Icon tools are coming spring/summer 2019

[Nineeightyone]

I typed almost a month ago that the flex head Icon ratchets were junk.

"NOW, the flex heads are a different story. These were obviously a different plant and the quality is not good. I do not think they are worth near the price HF is asking."

Apparently the pawl wedge angle is too extreme and it gets wedged between the body and gear after force is applied, rendering the ratchet in a locked up state. NO amount of lube or grease will solve that basic engineering screwup.


Additionally, I don't see myself buying any other Icon tools unless some significant saving coupons are issued. It seems for each new shill video on YT the price goes up another 5%.

So this is exclusive to the flex head ratchets? Good to know, I was not aware that it was a design issue (and thought it was just the lack of lubrication).

That's a shame, they seemed like decent ratchets at the price point -- granted they're not Tekton or Pittsburgh Pro levels of price/quality ratio, but nonetheless, another option. We'll see once they inevitably redesign and re-release.

 

[Mikeske]

I noticed this with the 3/8” flex head ratchets displays that my local store had. I have HAD NO ISSUES WITH THE 1/2” or 3/8” flexhead ratchets that I picked up. Seems the issue of locking up only affects the 3/8” chrome and comfort grip flex heads.

 

[Mr_B]

Yeah the ratchet range is poor effort no exceptions .
Way better options taiwan made for less retail price .

 

[Fedwrench]

So does anyone have the actual procedure for the ICON 3/8 flex head ratchet recall? Do we just bebop over to Harbor Freight and get a refund? I wonder how long it will take to identify and correct the issue? Mine work ok but, i haven't tried to remove lug nuts them

 

[kythri]

Any confirmation that this is legit? There's the report in the HF subreddit, but no proof to back it up (say, a screenshot of the email), and everyone else's panic around it seems to trace back to that subreddit claim.

 

[bobcatdan]

I was not impressed with the ratchet mechanism on any of the display ratchets. It varied ratchet to ratchet what they were like. The 1/2" seemed loose and clunky. The 3/8" really chatters. The 1/4" felt the nicest, but the backdrag was ridiculous that I could see throwing the ratchet across the shop if trying to use it. Overall I see it being a real crapshoot what you are going to get once you open the package up. Now to be fair, I thought the wrenches were pretty nice and I do believe if I was in the market, I'd buy the ratcheting wrenches over GW.

 

[Parrothead]

Any confirmation that this is legit? There's the report in the HF subreddit, but no proof to back it up (say, a screenshot of the email), and everyone else's panic around it seems to trace back to that subreddit claim.

Most likely true. Redemption Garage posted a video about it, and since Harbor Freight sent him a free Icon tool box, it seems accurate.

 

[Mikeske]

The 3/8" flex head ratchets are not on the icon web site. Kind of sort of says there is a issue and they pulled the items from the web site.

 

[65k10]

Any confirmation that this is legit? There's the report in the HF subreddit, but no proof to back it up (say, a screenshot of the email), and everyone else's panic around it seems to trace back to that subreddit claim.

I noticed Harbor Freight does not have any Icon branded 3/8 flex head ratchets on their website while they still list 1/4 and 1/2 Icon flex heads. The trouble is I cannot really recall if 3/8 flex heads were listed in the first place.

 

[Parrothead]

ICON Ratchets are recalled - officially

Any confirmation that this is legit? There's the report in the HF subreddit, but no proof to back it up (say, a screenshot of the email), and everyone else's panic around it seems to trace back to that subreddit claim.

The 3/8" flex head ratchets are not on the icon web site. Kind of sort of says there is a issue and they pulled the items from the web site.

I noticed Harbor Freight does not have any Icon branded 3/8 flex head ratchets on their website while they still list 1/4 and 1/2 Icon flex heads. The trouble is I cannot really recall if 3/8 flex heads were listed in the first place.

 

[NSXRguy]

I noticed Harbor Freight does not have any Icon branded 3/8 flex head ratchets on their website while they still list 1/4 and 1/2 Icon flex heads. The trouble is I cannot really recall if 3/8 flex heads were listed in the first place.

