New HF ICON Breaker Bars

[DFB]

Anybody seen them in the Feb catalog yet?

1/2" x 24" Reg. $49.99 TPR Grip or plain handle
1/2" x 18" $39.99

3/8" x 13 TPR
3/8" x 12 plain

Either style $34.99

See coupons for $2.00 off on all 3 of the NEW 1/2" sizes this month

The old plain handle 25" breaker bar is still @ $8.99 with coupon .

The #62729 The one RTR tested along with the SnapOn MAC and Matco is still $19.99 (20-25% coupons can apply)

 

[kctyphoon]

I dunno - their cheap one already have a pretty solid reputation. I think people would need to see some serious improvement.

 

[Steiger9]

Couldn't find them on the website.

It'd be tough to beat their $20 Pittsburgh Pro one in strength. Maybe better quality control? Still, at 2.5 times the price...

 

[Professional Tool User]

A breaker bar is a breaker bar. It's hard to justify a more expensive one from Habor Freight if the Pittsburgh Pro one is still around. If you really beat on them all of them will eventually break.

 

[DFB]

Couldn't find them on the website.

It'd be tough to beat their $20 Pittsburgh Pro one in strength. Maybe better quality control? Still, at 2.5 times the price...

I didn't see them on the website either I would have liked to have linked to them. Handles do look quite similar to rest of the pro series tools

Ad copy doesn't really explain much about them just says...

Super high polish CrV steel
Ergonomic grip design
High Leverage Construction

Compare to Snap On @ $161


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I do have one of the $20 coated handle ones I picked up this summer using a coupon after watching RTR not break or bend it .

The two in the picture with black rubber handles are also bars HF sold many, many years ago thru the catalog, one of my better sight unseen purchase I do say and have never failed me yet. Anybody ever remember seeing them before?

Then a Craftsman 1/2'", two new Tekton's a 1/2" and 3/8" and small 3/8" Thoreson also been around for a long time

 

[Adambomb946]

Icon is supposed to be releasing quite a bit at HF this year. Never knew they had a breaker bar on yhe way. Sure youre not thinking of the torque wrench?

 

[zendriver]

Yah, but it says ICON on it.

That ought to be worth at least fifteen bucks, right there, for the name alone.

 

[woody 73]

What is the difference between the HF pro breaker bar and the new icon Breaker bar ?


I own the pro bar with the rubber handle and that son of a gun saved my bacon last summer. The summer heat was too much for me that day but that breaker bar did the job! For the money pound for pound that bar will always go in my car!

 

[ChrisLS8]

You can get a nice SK or Wright US made bar for that price.

 

[Mr_B]

Yeh the Pitts Pro is as cheap as 14.99 with super coupon ( standard percentage coupons not valid on pro range)
It better than the price and got easy warranty to boot .

Icon going struggle unless amazing quality and design and it not looking ground breaking to me and not much lower cost than well established brand options .
even the brand name and logo is piss poor effort.
Would of been better branching off pittsburgh pro line as that had some reputation and could of been expanded easily .

 

[kctyphoon]

This was probably covered long ago - but is ICON a hf “brand”, or is it a completely independent company that hf is just starting to retail at the stores?

 

[Skin]

Harbor freight will never sell someone else's tools. They just keep pulling names out of a hat for their newest asian contract.

 

[pbon]

Lifetime warranty on Pittsburgh breaker bar. Do you get double lifetime warranty on the bar that costs 2x?

 

[Fedwrench]

You can get a nice SK or Wright US made bar for that price.

Used? Where do you shop?

Epstein's which has pretty good prices without shipping has the SK 41654 24 inch 1/2 drive breaker bar for $81.30, and the SK 16 inch 1/2 drive breaker bar for $51.64 and the wright 4435 18 inch 1/2 drive breaker bar for $50.91.

and so the ICON marketing issues begin

Everyone is so used to cheap tools at Harbor Freight that, when they try to introduce higher quality tools at higher prices, people balk at them.

I'm looking forward to what else ICON has to offer but, i think the Icon brand might be a hard sell for Harbor Freight.

 

[marineman]

I have the pittsburg bar with the black and red handle that the guy earlier had a picture of. I've seen it bend about as far as I'm willing to let chinese metal bend but it hasn't broken. The max bend was also moving a nut after my Snapon MG725 maxed out, for the price I paid with a coupon I'll take it.

