No comment on brands except to say, in my experience, both in road side repairs, or u-pull-it places, stuff is just as stuck and difficult to access in the field as it is in my garage. So I may be one of the a-holes
@Hakeem is thinking about. Inevitably, I end up wishing I had better tools, to the point where I now have multiple sets of snap on tools.
My level of insanity has resulted in having mini snap on screwdrivers and a SO ratcheting screwdriver and a couple KNIPEX pliers in my kitchen junk drawer! But when I need a tool, I want a good one.
To Phil’s point, my solution exceeds the true requirement. You can, I can, get by with less. Exactly how much less is the question you should be asking. But my advice is to think quantity, not quality (not advocating for snap on in your junk yard toolbox).
For example: I have torque wrenches in my automotive kits. I don’t need a torque wrench in my breakdown kit. I also don’t bother with 1/4” drive. I have an ancient craftsman 3/8” flex stubby I use with smaller sockets. Actually, a lot of my tools are what they are because of time, convenience, etc. So I have cheap multi-tip screwdrivers, one Phillips and straight, one Torx. For no good reason, I have a set of Taiwan ratcheting wrenches I bought in the Uk at a big box store. I don’t trust them, but I use wrenches pretty infrequently road side and they have never let me down.
My advice is to focus more on reducing the sheer number of tools you carry and less on their cost. If saving money is the goal, buy fewer and buy better quality.
Ask us what we have found to be helpful/not helpful. For example, I use my deep sockets not often on cars (Metric) More often on heavy equipment (SAE). For the few times you need a deep socket, maybe a battery removal, would cheap ratchet wrenches work? They do for me.
I can’t seem to get thru a single job without using/needing my plastic prybars. I find the Navy blue Bojo a bit more useful than the yellow HF, which are pretty soft.
