What do you guys like to buy there? I go through a lot of their Hardy Nitrile gloves. Those hand tools any good?
Smallfry

well their impact sockets have been tougher than the price reflex for me..

For my professional tools I'll buy Milwaukee, my brother started with Dewalt, either or one of the other top brands.

For house tools that see sporadic use I'll buy the cheaper brands, HF or Ace hardware. Also tarps and nick nack drawer tools the wife can lose just taking them out.

Kent

We're headed there this afternoon to buy a couple tarps.

Bought two needle scalers a few weeks ago. One doesn’t work, gotta take it back.

Tarps, gloves, angle grinders and any one-offs

I buy a lot of items from Harbor Freight. If I was working with tools for a living which I did at one time. Ya go with higher quality. But weekend stuff harbor freight is plenty good, wrenches and sockets hold up good. Gloves, tarps etc are a good deal too.

I steer clear of their power tools which are not much less than the some of the name brands. One of my buddies that’s a contractor told me the upper end HF cordless where pretty good, but also said where a little pricey. He said for what HF cordless cost better to buy Milwaukee.

Let's see, what have I bought there ?
Furniture dollies - casters are not great, but they'll get you by.
Moving blankets - HF is good for these
Welding blankets - OK in a pinch
Tarps - I like Walmart heavy duty better, but HF is OK for standard duty
Breaker bar - Seems OK
Impact sockets - Have been OK

Zip ties….. waaaay cheaper…. Also things like a 36” crescent wrench which was only needed a couple times…. Think it cost like 40 bucks lol.

Furniture dollies are cheaper than you can make them. Their lifting straps aren't bad.

I have purchased a lot of stuff from Harbor Freight over the years
I have a 1/2" horizontal band saw made in Taiwan not China or India
a 3/4" horizontal band saw made in Taiwan not China or India
there Bench Mill made in Taiwan not China or India.
There hand grinders for me are crap.I went threw a half dozen before I went back to the higher priced Dewalt.
(4) 3/4" drive socket sets They are great for cutting up and adding pipe to make the deep sockets.
I cracked one of them years back and the Manager replaced the entire set.(uncut sockets) she told me they sale them by the set not the socket.
(2) 1" drive socket sets
Putty knifes
Weld blankets
Painters tarps
their 150 amp weld stingers are great for 3/32" welding rod where as the big name company's make stinger grooves to large for the smaller rods. At $10 on sale I have (3) of them (2) back ups that I have never needed yet.
Lots and Lots of their air tools and quick connects.

If I need tools for hard work I pay up.
If I need a tool occasionally I will buy their stuff.

Their torque wrenches are cheap. Not sure how accurate they are but they seem to work ok as little as I need to use one.

0/2 sensor socket $6-8... snappy wanted $60-70 for theirs... done 3 sensors so far, works fine...

I use them for tools I don't use often. Bought a LED Light Bar for the 4-wheeler called Road Shock and it's better than some of the ones Amazon sells.

I read a article recently that tested various torque wrenches and HF beat the big names and came out on top.

Been wanting one those tool chest tops and bottom.

Virtually everything you buy with the expensive names on them are made in China too. At least Harbor Freight doesn't try to make you think it isn't. I've found their cordless tools to be better than anything else I've used. I put one of their 2500 lb winches on an ATV to replace the Smittybilt that crapped out after only a couple of uses. Lots of guys locally use their full-size winches on farm trucks and claim they are better than Warn winches costing less than $1000.

I purchased one of their 3/4" drive Torque Wrenches many years ago.
Testing it on a Skidmore it was all over the place.
I took it back for a refund and as I was waiting for the funds I watched the manager take it from his office and put it back on the shelf for the next guy to buy even after he was told that it was a bad wrench.

I never wanted to purchase another Torque Wench from any of their stores after that.

I have a bag of HF tools in my UTV. They aren't used much but I've never had one fail.

I use their paint guns, they are great for projects like cabinet doors, interior doors, when using stains, clear coats and oil based paints.

Used them for some hard to clean-up spray adhesive jobs too.
At $15 to $25 each I don't even bother with cleaning them, just toss them in the trash when I'm done with the particular project.

I buy tools that are a one time or occasional use. I don't think I would use them for making a living. I bought a couple of pipe wrenches. They seem OK and were inexpensive. Zip ties, electrical tape, odds and ends like that. I buy some batteries for trail cameras but they don't seem to last very long. And they always have some cool flash lights for a couple of bucks so I usually snag one if its different from what I have. Never can have to many flash lights. I have noticed that some of their products, even being cheap, are better than others. I bought some metric sockets and they seem to be pretty decent but they don't get a lot of use either.