The reddit post had 4x 3/8 ratchets, and they were all flex head

 

[ChrisLS8]

At least they saw the issue and are correcting it. Some companies have left their customers high and dry

 

[NSXRguy]

At least they saw the issue and are correcting it. Some companies have left their customers high and dry

According to redemption garage video

Go to HF and

Get a refund, OR

exchange your icon 3/8 flexhead for any other ratchet AND hf will mail you a voucher for the new 3/8 flexhead for free

Harborfreight is owning the problem and offering solutions to their customers

That says a lot about their service

 

[Fedwrench]

I got an email tonight from Harbor Freight that explains things pretty well.
I think it's great that Harbor Freight is taking charge of the problem and attempting to make thing right which is more than some companies would do. It also tells me that they're behind the ICON line.

the letter file is too large to include as an attachment but, NSXR Guy summed it up nicely.

 

[Mikeske]

This is a copy and paste of the email I received.


Dear ICON Customer,

I want to thank you for purchasing one of our new ICON 3/8" flex head ratchets. We've recently identified a quality issue that could affect your ratchet. When torquing a nut in the flexed position, your ratchet may lock up. The issue doesn’t present a safety concern, but our ICON tools have been designed to perform at a true professional level and these 3/8" flex head ratchets fall short. All of our other ICON ratchets are performing as designed.

We're correcting this problem immediately. In the meantime, we want to ensure that you have the best experience with your ICON tools. Please bring your 3/8" flex head ratchet (SKUs 64697, 64699, 64700 and 64701) back to any Harbor Freight store and either exchange it for any other ICON ratchet or we'll give you a full refund. IN ADDITION, we'll e-mail you a voucher when the replacement 3/8" flex head ratchets are in stock so you can come in and pick up the replacement FREE OF CHARGE.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call an ICON customer service representative at (800) 279-0727, seven days a week 6am – 6pm PT.

ICON is committed to delivering the highest quality and the best value in professional tools and storage. When we make a mistake, we'll own it and we'll always stand behind our products. We appreciate your business, and apologize for this inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Eric Smidt
Founder and President

 

[Spacey_G]

So you get your ratchet replaced now with any other model AND you get a new 3/8 flex head when the replacements come out? Hard to argue with that...

 

[kythri]

ICON Ratchets are recalled - officially

Thanks!

Seems like they're going above and beyond in taking care of the issue - exchange or refund now, and a voucher for a free one when they're back in stock.

 

[General Geoff]

Gotta admit, this is one of the best ways to handle a recall for a new defective product that I've seen from a big company. Good job HF.

 

[CafeTools]

Harbor Freight... The snap on killer... Coming soon

 

[techieman33]

Gotta admit, this is one of the best ways to handle a recall for a new defective product that I've seen from a big company. Good job HF.

They almost had to. They've spent a lot of money promoting this line of tools, especially in the social media area. They have everyone talking about them. Having a dud right out of the gate would do some serious damage to that image they're trying to hard to build. HF knows first hand how hard it is to build up that reputation. Look at how many of us instantly take a **** on anything they sell without even looking at it. Just basing it on past experiences. It's easy to take a little bit of a hit when you have a long established rep for producing quality. Just look at Craftsman, they coasted for nearly a couple decades on their reputation. But it'll be really hard to get to that point if you start off with junk product.

 

[Skin]

Gotta admit, this is one of the best ways to handle a recall for a new defective product that I've seen from a big company. Good job HF.

Well, maybe im alone but I think its terrible that a bunch of nearly new ratchets are probably going to the scrapper when the resolution will most likely be in the form of a change in the internals. Going to be a lot of perfectly good ratchet bodies in the junk pile.

 

[General Geoff]

Well, maybe im alone but I think its terrible that a bunch of nearly new ratchets are probably going to the scrapper when the resolution will most likely be in the form of a change in the internals. Going to be a lot of perfectly good ratchet bodies in the junk pile.

Try contacting Corporate and ask what the disposition is of all the returned ratchets.

 

[Mikeske]

Well, maybe im alone but I think its terrible that a bunch of nearly new ratchets are probably going to the scrapper when the resolution will most likely be in the form of a change in the internals. Going to be a lot of perfectly good ratchet bodies in the junk pile.

I think that it is best to wait and see what happens, since the defective ratchets need to be taken off the market as they do not perform as designed. I can't really see the ones returned being rebuilt as that can get cost prohibitive, as likely they would all have to be returned to Taiwan, disassembled and new internals installed after the factory restarts making new reengineered ratchets. For a $50.00 a piece price and the shipping for all the defective ones it just makes no sense. The most likely thing is the defective ratchets destroyed and sent to scrap.

