on the floor...

Local hardware stores (I live in back woods of Calif. foothills) have Channel Lock, Irwin and Craftsman, they seem to fit my needs and usage...If what I need is not available locally there is that www thingy...

We have local O'Rilleys auto parts, don't even know what brands the carry for tools...

Dale

 

[WranglerX]

It's been about 15 years since I used tools daily to make a living and when I did, there were changes over the years both good and bad with regard to quality. I remember early in my career when Klein screwdrivers (especially phillips) didn't hold up very well. The old transparent green S-K were my choice, and Vaco and Craftsman were OK.

Almost any hinged tool - Channellock, and I especially like the 349 linemen's. Years ago there was a rumor that Channellock was going to discontinue their 349's so I bough another one to make sure I'd always have one.

Battery tools - I'm heavy into DeWalt and the 20V Max platform in particular. They work very well and I can get them heavily discounted through our company. My DCF899 1/2" impact is at work right now waiting for our equipment mechanic (a vendor) to come and work on our Gradall telehandler. It involves removing a wheel, and they want to do a head to head between my DeWalt and their Milwaukee on the lug nuts.

Interested in outcome... Was thinking of getting DeWalt as all my battery tools are DeWalt... And now DeWalt has adapter to use the 20 volt Lithium in 18 volt line of tools...

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DCA1820-Dewalt-Battery-Adapter/dp/B016K1UD0E

Friend has a Milwaukee "Fuel" battery impact, its a monster, but expensive...

Also noticed in many "car" build shows on TV guys are using the 1/4 inch hex impact for lighter work.... Was surprised when my small DeWalt impact (1/4 inch) drove a 1/2 X 5 inch lag screw into wood (with pilot hole of course)...

Think this socket driver is only tool Harbor Freight made that impressed me...

3 Piece Hex Shank Socket Driver Set

Dale

 

[Agvg]

Of course pro Tools are better, have a STAHLWILLE set that I bought as a kid, saved for a year to buy it and it still a pleasure to use it, same with Hazet, Knipex, Bacho and a lot of other high end tools.

Snap on is on my wish list to


STAHLWILLE - einer der fuhrenden deutschen Werkzeughersteller, Spezialist fur Drehmomenttechnik: Home

Products | HAZET-WERK - Hermann Zerver GmbH & Co. KG


KNIPEX - The Pliers Company. - Home

Home | Premium Tools from Sweden | Bahco UK | BAHCO

But I don't take these in to the field so they stay safe in the garage

 

[ray66v]

I have used every kind of tool professionally.

The premium brands usually are of higher quality. The professional brand sockets do last longer, with everyday use.

I do not feel that the quality of Snap-on is higher than the other top professional brands.

The store brands are often still good, (more than good enough for non-professional use), at a fraction of the price.

Snap-on is by far the most expensive brand. They sometimes sell the exact same tool for a higher price than you can buy it elsewhere.

Less than 5% of my tools are Snap-on. I usually don't pay the premium to buy a Snap-on tool if I can buy it from anyone else, because I don't believe it's necessary. However, occasionally Snap-on does have an item no one else does.

Snap-on has a great marketing strategy, they go to the schools and get the kids hooked early. Those who end up in the trade, often wind up working as indentured servants to pay their snap-on bills. But, that's their choice.