I've been using mostly craftsman tools since 1976. Not once have I been disappointed. They do what I need them to do. No failures whatsoever. I'll continue to buy and use them.
@@isaiahhowell1090 Too bad you had that happen. I don't think it's the norm for new Craftsman tools, otherwise Lowe's would be in a world of hut as they sell them in large numbers. I have many new Craftsman tools including ratchets. I use them daily and often with a lot of force. No issues.
@@owenbearden5769Nothing wrong with Craftsman tools. Been using them since the 1970's. Been a mechanic that long too. I've used most every brand out there including the highly overpriced tool truck tools. Craftsman do the same job for less money.
How soon people forget how Stanley cheapened up the DeWalt line of cordless tools years ago to meet big box store price points. I have no doubt that Stanley is doing the same thing with the Craftsman line using different alloys to lower the cost of the wrenches. I rarely see MAC Tool trucks anymore where I live because Stanley damaged the brand. So many people don't understand how tools are made and alloy formulas used, instead they think steal is steal but that could not be farther from the truth.
@@mustangecoboosthpp3869 Well said, MAC trucks are becoming more rare, I think the only reason I still see one in my area is because he's been here for over 40 yrs. When he retires, that might be it for this area. Steel is not steel, a tire is not a tire and a wrench is not wrench; I hear you loud and clear brother.
@@mustangecoboosthpp3869Funny, I have liked the newer DeWalt stuff FAR more than the older stuff. I actually got rid of most of my Milwaukee junk because the DeWalt stuff performed and held up better.
I'm kinda liking the Tekton tools for personal use. Lifetime warranty too (no time limit, no receipt needed and free shipping for replacements). I don't have a lot of them yet, but what I've tried so far seems to be nice quality (personal use at home).
Tekton is better than stores' house brands, but still far below tool truck prices. Supposedly their customer service is excellent in terms of honoring warranties and replacing broken tools. They're like what Craftsman used to be.
@@duckpwnd probably the last time I bought anything Craftsman branded was when there was an actual Sears store to buy it from. Since then I’ve been looking for a reasonable alternative because for home use I’ve always been happy with the average Craftsman hand tool. I’ve been very happy with any Tekton tools I have bought so far. I don’t have a lot from them yet, just a few torque wrenches, breaker bar, some sockets and that’s about it.
Been using tekton sockets professionally for 5 years. Only 3 failures that whole time and it was 100% reasonable for it to break in those situations, extreme high torque and abuse. Been abusing the 18inch 3/8 ratchet for 4 years and it's been similar, broke twice at extreme high torque situations. Their screwdrivers are shit, no two ways about it. Same with their picks *when compared to snap on*. Love their tools and customer service is incredible, often get my replacements in Canada before the snapon guy even rolls around (1 week)
I helped a friend out last night picking up a storm door at the depot with my pickup, we walked it into his garage and on a little bench was a Craftsman tool box loaded with Craftsman tools. I bet I could go into 75% of American garages and find the same yet sears somehow managed to tank the business. Something to think about when paying for that lifetime warranty. I have Snap on, Mac, SK and Craftsman to mention a few brands I own, I love my Craftsman USA tools and am continually sickened by their demise or should I say multiple demises ~
As a DIY guy just repairing my own vehicles and installing modifications I like Craftsman tools, I have a lot of old USA made tools from my grandpa and dad, but even the new stuff like their impacts, drill and driver, and other power tools they're perfectly fine for what I do with them and didn't break the bank to fill a garage tool box, and I've never broken a ratchet or wrench even when doing extensive work on my vehicles. . If I was a professional mechanic I'd be getting something better for sure.
I'm 51. From age 12 to probably age 35, dad's Christmas present to me from him was Craftsman something or another. Pisses me off that Sears blew it so badly with this brand.
I would consider it because the box end is a 6 point, if i didnt already have a set of 6 point wrenches. BTW, my 6 point wrenches were made by Easco, a company that made many Craftsman tools in the 80-90's (identified by a V on the US made vintage tools).
Boy, years ago when I worked for a French Co., we were issues with Facom Tools. Back in the day, they were the best tools that I had ever had. For a long time, I have not seen these tools at all. Now, I saw your review.. And here they are.. WOW... Thanks!
I think there just not as popular as the MANY other names out there now. SOOO many different tool brands out now, especially when Amazon is involved. Facom is now under the SBD umbrella w\ the other many name brands. Still very good tools. 👍👌🛠️🔧🔩⛓️📏🗜️⚠️🚧💪
These look like nice wrenches. It is still pretty easy to get ahold of mint older Craftsman usa tools via garage sales, pawn shops ebay, et cetera. There were millions of these tools made.
Dam i think if craftsman went all out on a high end line of tools they could be big because we all WANT to like craftsman but they just let us down for a long time hope they finally make a real comeback
Oh lol duh I'm a idiot they would kinda just be competing with their own tools I guess a similar cheaper version is the best route I actually always really like that black chrome alot i haven't finished video but If they make something that works noticably better then G.W. I'd be happy to switch over even if a bit higher price wish they made slim heads like gw
The VW phaeton was essentially the same car as a Bentley Continental GT. No one wants to pay premium prices for a VW badge. No mechanic is going to drop 30k on a tool box that says craftsman on it. If you are selling premium, people want to show it off.
Now that you’ve used tools from all over the world you should do a best of the best in each category. Like if you were starting over as a new tech today, would you still get snap on sockets or would you go with ko-ken?
That 121-piece tool set is really nice. Back when Sears was still in business, I went there one day and bought a 53-piece tool set. It wasn't very big obviously but came in very handy for just grabbing it to work on a vehicle. It's nice seeing the improvements that were done to those tools. I like how they have six point ends on the wrenches instead of 12 point.
My Subaru 1387, excellent Craftsman Overdrive series review. I've been using Craftsman tools most of my life, my father had a good selection of Craftsman tools. I purchased some Snap-On and Mac Tools during my 2 years of Automotive Schooling. Snap-On/Mac Tools are great but overpriced, especially for an apprenticeship salary. I had purchased some Craftsman Professional Series stuff back then and i really liked the Pro Series sets. I think these Overdrive Series tools woukd be a great investment for anyone.
