Craftsman has a new style "thin profile" ratchet which is pretty nice - it's a huge improvement over previous Craftsman designs. Much smoother and more comfortable.

Check out Blackhawk tools at the parts shops. They are made by Proto and are much cheaper. In my opinion most Craftsman tools are good but the hand wrenches, esp. the open end, are crap. They are stamped and there is no effort made to round off the corners. Clamp one end in a vice and grab the open end side. Apply moderate pressure and feel how the edges cut into your hand. For the occasional weenend mechanic they might be ok but if you make your living with with these wrenches they will kill your hands after a while.

A few years back Consumer Union rated the Wal-Mart Popular Mechanic brand as a 'best buy'. I have used them and have no complaints other than I have only ever seen them offered at 'Wally-Mart'. More exported jobs.

There is nothing special or holy about Snap-On tools. They rely on name and it seems to work. All name brand tools now days have a return policy. Each brand is as reliable as the other. It is only the little things, like the number of ratchet clicks, that seem to be important to some people.

I really like snap ons but I dont have the money to own any while I am in school. What do ya'll think about mac's I have seen them and I get a good deal on them since I am in tech school. Proto and mac are made in Dallas. What do ya'll think? Any experiance?
Hudson.

MAC makes fine tools. Some people prefer them over Snap On.

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Brian Toscano

My Dad has quite a few MAC tools that he's had for years and years. The end wrenches are strong and thin enough, but I think their ratchets are really have a clunky feel, no better than a Craftsman.

The MAC end wrenches work well and are polished so they wipe off easy. In recent years it seems that there are more MAC tool trucks than there used to be.

Have a great day,

Some people decide to go Snap On vs Mac based on where they work and who's better in their area. My local mech buddy's use Snap On since he's cheaper & better than the Mac guy. But my other friends work in different territory & they like the pricing and service from the Mac man better.

Snap On lets you buy their hand tools on line at www.snap-on.com & their site is better than MAC's.

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Brian Toscano

Great point md. Many people make purchase decisions based on how they are treated and how well they like the person that is representing the product.

I worked for a short time at a Chrysler dealer and there were MAC toolboxes all over the place. When the MAC truck showed up it was obvious that the guys liked him. They would be in the truck browsing and cutting up while enjoying his jokes and general friendliness. I never saw the SnapOn truck pull onto the premises.

I have done hundreds of thousands of miles of driving through rural areas. The next time you take a cross country trip pay attention to the tractors that are in the fields and parked near the farm sheds. You will go through one community and see predominantly green and yellow (John Deere,) then the next community you will see predominantly white and bright red (Case, IH or Case-IH) and so on. I firmly believe that this is due to the people and service in that community.

People buy from people. Even if someone is selling the best product in the world for the best price if people don't like them, or feel that he does not treat them fairly, they often won't buy from them.

Have a great day,