Best tool brand

[stealthee]

I have a mixture of tool brands. I have a set of Craftsman 1/2" drive sockets in both standard and metric and a Craftsman breaker bar. I have some Auto Craft socket sets. A 1/2" deepwell impact set, 3/8" set and 1/4" drive set. I have some Husky (or maybe its Task Force) 1/2" drive ratchets. I have a set of Stanley pliers (sidecuts, pliers, channel locks, etc) and some screwdrivers (probably Auto Craft).

For the amount I work on cars any more and the type of jobs I do my stuff works. I buy tools as I find a need for them and try not to buy something thats too cheap, but try not to buy something thats too expensive for the use it will get.

I don't own a whole lot of power tools, but at work I have a pretty badass 18amp Makita circular saw and a Ryobi sawzall. The Ryobi is okay for what its intended use is for, but I wish I still had the Milwaukee. It was just so much higher quality. Also we've been through several cordless drills at work and after our experiences will not buy anything other than Dewalt. We bought cheaper brands trying to save some money only to have them crap out, or the batteries stop holding a charge after less than a month. The Dewalts hold strong, are durable, and we usually catch them on sale. They are usually $190, but we can catch them for $100.

[PaulL]

I think snap-on has the best quality, but is very expensive. It's the brand you would need to get if you made a living working on cars. However, Craftsman's quality has been very good to me for the price. Craftsman professional air tools are just freaking awesome. As far as power tools, there are better brands that Craftsman. I have a hitatchi impact driver that I haven't tried out yet, but I've seen good reviews on it. I try to get craftsman for hand tools if I can't afford it in snap-on. Kobalt and GearWrench are pretty close to Craftsman IMO. I stay away from harbor freight tools though. The break at times you really need it.