My first box was an old craftsman box my parents bought at a yard sale. I remember cleaning it and my dad taking me to sears to get a 108 piece craftsman set
Ended up going Milwaukee for wrenches. No skips and a great set in itself. As far as the socket set, it looks decent, but if you don't care much about the ratchet just get the huge Dewalt socket set and the Milwaukee wrenches. Both are super deals around black Friday and handle pretty much any job you need them to do with nearly no fluff other than the hex keys.
Have had Milwaukee wrenches for about a year and a half work great day to day use at my job in fleet maintenance in diesel truck and trailers. Same thing for miwlaukee sockets work no problem I don’t care what people say call them junk that’s fine it hasn’t rounded a fastener yet and I full set the impacts
all these babies crying about craftsman not being made in USA or how they wish they never sold to stanley filling up their tool boxes with ICON, Tekton, sunnex, gear wrench, capri ! Craftsman still affordable, still stamp their sizes on everything not lazer etching nothing, and still coming out with new stuff, first the V series and now this, looks pretty good. says allot about Stanley and how much they care about the craftsman name.
Thank you for reviewing these. I was in a Lowe’s store a few months ago and saw these. I like the gunmetal chrome. Let us know how you like the sockets.
Go for the larger set that's like 154 pieces but only 10 my filler screw driver bit everything else is around 21 more sockets plus 2 more wrenches which again just my opinion is well worth the $29 price difference...good luck guys & some great videos!!
I use craftsman tools often, I have quite a few things I've picked up over the Last few years since Lowe's is my only local tool store. While the brand isn't what it used to be, I really don't have any major complaints using most of the regular sockets and wrenches on a homeowner level. They have served me well for quite a while! I'm excited for these overdrive sets, I'm hopeful they will end up just selling the sockets individually or selling the sockets in their own set. The sockets and wrenches Would make an excellent backup set of tools and something to break out for those damaged fasteners! I was at Lowe's the other day and they had the overdrive ratchets out on the rack, and in my opinion the standard 90t ratchet really feels better i feel like the 180t is going to have serious backdrag issues.
Funny thing, I have tools from most of the major players and from the not so major players. I have wrenches in my tool box I use every day and the funny thing is I grab my Husky wrenches over my Mac, Matco, Snap-on, Craftsman, and Cornwell. I swear I have gotten every penny's worth on there purchase price out of them. Now my Craftsmen wrenches are my go to when I need to modify and or alter a wrench, at least there old school wrenches which had plenty of material to cut, heat, bend, grind, and or weld on. the new ones I couldn't tell you. For my ratchets it is mostly my Snap-On or my Kobalt, I just like the way they feel in my hand. I do have a Gear Wrench ratchet I inherited and its ok so far. Thanks for the video!
I’ve used craftsman on my trucks, motor cycles, and house projects. Never had I needed to return them to Sears, or Lowe’s. I’m not a super mechanic. I see the value of superior tools, but it’s not my day job turning wrenches. That’s why I think it’s perfect to own craftsman
price point doesn't necessarily mean cheaper alloy. Mac wants 300ish for their version, does it mean it is made out unobtainium? no, it's just priced at a tool truck value, same with USAG. The craftsman uses a Dewalt/craftsman wrench, they just added the RBRT design. the price won't just jump astronomically from that. they also are missing sizes, in this version, it's missing the 11mm. The wrenches are made in Taiwan, so the quality will be decent enough, at 75$ it is a good deal for a specialty wrench.
I grabbed a set of Craftsman V Series wrenches. I was actually impressed. They aren’t aggressive like the RBRT or 285X but many, they are nicely made and should work great as general use wrenches. Oh! I do absolutely disagree with you on the 180t ratchet. They are truly exceptional. And by that I mean the backdrag is…..significant 😂
I remember you’ve been praising Tekton for so long and I finally came around to accepting different brands. They’re all the same. They get the job done. It’s nice when there’s more grip or stronger metal but 99% of the time it’s not noticeable.
To my knowledge the craftsman wrenches and sockets that come in gunmetal chrome are made in Taiwan while most everything is from china. I bought a set of gunmetal chrome wrenches a couple years ago, they just had standard craftsman branding and look almost identical to those, They’ve served me well on my weekend brake changes.
I agree completely with your take on ratchets. I will take a smooth 72/90 tooth with very low back drag over any of these high count ratchets. My older Snap On ratchets are like butter with a really light back drag, probably inpart to many years of use also. In contrast i have a 1987 or 88 Mac 24" 1/2dr beast that lets you know when you engage a new tooth. That ratchet has lived most of it's life with a 4' bar slid over it. It has had my entire weight (172 lbs) swinging on it more than once. She has only seen impact sockets since it left the truck.
Ive got a couple wrench sets and small 3/8 drive socket sets made by Stanley imma say late 80s... Its all the chromium vanadium stuff, on par with era correct box store stuff. I will say that the smooth polished fjnish and deep cut size And lettering has stood up better than the any Craftsman, duralast, or n e thing else.. only a couple years later is when Stanley completely dropped quality weight and finish suffered, it was the last quality tools Stanley made in my opinion they still make a decent tape😊
I find having some inexpensive (e.g. Harbor Freight) are great tools to have on the motorcycle or car - if they vaporize I won't cry like I would if my Snap-On's went missing. :^) There is a place for budget tools.
Ive been mainly getting carlyle stuff from napa over the last few years, some gearwrench and tekton also. Never had an issue with those 3 companies so far and couldnt be happier as a hobbiest that does a fair amount of side work and fabrication with them
For fun, last week, I walked through Lowes and spotted the 180 position 1/4" ratchet and bought the thing. I gotta say, I like it. I think it was 30 bucks or so. Seems very smooth and back drag is minimal. It is definitely 180 position. took it apart and oiled it and it stayed smooth.
