Icon tools are coming spring/summer 2019

[bubinga]

If you get any more trays I'd be happy to pay for shipping and put them to use.

Between Tekton/Carlyle and companies like Titan or power torque (all 90T stuff?) the ratchets are not really unique. It does seem like the ratcheting wrenches are currently however. I'm happy to pickup some of the these things and try them out, mostly for the trays tho. I dont think they will be any better or worse than any other Taiwanese made tool tho.



10-19mm long (they appear long) ratcheting wrench set

109 dollars, which was the most expensive thing he got.

The 14" 3/8 drive ratchet was 49.99 and was binding up out of the box

Not sure on the other prices, I just skimmed through the video.

Yes I do believe he said the ratcheting wrench set was long pattern.

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[kythri]

I will stick to tried and true fail to see a point of $8,000-$10,000 for a CHINESE tool box people are drooling over.

I am the same way grain of salt and nothing to write home about.

Would you please go threadcrap elsewhere?

 

[bubinga]

ICON Ratchets
1/4 Low Profile 90t 7" long $29.99
1/4" Swivel head 90 Tooth 6 5/8" long $32.99
1/4" Flex head 7" long $34.99
3/8" Low Profile 9 7/16" long $34.99
3/8" Flex head 10" long $39.99
3/8" Swivel Head 10 1/4" long $37.99
3/8" Flex Head 14" long $49.99
1/2" Flex head 12" long $49.99
1/2" Swivel head 13 1/4" long $42.99

ICON Wrenches
14 pc Metric Combination Wrench Set $99.99
10pc Metric Stubby Ratcheting Wrench Set $99.99
10pc Metric Ratcheting Wrench Set $109.99

ICON Sockets
1/4" Shallow Sockets $24.99
1/4" Deep Sockets $29.99
3/8" Shallow Sockets $34.99
3/8" Deep Sockets $39.99
1/2" Shallow Sockets $44.99
1/2" Deep Sockets $49.99

I wonder if they will be making semi deep sets?

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[Skin]

Seriously we here at garage journal could get someone in Taiwan, drum up a contract, pool our capital and be "SlyCon" n less than 6 months I imagine. Anyone in?

Make no mistake. You'd be starting a real company and would have a full time job trying to play importer. It's not quite as simple as mailing away for a cereal box prize.

 

[Wamsutta]

The ratcheting wrenches are quite a bit longer than the non-ratcheting wrenches; plus they have smooth open ends. Interesting.

 

[65k10]

ICON Ratchets
1/4 Low Profile 90t 7" long $29.99
1/4" Swivel head 90 Tooth 6 5/8" long $32.99
1/4" Flex head 7" long $34.99
3/8" Low Profile 9 7/16" long $34.99
3/8" Flex head 10" long $39.99
3/8" Swivel Head 10 1/4" long $37.99
3/8" Flex Head 14" long $49.99
1/2" Flex head 12" long $49.99
1/2" Swivel head 13 1/4" long $42.99

ICON Wrenches
14 pc Metric Combination Wrench Set $99.99
10pc Metric Stubby Ratcheting Wrench Set $99.99
10pc Metric Ratcheting Wrench Set $109.99

ICON Sockets
1/4" Shallow Sockets $24.99
1/4" Deep Sockets $29.99
3/8" Shallow Sockets $34.99
3/8" Deep Sockets $39.99
1/2" Shallow Sockets $44.99
1/2" Deep Sockets $49.99

Thank you for listing the prices. Glad to see the two items I was interested in, 1/2" chrome sockets and the combination wrench set, are priced ok provided the quality is good.

 

[Tallpilot]

I wonder if they will be making semi deep sets?

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Semi-deeps, long 1/4” ratchets, pinless welded swivels. They are avoiding niche products for now. Maybe they will eventually. Right now they really are not offering anything ground breaking. But the prices seem far better than I expected based on the breaker bar, torque wrenches and the tool boxes.

 

[Yarpo]

Make no mistake. You'd be starting a real company and would have a full time job trying to play importer. It's not quite as simple as mailing away for a cereal box prize.

