New Harbor Freight’s Icon Brand Sockets

[GNAP]

Today, after all of the hub-bub on the web about the new Icon brand hand tools, that are being introduced by Harbor Freight, I bought a set each of the standard (shallow) fractional and metric, 1/4” drive sockets, cost was about $25 (per tax). Here are a few first impressions;

First - they seemed to spare no expense on the packaging, a heavy plastic outer box, that has 2 Philips screws holding the lid down and a heavy blow molded socket tray, for those who use them in their tool box drawers. Personally, I’m not impressed by packaging, its the product that matters. They probable could have been $5 cheaper, without the extensive packaging. Then again, many will probably, think this is an asset.

Second - they seem well made and the chrome seems very heavy and is very well done. They have the rounded corners, think Snap-On flank drive, and the actual fit and finish is excellent. The detention for the locking ball on the ratchet and extensions is cut, not formed. The broaching is very similar to the majority of the import socket (these are made in Taiwan) having a rounded countersunk style bottom of the socket throat, Sockets are stamped very clearly with the size and the metric socket have the line pattern, similar to Snap-On, Craftsman and others.

Third - I thought the socket pricing for the sets, was very good, less than the pricing on the similar sets offered by Lowe’s on the Craftsman products. They also are not skipping sizes in the metric offerings.

Fourth - I also looked at the wrenches, they seem very nice, but the pricing seems on the high side. The set, while complete, are priced unrealistically compared to the sockets, the complete set of the metric ratcheting wrenches is about $150, seems high to me.

Fifth - as Harbor Freight is a California based company, with reportedly over 1000 current outlets, the Icon tool release has been real slow, here in the Northeast USA. Not all of the socket sets or wrench sets are even currently in stock and except for a few breaker bars and previously released Icon products, we have absolutely no ratchets of any size or type. While this maybe understandable, because of the size of the operation, all of the latest paperwork, that comes in the mail, all of the company emails and other web posting, show and tout their new offerings and the current availability.

[bonneyman]

Thanks for the impressions, Jack. From looking on-line I, too, think the sockets are the best value, and am one who would like the tough packaging. It'd probably do well in the work truck. I also agree that the wrenches are a bit over priced.

[Jamesyarbrough]

I like those super long ratchet wrenches. As far as the sockets and ratchets, i like the looks of them but idk about the value. Seems by the time you buy short and deep metric and standard and a ratchet you could have gotten a gearwrench set and saved a few bucks or tekton and saved ALOT. Idk how they conpare though.

[walrus]

150 bucks for harbor freight wrenches seems way high to me

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[goodfellow]

150 bucks for harbor freight wrenches seems way high to me

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+1 == I'm wondering if they will allow the use of their 20-25% coupons on these ICON tools.

[GNAP]

I saw the Icon ratchets, in person this morning, they had just arrived (FedEx) about 15 minutes before I got there. I saw the whole line, they are a little less than I had anticipated, they seem to be nothing more than a slight upgrade to the Pittsburgh Pro line, with a few more models, at about twice the price.

I know the pawl operating design is different than the Pittsburgh, but they look very close to it. The chrome did look nice and they were smooth, but pricing seems on the high side. Maybe I just jaded by the Pittsburgh Pro pricing and performance.

So far the sockets seem to be the most realistically priced part of the products offered, with the wrench’s and ratchets, over priced about 20%.

[GNAP]

150 bucks for harbor freight wrenches seems way high to me

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+1 == I'm wondering if they will allow the use of their 20-25% coupons on these ICON tools.

No Icon is on the exclusion list, apparently there are 10% off hand tool coupons, but no one at the local store has seen one

[muddy]

They key claiming "tool truck quality unbeatable prices"

I'm kinda temped to buy one and use it as my daily at work to see how it holds up.






Sent from the twisted mind of the Mudman

[pep]

Jack I am curious, after all that heavy lifting. Did you stop in and have some fried rice ? 

 Can't be going to HF and by pass the chinese restaurant. That would be breaking the 11th commandment.

Thanks for the comments regarding HF's new product.

LOL

Pep

[goodfellow]

I'll stick with my old Craftsman and MAC stuff since I have so much of it. That said, many young techs at the local shops are using HF boxes, as well as their hand and power tools. Overall, the Taiwanese made HF products are good quality. Whether this new line of tools will measure up to traditional US made professional tool brands? -- my opinion; probably not. HF has a habit of switching suppliers and designs on a regular basis. What's on the shelf right now may not be available in the same format and quality two/three years from now. SO, MAC, MATCO, Cornwell, etc. have been selling the same basic design and fit/finish for decades.

[GNAP]

I have view most of the new Icon hand tool offerings and own a couple of sets of sockets, I think they are both very nice looking, well made and have an interesting pricing structure. But I also believe that Harbor Freight has a few major issues that have to be dealt with.

1 - at this time, except for ratchets, they sell only sets, IMO for the Icon tool line to be a true success, they need to sell individual sockets and wrenches.

2 - the current Icon tool line has only basic hand tools, sockets, wrenches, sockets and a couple of torque wrenches, hardly enough to outfit a modern auto mechanic. Reportedly screwdrivers are in the pipe line, but when and will they be any good. Specialized tooling is needed for many operations and repairs on todays cars.

3 - while compared to Snap-On, Mac, Matco and others, the Icon tool boxes are roughly a 1/3 of the price of a similar tool boxes, from the others. But OMG, the Icon tool box set shown at the local Harbor Freight, if you add up the parts is roughly $9000, I’ve bought houses and new cars for less. Maybe I biased, I never saw the need or desire for the Taj Mahal type of tool box, they don’t make you a better mechanic, its an ego or prestige thing.