I would suspect so. At least from what i could see the teeth looked very similiar, but not the same. I suspect Stanley Black and Decker is using similiar dies on normal craftsman wrenches
For the life of me I don't understand why someone doesn't make a repro of the little MAC flex head ratchet wrenches with closed end and handle. Buddy has some and they are so nice...
to ALL tool makers: If you wanna impress me, make a tool kit that includes about a dozen extra 10mm pieces in it. Oh, and still make it easy to order replacements (maybe a monthly subscription???)
I always liked Craftsman. They do get gimmicky that puts me off trying to reinvent the wheel. Their core tools are pretty solid. I think Stanley Black and Decker is doing a good job with them. They were starting to slide under Sears stewardship.
I just got this video and im a subscriber to the channel and i looked im a couple weeks behind on you're video's RUclips sucks lately. Thank you great video's as always
Haven't been a super fan of Craftsman wrenches since the quit making them in the U.S.A. They're ok for most homeowner projects but not what they used to be.
Every comment section always has the Snap On, Matco, Cornwell and MAC bashers but mostly Snap On. What these people do not under stand when you buy sockets and wrenches you only have to invest once when you purchase quality tools from Snap On or Matco, you buy once you cry once. These people buying all these cheap tools end up replacing them over and over with the next new cheap tool that the Harbor Freight crowd thinks is the new in tool brand. So these people end up buying over and over and cry over and over. I have a complete set of Snap On tools (90%) with the a few MAC, Matco and Cornwell and some specialty tools from AST, OTC and the like (10%) All paid for. It is not hard to do.
Wondering if the metal used between the wrenches is the same, as well as the forging. Nothing worse than a cheap wrench breaking in your hand under pressure.
Basically all the foreign made wrench's are chrome vanadium, which is crap. Mac has been going balls deep on the RBRT wrench's, was wondering how long it would take for people to start to wake up to the fact that they are a seventy dollar set of wrench's with very limited use.
The one story I heard years ago that I thought was plausible is that a drop forge tool die has a defined life cycle. The prime of this life cycle is sold under the top brand name, the tail end is sold under the lesser brand name then discarded when reaching the end of the life cycle.
Are there instruments like "jonnesway", "king tony" , sales in usa? This is rother good instruments for hard using. They not so beautiful like "snap on" but costs not a lot of money in my country for example
Crapsman line aka apex now Stanley. Im still butt hurt about how all this went down. Same with SK.. I'll stick with williams,wright,snapon im a firm believer in get what you pay for and what you put back into America and keeping people working. Yes some of them are good to throw in the truck box for emergencies. If they get stolen or rust oh we'll
Good info as I’m looking for tool organizer solution($) and like the pre-organized (PO) Craftsman wrench set. Also, really like the PO wrench and socket set as I’m wondering what a basic lightweight road kit 🛻 might look like, er, I was wondering until I saw this presentation.
The box end on those wrenches are huge. Probably to compensate for lackluster material science in the metalurgy department .I've been in countless situations where the only wrench I could use to bust a nut was my mac with a super skinny sidewall. ex would be driveline bolts. or flywheel bolts
Mr. Subaru, I got a set of the Craftsman overdrive wrenches in the mail yesterday. An I have been trying them out. The open end is not as good as Milwaukee max bite or the WrightGrip 1.0 that I have. The Craftsman teeth are not as sharp as the other wrenches. But the box end has a very good fit to the fastener and seems to work as it should.
@MrSubaru1387 ... Well, too many of my so-called Craftsman tools are junk now. So, no, "more than likely", I will not be swayed. BTW, pretty much all companies/corporations that were supposed to bring manufacturing back to the US did not. More left, again! Even the iconic Harley brand sent some manufacturing overseas, probably more by now. Everything is from all over the world. Heh heh! Anytime someone wants/needs something, they have to research by their allowed price/quality and go from there. For instance, "new from Craftsman" means nothing to me.
A note about Lowes "Lifetime Warranty" on Craftsman tools - I've been told at Lowes that you must return the entire complete set to get the warranty even if only one tool breaks. Sucks.
@stevecoburn7766 If the exact same item is available as an individual item, they will probably replace it. If it is part of a set, they wouldn't, in my experience.. I have, twice, taken cracked sockets in and they said they were part of a set and I had to bring the complete set in. Basically, if they couldn't find the exact same item sold as a single item, I couldn't exchange it. One was a socket with the big numbers on it and they wouldn't replace it with the same size socket with normal markings. To me, I didn't care much as long as it it was a deep 17mm 12 point socket, which they had in the drawers. Nope. In fact, I checked and the sockets in a set are slightly different, marking-wise, than the ones sold individually. Seems silly to me, and your mileage may vary. This happened in two different stores so it seems to be a Lowes policy.
I have some DeWalt sockets and a 1/4-inch Stanley ratchet that's from a $50 homeowner kit, and a DeWalt 1/2-inch ratchet. The DeWalt is okay, lots of drag on it like you said, and the Stanley is okay. I have a Pittsburgh Pro 3/8-inch that I like a lot better than the two cheap Stanley B&D ratchets I have. I'm a homeowner and I only need my tools 4X or 5X a year maybe a little bit more, so it doesn't bother me all that much, but SBD doesn't make great cheap ratchets. The DeWalt 1/2-inch I have came in a $50 kit I bought for $40 on sale, and that's probably why the DeWalt isn't a great ratchet. I paid $12 or $13 for my Pittsburgh Pro normally I think $20 and it's hell of a lot better than the cheap DeWalt 1/2-inch I have.