Their Pittsburg wrenches are rated as a bang for buck. Cutoff wheels are a good price e to me.

I try to visit an HF when traveling.

There is one down the mountain in Vernal, but I’ll never go in there.

That is absolutely why...

I have not used their sprayers... but I use their nailers and staplers WITHOUT MERCY.

Hell... the O ring kit on a Bostich Stanley costs more than a the whole HF nailer/stapler.

The 29 piece drill sets at $10 get equally abused (I quite literately bought 20 sets during the last $10 sale)... 10 of the red box screw bits @ $4 (or something) and 100 rolls of the electrical tape (I use that crap on everything).

Temu.Com also sells lots of similar crap. But do NOT sign up for their mobile app (i.e. heard nasty things about it).

End nipper, wire cutter, not so good, the handles flex

I buy cut off wheels in bulk on EBay... https://www.ebay.com/itm/173735749744

I use a lot of them.

Their Daytona floor jacks are great.....

Been hit or miss.

I burnt up one of their "chicago" brand belt sanders with very little use.

I have an angle grinder that is rock solid. Use it every fee months,but it is really good.

Their zip ties used to be cheap, but Amazon has.em whipped.

I buy a lot of sand paper for my sanders there. It isn't great, but the price makes that ok.

I have several.socket sets that get used occasionally and seem fine.

Also have a predator generator that seems to be good.

I wasted money on a plastic tool roll.

I tried one of their 25' Hercules tape measures about 7 months ago. It's one of my most used tools, and because I'm a tradesman, it sees action dozens of times a day 5-6 days a week. For $14.99, it can't be beat, IMO. Unfortunately they've gone up a couple of bucks, but still a good tool at a good price.

Pretty much all my pullers and ball joint tools are HF.

Oh, I just remembered,...I have an older, enclosed 16' cargo trailer that I got from my Dad. It has a rear ramp and is convenient to use as my ice fishing trailer. I can fit my snowmobile, ice fishing sled, helmets gas cans, etc., in it. Unfortunately for me, my snowmobile doesn't have reverse, so I had to drag it out backwards every time, which sucks on a non-tilting trailer bed.

Anyway, the point is that I bought a HF 2,500lb, 12 volt winch and mounted it inside the nose of the trailer. Now when I want to load up, I can just drive my snowmobile alongside the rear ramp, swing the ass-end towards the ramp, pull the winch cable out and attach it to the rear grab bar on the snowmobile. The winch came with a wireless remote the size of a key fob, so I can winch and guide at the same time.

2 winters on this system so far and it's working great for me.

Oh, and the winch and roller fairlead mounting plate totaled less than $95.

Same gloves, packing blankets and a few tools that might be single use. 1/2 inch breaker bar has proven itself many times over. Their floor jacks are a good bargain as I supplemented my craftsman 2 years ago . As someone else said they don't try to hide the fact that its China made.

I got into an OTC Connected set last year.


Probably should have gone HF.

Buy something there at least once a week.

Yep.

Stuff I wouldn''t own if not for HF.
Very rarely need a puller, but there are several sitting here.
I like to walk around and find something like that to buy.
A set of rocker/alignment bars, set of prybars, panel tools......
Just leave them in the package, then one day "Hey! I got one of them!"

The Predator 3500 generator has been doing good.

The 3 ton Daytona jack that's the same as Snap On.

The ratcheting DBE wrench sets are all made by Kabo in Taiwan. I've got sets of those by Matco, Mountain and Carlyle. Harbor freight would be easier to warranty.

Their ratcheting tap handle is good, several guys at work have them after using mine.

The Warrior hammer drill is junk but the Bauer hammer drill has been great.

Ratcheting end wrench set for $18 works well enough and I don't scream if someone loses one on a job site.

I waited for a sale and bought a mechanics tool cart that's doing well after 4 years.

Nitril gloves, their cheapest 90* air die grinder, screw driver set for the house, tarps.

Bought a couple flat free tires for my hand truck.

Bought a torque wrench there for barrel swaps. Seems to work.

The Hercules chipping hammers are good, been using one for years, it has taken up 1000s of ft of ceramic tile.

Earthquake impact wrenches, Daytona floor Jack's, Icon pliers and ratchets. Hercules step drills, impact sockets...

