So, what's your feelings about Harbor Freight® stores/tools?

[AKcharger]

There's one near our new place in Florida. I'd share my feelings but it may skew this highly scientific  poll 

[Bob]

Back yard mechanic wrench turning they are fine. There electrical tools are another story.

[Silver R/T]

I buy tools from there as needed. I think you get pretty good deals most of the time. I usually research a particular tool (reviews) before I buy it.
I was there just yesterday and bought a propane torch, spark plug cleaner and some hose clamps. HF is not only source for my tools. I also buy from ebay and some other local stores (lowes/sears) Still have my first Craftsman tool set. I bought expensive body hammer/dolly set from Martin Tools. Air compressor from Lowes, Weldmark(Hobart) welder from ebay.
btw HF tarps suck. Ive had to return multiple ones cause they don't last more than a season outside.

[A383Wing]

most of the stuff is "offshore crap".....maybe fine for backyard wrenchers, but the tools won't last very long....most stuff they sell for tools are a "one time only use".....meaning you better have a back-up plan

[Bob]

I've had there hand tools for years and never had one break.........yet. As Silver mentioned I also have an assortment of other brands and the HF tools are mixed right in with them.
Checking online reviews is the best as mentioned for a particular tool.

[AKcharger]

....most stuff they sell for tools are a "one time only use".....

That's pretty much what I found, I like deals as much as anyone but this place epitomizes the 'ol saying "you get what you pay for"

[Cooter]

Most people laugh when I tell when they ask why labor rates are so 'high', that I coulda hadda 1970 hemi Cuda for what I have paid Strap-On, Mac, and Matco Tools....

Then, they always look at me weird and state "you have to supply your own tools??"

It all depends on how you use the cheap tool as to how long it lasts. One can tear up a bowling ball with a rubber hammer if he tries hard enough. For the things requiring alotta force/leverage, you might wanna look into the above, or Crapsman.

[Paul G]

Same feelings here. If you use your tools everyday, or just frequently, spend the money and get good tools. HF tools are not good tools. For the do-it-yourselfer HF tools will get the job done. I have an angle grinder I got from HF years ago. It still works. I have used it maybe three times. Perfect application for it.   

[ws23rt]

I have mixed feelings about Harbor Freight tools

My preference in hand tools is for comfort and toughness.  Like a screwdriver that is harder that the head of a screw for instance.

Also how they look and feel in the hand makes working with them less of a chore.

For larger and more specialized things top quality is best if they get used all the time. (I've spent many hours either taking it easy or fixing tools that just don't match the task they are made for)  

Harbor Freight is filled with stuff that trigger the buy instinct for gear heads---Wow I always wanted one of those and it's only half the price I thought it would be---beware you may seldom use it or break it.

I've taken lots of tools like they sell to goodwill to make room for a good one that cost twice as much and felt better for it.

[bill440rt]

Same here.
I have a few things from HF, like very few. A set of plastic non-marring pry tools, some clip removal tools, maybe 1 old pair of jackstands, that's about it.
Snap-Off, Mac, Crapsman, & SK round out the mix. Body tools, spray guns, etc are another story.

I also agree the way a tools feels is a big part of quality.
If it's something you're going to use once in a blue moon maybe HF will do the job. But overall I don't like to skimp on tools, either.

[chargerboy69]

I have bought a couple jacks. . love them, jack stands, creeper, screwdrivers and battery charger.  I have been happy with everything but the battery charger. All my ratchets and wrenches are Craftsmen. . . and the ratchets suck.

[oldgold69]

they sell cheap spools of  rope  which you can hang yourself with after your 4th grinder in a month quits   they have alright cheap pipe wrenchs  work good as a hammer

[72Charger-SE]

I have three swivel head Pittsburgh ratchets that I absolutely LOVE and didn't spend an arm and leg for them.  I also have an entire set of standard and metric ratchet wrenches that I would not be without.  As others stated... for the backyard mechanic they are more than sufficient.  If I did this for a career I would probably choose Snap-On since the Snap-On guy lives just down the road and they are superior tools.

[bakerhillpins]

....most stuff they sell for tools are a "one time only use".....

That's pretty much what I found, I like deals as much as anyone but this place epitomizes the 'ol saying "you get what you pay for"

That's my experience as well. If I buy something like a socket or a clamp it works but venture into something like an actual tool, say a pressure regulator or an inline oiler... and ya get about one season out of it.  If they have name brands on sale then Ill pick that up and it works fine. Like my Ingersol Rand impact wrench which has lasted over 10 yrs now with light to moderate use...

[A383Wing]

....... One can tear up a bowling ball with a rubber hammer if he tries hard enough.

you must have some pretty weak balls.....   

[bill440rt]

I've got some I-R stuff also, great tools! 