Yeah, I've already got a full time job, so the prospects of a full time job...dont quite scare me. Obviously I was joking but these companies are not revolutionary and are a dime a dozen, in the tool business and elsewhere. I have a friend starting up an online business, all he'll be doing is buying from some Chinese store and reselling the products in America. I think the idea is cool tho, throw the name of my company on a tool and since I like tools, . Pay a dozen large youtubers and offer free products to a couple medium sized ones and ride off into the sunset, in short I'm not knocking HF or Tekton or anyone else by the way. I was mostly joking but I dont think it takes a rocket science degree to rebrand and import products either.

 

[kythri]

It's going to take a fair amount of money (i.e. larger minimum orders) to get a factory to slap your label on something they're making.

As an example, those composite ratchets that HF (and everyone else) sells, that folks seem to like?

We bandied about in a thread here several years ago, regarding getting DayGlo-green ratchets made.

I reached out to a handful of folks on Alibaba, and from the responses that were serious, got the following pricing:

1/4" ratchet - $3.69/each, minimum quantity 2016 - $7,439.04 FOB Taiwan
3/8" ratchet - $4.31/each, minimum quantity 2016 - $8,688.96, FOB Taiwan
1/2" ratchet - $5.52/each, minimum quantity 2016 - $11,128.32, FOB Taiwan

FOB Taiwan means that I have to pay freight from Taiwan to the destination port (and then, obviously, freight from that port to my location), so that's a not inconsiderable added expense.

None of that includes any kind of import permits, taxes/tariffs, etc - and that's just for some ratchets with green dye used, not any kind of tooling needed to screen a logo onto it.

If I had some lotto winnings burning a hole in my pocket, I might seriously consider getting into the self-branded import tools racket, but as a side gig? Not a chance.

 

[Sloper0204]

Also why would they choose THIS channel with only 4k subscribers for their hype roll out? He may not be the greatest vids but the tool bear guy seems to be HF's unofficial youtube channel and has 10 times as many subs. there are also TONS of bigger tool review youtubers that they could have done this with.

Tool bear is who I was referencing with the driving four hours to see the toolbox. 2.5 hours was referencing the live stream that I refused to watch after 2 minutes.

And here I am contributing more traffic tied to their tool hype by continuing to look for a video that is actually worth a ****.

 

[Brownsfan]

Does anyone know if the Icon line will have screwdrivers and pliers in it(besides the snap ring already in stores) ? Just curious if this is going to be a "full" line of hand tools

 

[Andres26tnt]

Does anyone know if the Icon line will have screwdrivers and pliers in it(besides the snap ring already in stores) ? Just curious if this is going to be a "full" line of hand tools

probably screwdrivers, pliers? nope they already invested in 3 different offerings.

 

[Yarpo]

It's going to take a fair amount of money (i.e. larger minimum orders) to get a factory to slap your label on something they're making.

As an example, those composite ratchets that HF (and everyone else) sells, that folks seem to like?

We bandied about in a thread here several years ago, regarding getting DayGlo-green ratchets made.

I reached out to a handful of folks on Alibaba, and from the responses that were serious, got the following pricing:

1/4" ratchet - $3.69/each, minimum quantity 2016 - $7,439.04 FOB Taiwan
3/8" ratchet - $4.31/each, minimum quantity 2016 - $8,688.96, FOB Taiwan
1/2" ratchet - $5.52/each, minimum quantity 2016 - $11,128.32, FOB Taiwan

FOB Taiwan means that I have to pay freight from Taiwan to the destination port (and then, obviously, freight from that port to my location), so that's a not inconsiderable added expense.

None of that includes any kind of import permits, taxes/tariffs, etc - and that's just for some ratchets with green dye used, not any kind of tooling needed to screen a logo onto it.

If I had some lotto winnings burning a hole in my pocket, I might seriously consider getting into the self-branded import tools racket, but as a side gig? Not a chance.

That's actually not that bad, I figured a minimum order would need be significantly larger. That's almost 2k of each ratchet. Obviously if you're a tool company and have investors or larger capital you would eventually be able to get your logos printed on them and so fourth. Thanks for the info, back to the thread topic as I don't wanna derail to much.

Here's to hoping they come out soon, I've got a few dollars to throw at this stuff and I want to buy the stubby ratcheting wrenches.

 

[Tallpilot]

probably screwdrivers, pliers? nope they already invested in 3 different offerings.

It’s good, better, best. Icon is best. Pittsburgh is good, Quinn is better. So anything Quinn that doesn’t already have a best (ie. Doyle, Bremen) might get an Icon ‘best’ version.