Furniture movers, an angle grinder I haven't killed yet, a few wrenches in odd lengths. Their prices keep going up, not as great a deal as before.

Bought some pry bars that had bad heat treat, some bent, some snapped. Look things over close before you buy it, sometimes the qc is really bad.

I have a torque wrench adjusted for my tires. Checked it at work with a torque measuring device in the lab. It was close enough.

Sometimes their stuff is way better than you expect, other times, not so much.

Hand tools come with life time warranty. I’m a GC not a mechanic, so hand tools I don’t go top shelf.
Not too long ago One of my ratchets failed. Took it back to Harbor and the guy was like find the same one and come back To the register. Easy peasy. I also didn’t have the original receipt, thank god I used my phone number/account when I bought it.

They have good prices on MIG wire. I don't know how good it is but I'm not a pro. It works for what I need.

Had to laugh. Years ago I had a HF set of socket adapters, you know, where you could use a 1/2” ratchet wrench to drive 3/8” sockets and other variations. I think I was using a 3/4” wrench to drive a 1/2” socket on a stubborn bolt, and put serious pressure on the wrench … it felt like it was starting to move … turns out I twisted the 3/4” to 1/2” adapter about 90 degrees! I don’t think it had any heat treatment at all!

I like their ratchet straps when I tie down my $26K SxS to my $200 trailer

As others have said - tarps, nitrile gloves, angle grinder, plastic zip ties.
I have bought box wrenches, open end wrenches, sockets (sae and metric), and none have failed me.
Bought a nice foam padded hard case that my astronomical telescope fits in perfectly.

I would still be hesitant to buy any big-ticket power tools there.

Even the highly raved 'Predator Gen/Inverter' ?

If it breaks take it back. No questions asked.

Our local store........one hr away......

Opened prob 2 yrs ago

Great store.......always well stocked

Friendly employees

I'll spend $100 a month on schidt I don't need

Bought two...

Also bought two of the WEN on your recommendation... Non-Compliant for California models on clearance.

I like the WENs better (cheaper, can slave two and the fuel down cutoff feature is great).

Their cell phone cables are really good. The gray braided ones. I like the 6' one with three different ends

L I K E

i use HF dual rock tumbler and HF mini chop saw for my rifle/pistol brass. i got a HF winch, grinder, cut off saw, hand drill and a bit more. i use a HF concrete drill set and socket/ratches, ratchet straps, rubber straps and others that are one or two or three uses and done. if you are at a job and you need the tool, i can either go back home or go to HF. i prefer HF.

my socket set and impact sockets are Proto and i still have old Craftsman socket set. i have Milwaukee circular saw, cut off saw and hammer drill and Dewalt grinder and drill and a Bosch hammer drill, nailer, palm sander..... most of my tools and power tools are brand name.

yep

free ship/no tax

https://wenproducts.com/collections...quiet-and-lightweight-with-fuel-shut-off

ratchet straps, 1/2 inch impact gun and sockets, trailer balls, stinger, caliper, zip ties, polishing media, powder paint (For coating cast bullets), multi-meter, end wrenches and socket/ratchet/breaker bar sets, hydraulic floor jack, jack stands, tumbler, hex key set, nut drivers.

I have found that Harbor Freight tools germinate and grow in the field as well as Snap On.

Watch some Project Farm videos...he compares their stuff to high dollar stuff and some of their stuff does pretty well.

I've bought a bunch of stuff from them over the years and most of it has actually been pretty good or slightly better... ratchet/socket sets, combination wrenches, impact sockets, truck jack, jack stands, nail guns, Grinders, and tons of other stuff and have been rarely disappointed. The pry bars as others have said have been a disappointment, but that is about all. Their ratchets are patterned after Snap On and I saw a video report on youtube comparing them and the Harbor Freight units were stronger by quite a bit and their torque wrenches were more accurate also... I've used Harbor Freight engine hoists many times and never had a reason to cuss them...

One thing you guys might be interersted in is their gun cases. They are a replica of the Pelican cases and really stout and well built for about half the price. Harbor Freight also has an online store that sells all kinds of things they don't sell in the store- portable band saws for cutting lumber from logs, ATVs , their winches have been tested against Warne and came out on top- they use them on all the vehicles on Matts Off Road Recovery.

The nice thing is, all they sell is tools and handyman items. You don't have to dance around the girls make up, or clothing aisles, or other cutesy stuff your wife or daughters might waste your time looking at.

Damn shame we don't have any hunting/fishing
stores like that around here anymore

I buy some HF stuff.