Cant get individual ones sadly, hearing the speed wrenches X6's by Cresent you can and get a 7/16 to cover the 11 they miss, that euro cars use a lot on brakes
@MrSubaru1387 Since you have both, can you tell if the open end teeth are a bit duller on the craftsman? On video the ridges don't look as pronounced, I just received the SAE set from Ace, in person they dont seem as deeply cut as the Mac appears in videos. The chrome is different, so maybe that is it (?) Home DIY, don't expect the full Mac force, but something in the ballpark, or maybe Icon/Milwaukee have better grip than Overdrive? (Box end, to me, looks identical on video, in person seems like maybe deeper cuts than open end)
Im a major collector and so far well in ny (nassau/Suffolk) there out a few months but just about evey store from ACE hardware to Lowes only had 2 to 4 pieces (sets) ever most of the problems were makeing people look for the stock on hand so bad i myself found most of what i was looking for myself equipped with just the store apps my cell phones camera zooming ability & patience but of the sae & metric wrench sets (11pcs) and what i believe is the largest set currently available they are on par with any better brand tools probably from milwaukee to snap on but my opinion & just my opinion there fourm & functions pass snap on (feature wise) but will see in the long run how they hold up but for all interested grab em if ya see em and cant see the prices going lower then they currently are right now.. only bad part of the larger overdrive set i feel is the 40+ screwdriver bits & the usual hand full of allen keys (basic filler) that i think are the same in the overdrive smaller sets plus around 10 to 20 sockets less...ok sorry for the long post but just wanted to pass my experience with em along...ok hope this helps any one interested
The teeth on the open end wrenches are good but they like to get stuck on the fastener. And I would imagine it would be a bitch to get a nut out of them sockets with the teeth.
Question please Sir, I own an 2021 Impreza sport hatchback with 18" tires P225/40R18. I was wanting to get an more cushioned drive for my daily. Can I change the tire to P245/45R 18's "OR" change the wheels out totally for the base 16" and get taller more cushioned tires?
Hey I glad Stanley is trying something new with craftsmen was reading that there doing away with DeWalt hand tools and making craftsmen professional hand tools with last gen DeWalt power tools I hope so can't afford snap blue point Cornwell etc .... I would if I could tho but just a poor mechanic who barley get to eat I'm lucky to eat 1 small meal a day
I personally use them at work, I have their wrenches, ratchets, and their master set of impact sockets in 3/8, 1/2 for both 6 point and 12 point. I love them for the price and their warranty is hard to beat, no questions ask or proof of purchase needed mail straight to your door. I've been using them for about a year now and absolutely no complaints.
My local Lowes sells the RBRT equivalent SAE and Metric Hex Keys standalone. Not sure if you're aware based on your statements in the video (you may have only been talking about the tool set, though).
Mr Subaru, got a question for you sir. Trying to find the cheaper price through the real manufacturer that makes the Matco Trim Clip Pliers PN: PPSAJ. Hope to hear back from you soon take care.
Mr Subaru, On the open end of the craftsman overdrive wrench. It looks like they are one way turning of the wrench, I.E. turn down toward the lower jaw. Is that correct ?
Those teeth are a scam. They make a nice bolt rounder but if you want grip you need maximum contact area. The tool should be as close as possible to the exact dimensions of the fastener.
even the stuff made in usa for craftsman is just assembled here the parts are made in china or taiwan they tried a plant in texas but did a terrible job with it and stopped production of real usa made
i would like to know how the capri Wavedrive stand up against the overdrive craftsman/mac rbrt/usag. it’s a completely different design and i would love to see a video of them both trying to back off the same rounded bolts. Anyways Love the videos man a lot of my new tools come from watching your videos.
I like the v series stuff and I hear that Usa made ratchet was supposed to be real nice and minimal back drag. But the v series has some high backdrag.😢
I've been using mostly craftsman tools since 1976. Not once have I been disappointed. They do what I need them to do. No failures whatsoever. I'll continue to buy and use them.
I like craftsmans old stuff but about 3-4 years ago I was given a tool set from them and the ratchets exploded the first time I used them
@@isaiahhowell1090 Too bad you had that happen. I don't think it's the norm for new Craftsman tools, otherwise Lowe's would be in a world of hut as they sell them in large numbers. I have many new Craftsman tools including ratchets. I use them daily and often with a lot of force. No issues.
@@michaelmartin2276 I've been thinking about getting back into using them as I'm a diesel fleet mechanic who hates spending alot on tools
Pair this with the V-series. They seem to be doin everything half ass and it doesn’t end well
@@owenbearden5769Nothing wrong with Craftsman tools. Been using them since the 1970's. Been a mechanic that long too. I've used most every brand out there including the highly overpriced tool truck tools. Craftsman do the same job for less money.
Makes sense given Stanley, MAC and DeWalt are owned by the same conglomerate.
How soon people forget how Stanley cheapened up the DeWalt line of cordless tools years ago to meet big box store price points. I have no doubt that Stanley is doing the same thing with the Craftsman line using different alloys to lower the cost of the wrenches. I rarely see MAC Tool trucks anymore where I live because Stanley damaged the brand. So many people don't understand how tools are made and alloy formulas used, instead they think steal is steal but that could not be farther from the truth.
@@mustangecoboosthpp3869 Well said, MAC trucks are becoming more rare, I think the only reason I still see one in my area is because he's been here for over 40 yrs. When he retires, that might be it for this area. Steel is not steel, a tire is not a tire and a wrench is not wrench; I hear you loud and clear brother.
@@mustangecoboosthpp3869Funny, I have liked the newer DeWalt stuff FAR more than the older stuff. I actually got rid of most of my Milwaukee junk because the DeWalt stuff performed and held up better.
I'm kinda liking the Tekton tools for personal use. Lifetime warranty too (no time limit, no receipt needed and free shipping for replacements). I don't have a lot of them yet, but what I've tried so far seems to be nice quality (personal use at home).
I used them at Subaru dealer and they are still great
Tekton holds up well. More than enough for home use
Tekton is better than stores' house brands, but still far below tool truck prices. Supposedly their customer service is excellent in terms of honoring warranties and replacing broken tools. They're like what Craftsman used to be.
@@duckpwnd probably the last time I bought anything Craftsman branded was when there was an actual Sears store to buy it from. Since then I’ve been looking for a reasonable alternative because for home use I’ve always been happy with the average Craftsman hand tool. I’ve been very happy with any Tekton tools I have bought so far. I don’t have a lot from them yet, just a few torque wrenches, breaker bar, some sockets and that’s about it.