 

[Fedwrench]

Semi-deeps, long 1/4” ratchets, pinless welded swivels. They are avoiding niche products for now.

Or it could be that ICON feels other brands already have these items covered at bargain pricing. Astro just released their pinless 3/8 drive impact socket sets at well under a $100 a set. Powerbuilt Pro has some long 1/4 drive ratchets at bargain pricing if you shop around. I think it's pretty hard to beat the pricing on chrome semi deep sockets from gearwrench when they have the buy one get one special going on and if you're looking for 3/8 impact semi deeps, Sunex offers an 8-22 mm set that can be found pretty reasonably priced.
It could also be that this is just the tip of the ICON selection. Time will tell

 

[Skin]

If they have any brains at all they'll establish a couple of successful house brands and eliminate the fifty stupid sub-brands they create every time they refresh a tool type.

 

[Tallpilot]

Or it could be that ICON feels other brands already have these items covered at bargain pricing. Astro just released their pinless 3/8 drive impact socket sets at well under a $100 a set. Powerbuilt Pro has some long 1/4 drive ratchets at bargain pricing if you shop around. I think it's pretty hard to beat the pricing on chrome semi deep sockets from gearwrench when they have the buy one get one special going on and if you're looking for 3/8 impact semi deeps, Sunex offers an 8-22 mm set that can be found pretty reasonably priced.
It could also be that this is just the tip of the ICON selection. Time will tell

Very good points, Fed. Although I would point out when I say long 1/4” I mean 12” like a THLLF72 but with 90 teeth. Maybe all of these rebranders are worried about warranty but Snap-on charges almost $150. It seems like at (wild guess from above pricing but including transportation and customs duties) $20 per unit wholesale cost one could sell well below Snap-on and cover more than a few replacements without loosing money.

Like Yarpo, I’m in for the reversible stubbies though. They have Tekton and Gearwrench beat there.

 

[Tallpilot]

If they have any brains at all they'll establish a couple of successful house brands and eliminate the fifty stupid sub-brands they create every time they refresh a tool type.

Depends on the long term strategy doesn’t it? If the goal is to make the brand synonymous with quality and long term reliability they would follow that strategy. If the goal is baffle them with ******** then they will stick to the strategy of making up new names every few years and pretending it’s any different from the old stuff.

I honestly don’t know what the goal is. I do know from insiders that many P&G products are identical but sold at different price points under different trademarks because some consumers want the cheapest, others think only expensive can be good and the rest go for the middle ground. So why not cater to all three with the exact same ****?

 

[Yarpo]

Like Yarpo, I’m in for the reversible stubbies though. They have Tekton and Gearwrench beat there.

Yah I thought they looked like Blackhawks, but I think the selector might be different. Still excited about those and the long pattern ratcheting wrenches however

 

[Tonyuk]

I will stick to tried and true fail to see a point of $8,000-$10,000 for a CHINESE tool box people are drooling over.

I am the same way grain of salt and nothing to write home about.

The building you live in and likely paid around 100k and up for is made from foreign steel i'm willing to bet.

And you're moaning about a toolbox?

 

[measuredtwice]

The building you live in and likely paid around 100k and up for is made from foreign steel i'm willing to bet.

And you're moaning about a toolbox?

You don't always have a choice. You do have a choice when it comes to toolboxes. You can choose to be an American or an American't.

 

[kody1234]

how many tool stores do you own?

 

[Nineeightyone]

You don't always have a choice. You do have a choice when it comes to toolboxes. You can choose to be an American or an American't.

Is there really that much choice though? In my area, I had a hell of a time finding a decent-sized toolbox for my budget. I wound up with a Husky 52" for $400.

Most of my tools are a similar story, I needed something to do a job and couldn't swing high-dollar -- there's no shame in that. Just like you I'm sure, I'm a working man with bills, and had to do a job within financial constraints.

I don't think every Icon offering is going to be a game changer, but more offerings in general is good. The magic of supply and demand will likely shape the catalogue to come.

 

[Tonyuk]

You don't always have a choice. You do have a choice when it comes to toolboxes. You can choose to be an American or an American't.

So people who buy from foreign suppliers aren't american enough for you?

I'd love to see you tell them that face to face. I bet they would have a different view.