I've broken several impact sockets...

I use some of their stuff, particularly here in Idaho. Never had an issue. Last week I bought a 1/4" drive torque wrench as I was doing some scope mounting. It worked fine.

I can't believe how many of you guys buy zip ties from them. I've tried a couple of times. They broke in my hands.

Owner is a California libtard who gives millions to the Democratic Party.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Smidt

Their free flashlights suck.

Holy Schmidt!
I'm hopin' that's satire!

Replaced a Briggs and Stratton on my log splitter with the predator 212cc motor. Lasted 5 years in the elements and split over 50 cords. Failed this year water mixed with the oil. Went and bought another one for $110 on a sale . Got 5 cords split on it so far.

Just chicom [bleep] better than Wal-Mart

Guncases? How did I forget the guncases? I have a large one for two rifles, and a large handgun case which holds three 1911s and nine mags. Very nice for range trips.

Ammo cans. Also their little chop saw and a jig from eBay I use to make 300 blackout brass.

Tons of stuff comes from HF at my place. It takes me less time to walk there than to figure out where the hell I left my truck keys half the time. There's even a stop & rob on the walk back that's always well stocked with PBR.

I have a 1/2" drive deep impact socket set from HF that is 30ish years old. It's still complete and has never suffered a breakage with regular use in repair shop settings.

Recently bought a US General bottom roll around box that is well built, solid and works right. Everyone that notices is seriously impressed.

I have had less successful stories as well, but nowdays I am selective about what comes from HF, leaning more towards Masterforce hand tools for work and home. Masterforce cordless tools at home (farm) and Milwaukee at work.

I like them for lots of things, especially one-time or very occasional use. Have had special success with trailer parts/components over the years,

That said, for frequent and heavy duty use power tools I'll skip the HF stuff.

I like their larger aluminum floor jacks. Easy to pick up and throw in the back of a truck and they seem to last forever.

My wife has an fused art glass shop. About 4 or 5 years ago, we got her an HF tile saw. She replaced the tile blade with a quality diamond glass blade and it's been flawless ever since. I used it to tile our shower last year and it worked great. The only problem is the fence isn't very adjustable for angle cuts.

Gloves, zip ties, straps and tarps are the norm.

Fixing to go buy an o2 sensor socket.

I've been using a cheap propane sniffer from HR. It seems to work very well. I got it when we started smelling propane in our camp trailer. Thanks to the sniffer, I was able to trace it to a gas line under the stove that made too sharp of a bend around a corner.

in all fairness they do have different brands and honestly I couldn't tell you which brand is treated me well.. kind of think mine were the Pittsburgh brand but not sure..

Their better hand tools do have a lifetime warranty. Since all their sockets and wrenches sell in sets, to get a warranty replacement they want the whole set back. You can't just take in the broken one. Just hand them to the clerk and you walk out with a new set. Somewhere they must have a warehouse full of returned unbroken tools.

the store I go in the most in my area there is a small area that has I assume returned tools that most of the time is missing like one or two pieces and the prices usually much cheaper...

And every set is missing the 10MM or 7/16?

Tools for schools?!?! That bastard!

These days they have "OK", "better" and "best" selections of tools. I have a couple of their "best" torque wrenches, their "ok" impact sockets as well as breaker bars, and have had good results.

Most things I have bought from them are satisfactory but I have one of their torque wrenches that identifies as a breaker bar. I should have taken it back but messed around until time had passed.

LOL

I've got a couple ratchets in my truck tool box along with a bunch of screwdrivers. They really are crappy but I don't use them on anything like a regular basis. Quinn digital torque wrenches, 1/2", 3/8". They sure feel nice using them. The Braun foldable 500w light is awesome, I bought two. I can get light at nearly any angle I want. What I am going to stock my truck toolbox with gets HF Pittsburg quality so I don't lose any sleep if something walks off and doesn't come back.

And this is why we will be speaking Chinese someday soon.

I was about to ask about them.

Timely,😪.


Just came in from messing with the boss's van.
Started putting the wheel on and sent her for my HF torque wrench.

I've used it before for wheels, it won't click.
There is something you barely feel, but it didn't feel like 90ft/lbs.
Tried it at 50# but couldn't feel anything.
So used the tried and true 4-way and...about that much.


Can't ever do it right, even when I try!😆😆😆😆

I have one on the back of my RZR - it carries a bottle jack, several sockets that fit what I need fitted, snatch block, tow chain. It's been out in a lot of weather and so far has never leaked.