Been using tekton sockets professionally for 5 years. Only 3 failures that whole time and it was 100% reasonable for it to break in those situations, extreme high torque and abuse. Been abusing the 18inch 3/8 ratchet for 4 years and it's been similar, broke twice at extreme high torque situations. Their screwdrivers are shit, no two ways about it. Same with their picks *when compared to snap on*. Love their tools and customer service is incredible, often get my replacements in Canada before the snapon guy even rolls around (1 week)
I helped a friend out last night picking up a storm door at the depot with my pickup, we walked it into his garage and on a little bench was a Craftsman tool box loaded with Craftsman tools. I bet I could go into 75% of American garages and find the same yet sears somehow managed to tank the business. Something to think about when paying for that lifetime warranty. I have Snap on, Mac, SK and Craftsman to mention a few brands I own, I love my Craftsman USA tools and am continually sickened by their demise or should I say multiple demises ~
I boxed mine up and tucked them in the back of the shop. All US made stuff that would be hard to replace.
As a DIY guy just repairing my own vehicles and installing modifications I like Craftsman tools, I have a lot of old USA made tools from my grandpa and dad, but even the new stuff like their impacts, drill and driver, and other power tools they're perfectly fine for what I do with them and didn't break the bank to fill a garage tool box, and I've never broken a ratchet or wrench even when doing extensive work on my vehicles. . If I was a professional mechanic I'd be getting something better for sure.
I love craftsman tools! Lifetime no questions asked warranty is tough to beat, and the price is right.
I always appreciate your tool reviews.
Your honest assessment and no BS presentations go a long way with many of us who use tools every day.
I'm 51. From age 12 to probably age 35, dad's Christmas present to me from him was Craftsman something or another. Pisses me off that Sears blew it so badly with this brand.
I would consider it because the box end is a 6 point, if i didnt already have a set of 6 point wrenches. BTW, my 6 point wrenches were made by Easco, a company that made many Craftsman tools in the 80-90's (identified by a V on the US made vintage tools).
I love these tool reviews especially when you compare the prices between the different brands. Always eye opening.
Boy, years ago when I worked for a French Co., we were issues with Facom Tools. Back in the day, they were the best tools that I had ever had. For a long time, I have not seen these tools at all. Now, I saw your review.. And here they are.. WOW... Thanks!
I think there just not as popular as the MANY other names out there now. SOOO many different tool brands out now, especially when Amazon is involved. Facom is now under the SBD umbrella w\ the other many name brands. Still very good tools. 👍👌🛠️🔧🔩⛓️📏🗜️⚠️🚧💪
@@tdotw77the v series is good but I didn’t pay retail,buy for the average bear it’s better than gear wrench or Icon
These look like nice wrenches. It is still pretty easy to get ahold of mint older Craftsman usa tools via garage sales, pawn shops ebay, et cetera. There were millions of these tools made.
Dam i think if craftsman went all out on a high end line of tools they could be big because we all WANT to like craftsman but they just let us down for a long time hope they finally make a real comeback
Oh lol duh I'm a idiot they would kinda just be competing with their own tools I guess a similar cheaper version is the best route I actually always really like that black chrome alot i haven't finished video but If they make something that works noticably better then G.W. I'd be happy to switch over even if a bit higher price wish they made slim heads like gw
The VW phaeton was essentially the same car as a Bentley Continental GT. No one wants to pay premium prices for a VW badge. No mechanic is going to drop 30k on a tool box that says craftsman on it. If you are selling premium, people want to show it off.
Now that you’ve used tools from all over the world you should do a best of the best in each category. Like if you were starting over as a new tech today, would you still get snap on sockets or would you go with ko-ken?
That 121-piece tool set is really nice. Back when Sears was still in business, I went there one day and bought a 53-piece tool set. It wasn't very big obviously but came in very handy for just grabbing it to work on a vehicle. It's nice seeing the improvements that were done to those tools. I like how they have six point ends on the wrenches instead of 12 point.
My Subaru 1387, excellent Craftsman Overdrive series review. I've been using Craftsman tools most of my life, my father had a good selection of Craftsman tools. I purchased some Snap-On and Mac Tools during my 2 years of Automotive Schooling. Snap-On/Mac Tools are great but overpriced, especially for an apprenticeship salary. I had purchased some Craftsman Professional Series stuff back then and i really liked the Pro Series sets. I think these Overdrive Series tools woukd be a great investment for anyone.
My first box was an old craftsman box my parents bought at a yard sale. I remember cleaning it and my dad taking me to sears to get a 108 piece craftsman set
Ended up going Milwaukee for wrenches. No skips and a great set in itself. As far as the socket set, it looks decent, but if you don't care much about the ratchet just get the huge Dewalt socket set and the Milwaukee wrenches. Both are super deals around black Friday and handle pretty much any job you need them to do with nearly no fluff other than the hex keys.
Have had Milwaukee wrenches for about a year and a half work great day to day use at my job in fleet maintenance in diesel truck and trailers. Same thing for miwlaukee sockets work no problem I don’t care what people say call them junk that’s fine it hasn’t rounded a fastener yet and I full set the impacts
I have the Milwaukee combination, ratcheting and flex head wrenches in Sae and metric. Love them.
Milwaukee, the best Chinese owned tool company. 🇨🇳
all these babies crying about craftsman not being made in USA or how they wish they never sold to stanley filling up their tool boxes with ICON, Tekton, sunnex, gear wrench, capri ! Craftsman still affordable, still stamp their sizes on everything not lazer etching nothing, and still coming out with new stuff, first the V series and now this, looks pretty good. says allot about Stanley and how much they care about the craftsman name.
Thank you for reviewing these. I was in a Lowe’s store a few months ago and saw these. I like the gunmetal chrome. Let us know how you like the sockets.
I finally don’t feel crazy for using Lucas Gun oil it’s good to see I’m not alone anytime my service, any of my ratchets that’s what I use
Go for the larger set that's like 154 pieces but only 10 my filler screw driver bit everything else is around 21 more sockets plus 2 more wrenches which again just my opinion is well worth the $29 price difference...good luck guys & some great videos!!
