Harbor Freight Top 10 Tools

I agree with everything you said.

I think the cheaper breaker bar is better, the head design is stronger with the external setup. Never buy skip socket sets, send a message. They DO have some no-skip sets, 1/2 SAE shallow impact is skip-free, and 1/2 Shallow metric is close enough. I'd wager the difference between the $109 Icon Torque wrench and the $20 pittsburgh is cosmetic. Both made in Taiwan. I've long outgrown that cart, glad I only paid $159 for mine. I went ahead and bought the Snap-on Jack to see what the deal was, and its BY FAR the best tool Harbor Freight sells, even though its made in China, not Taiwan which is sad, but true. The Braun hand light is available as a husky for less at HD. $14.99 I think. HF is great to get your grip tools filled up for cheap, at least as placeholders until you can get better, some are like $2.50 You do have to have a tournament of all of them in the store to see who's the best one and if that one is acceptable sometimes though, some instances of those tools are hilariously bad. Magnetic nut setters are great once you get ones that keep the magnets. Bought the expensive step drill. . . . dropped it on my tile. {:-( Chipped the tile. But its a hell of a bit! I've pretty much completely chowdered those punches on a DIY basis, looking for better ones now.

The deadblow hammers are a good deal. I usually get a year or two out of them before they are too torn up to use.
The braun rechargable work lights are great. They come with both all charger and a car cig lighter charger. I keep a pair of them in the truck and they are much better than a flashlight if you are trying to work on anything.
The step drill bits are great. I've used them a lot on 1/8 and 1/4 mild steel and they are still going strong. I always drill a pilot using a standard but that is a little undersized for the hole I want then use the step bit to get a perfectly round hole that is chamfered at the top.

Yep, only reason I'd pay more than what the Pittsburgh comfort grip ½" breaker bar which I own is if I needed a ratcheting one. And the ½" impact sockets are good. I've used and abused them for 3 plus years now and they still work great.

I do use their cheap angle grinders though like Chicago Electric. The 2 I own were hand me downs actually and over 10 years old. I just buy the right blade for the right job. I'd feel more comfortable burning up a 20 to 30 dollar HF angle grinder motor than a 200 dollar milwaukee one.

Dude thanks for the review..

Good day, curious if anyone has experience purchasing from Jegs? I seem to get a lot of emails from them. Same designs as Harbor Freight. Right now, Jegs 5-drawer tool box is $215.99, even a 11 drawer 42" rolling cabinet is $449.99... Free shipping over $199... ???

I was for this list until you mentioned that shit dead blow sand hammer.

I'm not saying all HF tools are cheap or low quality tools. I buy a cheap tool, if it fails or works poorly, I replace to with a better tool. Except saw blades. always buy the best you can afford. The US General carts are five grades better than what I need. Joy to use. I have the slim light, it's great.

Good video. I’d like to see you do a review of the Napa Auto tool lines and how they compare. We have a lot of Napa stores in smaller communities. Thanks!

What's up with that bullshit thin blue line flag behind you?

Got to agree with you, most of the tools you recommend I have tried and find them to be a good value. Especially the floor jacks. Had a cheap Jack for 20 years and the only thing to happen to it was where the handle connects to the body with the crazy gear setup finally stripped out. But now the Daytona floor jacks have a really solid universal joint. A great upgrade!! I believe this Jack will last forever.

Could not find one anywhere near the price elsewhere

I also use Harbor Freight when I'll need to purchase the tool that I will only use super occasionally. Case in point:

Very long locking needle nose pliers. Purchased it so I can reach up inside the engine compartment and remove a spring hose clamp. Impossible without this tool. And for single-use whypaymore?

I prefer ball peen hammer

You got my sub, just for the 3rd gen behind you!

Hi tony, very interesting video, I’m very interested in many tools you showed and the price is down to earth, I’m a hf fan it’s my biggest tool supplier, what they don’t have I get on line, excellent quality video ty so much, Bob,

Over a year ago we bought the HF Industrial grade punch and chisel set. It is OUTSTANDING. We are in a commercial maritime environment and these items see hard use. I’ve even bought a set for my home toolkit. I rate them a 8.5/10 for the value and quality.

Hey I’m from Sioux Falls!

The yellow Daytona jack is a exact replica of the Snapon jack. They even manufactured it in the same facility. Snapon tried to sue them and lost. All the Daytona's look the same at a glance but they are not. The Yellow one is superior, there are quite a few vids out there explaining this.

