Matco vs snap on tools

[Sugarfryz]

Kind of a new tech here, been in the field for only a year. Up until now, I only have ever had a snap on truck stop by work. Snap on guy has always given me great service, and I don't have a single complaint. Recently, we had a Matco guy start showing up again. He seems to be quite cheaper, (always suckers me into buying something with those catalogues every 3 weeks). Just when I do buy from him, I always feel like I should've spent more and bought snap on. Other techs opinions very greatly. Either snap on you're just paying for the name, snap on and Matco are the same, or snap on is the only way to go. Can't really get a straight answer. Matco has the advantage for me right now because I see him every week. My schedule conflicts with the snap on truck, so I only see him once a month. What I'm asking is, who makes in general better tools? Mainly interested in sockets and ratchets, but I would love any opinion at all. By the way, this is my first post. Sorry if I dragged this on too long

 

[Fastbird]

I haven't been a tech for a couple of years now, but while Matco stuff is nice, a LOT of their stuff has gone offshore vs Snap On is made in USA. Take that into consideration.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

yes.....or no....







there is difference.....or not....







Personal preference is the real answer -- buy whatever makes you happy and the heck with everyone else!

 

[Wes J]

The hardline Matco stuff is great. Wrenches, sockets, ratchets, etc. Don't be fooled by the ADV or Silver Eagle stuff that is no USA.

When I was tooling up, we had Snap-on, Mac, and Matco. The Snap-on guy was an *******, so I bought mostly Mac and Matco. No complaints. All my wrenches are Matco. All my hammers and pry bars. I bought the screwdrivers which are actually made by Witte and I like them.

My sockets are mostly Mac. I don't think I have any Matco sockets.

 

[Sugarfryz]

The hardline Matco stuff is great. Wrenches, sockets, ratchets, etc. Don't be fooled by the ADV or Silver Eagle stuff that is no USA.

When I was tooling up, we had Snap-on, Mac, and Matco. The Snap-on guy was an *******, so I bought mostly Mac and Matco. No complaints. All my wrenches are Matco. All my hammers and pry bars. I bought the screwdrivers which are actually made by Witte and I like them.

My sockets are mostly Mac. I don't think I have any Matco sockets.

How do their hardline sockets compare to snap on?

 

[Sugarfryz]

I'm leaning towards Matco because it seems to be the better deal, but I feel snap on is the superior product.

 

[Fedwrench]

I'm leaning towards Matco because it seems to be the better deal, but I feel snap on is the superior product.

You've answered your own question.

MATCO is not as great as it once was. You see, MATCO only makes tool boxes. Everything else is made by someone else to their specifications. This doesn't make their tools bad but, I do feel with so many tool brands moving production overseas, the wrench set you buy on special today might look very different in a year or so
I have a lot of MATCO tools in my box, and they have served me well but, they are older versions from 10 years or more ago.
On a side note, what happens if you lose your MATCO dealer? Or any truck dealer for that matter?

 

[Wes J]

Things change and improve. It's true for Snap-On too. I have some older Snap-on wrenches and impact sockets that look and feel much different than the new stuff.

I have tools from Mac, Snap-on, Matco, Craftsman, Channel-lock, Knipex, OTC, Allen, Armstrong, Proto, Stanley, Witte, Wilde, Endres, Dasco, Thorsen, Wright, Cornwell, and many more. I'll buy anything that gets the job done for a reasonable price.

 

[gearheads78]

I always got along with the Matco guy better and bought more of his tools but I have a mixture of both Snap on and Matco. Never had any real trouble with either.

 

[Parabellum]

You're getting ripped off with Matco paying tool truck prices for offshore stuff with the same quality you find locally like carlye at NAPA. If you don't care for USA made then buy tools from NAPA, they will send out a driver with a broken tool replacement if you are in the repair business.

 

[shockwave]

For ratchets and sockets I think snap on is superior
Both have great service and Matco has some great locking ratchets too

 

[TheMadMech]

I've got some Matco and recently started getting Snap-On as well. Over all I'm shifting over to Snap-On entirely because I like the more consistent quality but I've been happy with most of my Matco stuff. If price is your main concern I'd say Matco is a good choice. If quality and American made is your main concern then Snap-On would be the better way to go.

This is my clever signature.

 

[anndel]

Things change and improve. It's true for Snap-On too. I have some older Snap-on wrenches and impact sockets that look and feel much different than the new stuff.