The new one at $50 and competing against themselves with their own lifetime warranty I think the Icon one is a no-go. I think HF is going to have some tough decisions in their near future, do they get rid of the pittsburg lifetime warranty and push the new mid grade tools abandoning their customers or do they keep the warranty, tools and customers and let the new mid grade tools stand on their own which they probably won't.

 

[Tallpilot]

The torque wrenches were a good place to start (high tooth count heads, locking adjustment). Breaker bars don’t make very much sense when a 24” ratchet is just as strong. They should have launched those or wrenches next.

But they need a way to convince people. Like the old trade in a Craftsman for a Husky or Kobalt.

P&G sells 3 brands of laundry powder; a former executive told me they are basically the same but they offer different price points because they know some people feel better when they spend more and some feel better when they spend less. If this is a true good, better, best product differentiation then that’s good; if it’s just pricing games then Schmidt is still a schmuck.

I haven’t seen any strong evidence the torque wrenches are winners though.

 

[Fedwrench]

I haven’t seen any strong evidence the torque wrenches are winners though.

You might not since Harbor Freight probably sells many more $10 torque wrenches then the Icon ones. I've only seen one you tube video about the Icon torque wrench and it was meh.

I do think Harbor Freight is heading towards the good-better-best tool options though. You can see it happening already in mechanic's tools, pittsburgh as the entry level, Quinn as better, and Icon will be their best. Pliers has Pittsburgh then Quinn, then Doyle. Once Harbor Freight finishes pulling names out of a hat, there might even be some stability across brands.

Harbor Freight is working towards marketplace ********** just by the shear number of stores they're opening. Who else is expanding the way they are? They might even me the exception in the move to online marketing.

 

[yrly]

Harbor freight will never sell someone else's tools. They just keep pulling names out of a hat for their newest asian contract.

Lol... Asian tools? But but how could that be... the names are like Pittsburgh, and Central Pneumatic, and US General.

 

[Tallpilot]

You might not since Harbor Freight probably sells many more $10 torque wrenches then the Icon ones. I've only seen one you tube video about the Icon torque wrench and it was meh.

I do think Harbor Freight is heading towards the good-better-best tool options though. You can see it happening already in mechanic's tools, pittsburgh as the entry level, Quinn as better, and Icon will be their best. Pliers has Pittsburgh then Quinn, then Doyle. Once Harbor Freight finishes pulling names out of a hat, there might even be some stability across brands.

Harbor Freight is working towards marketplace ********** just by the shear number of stores they're opening. Who else is expanding the way they are? They might even me the exception in the move to online marketing.

That may well be. Kohl's, etc are getting destroyed by Amazon. Best Buy, BBBY, etc also getting murdered. But the place with 25% off coupons for $5 screwdrivers is opening a new store every 3 days.

They are certainly changing the market. Northern Tool seems to be moving in the other direction (choosing cheaper and worse suppliers, especially sockets and wrenches). I once preferred them simply because they didn't have the cheap feel and Chinesium smell of HF.

I want to like the new torque wrench. I splurged on a Techangle in 1/2" and now my other torque wrench ratcheting mechanisms feel like Craftsman RPs. I'd like a reasonably accurate option with a high tooth count head for ~$100. But it's hard to trust a precision tool sitting on a shelf next to a made in India combination wrench set for $7 with off center broaching and dirt under the chrome plating.

That's why Nordstrom's doesn't sell Haynes. It's purely psychological but a $100 t-shirt won't sell next to a 3 pack for $20.

 

[1982fxr]

You can get a nice SK or Wright US made bar for that price.

Wright was the first thing that came to my mind...

 

[trekgod3]

Yeh the Pitts Pro is as cheap as 14.99 with super coupon ( standard percentage coupons not valid on pro range)
It better than the price and got easy warranty to boot .

Icon going struggle unless amazing quality and design and it not looking ground breaking to me and not much lower cost than well established brand options .
even the brand name and logo is piss poor effort.
Would of been better branching off pittsburgh pro line as that had some reputation and could of been expanded easily .

The percent off coupons ARE valid on Pittsburgh pro items. I have used them to buy all of my Pittsburgh pro ratchets

 

[Mr_B]

^
My apologies, you are quite correct, pittsburgh pro line is not on the restriction list of the percent coupons. makes it 15-16 bucks just about all the time and hard complain about for that sort of money .