[adauto]

I bought a few hardline things there that were ok. And for the price when one of my guys breaks one I cant complain. On the other hand I bought some chop saw blades there a few years back to cut up an old trailer. They were downright DANGEROUS!!! Fortunately none of my guys got hurt or worse. They would literally self destruct. "made is Russia" as I recall. I went out and bought a few Dewalts, got the job done and nobody got killed!  I also bought a tumbler to clean up rusty bolts/hardware. Didn't use it right away as I was not ready for that phase of the project. After about a week or so of tumbling bolts it wouldn't run for more than 15 minutes at a time............. POS!

[charger1972]

I recently bought a 40lb blast cabinet  from them. If you read the reviews before you buy it helps allot . That way you know what to expect , and in some cases what to do to make it better .

[XS29L9Bxxxxxx]

most of the stuff is "offshore crap".....maybe fine for backyard wrenchers, but the tools won't last very long....most stuff they sell for tools are a "one time only use".....meaning you better have a back-up plan

[Lord Warlock]

HF fills a need when other stores may not carry the same selection, if I need a tool for a rarely used activity, I'll go to HF for it, for jobs that are repetitive in nature and I'll use alot, I will buy a higher quality tool.  I've bought several items from HF that turned out to be crap...i.e. the soda blaster sucked donkey balls and was a complete waste. Some of the air tools i've tried also sucked, but a few worked and saved me quite a bit of coinage so I'm neutral on the usefullness of HF.  I will shop there for stuff I don't care where it was made, such as chinese crap, but if i want something nice I'll order it from craftsman or a high end manufacturer. 

I have a brake bleeder kit i got from HF last week, and haven't tried it out yet.  Hoping it isn't crap, but I'll likely only use it once every 5 to 10 years. 

[NHCharger]

Same as most replies. I have a small assortment of their stuff. Wrenches, jack stands, a few air tools. The air tools don't last long. I bought a 12 pack of their electrical tape last year. It won't stick to anything, not even itself.

[Musicman]

You can find some good stuff at HF if you know what your looking for and "what your looking at". I would never think of buying something like an electric die grinder or a router there, but electric drills, sanders etc. sure. In fact I have a 1/2 arm breaker that I bought there well over 20 years ago, and it's still going strong. I have a 15 year old cordless that I picked up there for wood work, and it's still running on the original battery. I have 2 welders from HF, a 110 Flux/MIG(close to 30 years old) and a 220 Flux/MIG. I wouldn't use either one of them for thin automotive sheet metal work, but they are great for general purpose welding around the shop, and they're dirt cheap most of the time. I bought a set of clicker torque wrenches there assuming they would be about as accurate as a smooth bore rifle, but to my surprise they checked out during calibration... go figure. Jack stands, piston jacks, air tools, I've bought all kinds of stuff there that has worked just as well as the expensive crap and lasted twice as long. Granted I walk around that place laughing at a lot of the stuff they sell, and in some cases praying that no one ever buys certain items because they are just out & out dangerous... Hazard Fraught Tools is a good nickname for them in many cases. They have come a long way over the last 30 years in terms of overall quality, but like I said at the beginning, you have to know what your looking at and what to look for. Overall, I would have to say that I have been very happy with HF, they've saved me a lot of money over the years. We just got our first Local HF here in January of this year, so I'm happy... another Toy Store.

[A383Wing]

I have bought some wrenches there..the little stubby 10-14mm flex-head ratchet wrenches...they were priced right, and they worked in a pinch. I also bought a 90* angle air die grinder, lasted maybe 6 months...

the impact sockets they sell are crap, the chrome sockets last a few months before the chrome plating starts flaking off and gets stuck in yer fingers. The Allen head wrenches twist before they loosen an Allen head plug....

you get the general idea here....

[Mike DC]

HF seems to encompass the whole range.  Decent, crap, and everything in between. 

[Steve P.]

A few weeks back I built a stairway for my shop to get up into the loft. I wanted to be able to raise it and lower it so it's not in the way. I looked around online and called a buddy that buys a lot from a marine store looking for a winch. Tractor supply had a name brand winch that would have worked, but I would have had to build it away from the wall and that would have eaten more space right at the walk in door.

While I was answering a chat on Facebook, a winch popped up on the side column from HF that looked exactly right for my needs. I drove over and after going through 4 boxes, finally put together 1 complete winch. Took it home and anchored it to the block wall. While lift my maybe 100 pound staircase, the winch locked up. I backed it off after placing my ladder under the case, (just in case). I found that the gears are not cut properly for that type of gear. They are straight cut on the drum. Worm on the drive.  So beware of quality control and just plain crap from there.  The pisser is that they could have simply punched the multiple layer gear at different degrees and it would work fine.

A buddy bought a sealed can blaster from them and uses it to clean up bodies and roll cages and even blasted the side of his block house. He seams to like it. He did say he used 2 air dryer bulbs at the blaster. The block wall of his garage looks like it was just layed..