Duralast tools supplier change?

[Brownsfan]

I was at AutoZone today and noticed pretty much all the tools are now Gearwrench tool clones. All the nicer ratchets they had are now gone. Did anyone catch a clearance call on the old stuff? Also gone is the red and blue paint stripes on the sockets. They new has the knurling on the metric and smooth on standard. The combo wrenches have the "surface drive" anti slip on the open end. Screwdrivers and pliers all look like gear wrench too.

 

[mikebaker1129]

No ,I did not notice that .
Thanks for the heads up !

 

[Al Borland]

Went to AutoZone today, Like the O.P. said, supplier change.
All the loose stock got changed over, but still a few socket sets left of the old stuff (Not Clearanced either).
Only bad part is, the new loose stock and new sets are all 12 point sockets. BOO!
The old loose stock 1/2" drive were all 6 point.
If they had sold sets of the 1/2" drive, I would have bought them, but they were only available loose.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Was the old supplier OEM Tools?

Wonder why the change?

 

[Al Borland]

No, I don't think the old ones were OEM. Taiwan made and fairly decent.
New ones look like probably APEX products.
They had some Double Box End stes that looked worthwhile.

 

[Gmonkee]

Allied Taiwan made some of the AZ tools in PowerBuilt and Duraleast. The sockets and accessory stuff was quite good. The wrenches I looked at were a bit worrisome in price considering my experiences using them. But since all that is gone

The box sets had different stuff than the loose as long as I can remember. Usually cheaper made stuff.

 

[d.mcfarland]

 

[cowboy73]

Great Neck was the old supplier for Duralast tools AFAIK.

 

[Brownsfan]

Kinda ***** because they were selling a 90t flex head that I had my eye on. I guess Apex needs to fill the Craftsman revenue void with all the stores closing. All the tools are pretty much Gearwrench/Husky. Not a bad thing but the previous Taiwan made stuff was better IMHO. They did have what looked like a 120xp clone but 100 position rather than 120. Just like Husky.

 

[rickhigginshtbr]

Great Neck Saw makes the OEM and Duralast tools. Believe whoever GNS is buying from changed. On the commercial side, the big quarterly tool catalog is mostly GNS, and when you call the 800 number on it, youre talking to GNS. The change over happened a year ago or so, and honestly I'm impressed with the quality and prices. Ask a store for a tool catalog, there's a ton in there not on the shelves.

 

[Al Borland]

Our local stores had Duralast, OEM, Great Neck and Titan.
Now? Who knows...

 

[Brownsfan]

They are still duralast on the shelf. Just now pretty much Gearwrench clones.

 

[wolf_from_wv]

The new stuff here is made in China. I wish I had gotten the 1/2" 6 point sockets before they switched to 12 point.

 

[Jtels85]

I had to drop by AZ yesterday evening while my wife was getting her nails done. I picked up a nice Duralast 6 Pc. diamond tip screwdriver set for $15. The shanks look identical to the Craftsman Extreme grip screwdrivers. Apex Tool Group? Must be.

So is it safe to assume that the new Duralast tools are in fact Gearwrench clones? Say... the torx and hex sockets are Gearwrench clones now just like the Pre-Carlyle NAPA tools were Gearwrench clones?

I couldn’t tell, but if that’s the case... I might pick up a few Duralast items.

 

[PR1Gneon]

Is this the new model? I had not seen the new models on my local store and the part number isn't on the AZ site.

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