 

[mudflap]

I didnt read this whole thread..alot of drama, but will HF stock ICON singles.. or will sets have to be taken back for warranty..?

 

[Tallpilot]

I didnt read this whole thread..alot of drama, but will HF stock ICON singles.. or will sets have to be taken back for warranty..?

That’s an important question and doesn’t seem to have a definitive answer yet. None of the videos have shown anything but sets.

 

[65k10]

Yah I thought they looked like Blackhawks, but I think the selector might be different. Still excited about those and the long pattern ratcheting wrenches however

I haven't really looked at the stubby ratcheting wrenches in any of the recent videos, but the selector on the Icon long pattern ratcheting wrenches look very similar to the ones on Dewalt's ratcheting wrenches. Of course it's hard to know for sure until they can be looked at side by side. Especially since the rest of the wrench is pretty different.

 

[mudflap]

So people who buy from foreign suppliers aren't american enough for you?

I'd love to see you tell them that face to face. I bet they would have a different view.

Especially the (American)Union ship yard workers that get paid a crazy high (American) wages to unload the stuff..and the (American) truck drivers that get paid to haul it from the shipyard to the warehouse..and the (American workers at the warehouse..and the other (American) truck drivers that haul it from the warehouse to the point of sale..and the (Americans that stock it on the shelves and work at the store... I buy American when it makes sense...but the offshore stuff supports lots of American jobs..so i dont feel so bad if i buy some once in a while..

 

[javyLSU]

I didnt read this whole thread..alot of drama, but will HF stock ICON singles.. or will sets have to be taken back for warranty..?

One of the videos (I think it was Justin Dow's channel) said singles won't be stocked at launch, but eventually will be - so if anything needs to be warranteed before then, you would take that individual piece to the store, and they mail you a replacement. You will also have the option to call customer service for warrantee service, but no details on whether you'll have to mail in the item or not.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

I can see an advantage for HF to have a host of various names applied to their product lines, and offer multiple grade or quality levels.

If a few of these product lines prove to be unavailable from the manufacturer, get an unfavorable rating, or suffer from low sales; HF could scale back, or drop those particular products. Their reputation does not have to be dependent on a single product name.

Using the "slowness" of the ICON lines appearance as an example; HF has plenty of tool choices. The store will still be busy.

 

[DSLTRK]

Well I stopped by the local store and the cashier was nice enough to dig through the boxes and grab me a rat. I guess I was the first to purchase an Icon tool there as the computer didn't want to cooperate with the bar code.

While there I looked and tested both the 3/8 and 1/4" in Std and flex head flavor.

NOTE: There are two oems for the line of Icon ratchets. The non-flex head ratchet pictured here is a very nice high end tool. Not Snappy quality but easily inline or better than Carlyle.

The action on this ratchet is buttery smooth. The reverse lever is sealed and has little to no slop. It has a smooth but positive transition with a tactile detent.

The drive gear is surprisingly solid with little lateral play. Retention ball crimp is uniform and centered. It felt good to operate and hold this tool.

The cover plate is oval in shape and retained with two torx screws. I have not removed it yet but it looks to be a minimum of 1/8" thick. It nests into the milled body quite well with little slop evident.

The grip is comfortable with the black in hard abs plastic and the red in a softer thermo plastic. I see some delaminating of the two layers already with it being new out of the box. Grips haven't been a big deal with me anyways since I view them as consumable.

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.

These have the typical 'figure 8' cover plate and after running them in the hand, I've concluded the amount of slop matches the typical Pittsburgh line. I do not think the head is sealed like the standard ratchet shown.

The reverse lever, while it looks similar, doesn't operate as such. Very rough transition with sloppiness in between. The drive gear doesn't fit as tight in the body as the other ratchet.

The head on these flex heads are smaller in width than the comparable fixed head, but not worth it imo.


On another note, I asked her when they would be rolling out the limited stock and she didn't know. Even the manager didn't have a hard date, just stating two weeks.

They did have a full cabinet set still in the boxes on pallets waiting to be displayed.



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[DSLTRK]

I haven't really looked at the stubby ratcheting wrenches in any of the recent videos, but the selector on the Icon long pattern ratcheting wrenches look very similar to the ones on Dewalt's ratcheting wrenches. Of course it's hard to know for sure until they can be looked at side by side. Especially since the rest of the wrench is pretty different.