I have tools from Mac, Snap-on, Matco, Craftsman, Channel-lock, Knipex, OTC, Allen, Armstrong, Proto, Stanley, Witte, Wilde, Endres, Dasco, Thorsen, Wright, Cornwell, and many more. I'll buy anything that gets the job done for a reasonable price.

Ditto, but I bought some Carlyles from Napa and they did the job as well. May I add Trusty-Cook and Estwing hammers to the mix.

 

[Skin]

How do their hardline sockets compare to snap on?

Impacts should be USA and are made by Armstrong and are good, particularly the pinless swivels. Snap-Ons (Williams are identical) tend to be thinner walled on the smaller sizes and deform more easily. The chrome sockets were made under contract by a smaller tool company and were very nice, no idea if the same place still handles production but they've all lost their USA COO over the last 3-4 years which is a downer. I will say I like the color coded easy read markings a lot and Matco also had larger size stampings.

Just watch out on what you're buying. Matco pushes their Advance line pretty hard and while they're priced far lower than their top tier tools you can still save a pretty penny simply buying brands like Gearwrench and Sunex from Amazon. Asking opinions on this board is really a loaded question. Buy from whoever you prefer, value aside either brands hard line will get the job done. If we're talking other things like pullers, presses, diagnostics, power tools etc.. then the choices become a bit more complicated.

 

[jt777]

I own nothing from matco because there are no trucks around. I don't b have snap on ratchets but have used them, i like them alot. As for sockets, my snap on sockets are king, great chrome and they don't have nearly as much chamfer, or angle to "guide the socket onto a fastner" which i like cause i feel like you are getting more surface area on the nut out bolt you are turning. Thus lower chances of rounding something off.

 

[jeff.droogh]

I've bought a lot of snap on in my first year being a tech, a couple odds and ends from matco. Our matco guy comes around every two weeks vs snap on every week. I just feel like matco tools are lower quality, and the price doesn't reflect that. Case and point was a rubber dead blow hammer. Matco had one on sale last week, but when I picked it up it felt like it could have been sold at the dollar store. At the end of the day a few more bucks spent for tools you enjoy using goes a long way

 

[PureLeaf]

Besides getting the job done (quality of tool), and the price, wouldn't another high priority for you be who's actually going to be around for you to warranty tools with when need be? You said you don't see the snap on guy often, so the Matco guy would offer cheaper prices and better service? The service is a huge portion of what you're paying for anyways, may as well get it.

 

[nutsnbolts]

If you are happy with your Matco tools and saving money makes you feel better about them, then by all meaqns, keep doing that. I don't think many guys would look at your box full of Matco and say that your tools are garbage

 

[cgrutt]

I think a lot of it comes down to personal preference. I'm not a professional and bought most of my hand tools 30 years ago when I was installing stereos and alarms and such during college. We had the three trucks come by each week. I bought mostly SnapOn and some MAC. Thought MATCO wasn't as good as either of the other two which was just my preference. Almost all of my sockets and ratchets are SnapOn and I have full sets in both metric and SAE in 1/4 3/8 and 1/2. I only have one MATCO socket which I bought recently for my truck. SnapOn still puts a smile on my face every time I use them. Hard to put a price on that and only you can answer if you would get same satisfaction from your tools. Buy quality and they will last a lifetime. I'm hoping to pass my tools down to my son when he can appreciate them as much as me.

 

[MilwaukeeFish]

At the end of the day a few more bucks spent for tools you enjoy using goes a long way

That is the absolute best sentence/advice I have ever read on GJ concerning all of the 'which brand of tools should I buy' threads. It's simple, concise, logical and it really says it all. Bravo!

I think I'm going to make that my sigline.

 

[MattPersman]

If you are gonna buy from the truck which typically you need to at least some point in your pro career then buy from who seems to be there for you better, has the better qttitude and will warranty your stuff and not make up fictitious "it's on back order" scenarios. Yes some stuff goes on back order but a bare truck and that line just means the driver is on the way out. So buy for SERVICE the tools will both do the job mostly.

 

[warmpancakes]

can you actually buy ratchets from Matco?

 

[dchawk81]

I don't think either brand is going to hinder you from doing your job...

Don't know how many of us are professionals but I'm not, so I get a lot done with my humble Kobalt stuff.

USA made or not, Lowe's is right in town to back them up for life. Or until they pull a Sears.

Since they don't sell everything, I don't even want to spend Lowe's prices on some stuff, or I want something better than either of those, I have a mix of everything...some Harbor Freight, some Sunex, some OEM, some Tekton, some Aircat, some IR, some Tractor Supply, etc. It's a hodgepodge and it all depends what priority I put on it.

