Harbor Freight ICON brand

hunterdan

hunterdan

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Location
Morganton,NC
Went to harbor freight to pick up a caliper and look over the Icon brand tools. A trusted mechanic from a local shop is impressed and is buying a good bit of their tools. He still buys snap on as he's addicted.
I also watched a video taken from inside a snap on truck. They took a icon and snap on ratchet and tested on the torque meter. The icon matched it.
Anyway I got the 3/8 and 1/4 comfort grip along with a stubby 3/8. They were marked down because someone had opened the boxes to check them out. I saved about $23 over the reg price.
I bought 200+ piece set of craftsman last year. The second or third time I used the 3/8 ratchet the gear stripped on a less than 40lb nut.
Hope these are Better.
Now don't go talking bad about harbor freight. I framed my basement, storage building with a $45 framing gun. I also put down 5k staples and 3k brads with a $23 staple gun.
 

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Flame suit on but I never really understood the draw of spending 1000's of dollars on the tool trucks.Yeah some of their tools are superior to the lower priced ones (air tools come to mind) and some are brand specific (cummins,volvo,ect) and only the tool trucks carry them but Cobalt.Stanley.SK.and others provide good service for a lot less money.I know the age old argument that only shitty mechanics have cheap tools but I don't buy that.The less I spend on tools the more I get to keep.I also know that in most cases the tools can be a tax write off but there's gonna be a limit as to what you can count.
 
1-tonmudder said:
Flame suit on but I never really understood the draw of spending 1000's of dollars on the tool trucks.Yeah some of their tools are superior to the lower priced ones (air tools come to mind) and some are brand specific (cummins,volvo,ect) and only the tool trucks carry them but Cobalt.Stanley.SK.and others provide good service for a lot less money.I know the age old argument that only shitty mechanics have cheap tools but I don't buy that.The less I spend on tools the more I get to keep.I also know that in most cases the tools can be a tax write off but there's gonna be a limit as to what you can count.
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DITTO!
This has 4 degree arc vs snap on 4.5
90 teeth vs 80
Access plate with counter sunk screw heads vs convex
Beat snap on in video with 250lbs of torque maxing the snap on torque tester
At $39vs$115
Lifetime guarantee, Errr? Below is a link to the guys that torque tested it with their overall review.
 
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Yup yup. I have no shame in stocking my toolbox with horrible freight stuff. Back in the catalog or traveling tool show only days it was different but today it's a totally different story. Shit, even their vulcan welder line is on par with some of the good stuff in the market at half the price. For a hobbyist they can't be beat.
 
Mac5005 said:
I took an icon 3/8 ratchet out of the box and compared the feel with their much cheaper $27 3/8 ratchet. The cheaper one ratcheting mechanism has less play and feels like it has more positive engagement. Just my .02.
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Cool! That's how I got mine for $30. Could you drop by morganton and open the 1/2" drive with the comfort grip? Stick it behind all the others...please.
 
Ok, I had to open it up because snap on claims 7 teeth in contact in their 3/8" ratchet. I count 18 inside the icon. Being fair though about 12-14 are in contact depending which way it's activated 😁. Added a little of my BB gun grease. It's great stuff and very sticky. Got it at rural king as advised by a BB gunsmith.
 

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Just left harbor freight. Manager told me they’re going to stop doing the coupon thing and you’re going to have to join inside track to get any kind of a discount. They will still have sales, but the email and magazine coupons will stop. So he says.
 
Wes said:
Just left harbor freight. Manager told me they’re going to stop doing the coupon thing and you’re going to have to join inside track to get any kind of a discount. They will still have sales, but the email and magazine coupons will stop. So he says.
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This is correct
 
My only gripe with the cheaper stuff is the backlash tolerances. Sometimes that can make a huge difference.
 
Wes said:
Just left harbor freight. Manager told me they’re going to stop doing the coupon thing and you’re going to have to join inside track to get any kind of a discount. They will still have sales, but the email and magazine coupons will stop. So he says.
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That sucks. I joined inside track for 2 years because it got me an extra 5% off generator and paid for itself. I guess I'll have to keep it up.
 
I picked up the icon 1/2 ratchet for a crash bag ...it’s ok. I don’t hate it.
While it has the tooth count it feels “clunkier” than a snap on...but at 1/3rd the price ...I don’t really care. It loosens stuff and tightens stuff...and it has a nice flat back that has worked as a hammer a few times in a pinch.
As far as ratchets go it’s unbeatable in hammering.
 
Ron said:
As far as ratchets go it’s unbeatable in hammering.
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I can see the comparison headline in their ad now:
Beats Snap On!
 
I have the icon long handle flex head 1/2". I use it a good but instead of grabbing a breaker bar, but I wish the flex head had a little more tension to it.

I intended to buy the stubby 1/4 for jeep bag, but I just grabbed the Pittsburgh instead.
 
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