This Socket Set Brand Is Widely Considered The Best (And Has A Fanatical Following)

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Many of those who've used Snap-on tools in the past would likely understand why the company is ranked #1 in SlashGear's list of the best socket set brands. The quality of its products — especially hand tools and accessories for mechanics — is hard to deny, and it's a big reason the brand has such a huge following. It's a top player in the tool market, alongside other major names like Stanley Black & Decker, Makita, and Techtronic Industries, the China-based corporation that owns Milwaukee, Ryobi, and Hoover. 

Of course, Snap-on doesn't just offer a single socket set. In general, its catalog of different tools and accessories is mostly well-liked across the board. The company, which is headquartered in Wisconsin, manufactures its products around the globe, including in the U.S. Its products include standard sockets for many automotive applications, as well as those for industrial applications and more niche uses.

You can find hex bit and Torx sockets from Snap-on, as well as low-profile sockets, flank drive deep sockets, swivel impact sockets, oxygen sensor sockets, filter sockets, tap sockets, truck brake caliper sockets, double hex sockets, and much more. Professionals and more casual users can also buy socket sets, such as Snap-on's 87-piece Combination Drive Torx and Hex Bit Socket Set and 40-piece ¼-inch-drive Stubby Bit Socket Set. So what is it specifically about Snap-on's sockets and related products that users like so much?

One of the primary things that draws users to Snap-on is the excellent build quality of its tools. As one user explains in an online BMW Motorcycle Owners of America forum, "Snap-on is worth it if you use them daily to earn a living. They will stand up to use and abuse that many brands will fail under." It's cheaper to buy a pricier high-quality set than a cheaper set you'd need to replace relatively quickly, and better tools lead to fewer stripped sockets. In the same discussion, another user notes that the quality of Snap-on's tools also helps promote safety. "Not having a ratchet slip and smash your hand," they write, "or a socket break and cause you to throw out your back is priceless." 

The quality of the tools, which includes their tolerances and the materials used in their construction, isn't the only thing that Snap-on fans appreciate. On r/Tools, one owner also notes that Snap-on offers "one of the best warranties around," as well as "a salesman who knows your name and comes to you, the ability to finance (which can be a positive if you're a professional), resale value, good ergonomics, a good availability of specialty/hard to find tools." Expert and professional reviewers also have plenty of positives to say about Snap-on. YouTuber Ez Tech Joe notes that "not all tools are created equal" and that "it just is what it is ... Snap-on tools are just one of the best." Still, even they note that the brand isn't perfect and has its drawbacks.

By a wide margin, the most common critique you'll find concerning Snap-on tools, including its socket sets, doesn't have anything to do with its quality or functionality. Instead, the issue for most naysayers — as well as fans of the brand — is the high price tags attached to most of its products. Even basic accessories like a socket are usually more expensive than the same product from other companies, but Snap-on has also sold sets that cost more than the cars they'd be used to work on, such as one now-discontinued 14-piece socket set priced at $28,665.

In the same review that Ez Tech Joe sings the praises of Snap-on, the YouTuber also concedes that the brand is "extremely overpriced" and that he "can't justify it to anyone." Both Snap-On fans and haters often say that casual users who don't work with the tools every day can get away with using cheaper brands. One Redditor explains, "I'm not gonna pay $1,000 for an impact drill when I can get a Milwaukee that does the same thing for $400."