I use craftsman tools often, I have quite a few things I've picked up over the Last few years since Lowe's is my only local tool store. While the brand isn't what it used to be, I really don't have any major complaints using most of the regular sockets and wrenches on a homeowner level. They have served me well for quite a while! I'm excited for these overdrive sets, I'm hopeful they will end up just selling the sockets individually or selling the sockets in their own set. The sockets and wrenches Would make an excellent backup set of tools and something to break out for those damaged fasteners! I was at Lowe's the other day and they had the overdrive ratchets out on the rack, and in my opinion the standard 90t ratchet really feels better i feel like the 180t is going to have serious backdrag issues.
Funny thing, I have tools from most of the major players and from the not so major players. I have wrenches in my tool box I use every day and the funny thing is I grab my Husky wrenches over my Mac, Matco, Snap-on, Craftsman, and Cornwell. I swear I have gotten every penny's worth on there purchase price out of them. Now my Craftsmen wrenches are my go to when I need to modify and or alter a wrench, at least there old school wrenches which had plenty of material to cut, heat, bend, grind, and or weld on. the new ones I couldn't tell you. For my ratchets it is mostly my Snap-On or my Kobalt, I just like the way they feel in my hand. I do have a Gear Wrench ratchet I inherited and its ok so far. Thanks for the video!
I’ve been swayed! Recently purchased that very 121 piece set to get started!
I’ve used craftsman on my trucks, motor cycles, and house projects. Never had I needed to return them to Sears, or Lowe’s. I’m not a super mechanic. I see the value of superior tools, but it’s not my day job turning wrenches. That’s why I think it’s perfect to own craftsman
price point doesn't necessarily mean cheaper alloy. Mac wants 300ish for their version, does it mean it is made out unobtainium? no, it's just priced at a tool truck value, same with USAG. The craftsman uses a Dewalt/craftsman wrench, they just added the RBRT design. the price won't just jump astronomically from that. they also are missing sizes, in this version, it's missing the 11mm. The wrenches are made in Taiwan, so the quality will be decent enough, at 75$ it is a good deal for a specialty wrench.
I grabbed a set of Craftsman V Series wrenches. I was actually impressed. They aren’t aggressive like the RBRT or 285X but many, they are nicely made and should work great as general use wrenches.
Oh! I do absolutely disagree with you on the 180t ratchet. They are truly exceptional. And by that I mean the backdrag is…..significant 😂
I remember you’ve been praising Tekton for so long and I finally came around to accepting different brands. They’re all the same. They get the job done. It’s nice when there’s more grip or stronger metal but 99% of the time it’s not noticeable.
To my knowledge the craftsman wrenches and sockets that come in gunmetal chrome are made in Taiwan while most everything is from china. I bought a set of gunmetal chrome wrenches a couple years ago, they just had standard craftsman branding and look almost identical to those, They’ve served me well on my weekend brake changes.
I still have my first set of Craftsman from 82' or 83' $99 for 99 piece, still working great!
I agree completely with your take on ratchets. I will take a smooth 72/90 tooth with very low back drag over any of these high count ratchets. My older Snap On ratchets are like butter with a really light back drag, probably inpart to many years of use also.
In contrast i have a 1987 or 88 Mac 24" 1/2dr beast that lets you know when you engage a new tooth. That ratchet has lived most of it's life with a 4' bar slid over it. It has had my entire weight (172 lbs) swinging on it more than once. She has only seen impact sockets since it left the truck.
Masya Allah..
Very Impresif Craftman
MAX RBRT
Capri Tools 😀😀
Ive got a couple wrench sets and small 3/8 drive socket sets made by Stanley imma say late 80s... Its all the chromium vanadium stuff, on par with era correct box store stuff. I will say that the smooth polished fjnish and deep cut size And lettering has stood up better than the any Craftsman, duralast, or n e thing else.. only a couple years later is when Stanley completely dropped quality weight and finish suffered, it was the last quality tools Stanley made in my opinion they still make a decent tape😊
I find having some inexpensive (e.g. Harbor Freight) are great tools to have on the motorcycle or car - if they vaporize I won't cry like I would if my Snap-On's went missing. :^) There is a place for budget tools.
Ive been mainly getting carlyle stuff from napa over the last few years, some gearwrench and tekton also. Never had an issue with those 3 companies so far and couldnt be happier as a hobbiest that does a fair amount of side work and fabrication with them
Diesel mechanic here and I can say the Carlyle line of tools doesn’t get the love they deserve. Great quality of tools
For fun, last week, I walked through Lowes and spotted the 180 position 1/4" ratchet and bought the thing. I gotta say, I like it. I think it was 30 bucks or so. Seems very smooth and back drag is minimal. It is definitely 180 position. took it apart and oiled it and it stayed smooth.
I wonder if the metal is any better on the MAC/USAG items?
I would suspect so. At least from what i could see the teeth looked very similiar, but not the same. I suspect Stanley Black and Decker is using similiar dies on normal craftsman wrenches
💯 agree on ratchet tooth count. Ive got a set of 72t Carlyle ratchets that are smoother than a 90t ratchet (not sure of brand).
What better alternatives do you recommend around the same price point?
I feel scammed after buying the rbrt wrenches. Still one of the best wrenches I own.
For the life of me I don't understand why someone doesn't make a repro of the little MAC flex head ratchet wrenches with closed end and handle. Buddy has some and they are so nice...
Usag makes them for mac
@@Oofsmageroowhat are they called?
to ALL tool makers:
If you wanna impress me, make a tool kit that includes about a dozen extra 10mm pieces in it. Oh, and still make it easy to order replacements (maybe a monthly subscription???)
I've seen Harbor freight advertise a 10mm essential set. Buy a bunch of those for the kids on Halloween.
😅 Yea, several manufacturers make the 10mm 'essentials' set, like 7 - 8 pieces. VIM tools, Harbor freight, etc. 👍👌🛠️🔧🔩⛓️📏🗜️⚠️🚧💪😄
I always liked Craftsman. They do get gimmicky that puts me off trying to reinvent the wheel. Their core tools are pretty solid. I think Stanley Black and Decker is doing a good job with them. They were starting to slide under Sears stewardship.