 

[Mr_B]

I would say even other drive sizes suspect on base design .
The single pawl design is known for potential jamming or forceful selector operation and that why snapon came up with idea of 2 pawls partially joined via spring as upgrade to that design .
The whole head design from size of toothed gear, screws, selector & no lube or included instructions on lubing stinks of no real technical engineering knowledge/effort or in field testing .
Sad thing is way way better generic ratchets from taiwan are available already via few known brands and for less money.
The ICON ratchets **** with or without the recall .
Least the cleaning towel up to par lol .

Only plus is consumer getting sorted not shafted .
Perfect start for ICON lol ....
I think every snapon dealer pissed themselves this morning lol

 

[Mr_B]

They almost had to. They've spent a lot of money promoting this line of tools, especially in the social media area. They have everyone talking about them. Having a dud right out of the gate would do some serious damage to that image they're trying to hard to build. HF knows first hand how hard it is to build up that reputation. Look at how many of us instantly take a **** on anything they sell without even looking at it. Just basing it on past experiences. It's easy to take a little bit of a hit when you have a long established rep for producing quality. Just look at Craftsman, they coasted for nearly a couple decades on their reputation. But it'll be really hard to get to that point if you start off with junk product.

Yeh this is classic issue with HF, not enough product design/testing and they really need hire some decent product design and testing talent .
Doubt any of these tools had much testing, they needed field testing in pro environments via groups of testers for minimum of 6 months .
As usual HF team more concerned over packaging and the cleaning cloth so actual tool got overlooked and potential of doing something proper/clever completely missed .

Also worries me see 4 SKU on that one ratchet, for sure perhaps 2 SKU could be same oem but different plant but 4 suggests likely 3 plus factories making them so quality and materials likely differ from 1 SKU to another .

Quite sad they made poor choices and effort on ratchet as so easy get half decent off the shelf via taiwan and if get fussy importing own alloy stock and had proper design/testing they can make even better if wanted .

Astro is example of a company making most of taiwan if put some control on materials and design/testing, even tekton seems made some good steps forward .
HF still too sloppy and needs employee or stratagy change as current trend of wanky marketing and missing easy opportunity on tool range development is not needed .

 

[Mr_B]

I think that it is best to wait and see what happens, since the defective ratchets need to be taken off the market as they do not perform as designed. I can't really see the ones returned being rebuilt as that can get cost prohibitive, as likely they would all have to be returned to Taiwan, disassembled and new internals installed after the factory restarts making new reengineered ratchets. For a $50.00 a piece price and the shipping for all the defective ones it just makes no sense. The most likely thing is the defective ratchets destroyed and sent to scrap.

At factory outlet doubt the ratchet worth 8 bucks

 

[zendriver]

Unless I'm missing something, isn't it known that Harbor freight doesn't really "design" anything, other than maybe plastic housings, logos and packaging?

Isn't most of not all of their items designed and manufactured by other companies, which some of it is sold to other vendors to market it under different "brand names" just like harbor freight does.

Hard to believe foreign manufacturers are not pushing the "icon" goodness elsewhere around the planet, only under different names


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Parrothead]

...Also worries me see 4 SKU on that one ratchet, for sure perhaps 2 SKU could be same oem but different plant but 4 suggests likely 3 plus factories making them so quality and materials likely differ from 1 SKU to another.

My understanding is there are 4 ratchets being recalled all under the umbrella of 3/8 flex head. Comfort grip long, comfort grip standard, chrome handle long and chrome handle standard. That’s the 4 sku’s.

And yes, Harbor Freight has many item numbers for similar products (see Bauer da polisher) where the difference between where it was made is very obvious.

 

[Mr_B]

My understanding is there are 4 ratchets being recalled all under the umbrella of 3/8 flex head. Comfort grip long, comfort grip standard, chrome handle long and chrome handle standard. That’s the 4 sku’s.

And yes, Harbor Freight has many item numbers for similar products (see Bauer da polisher) where the difference between where it was made is very obvious.

Good point, will be just various handle models all using same head .

 

[Mr_B]

Unless I'm missing something, isn't it known that Harbor freight doesn't really "design" anything, other than maybe plastic housings, logos and packaging?

