[yonton228]

I personaly like Craftsman the best. They are strong and reliable, awesome warrenty, and a good overall value.

And if I forgot a brand, let me know, I will add it to the poll.

 

[bomberboy11]

Snap-on - no contest.

 

[ummbikes]

Snap-on - no contest.

Umm, ya, about the flex head ratchet. Junk. I hate mine. :mumble:

 

[PatBranch]

I have always been using Craftsman. They are reliable and you can find awsome sales at sears on them. I also have a few stanley tools which are good too.

 

[zahgurim]

I have a mix of Craftsman and Snap-on. Craftsman breaks, but at least they give you a replacement no questions asked. Haven't broken anything Snap-on yet. I like Bosch for power tools.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Snap-On when I can afford it or get my brother to give it to me (he's a dealer).

Craftsman otherwise.

Stanley used to be good but now they're junk.

 

[blt2ride]

My vote went to Craftsman...

 

[jdcamb]

Craftsmen and Park at home. Husky and Klein at work. Got no complaints about any of them. I don't break tools usually.

 

[DaveW]

Snap on stuff rocks....pity I can't afford any these days.

 

[GumbaFish]

Craftsman, decent product and one really good warranty so you cant go wrong.

 

[skinny mike]

craftsman. every time i here the snap on name i think of that clap on, clap off lamp thing.

 

[A.P]

Comparing snap-on to craftsmen is like comparing Kia to Porsche. Craftsmen stuff will work, but if you are a serious mechanic and you do it as your job, you want snap on or mac, no questions asked. Working basically non stop for a whole shift, day in and day out on cars and bikes, you will destroy ratchets, especially if you are using allen bits and sockets. I cant count the number of **** cheap ratchets Ive trashed.

Seriously, the investment is so worth it. As a mechanic anything that can make your life even a little bit easier and hassle free is worth its weight in gold (such as trying to fumble with the thumb operated clutch deal on cheap ratchets). If you can pay the steep initial price, the tool is with you for the rest of your life and you will never need to buy another one.

 

[TN]

I guess N8 is my favorite tool.

 

[-dustin]

no access to Snap-On, 'cept eBay, so yes, Craftsman.

 

[firetoole]

I guess N8 is my favorite tool.

wow that hurts......

 

[Spitfired]

I use Park for all my bike stuff.
Everything else is a mixture. I work at a hardware store, but since we're kind of small we don't get larger brands - I have a lot of stanly stuff as well as "performance tool". Honestly though, I don't use any of it enough to need anything really super strong.

Power tools - Porter Cable

 

[GumbaFish]

I picked craftsman then I remembered something. Almost all of my tools that are craftsman are not the new kind, they are about 50 years old and belonged to my grandfather who was a carpenter. Needless to say they are darn fine tools, I dont have much experience with their newer stuff.

 

[TreeSaw]

I picked Craftsman...for the price, warranty, selection and availability they're great. If I were really wealthy, then I would probably go with snap-on.

 

[The Slack Ass]

Craftsman is great, it's what I buy; but let's be honest. It's no Snap-On, it's not even a contest. My father was a mechanic, and has had the same Snap-On tools for ~50 years now (except his metric set, which is obviously newer). He has only ever broken one socket, and that was through complete disregard for the limitations of a standard socket (let's just say there was a long length of pipe used for leverage). But that's the great thing about Snap-On, you can abuse the hell out of it. His ratchets are still working 100% perfectly, as is everything else. When he cannot use his tools anymore, he's promised them to me, and I bet that they will easily last another 50 years. Craftsman is great, if you break something, it's easy to get replaced. But in the meantime, you are stuck without the necessary tool. In my experience, since Snap-On tools just keep going and going, you don't even have to worry about replacement.

Haha, Gumbafish...I just noticed that we have very similar stories, but with the opposite brands. Good stuff! I can't say that I have any experience with their older stuff (or Snap-On's newer stuff, to be honest).

BTW, I'm a new poster here, my name is Greg. I've been lurking for a little while. I used to post on the MTBR FR/DH board as Shibby, but the board was turning into garbage. I guess this is a strange first post on a MTB board, but the poll caught my attention, and I had to put my 2c in.

Cheers

 

[-dustin]

all of the older tools i have are from when my mom and grandmother worked at Mooney Aircraft, building planes. 90% of the stuff is Craftsman. there are a few Snap-On sockets, and 1 SK mini wratchet. i love that little wratchet.

 

[GumbaFish]

Old tools rock

 

[Spunger]

For the ease of being able to buy them it's Craftsman hands down. I've had good luck with the tools lasting but I have broken the obvious sockets, rachets, breaker bars etc...but it's just a matter of going back to Sears and getting new ones, no questions asked!

But if I was to wrench professionaly I'd have Snap On. They are just a more precesion made tool in all aspects. They just cost an arm and a leg. For bicycles just a good solid set of Allen keys/sockets, torque wrench and screwdrivers would be nice. Park makes the rest of the nice tools for bicycles.