I’m tempted to buy the wrenches and sockets and put them to the test over a few months.
This is where Mac will stop getting my money now I stopped buying snap on cause their prices are ridiculous
So what kit that has the same or around the same price would you recommend
I just got this video and im a subscriber to the channel and i looked im a couple weeks behind on you're video's RUclips sucks lately. Thank you great video's as always
Thanks for watching!
Haven't been a super fan of Craftsman wrenches since the quit making them in the U.S.A. They're ok for most homeowner projects but not what they used to be.
Every comment section always has the Snap On, Matco, Cornwell and MAC bashers but mostly Snap On. What these people do not under stand when you buy sockets and wrenches you only have to invest once when you purchase quality tools from Snap On or Matco, you buy once you cry once. These people buying all these cheap tools end up replacing them over and over with the next new cheap tool that the Harbor Freight crowd thinks is the new in tool brand. So these people end up buying over and over and cry over and over. I have a complete set of Snap On tools (90%) with the a few MAC, Matco and Cornwell and some specialty tools from AST, OTC and the like (10%) All paid for. It is not hard to do.
Wondering if the metal used between the wrenches is the same, as well as the forging. Nothing worse than a cheap wrench breaking in your hand under pressure.
Basically all the foreign made wrench's are chrome vanadium, which is crap. Mac has been going balls deep on the RBRT wrench's, was wondering how long it would take for people to start to wake up to the fact that they are a seventy dollar set of wrench's with very limited use.
You brought forward a valid point that to many ignore, they think steal is steal and they could not be more wrong.
The one story I heard years ago that I thought was plausible is that a drop forge tool die has a defined life cycle. The prime of this life cycle is sold under the top brand name, the tail end is sold under the lesser brand name then discarded when reaching the end of the life cycle.
Hey brother. What comes to mind when you say that there are better ratchets than the craftsman with similar price points?
They are no longer Craftsman, they are now known as Crapsman
Man it's a tool this isn't highschool you don't have to have the name brand unless you dunb
Will they make a RBRT flare nut wrench ?
Would it compare against Snap On flare nut wrench ? The best?
They've been doing these in the crescent black wrenches for a few years now for under 50$
This whole time I thought Mexicans were the only ones that used the phrase "more better"
From only buying craftsman tools when I was a young man, to walking away from the brand completely... There's little craftsman can do to get me back.
Are there instruments like "jonnesway", "king tony" , sales in usa? This is rother good instruments for hard using. They not so beautiful like "snap on" but costs not a lot of money in my country for example
Crapsman line aka apex now Stanley. Im still butt hurt about how all this went down. Same with SK.. I'll stick with williams,wright,snapon im a firm believer in get what you pay for and what you put back into America and keeping people working. Yes some of them are good to throw in the truck box for emergencies. If they get stolen or rust oh we'll
I will say the rbrt wrenches are fuckin tits
Good info as I’m looking for tool organizer solution($) and like the pre-organized (PO) Craftsman wrench set. Also, really like the PO wrench and socket set as I’m wondering what a basic lightweight road kit 🛻 might look like, er, I was wondering until I saw this presentation.
I can’t wait to try the ratchet
Craftsman is homeowner grade? I get excited when I get to use craftsman instead of hyper tough when I'm working on cars :)
Learned a new word @ 2:16, "remissent."
Where would a TPMS module be in a 09 legacy. I have searched all over the web for a location but have only found vague diagrams no real information
I always like Snap on and Gearwrench ratchets
The box end on those wrenches are huge. Probably to compensate for lackluster material science in the metalurgy department .I've been in countless situations where the only wrench I could use to bust a nut was my mac with a super skinny sidewall. ex would be driveline bolts. or flywheel bolts
Mr. Subaru, I got a set of the Craftsman overdrive wrenches in the mail yesterday. An I have been trying them out. The open end is not as good as Milwaukee max bite or the WrightGrip 1.0 that I have. The Craftsman teeth are not as sharp as the other wrenches. But the box end has a very good fit to the fastener and seems to work as it should.
@MrSubaru1387 ... Well, too many of my so-called Craftsman tools are junk now. So, no, "more than likely", I will not be swayed. BTW, pretty much all companies/corporations that were supposed to bring manufacturing back to the US did not. More left, again! Even the iconic Harley brand sent some manufacturing overseas, probably more by now. Everything is from all over the world. Heh heh! Anytime someone wants/needs something, they have to research by their allowed price/quality and go from there. For instance, "new from Craftsman" means nothing to me.
Would you take this over the Milwaukee max bite wrench?
A note about Lowes "Lifetime Warranty" on Craftsman tools - I've been told at Lowes that you must return the entire complete set to get the warranty even if only one tool breaks. Sucks.
I went last week....Replaced a broken 3/8" ratchet.... 10 mins. In and out . No hassle or problem.
@stevecoburn7766 If the exact same item is available as an individual item, they will probably replace it. If it is part of a set, they wouldn't, in my experience.. I have, twice, taken cracked sockets in and they said they were part of a set and I had to bring the complete set in.
Basically, if they couldn't find the exact same item sold as a single item, I couldn't exchange it. One was a socket with the big numbers on it and they wouldn't replace it with the same size socket with normal markings. To me, I didn't care much as long as it it was a deep 17mm 12 point socket, which they had in the drawers. Nope. In fact, I checked and the sockets in a set are slightly different, marking-wise, than the ones sold individually. Seems silly to me, and your mileage may vary.
This happened in two different stores so it seems to be a Lowes policy.
@@TheGhungFu Sorry to hear...
Plenty of videos showing otherwise.
I have some DeWalt sockets and a 1/4-inch Stanley ratchet that's from a $50 homeowner kit, and a DeWalt 1/2-inch ratchet. The DeWalt is okay, lots of drag on it like you said, and the Stanley is okay. I have a Pittsburgh Pro 3/8-inch that I like a lot better than the two cheap Stanley B&D ratchets I have. I'm a homeowner and I only need my tools 4X or 5X a year maybe a little bit more, so it doesn't bother me all that much, but SBD doesn't make great cheap ratchets.