Isn't most of not all of their items designed and manufactured by other companies, which some of it is sold to other vendors to market it under different "brand names" just like harbor freight does.

Hard to believe foreign manufacturers are not pushing the "icon" goodness elsewhere around the planet, only under different names


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

They made some design effort on these, in terms of getting selector more like snapon and part number stamped down by handle running around collar .
I would imagine head internals, pivot and grips had little thought design input or testing from HF and 80% HF effort is packaging and marketing and why they never excel as so easily could.

Biggest point is Taiwan does pretty reliable 90tooth ratchets so how come HF got a shabby one for there snapon killer ICON professional tool ratchet !

 

[Parrothead]

They made some design effort on these, in terms of getting selector more like snapon and part number stamped down by handle running around collar .
I would imagine head internals, pivot and grips had little thought design input or testing from HF and 80% HF effort is packaging and marketing and why they never excel as so easily could.

Biggest point is Taiwan does pretty reliable 90tooth ratchets so how come HF got a shabby one for there snapon killer ICON professional tool ratchet !

My guess is Harbor Freight wanted something similar to, but not an exact copy of many of the common Taiwanese ratchets. They didn’t want an exact internal copy because they knew every YouTuber was going to tear them apart and say “it’s the same as” Kobalt/Craftsman/Husky, even if they’re good ratchets. Can’t claim you’re gunning for Snap-on that way.

As an example, the old Kobalt 72t ratchets share the same internals as the 72t composite ratchets, and yes I’ve swapped them back and forth for fun. Now that the 3/8 composites are $5 after coupon, I bought an extra as a spare “rebuild kit” lol.

Point is, they needed something just different enough, but failed on the execution.

 

[sk farmer]

I would say even other drive sizes suspect on base design .
The single pawl design is known for potential jamming or forceful selector operation and that why snapon came up with idea of 2 pawls partially joined via spring as upgrade to that design .
The whole head design from size of toothed gear, screws, selector & no lube or included instructions on lubing stinks of no real technical engineering knowledge/effort or in field testing .
Sad thing is way way better generic ratchets from taiwan are available already via few known brands and for less money.
The ICON ratchets **** with or without the recall .
Least the cleaning towel up to par lol .

Only plus is consumer getting sorted not shafted .
Perfect start for ICON lol ....
I think every snapon dealer pissed themselves this morning lol

did they really?

seems to me a bunch of dual 80's **** the bed when they first came out as well.

snap-on fixed the problem but did they give you a free ratchet of your choice to compensate you for your troubles? maybe they should be concerned that their customers may expect that same level of service for tools that cost 3-5 times as much and had similar issues.

 

[CafeTools]

My understanding is there are 4 ratchets being recalled all under the umbrella of 3/8 flex head. Comfort grip long, comfort grip standard, chrome handle long and chrome handle standard. That’s the 4 sku’s.

And yes, Harbor Freight has many item numbers for similar products (see Bauer da polisher) where the difference between where it was made is very obvious.

Is the chrome 3/8 stubby getting recalled too?

 

[DSLTRK]

Is the chrome 3/8 stubby getting recalled too?

I don't think so since the fixed head mechanism is different.

I've been using mine (comfort grip version) for a bit and it works well.

 

[Mr_John]

Interesting Feb 2019 review on ICON vs SnapOn torque wrenches. Btw, I consider the ICON vs SnapOn debate a bit like arguing the merits of buying a Hyundai Genesis over, maybe, a BMW 5 Series. The Genesis may be perform extremely well and may even perform better than the 5 in certain tests, however, it's still big money for a Hyundai. A BMW 5 Series at the end of the day, is still a BMW. I won't be buying any Snappys off of a tool truck, but if I can find somebody selling a new one on eBay at a big discount off a retail - then I may bite (and have bitten - 4 Snapon ratchets, and 1 Snapon Techangle torque wrench).

What is of concern is how these two perform at their designed task. To test them, Real Tool Reviews uses a fixture with a half-inch-drive connection connected to a calibrated meter with a digital readout. Each wrench is tested across its entire usable range in 50 foot-pound increments. The results show the more affordable ICON wrench was more accurate across the range for 50-250 foot-pounds of torque.

