Essential socket sizes for impact wrench

[Kevcules]

Most sockets are lifetime warranty, except some of the very low end stuff.

 

[SMSW]

Buy 'em used. Lifetime warranty, no questions asked. I broke an old, really old 1/2" SnapOn breaker bar. I put a 5ft pipe on it and laid into it. Flagged down a SnapOn truck, dude swapped it on the spot.
A good friend is a pro mech and has the full complement of digital torque wrenches. I thought they were overrated, until I used one. Simply spectacular. If you turn wrenches for a living, they are worth it.

I agree wholeheartedly with everything you said above and in your later post. I have quite a few Snap-On tools, a lot of them bought used years ago before the prices went north in a hurry. We (you, I and others who acknowledge there is a diff between Snap-On and Kobalt,et al) will never convince everyone, I've given up trying. Their prices are indeed outlandish, in part because of their chosen marketing strategy. Having a salesman own his vehicle and visit your shop weekly costs money, and has to add a hefty markup to the cost of the tools (as does that warranty). Their warranty depends on the tool guy. Since you are a pro mechanic, you get pro service on that warranty. I've experienced less stellar service because I'm not a mechanic, and show up at my friend's service station when I need a replacement or claim on that warranty.

I have heard the complaint @diferg made about shape, size, weight of the wrenches before and believe there is more than a little validity to it. On occasion, I've experienced it, too. Yes, putting a lot of pressure on a standard box wrench can hurt your hand, and of course the solution is to go to the long handled (same size) box wrench because you won't need as much pressure, but not everyone has (or can afford) a full complement of Snap-On tools.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

The higher price of tools of the quality of Snap-On may be harder to rationalize for people who only use those tools occasionally. Those who work as a mechanic will encounter all kinds of damaged and screwed up fasteners on all kinds of abused and neglected vehicles and mcahinery courtesy of the people who worked on them previously with crappy tools that did not grip the fastener properly or well. While Snap-On are not the only ones who make high quality tools, having tools of the quality of Snap-On ensure tight tolerances and designs that offer superior fastener gripping. These advantages can often make the difference between stripping the fastener head and not. Not having to halt the job to spend time to remove a damaged fastener, time spent that one is often not compensated for, can quickly more than justify the higher cost of superior quality tools when you use them all day every day and encounter such scenarios with frustrating regularity.