The DeWalt 1/2-inch I have came in a $50 kit I bought for $40 on sale, and that's probably why the DeWalt isn't a great ratchet. I paid $12 or $13 for my Pittsburgh Pro normally I think $20 and it's hell of a lot better than the cheap DeWalt 1/2-inch I have.
What is the same as Mac rbrt torx sockets
so the Facom not made in France anymore? I used to have a few set from France and italian made usag
Some Facom tools are still French and Italian made, but some are also Tiawanese made.
Cant get individual ones sadly, hearing the speed wrenches X6's by Cresent you can and get a 7/16 to cover the 11 they miss, that euro cars use a lot on brakes
Thank you very much
Mr Subaru, Which do you think works better the Ko-Ken surface drive 3/8 dr socket set or the Craftsman overdrive 3/8 dr socket set ?
@MrSubaru1387
Since you have both, can you tell if the open end teeth are a bit duller on the craftsman?
On video the ridges don't look as pronounced, I just received the SAE set from Ace, in person they dont seem as deeply cut as the Mac appears in videos.
The chrome is different, so maybe that is it (?)
Home DIY, don't expect the full Mac force, but something in the ballpark, or maybe Icon/Milwaukee have better grip than Overdrive?
(Box end, to me, looks identical on video, in person seems like maybe deeper cuts than open end)
Mr. Subaru... you have a lot of tools... keep the expensive ones... can I have those Craftman tools?? 😂
Im a major collector and so far well in ny (nassau/Suffolk) there out a few months but just about evey store from ACE hardware to Lowes only had 2 to 4 pieces (sets) ever most of the problems were makeing people look for the stock on hand so bad i myself found most of what i was looking for myself equipped with just the store apps my cell phones camera zooming ability & patience but of the sae & metric wrench sets (11pcs) and what i believe is the largest set currently available they are on par with any better brand tools probably from milwaukee to snap on but my opinion & just my opinion there fourm & functions pass snap on (feature wise) but will see in the long run how they hold up but for all interested grab em if ya see em and cant see the prices going lower then they currently are right now.. only bad part of the larger overdrive set i feel is the 40+ screwdriver bits & the usual hand full of allen keys (basic filler) that i think are the same in the overdrive smaller sets plus around 10 to 20 sockets less...ok sorry for the long post but just wanted to pass my experience with em along...ok hope this helps any one interested
Have you seen the new Quinn master socket sets? Basically Tekton case layout but gearwrench slim head ratchet
The teeth on the open end wrenches are good but they like to get stuck on the fastener. And I would imagine it would be a bitch to get a nut out of them sockets with the teeth.
Question please Sir, I own an 2021 Impreza sport hatchback with 18" tires P225/40R18. I was wanting to get an more cushioned drive for my daily. Can I change the tire to P245/45R 18's "OR" change the wheels out totally for the base 16" and get taller more cushioned tires?
Hey I glad Stanley is trying something new with craftsmen was reading that there doing away with DeWalt hand tools and making craftsmen professional hand tools with last gen DeWalt power tools I hope so can't afford snap blue point Cornwell etc .... I would if I could tho but just a poor mechanic who barley get to eat I'm lucky to eat 1 small meal a day
have you ever looked at tekton tools? looking into getting some, wondered what you thought of them.
I personally use them at work, I have their wrenches, ratchets, and their master set of impact sockets in 3/8, 1/2 for both 6 point and 12 point. I love them for the price and their warranty is hard to beat, no questions ask or proof of purchase needed mail straight to your door. I've been using them for about a year now and absolutely no complaints.
My local Lowes sells the RBRT equivalent SAE and Metric Hex Keys standalone. Not sure if you're aware based on your statements in the video (you may have only been talking about the tool set, though).
Craftsman V-Series Xtract. Yup. Had them since launch. Not the same. Talked about them in my V-Series video.
@@MrSubaru1387 Thanks for the quick response. I stand corrected. 👍
Mr Subaru, got a question for you sir. Trying to find the cheaper price through the real manufacturer that makes the Matco Trim Clip Pliers PN: PPSAJ. Hope to hear back from you soon take care.
Mr Subaru, On the open end of the craftsman overdrive wrench. It looks like they are one way turning of the wrench, I.E. turn down toward the lower jaw. Is that correct ?
Those teeth are a scam. They make a nice bolt rounder but if you want grip you need maximum contact area. The tool should be as close as possible to the exact dimensions of the fastener.
They look similar - but not the same. Would love to see them tested!
Are the wrenches made in USA?
even the stuff made in usa for craftsman is just assembled here the parts are made in china or taiwan they tried a plant in texas but did a terrible job with it and stopped production of real usa made
Mac vs Craftsman in regard to design, they are similar, but certainly not the same. Word choice is important.
Hey Mr Subaru: Can I drive my Forester to you to get the cvt drained and filled?
Where are you located?
@@MrSubaru1387 thank you for responding. I’m in central Florida.
@@andyny29 yeah, I’m in upstate South Carolina. Seems silly for a simple CVT service to travel that far.
@@MrSubaru1387 ok thanks. Yeah, you’re probably right.
I like the 6 point ones I will get 2 or 3 sets of them
i would like to know how the capri Wavedrive stand up against the overdrive craftsman/mac rbrt/usag. it’s a completely different design and i would love to see a video of them both trying to back off the same rounded bolts. Anyways Love the videos man a lot of my new tools come from watching your videos.
I like the v series stuff and I hear that Usa made ratchet was supposed to be real nice and minimal back drag. But the v series has some high backdrag.😢
I would like to see a comparison of these to the anti slip Icon wrenches of Harbor Freight.
First! Love the videos!
Will there be larger sizes?
6 point box end wrench. for those tight spots 😂
I'll probably get a wrench set to keep in my vehicle
I use Lucas gun oil in my guns and tools too. 😂
Lucas or super lube I use both great stuff