If you're talking automotive then it's a no brainer, Snap on or MAC tools, or Matco? I think. All are pretty high end brands. Their stuff just feels better in your hands and is more comfortable (as comfy as a tool is gonna get)

 

[Urban FR'er 666]

My fav. by far is Craftsman, but a close second place is Bench-Top(K-mart). Craftsman sets are usually priced at about $1 per piece, and I got a 100 piece Bench-Top set for $30, and have abused the #ell out of it(over torqued), but have yet to break a single piece, and they have the same waranty, but have to be mailed for replacement...

 

[The Slack Ass]

How about the worst tools ever? I don't know if you guys have this brand in the States, but Crappy Tire up in Canada carries a brand called JobMate. This line is always on some ridiculous sale. I bought a basic set once for $15 (down from $50, what a deal!), as I was in a bind and needed some tools quick. The stuff literally fell apart in my hands. The ratchet didn't make it through the first bolt, I used the flathead screwdriver as a pry-bar, and the metal started pulling from the plastic handle...I didn't even put ~that~ much pressure on it. I could go on and on, it was a nightmare. It was almost like someone was playing a joke on me.

 

[DaveW]

It's the usual story "the less you spend, the less you get"

 

[VooDoo]

My mastercraft tool set is pretty nice (they're basically the canadian craftsman)... i have some armstrong eliminator splined ratchets which are quite nice also.
for screwdrivers i have Klein, wera and another high end brand... i cant stand cheap screwdrivers, or cheap tools for that matter...
electric tools: most definately bosch... i ahve a dewalt 18v cordless drill that does it's job but it still not a bosch (or metabo/walter for that matter)...
For air tools i have campbell hausfeld (the high-end stuff ONLY, low end stuff is junk) and JET... which are very nice. Snap-on/ingersoll is way overpriced for what you get, and most is chinese anyways and they're compressors are cast aluminum and made in china! campbell are still cast iron and made in the USA... (i have a huge 18scfm 60 gallon campbell unit)...
I've been slowly building up my garage over the past few years and it's getting pretty nice...
For bike-specific tools i like Park, and the best chainbreaker i've used it my shimano XTR one...it costs 20 more than your cheapie one and it's well worth it... never screws up a link...

 

[amateur]

Mac or Snap On. That being said, the majority of my tools are Craftsman minus my ratchets and torque wrenches, which are Snap On.

Screwdrivers are Snap On as well, but the Husky screw drivers use the old Craftsman patent since they were bought out by Stanley.

As for electric tools, Porter Cable or Milwaukee.

Air tools: Ingersoll-Rand

Bike specific: Park

Tools are one of the few things I don't mind spending money on. Kind of like safety equipment I guess...

 

[buildyourown]

I've had really good luck with Allen Brand. The originator of the "Allen" wrench.
They make a full line of sockets and wrenches too. They are easy enough to buy unlike Snap-on.

I do like craftman for the value and warranty. It's nice not having to worry about breaking a socket when using an impact wrench. Just take it back.

And for bike tools, Pedros stuff is the shiz. Their cable cutters are sooooo much better than Park's.

Oh, and 'waukli for power tools.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

I prefer Snap-on, but own Craftsman.

 

[Dirtbike]

I take auto shop as a class at school, and we use all Snap-On. The investment for the school (who knows how long ago) was worth it. We mostly have old sets, and they get abused the hell out of, and when we actually DO break a tool, we get new ones for free. The Snap-On truck visits us about every week or so to make sure we dont have any problems.

 

[BigMike]

Snap-On is worth the price if you are a heavy tool user. Craftsman for ligher users.

Power tools i'd have to go with DeWalt or Milwakee

 

[scrublover]

well, i've got the imprint of a small hex wrench on the bottom of my left foot. does that count? not a brand per se, but it's what i got.....

mix of park, pedros, craftsman, and generic stuff. some of the stuff i like park, some i prefer pedros.

 

[binary visions]

Of the brands listed, I stick with Craftsman. Yeah, they're not as good as Snap-On, nobody who has ever used a Snap-On tool would say they are. However, for a fraction of the price of a Snap-On tool, I can have a decent, rugged tool with an awesome warrenty. I brought in a 20 year old socket wrench that the mechanism had finally broken on, and the guy only looked at it long enough to make sure it said Craftsman on the handle before handing me a replacement kit.

My bike tools are all Pedros, which rock - some of 'em are superior to their Park counterparts, their housing cutters and T-handle hex wrenches are exceptional - and I usually cheap out on things like diagonal cutters, screwdrivers or needle nose pliers. Those kind of tools get used for bizarre jobs sometimes - cutting things that aren't supposed to get cut, bending metal, etc. No point in ruining a nice tool.

Stanley tools generally suck these days.

 

[Westy]

In my last job I had to travel with tools. Seing as though I could only fly with a 50lb toolbox I had to do some very ugly things to tools not made to do the job, like put a 10 foot long breaker bar onto small 3/8" rachet. Needless to say I tested the strength on many tools and broke plenty of them. For allen wrenches Bondhaus is the best, silly strong and reasonably priced. Craftsman stuff was strong but not as strong as Snap-On, but I have broken both. Craftsman was alway easier to get replacement stuff ASAP and is cheaper than Snap-On so that is my #1 choice.