 

[WhiffySpark]

Impacts should be USA and are made by Armstrong and are good, particularly the pinless swivels. Snap-Ons (Williams are identical) tend to be thinner walled on the smaller sizes and deform more easily. The chrome sockets were made under contract by a smaller tool company and were very nice, no idea if the same place still handles production but they've all lost their USA COO over the last 3-4 years which is a downer. I will say I like the color coded easy read markings a lot and Matco also had larger size stampings.

Just watch out on what you're buying. Matco pushes their Advance line pretty hard and while they're priced far lower than their top tier tools you can still save a pretty penny simply buying brands like Gearwrench and Sunex from Amazon. Asking opinions on this board is really a loaded question. Buy from whoever you prefer, value aside either brands hard line will get the job done. If we're talking other things like pullers, presses, diagnostics, power tools etc.. then the choices become a bit more complicated.

The one thing about the adv line vs kits from Amazon is warranty.

I have no complaints about the adv stuff. I have all the 1/4 stuff. All my other sockets are snapon

 

[Wamsutta]

Matco changes manufacturing contractors every year it seems like. There was a thread awhile back where somebody posted a picture of a new set of Matco flare nut wrenches with "China" on the package; that was a shocker even for me. Meanwhile, Snap-on continues to make their own tools here in the USA since the day the first wrench rolled off the line in 1920.

 

[Moto77]

I have bought a lot of Matco in my first couple of years on the job. My Matco guy has been fantastic. That being said. I'm very selective in what I buy from him and if there is any doubt about where something is made, then I don't buy it. I do have a few Snap on items but our rep stopped coming to our shop. If we had a better rep I'd probably buy more snap on. I tend to buy a lot of my tools online, thanks to the recommendations of other garage journal members.

 

[Adam.C]

What I'm asking is, who makes in general better tools? Mainly interested in sockets and ratchets, but I would love any opinion at all. By the way, this is my first post. Sorry if I dragged this on too long

Snap On makes better tools. You will probably see performance benefits in choosing Snap On sockets, ratchets, and maybe wrenches(??). Generally, Snap On tools are well made, super strong, hard wearing, and tend to be made as small as possible to fit in places other tools may not.

Where the honest debates happen is when the performance benefit becomes imperceptible. Let's take ratchets for example. Snap On makes an 80 tooth ratchet. MATCO/Armstrong makes a 120 tooth. The marketing says more teeth is better. But in the real world, everything is a trade off. The problem with the XP120 is that it is a weaker ratchet. The teeth are smaller and there is less engagement due to the stacked pawl design. For a std length tool, the reduced strength is probably irrelevant. You may find you like the fine ratcheting of the XP120 best. For long ratchets, the stronger, yet still fine toothed Dual 80 is the better choice.

The tools you want from Snap On because of their superior performance are:
shallow and semi deep 3/8" sockets (at least)
long ratchets
long extensions (especially 1/4" drive)
bit sockets
swivel sockets

I think their ratcheting screwdrivers are better than any other I've used.

When it comes to wrenches, I think MATCO have several attractive models. I would choose based on price. MATCO/Armstrong are very similar to Snap On FDP in features, dimensions, etc.

 

[Empty Pockets]

First, Welcome to the boards, OP.

Over the past several decades, I have used, and used hard, tools from many different sources with very few failures. I have used everything from SO, USA CM, SK and Wright.

The best advise i can give is to balance price, quality and service. If you buy quality tools, and don't abuse them, you'll have them until you retire.

 

[3 Gun Shooter]

I'm done with Matco, can't get a dealer to come in. Call Matco for warranty, it's well mail the tool back, maybe we will warranty it. Snap On call them up for a warranty, they just send out the broken tool (usually next day), don't even want the old tool back.

 

[finn]

I've been waiting for Matco to provide a warranty replacement ratchet for one I sent to them on September 1, 2015.

Latest date I got from them is April 29, 2016.

Every two months the availability date slips another two months.

Can you make a living relying on a supplier like that?

 

[lilxtra]

Take a STRONG look at the tool truck equivilents 2.0 thread on here, you will be SHOCKED at how many of the tool truck tools ( ESPECIALLY Matco) that you can get from the original manufacturers LOTS cheaper and it's the SAME tool

 

[warmpancakes]

I've been waiting for Matco to provide a warranty replacement ratchet for one I sent to them on September 1, 2015.

Latest date I got from them is April 29, 2016.

Every two months the availability date slips another two months.