No doubt about it those Icon ratchet wrenches are forged by Hi- Five ltd in Taiwan.

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[ex-x-fire]

I wonder if they are made where the old duralast ratchets were made. Those duralast were pretty decent rats.

 

[chad w]

All to view a Chinese tool box.


-- at a Union Made in USA price

The fact you think union made is a good thing is an indication of your laughable, ill informed opinions value.. none.

 

[Skin]

I didnt read this whole thread..alot of drama, but will HF stock ICON singles.. or will sets have to be taken back for warranty..?

Yea, I've said that from the start. No interest from me at all if there is no open stock. I guess some stores don't mind opening a package to replace a single item but im not sure that will translate to Icon given its significantly higher price point compared to the prior stuff.

If there is no open stock i'd just assume stick with Carlyle. Its almost the same money and, for me, actually easier to warranty due to having Napa's much closer.

 

[chad w]

Its silly that people consider tool truck warranty to be great.. or even adequate, honestly. If a tool breaks mid job, waiting a week or 3 days or whatever until the tool truck man hopefully comes by is absolutely unacceptable. In my specific case, i have a hf 4 min. From my house. I also have another one directly on my way to work. My work tools are provided by the employer (us air force). When one of them breaks, (be it snap on proto, or any other, its tossed in the trash pile and disposed of. Thats what the government thinks of snap on warranty (lost time is certainly more valuable than the cost of the tool) i also dont **** the "made in da usaaaaa" teat either, as ive seen the "quality" of us made items several times. Ill check these out, and if i like them ill purchase them, and put them in my box next to my snap on, cornwell, proto, gearwrench, kobalt and other tools. If not i wont. It seems straightforward to me. As far as the icon box.. if its as good as a snap on for 3-5k less, how is it not a win? Either way, its not something im interested in.

 

[techieman33]

Its silly that people consider tool truck warranty to be great.. or even adequate, honestly. If a tool breaks mid job, waiting a week or 3 days or whatever until the tool truck man hopefully comes by is absolutely unacceptable. In my specific case, i have a hf 4 min. From my house. I also have another one directly on my way to work. My work tools are provided by the employer (us air force). When one of them breaks, (be it snap on proto, or any other, its tossed in the trash pile and disposed of. Thats what the government thinks of snap on warranty (lost time is certainly more valuable than the cost of the tool) i also dont **** the "made in da usaaaaa" teat either, as ive seen the "quality" of us made items several times. Ill check these out, and if i like them ill purchase them, and put them in my box next to my snap on, cornwell, proto, gearwrench, kobalt and other tools. If not i wont. It seems straightforward to me. As far as the icon box.. if its as good as a snap on for 3-5k less, how is it not a win? Either way, its not something im interested in.

For me it’s a matter of location. If HF is close great. Or it could be Lowe’s or HD, or if your lucky enough a local tool store. But if you don’t have any of that nearby then warranty is going to **** no matter what.

 

[powertrip]

Its silly that people consider tool truck warranty to be great.. or even adequate, honestly. If a tool breaks mid job, waiting a week or 3 days or whatever until the tool truck man hopefully comes by is absolutely unacceptable. In my specific case, i have a hf 4 min. From my house. I also have another one directly on my way to work. My work tools are provided by the employer (us air force). When one of them breaks, (be it snap on proto, or any other, its tossed in the trash pile and disposed of. Thats what the government thinks of snap on warranty (lost time is certainly more valuable than the cost of the tool) i also dont **** the "made in da usaaaaa" teat either, as ive seen the "quality" of us made items several times. Ill check these out, and if i like them ill purchase them, and put them in my box next to my snap on, cornwell, proto, gearwrench, kobalt and other tools. If not i wont. It seems straightforward to me. As far as the icon box.. if its as good as a snap on for 3-5k less, how is it not a win? Either way, its not something im interested in.

I don't believe Snap-on offers a warranty for tool purchases by the U.S. Government in order to negotiate a lower cost. I could be wrong though.

 

[X1 Mike]

That's a lot of tool stores.

 

[Nineeightyone]

That's a lot of tool stores.

If only... But I wouldn't make any money anyway. A close friend of mine instilled a core value, "never sell a tool, because you never know when you might need one to sacrifice."