Harbor Freight vs Tekton 1/2 inch deep socket sets

[WCfanatic]

I've been buying a lot of Tekton, because they're a smaller family-owned business (Still, somehow), they're bringing more and more manufacturing back to America (they recently switched to making their angled wrenches, which were USA-made already, directly in-house), and their customer service and warranty are literally second to none.

Their website is also probably the best of any I've seen; very simple and easy to navigate, and they provide a ton of information about even the tiniest tools they have, with tons of graphs, cutaways and information about manufacturing processes. They also clearly label country of origin for each and every single item, which is extremely rare for _any_ company in _any_ market to do.

They're models of what American Business and Manufacturing should be and as long as they keep that up I'll always be giving them my business.

[tomm]

I prefer a socket rail over a blow molded case. It takes up less space in my toolbox plus it’s easier to grab and go wherever I’m working and have them at the ready without worrying about them spilling all over

[jasonthomas]

Thanks for discussing the inside broaching. The deep broaching of the Tekton set just sold me.

[jerryhearn]

I have both brands. I can order smaller and larger size sockets from Tekton.
With Icon sockets they only offer 13 sizes of sockets and if I need like a 32 mm socket I have to get it from another brand like Tekton.

[tomwinslow]

I love my Tekton sockets. I also own Icon. I lean towards Tekton.

[ironclaw]

One other difference is if you LOSE one of the sockets. Tekton will happily sell you a replacement with no issues, it's one of the reasons that each individual socket has it's own part number.. Harbor Freight might offer to sell you a replacement if it's available on their parts list and they might want proof of purchase to do so. HF doesn't like selling individual sockets and wrenches, they like selling sets. Not an issue if you break one, but a real headache if you lose one.

[willb]

Most of my tools are old (like me) and USA made Craftsman. I have few Matco, Mac & Snap On as well. In recent years I have added Tekton and Harbor Freight items. Happily, I have never had to warranty anything. While it is nice to be able to "walk in" to HF like you could do with Craftsman at Sears to warranty an item, that convenience is a relative thing depending on how far you are from a HF store. Tekton is pretty convenient in its approach as well.

[ShawnC]

Icon has what is called shallow broach same as snap on and the other big manufacturers do it. It makes it easier to put a bolt back on the nut or vise versa. I have both sets really like both alot

[nonolabs]

I wouldn't have taken any points away for the Icon holder. It's for faster retrieval and put away, vs the Tekton one saves space.

[chriscalderin]

TEKTON is superior in every way the warranty is easy and with hf it is a pain in the @$$ if they have it! Also a deep broach is a must because if shallow it defeats the point of a deep socket in a lot of circumstances!

[OSXMan]

I bought a Tekton 1/4"- 3/8" ratchet and socket set 6 yrs ago. It was very inexpensive at the time. Under $40 shipped. I haven't got a single bad thing to say about it.

[Mike-lpth]

Thanks! Very thorough. The Tekton warranty and deeper throat do it for me. It makes no sense why Harbor Freight would need to see the receipt for an item that has a lifetime warranty. I also happen to like the click and turn feature of the Tekton socket holder. Most stuff made it Taiwan these days is very good. They are still not to the level of Japanese or South Korea quality wise, but certainly better than Chinese. Kinda in the middle and heading up.

[shawnglass]

I recently started buying mostly Tekton. Great tools. Great company.

[empiesidbury]

I have a question as well the broaching is more shallow than the icons but it's drilled all the way through to the anvil hole the shallow broaching keeps the nut where you can control it it's not getting turned sideways way up in the socket I've always found this to be better but I would love to hear everyone's input

[gdfschimpi]

I like the tektons. Got their 1/4in and 3/8 sets. Some impacts

In 1/2" drive i would rather have 14mm to 27mm as 27's are common.

[nitrorclife]

Deep brooch is hardly needed, shallow makes starting nuts easier, icon socket are weird no doubt with sizing upside down, I use the tray so all I did was flip them in tray

[marekkrepa]

Actually metric is standard world wide! Sometimes I'm wondering why we don't have SAE calendar. Shame on us

[lowrads]

Ultimately, I went with the brand that offered a better carrying case, because I don't work out of a shop or with the benefit of drawers. Tolerances mean less rounded bolts, but rust makes the clearances seem a bit moot. With 3d printing, one can make pretty much any sort of organizer they want.

[empiesidbury]

I think anyone saying that you have to supply a receipt at harbor freight and that shows that you bought it so there's no need to bring a receipt the policy of harbor freight you can find a broken tool on the side of the road and bring it in and exchange it no question to ask it's just like the Craftsman warranty back in the Sears days I feel like a shallow brooch is a sign of a professional socket that I really liked about that icon sockets my only complaint with the icon sockets because if I lose one I can't get a single replacement we have two in our town and I happen to have worked at both . People tickle me I've had a set of Pittsburgh pro socket since 2012 on a mobile rig that I run and I have even use them on a quarter inch impact gun and yes I know that is not little bit longer on the right thing to do the tolerances are really good on them and they are as good as any socket I've ever used but everyone talks junk about them I don't like to run expensive sockets on a mobile repair rig I've lost a couple of my 3/8 set Shiloh and deep well and I just replaced them with old craftsman USA sockets that I had left from broken sets through the years