Can you make a living relying on a supplier like that?

ive been waiting a little longer, first date I got was Jan, i will call again late april if the date has moved again I am requesting a check be mailed to me

 

[WhiffySpark]

I've been waiting for Matco to provide a warranty replacement ratchet for one I sent to them on September 1, 2015.

Latest date I got from them is April 29, 2016.

Every two months the availability date slips another two months.

Can you make a living relying on a supplier like that?

The flood is what messed everything up. All the other issues were ironed out and then they had a big flood down there

 

[Holzarbeiter]

The flood is what messed everything up. All the other issues were ironed out and then they had a big flood down there

That excuse is getting old, the flood was in oct. of 2015, it is now the middle of march.
I can't imagine that they can take this long to get back online not just that, there would have to be some stock left from before the move.
Plenty of other companies have moved their production facilities, normally x amount of stock gets produced before shut down, this is not rocket science.

 

[Jo Diesel]

I have been wrenchin since 1981 and during that time 80% I did not have a Mac or Matco dealer stop by. Have always had a Snappy. Yes their tools are expensive but so is not having the tools you depend on. Buy impacts especially swivel impacts, ratchets, line wrenches and the wrenches you use most [ mine are the double box ends ] from Snappy, Every thing else is a personal decision.
I blew up 2 S&K and 1 Crafstman sockets while taking a 7.8 Ford apart this weekend so I think they are about the same. Chrome Snap-On's hold up on impacts, the others not so well.
All this aside I have 2 Harbor freight ratchets that I use all the time. The 1/2" extendable and the 3/8" long flex head. I am not nice to my tools and so far have not broken either .

 

[WhiffySpark]

That excuse is getting old, the flood was in oct. of 2015, it is now the middle of march.
I can't imagine that they can take this long to get back online not just that, there would have to be some stock left from before the move.
Plenty of other companies have moved their production facilities, normally x amount of stock gets produced before shut down, this is not rocket science.

I believe you. We don't know what the extent of the damage was either.

Doesn't affect me because I own all dual 80s just passing on what I've heard

 

[Holzarbeiter]

I'm less than 2 hours from that plant, have friends that live in Sumter, things are not that bad.
In the mean time i'm waiting on locking flex ratchets, those and the pin less swivel impact sockets are about the only hand tools that I will end up keeping out of my matcos.
I like the dual 80's better just not that fond of snap-ons locking flex ratchet.

For the OP
We get Snap-on, Cornwell and Matco on a weekly basis, I buy a little from all and keep a small balance on the truck account, this seems to help in keeping the trucks coming.
IMO snap-on is the best as far as tools and service (even when I lost a dealer). Cornwell has decent hard tool line (sometimes a little dated) and up until now the service has been very good.
Matco tools are good, all is rebranded and can be found outside the truck under what ever name. Service has been hit or miss and when without a dealer, dealing with corp is not as easy as snap-on.
Mac hasn't been around my parts in years, with that service is not that stellar, anything broken needs to be sent in, evaluated and then decision made. needless to say there is not much mac left in my box.

 

[Wes J]

Always amusing to me how folks can't make a living without Snap-On tools. That's news to me. There are thousands of talented mechanics here in the US making it everyday without a single Snap-On item.

If you have ever worked as a mechanic in an industrial setting, you might not even recognize the tool brands we use. I've worked in plants who only gave the guys Wright, Proto, or Armstrong tools. These guys were all talented mechanics an could fix anything.

I worked in a corn processing plant where the guys fixed everything from a 4ft long auger to complex European made filter presses with full PLC controls and goofy hydraulic to move everything. Those guys carried all their tools in a 5 gallon bucket with a bucket boss organizer.

 

[dchawk81]

I'm done with Matco, can't get a dealer to come in. Call Matco for warranty, it's well mail the tool back, maybe we will warranty it. Snap On call them up for a warranty, they just send out the broken tool (usually next day), don't even want the old tool back.

Bet if it was an impact gun they'd want it back.[emoji14]

 

[dchawk81]

Always amusing to me how folks can't make a living without Snap-On tools. That's news to me. There are thousands of talented mechanics here in the US making it everyday without a single Snap-On item.

If you have ever worked as a mechanic in an industrial setting, you might not even recognize the tool brands we use. I've worked in plants who only gave the guys Wright, Proto, or Armstrong tools. These guys were all talented mechanics an could fix anything.

I worked in a corn processing plant where the guys fixed everything from a 4ft long auger to complex European made filter presses with full PLC controls and goofy hydraulic to move everything. Those guys carried all their tools in a 5 gallon bucket with a bucket boss organizer.

Agreed. And it's not like these tool truck companies even make every tool someone would need.