That could be luck though, right? Surely the more expensive tool will be able to repeat a specific torque specification more consistently. Testing showed the opposite. Both wrenches were within the appropriate margin of error (four percent for clockwise, six percent for counter-clockwise), but the ICON wrench defeated the Snap-On wrench with a narrower spread between the highest and lowest readings.

This is perhaps the most scientific torque wrench test we have seen yet.

 

[CafeTools]

As far as harbor freight failing on testing these icon ratchets thoroughly, they failed. But ita amazing that they are fixing it and making it right! This is worth 100x more than testing in my opinion! Its so good that they are doing this it almoat seems like this may be on purpose to generate conversation and news. It says a lot when a company stands by a product instead of ignoring it which they easily could have done.

Harbor freight really is taking a huge step forward with what seems like thier goal (bringing quality tools more accessible to shade tree mechanics). We have more choices than ever instead of spending big bucks on tool trucks. Lets face it, a huge part of why we spend big bucks on tools is because of how pretty they are. We/ I dont care much for how reliable or tested they are because lets face it, hand tools are %99 the same function wise. And most are backed by a lifetime warranty so if when it does break, we get handed a brand new shiny one a few years down the road!

Icon may not be the best sure, but its a convienient option for small time people looking to satisfy that tool addiction.

Snap on vs Icon tools. $35 vs $155 hmmmm....

Snap on vs icon

 

[ptgarcia]

Interesting Feb 2019 review on ICON vs SnapOn torque wrenches. Btw, I consider the ICON vs SnapOn debate a bit like arguing the merits of buying a Hyundai Genesis over, maybe, a BMW 5 Series. The Genesis may be perform extremely well and may even perform better than the 5 in certain tests, however, it's still big money for a Hyundai. A BMW 5 Series at the end of the day, is still a BMW. I won't be buying any Snappys off of a tool truck, but if I can find somebody selling a new one on eBay at a big discount off a retail - then I may bite (and have bitten - 4 Snapon ratchets, and 1 Snapon Techangle torque wrench).

And that's unfortunate because the Genesis is probably a better car. Ever look at used BMW values? A used Honda Civic is more valuable than a used BMW.

 

[mfewtrail]

Apparently there's a voluntary (as in, initiated by HF) recall on the Icon ratchets already, it seems as though they're getting stuck? I haven't seen any details about it, but I wonder if it's an issue related to them being shipped dry.

That has nothing to do with being shipped dry. Tons of ratchets are not lubed and operate just fine for a lifetime.

 

[WittHay]

Why is there a problem with these ratchets? First time somebody in Taiwan has ever made a 90 tooth ratchet. takes a bit to get things figured out. Canadian Tire and Tekton both have 90 tooth ratchets. No problems that I am aware off.

The trouble is Harbor Freight has enough buying power to order one off designs that are not rebrands, They are copys or clones made just for HF

Even if Canadian Tire has a problem with ratchets who cares. They are a diy store. HF has this marketing campaign to compete against Snap-on. They bring any criticism and bashing on them selfs.

A ratchet should come unboxed so a person can spin it before buying, come lubed and ready to go, no disassembly required. IF HF has problems shipping oily ratchets somebody at the HF store should take the ratchets apart and lube them before selling.

Rebuild kits shoul be avalable before the ratchets are. A lot of tool truck ratchets now have the screws opposite of what HF does. Not as nice looking but if there are problems with the threads easier to change the plate than the whole ratchet

All this is beside the point, cant let technical details get in the way of a good YouTube marketing effort

 

[Mr_John]

And that's unfortunate because the Genesis is probably a better car. Ever look at used BMW values? A used Honda Civic is more valuable than a used BMW.

Actually used Genesis prices are horrible. 3 Series BMW's tend to hold value quite well, actually. That's a bit outside of my main point, though... Toyota developed the Lexus brand to make it different than just owning a Toyota - it was an entire brand. Same goes for Acura and Infinity. That said, an ICON is still an HF tool, and will never be a Snapon, a Matco, or even a KTC/Nepros.

It is funny that HF uses Snapon for their price comparisons - maybe a Proto or an SK might be more of an apt comparison. Marketing purpose wise, why not compare yourself to the king at the highest price point. As a value shopper, though, again, an IC-ON will never be a Snap-On, and a Hyundai Genesis will never be a BMW 5 Series.