Tony. What are your thoughts on Harbour Freight Icon Snap ring pliers set? Thanks

I have everything on this top ten list, except I have the Daytona Jack instead of the cheaper one. However, I bought them when their prices were low. With their higher pricing today it makes more sense to do more comparison between similarly priced items. For example today I would buy the Milwaukee sets of impact sockets. They have easy to read white markings that hold up and are around $30 per set. They are also complete sets. On the other side, their tool boxes still represent a good value when compared with similar boxes (for the most part). I recently bought 2 husky top boxes to go on my 26” HF box and one for the bench top. It was more the style I wanted and it was cheaper than the HF.

The problem is, with the Pittsburgh pros the sizes aren't stamped and when that paint or as you call it laser etching wears off you have no idea what size the sockets are. I've bought them both. And I am super disappointed with the Pittsburgh pro series.

Update?

Icon sockets are good chrome molly

i agree with your list and opinions

Braun hood light is so bad don’t get it I used it for 15 min and it died

i was going to watch this until i saw the blue lives matter flag. fuck blue lives

This was helpful. I hardly ever shop there but it was nice to learn about reviews on some of these tools. Obviously if someone is using certain tools constantly than they need to spend the money for a high quality, heavy duty tool that can withstand constant use.

I hate that F'n under hood light. It is a piece of trash that won't stay in any position you try to put it in. Mine rolled around and flipped in my eyes for the last time, and met it doom with me smashing it into pieces on my garage floor. It felt so good to smash that thing. I got a Bayco 2120 Bracket on Amazon and a cheap plug in single 4 ft led light at Rural King and a few nylon zip ties and it works perfectly, and I just plug it in and don't have to worry about batteries dying either.

Bought a dual action Bauer sander and vacuum. So far I really like them. The sander for hobbies and vacuum is for professional use

pittsford sledgehammers lifetime warranty
must of there screwdrivers lifetime warranty
box of 100 5mil niltine gloves cheaper than must
those impact sockets lifetime warranty
breaker bars lifetime warranty....see where am going😅😅 that store is awesome when you on a Budget.

Those impact sockets are the best

The 33" 4 drawer from husky is very comparable, not only in price, but in size and durability as well, though my only recommendation is to put some blue locktite on the machine screws during assembly as they are soft and easy to strip out when you have to retighten them as they tend to loosen up over time. I swapped mine for black oxide coated, stainless steel, flanged button head, Allen drive machine screws (M6 -1.0 x 16mm size for reference) and they are a much stronger metal and less likely to strip, I've had it for about 6 years and used it daily professionally with no issues. But like I said, it is very comparable to the 5 drawer US General, and definitely bigger than the 4 drawer US General (I also have 2 US General 5 drawers at home that I'm in the process of making into a single 10 drawer)

Go with the white one. Def worth it. 👌 Also white in my experience is just as easy to clean as any other colored toolbox.

I got the 5 drawer tool cart for $199 w/coupon. Worth every penny..... The Braun work light is great too.

White one does get dirty but not to bad as long as you maintain it wipes clean pretty fast. And it’s an amazing cart for the price, it’s no cornwell or Mac but it’s definitely worth it

Seeing this in August 2022. I picked up a bunch of things on this list and a lot of things went up in price so much. Breaker bar went up $5. Toque wrench $20. Daytona low profile long reach $45 but I got that one for $209 so only got a $14 mark up.

How good are hf Torque wrenches?

The thing about skipped sizes that pisses me off is that harbor freight doesn't sell individual sockets.

The Bauer battery operated grease gun is a game changer for me and at good price point. Their variable temp heat gun has been way worth the price.

When I could get a tool cart for less than $100,I got 3.The way they're pricing them now,no.

I have several of those dead blows. Work perfect. I have abused the three pound so much hitting sharp edges and cut the face out of a few of them and they give me a new one no problem. Also have about a 5pound too. Also have the green 5 drawer tool cart. Got it over a year ago when it was like $40 or so cheaper...forget what I paid but I got it non sale and a free folding table with it.

Also have a huge set of Doyle channel lock style. There huge for giant things and farm type stuff. Rarely use them but nice when needed.

Pretty much all the Pittsburgh Pro sockets and wrenches and stuff I have had I love.

Would you recommend the Pittsburgh torque wrench? It’s only $20 so it’s hard not to buy it. If the icon is way better in quality then I’ll buy it. But man $20 is too hard not to pass

What are punches and chisels used for in automotive?

With the more expensive lines at hf you have to watch because a lot of times you can buy a similar tool from a reputable company for almost the same price. There table saw that is junk and only lasted a few months is priced the same as a lot of known decent brands.

One thing you touched on, Harbor Freight has a lifetime warranty on hand tools, like sockets and wrenches. Break it and they'll replace it free.

The step drill bits hold up great unless you are drilling stainless.

Nice