While I own some of them, I’ve never been bitten hard by the Snap-On bug or drank the Kool-Aid, 3 of the best mechanics I’ve ever known, have worked for years with mostly Craftsman, SK and other similarly priced tools and only bought the specialty items needed. As one of them used to tell his son, also a mechanic, that fastener has no idea what brand of wrench being used on it. He also said that the reason he ate as well as you did and lived in a comfortable home, while growing up was I was willing to live with a $12 Craftsman wrench, instead of a $60 Snap-On wrench, they both do the same job.

According to the local car guys, there is a M-B mechanic at the local dealership that has somewhere in the neighborhood of $50,000+, in a top of the line Snap-On tool box wall, that to me is scary. How do you own a box like that and still afford to put tools in it??

[walrus]

I can understand why mechanics have monster tool boxes. You need a lot of tools to work on new cars if you are flat rate. Short sockets, mid length sockets, deep sockets, same in wrenches, ratchets of all lengths and sizes, the list goes on. If you don't have all those tools you can get stuck on a job and make no money. I can also see going over board and throwing  50% ( I figure you can sell for 50 cents on the dollar) of your hard earned dollars away.

I doubt I'll buy any icon stuff, My box is snap on, Mac, HF and Extreme. Its a bunch of stuff that doesn't match but holds tools. My tools are every manufacturer but I do have a soft spot for Snap On . No screwdriver is as good as a hard handle. 

[gtermini]

My initial impression on them is they're nice, but hit right at the same price point as USA Williams (house branded snappy). Given that situation, I'll buy Williams (or Proto or Wright or whatever USA lifetime warranty) every single time.

The only advantage garbage freight holds in this situation is being able to drive 15 min to the store for warranty, but that's still sort of a hassle compared to the rape van. He's happy to take a double handful of busted crap, sort it out, hand me direct replacements without any trouble, and do it all while pulled up out front.

I agree fully on the singles. I try to keep darn good control on my tools, and still have to replace missing individual sockets yearly. Plus there are many things where I like to leave a certain quality socket and ratchet dedicated for something permanently in a rig or something.

I'll be curious to see if they drop sets of impact sockets. The snappys are ever so slightly thinner and it's amazing how often that makes a difference in whether they'll fit or not. If HF can't come up with something comparable, they're going to miss a lot of sales.

Just my $.02 and not even worth half that.

[fedwrench]

I picked up some ICON tools earlier this month before they were on display and sitting in boxes in the stock room. I like whet I've purchased. Are ICON tools going to make you sell off off your existing truck brand tools? Certainly not but, I think they are a viable option. The average Harbor Freight customer will get sticker shock at ICON tool pricing and that's ok. The ICON line up is solidly made in Taiwan. Now, I know most of you wince at the mere mention of Taiwan tools and that's ok but, the truth of the matter is there isn't a whole lot of new products coming out from US tool manufacturers lately But, I digress. Back to ICON, everyone seems to be bitching about the price of the long pattern ratcheting wrench set. I guess people think $149.99 is too much for a 10-19 mm set. I say it's not. I paid $132.25 for my set before tax. It was $146.95 minus a 10% coupon. Back to the ratcheting wrench set, you can get these with or without the anti slip open end. Think PROTO or Dewalt style anti slip open end style on the long pattern combination reversible ratcheting wrenches. When I say long pattern, these wrenches are even longer than the current snap on ratcheting combination wrenches. An ICON 13 mm ratcheting wrench is 9 3/8 inches long. The wrenches have great chrome, nice, large size markings on both sides of the wrench, and have nice balance & feel. Yes, they are probably the most expensive wrenches ever sold by Harbor Freight but, i still like them.
As for the ICON ratchets, i picked up a few of those and are quite happy with them I really like the 14.5 inch long all metal handle 3/8 drive flex head 90 tooth ratchet. It has excellent chrome, nice balance & feel. Neither Tekton nor Carlyle offer a ratchet like this. If i was to pick at one thing on the ratchets, it would be the direction switch. It's pretty tall and on the flex head ratchets there's a pretty good sized gap between the switch and the ratchet head. I fear it might not survive impact from a swam dive off of a lift arm but time will tell. I would have preferred a recessed direction switch but that's just me. The fixed head ratchets have a slightly different selector switch. At $49.99 before using a 10% off coupon is cheaper than a Craftsman flex head ratchet form lowes that isn't finished nearly as nicely.
Back to ratcheting wrenches, this time the stubbies. The reversible stubby ratcheting wrenches are truly a joy to use in tight quarters or low torque applications. Crisp 72 tooth action, great chrome, nice feel. I only wish the set included an 8 mm  like more expensive sets from Tekton and Blackhawk do. Regular long pattern combination wrench sets: To me the set with the anti slip open ends are twins to the Carlyle version sod by NAPA. Since I already have the Carlyle's, I passed  on the ICON regular combination wrenches for now. Hopefully ICON offerings will increase.I have no real interest in their mega tool box wall although it looks beefy. I would be interested in an ICON tool cart though. Something like a KRSC46 series with 6 or 7 drawers, a deep top till, locking lid, and pry bar storage. Lastly, the ICON packaging is overkill at best and most likely anti theft in nature. Yes, they could use regular hang tags for the ratchets but, more would probably turn up missing. I would like to see the socket sett on rails though but, that's just me.

[goodfellow]

Lots of discussion on the web about the new ICON offerings. From what I have read so far -- the new ICON line is a "hit" with serious amateurs and pros alike.