I buy whatever tools feel comfortable since a lot of them have lifetime warranties.
My truck tool box is Crescent and seems like it's high quality. The ratchets and screwdrivers feel good and I haven't broken one yet.
I only have a handful of Craftsman sockets.
The rest is cheap stuff like Task Force, Stanley, AmPro, Pittsberg etc...

I've broken 3 different Stanley ratchets but it only took 3 days for a replacement to get here after making a phone call.
I've also broken a couple Kobalt c-clamps and it just took a trip to Lowes to swap them out. Kobalt makes really crappy tools now a days.

 

my box craftman, S&K, few Stanley,,,,,,,but my old craftman stuff i like better

dads box all snap on, damn his tools are nice

i try to hit yard sales and auctions all year looking for tools

 

That settles it then. Thanks guys

 

I own mostly Matco tools. I have a Matco service cart here at home, all my tools fit in it and I can keep all my own fluids and small junk on the bottom. Then i have it filled with Matco tools. I like their tools the best. Never have problems with stuff breaking, and it is comfortable. That's just me though. I also carry my Matco 18v impact and other tools in my truck as well just in case of breakdown.

Snap-on = overpriced junk. Same quality as Craftsman and break much easier. All the guys at work mostly have Matco tools.

The reps for Snap-on are some real dinks as well.

 

I disagree about snap-on being junk. I use wrenches everyday that my grandfather bought long ago when he still worked. I think the difference is more clear when you work on equipment versus cars. I'm third generation field tech in the heavy equipment industry, yes snap-on is expensive, but worth it for what I do. Small wrenches there isnt much difference between craftsman and snap-on. I have personally hooked wrenches to the boom on my truck to brake bolts loose and have yet to brake a snap-on. I've broke a couple ratchets but only with three foot cheater pipes on them. I have some craftsman tools and they're good as long as you're not putting too much torque on them, that goes for wrenches and ratchets. As far as screwdrivers they're all the same in my opinon. Bottom line I believe in the auto industry both will work equally well, however in heavy equipment it's hard to beat snap-on.

 

Snapon breaker bars break at the universal. That's where both of mine broke.

 

I have pretty much have all craftsman tools, and they do the job just fine, I dont work on my truck except for maybe 3 days straight at the longest most things only take a couple hours and when Im done my hands are fine. Now if I was at a shop working non-stop 8 hours a day I would spend the extra for a snap-on ratchet.

Simple things like sockets and screwdrivers are gonna wear out and possibly break over time, so why spend the extra money when pretty much all handtools have a lifetime warranty. Now Im one to go to harbor frieght and buy tools on the cheap and I do this with things I know im gonna use maybe once every couple months, and if it breaks its no big deal.

My neighbor brings his tools over when I need them and he has primarily snap-on, guess what they all look the same when dirty, but he is the head mechanic at a chevy dealer. But he has a backup set of ratchets and stuff like that, and its craftsman stuff, like stated tool guys come once a week versus a 15min drive to sears.

All in all unless working with them all day save the money

 

I have almost all Craftsman and Penncraft (who is old enough to remember those?) almost all hand me-downs from the old man (which means they were purchased in the '60s & '70s) or I bought in the '80s. I do have some Snap-on, but not many.

They all live in my rolling box in the garage which is also a Craftsman, 42" I think, that I bought in the late '80s. I keep the Northern Tool and Harbor Freight stuff in my truck tool box cause I'm forever losing them or lending them and not getting them back.

I have to agree that since the K-Mart thing, Craftsman tools aren't what they used to be, but still on par with the Kobalt stuff and the like...

 

What size breaker bar and what did you have on it. The newer snap-on breaker bars are put together at the joint with an allen bolt, unlike most that has the pin and get wore out. Bottom line, imo, unless you use them had everyday about any of them will work. My tools ride around in a peterbilt service truck and at times im three hours from a sears, so I need something I can count on. That's why I buy snap-on.

 

Cheap tools round things off
When rounded you bust your knuckles when the tool slips.
Now that said shade tree kits don't need Snap-on, but decent quality tools will save you some aggravation down the road.