 

[trekgod3]

^
My apologies, you are quite correct, pittsburgh pro line is not on the restriction list of the percent coupons. makes it 15-16 bucks just about all the time and hard complain about for that sort of money .

No problem

 

[Cooter Brown]

24" 1/2" drive Proto breaker bar at Zoro, $33.39.

https://www.zoro.com/proto-breaker-bar-24-l-knurled-grip-handle-j5469/i/G4872642/

I got the 18 5/8" Proto from Zoro a while back to carry in my truck, for about the same price. Zoro frequently has this sort of pricing.

 

[6PTsocket]

You can get a nice SK or Wright US made bar for that price.

The 24" Proto with a knurled handle is around $33.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Bigblockyeti]

I thought ICON made motorcycle helmets, jackets and gloves?

 

[6PTsocket]

Harbor freight will never sell someone else's tools. They just keep pulling names out of a hat for their newest asian contract.

Don't they usually exempt the new brands from the 20/25% coupon list? Prices go up and discounts go down. I always liked theThunderbolt alkaline batteries and thought the lasted quite well and got them when they were on sale. I see they have just added a new "premium" alkaline for a hefty price increase. They have to be up there in price with the name brands. When they already have a good product is there a market for another one with a fancy new name and price? Clearly, a better torque wrench was needed. The 10 buck ones are pretty crude but not sure about the other stuff.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[DFB]

Icon going struggle unless amazing quality and design and it not looking ground breaking to me and not much lower cost than well established brand options .
even the brand name and logo is piss poor effort.
Would of been better branching off pittsburgh pro line as that had some reputation and could of been expanded easily .

I quite agree with that observation and assessment. Just expanding and improving on the established Pittsburg Pro Line they offer and possibly thinning out some the lesser quality inventory options could probably do a lot of good overall for the store brand reputation. Seems to me Tekton is doing a similar move targeting the professional user by offering price reflected upgraded tools. New 3/4" drive socket set is a current ongoing thread

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IMO I do have a hard time seeing the business model establishing an entire new line to compete with the major truck brands and find all the current new tool "NAMES" (though defining an upgraded selection) so gimmicky. I honestly don't know who they are trying to impress with that.

At least not the Garage Journal peeps right?


Also a bit difficult for me to think they could really alienate any large segment of their customer base by weeding out the junk and improving general product quality even with a modest cost increase. Though a lot of people buy on the cheap for a feel good at the moment purchase, bad products don't often make for repeat business.

And one thing I have learned from all my many different market sales is sometimes having too many options isn't always good for the customer and they can find decision making overwhelming. Foe some reason Home Depot comes to mind with that thought ... verses building a reputation by providing certain things that just work and the customer feels gets their value from, like maybe an smaller ACE or True Value hardware store

 

[joshmodelskidoo]

Icon breaker bars look like the other hf breaker bars but cost more. Quinn ratchet looks like the Pittsburgh but the sockets a bit different but also nore $. Im interested in the icon line but not for the same thing for more $

 

[6PTsocket]

I quite agree with that observation and assessment. Just expanding and improving on the established Pittsburg Pro Line they offer and possibly thinning out some the lesser quality inventory options could probably do a lot of good overall for the store brand reputation. Seems to me Tekton is doing a similar move targeting the professional user by offering price reflected upgraded tools. New 3/4" drive socket set is a current ongoing thread

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IMO I do have a hard time seeing the business model establishing an entire new line to compete with the major truck brands and find all the current new tool "NAMES" (though defining an upgraded selection) so gimmicky. I honestly don't know who they are trying to impress with that.

At least not the Garage Journal peeps right?


Also a bit difficult for me to think they could really alienate any large segment of their customer base by weeding out the junk and improving general product quality even with a modest cost increase. Though a lot of people buy on the cheap for a feel good at the moment purchase, bad products don't often make for repeat business.

And one thing I have learned from all my many different market sales is sometimes having too many options isn't always good for the customer and they can find decision making overwhelming. Foe some reason Home Depot comes to mind with that thought [emoji38] ... verses building a reputation by providing certain things that just work and the customer feels gets their value from, like maybe an smaller ACE or True Value hardware store

What you say is in line with the Costco business model. One quality choice , even in excessive quantity will sell better. Look at catsup. In the super market Heinz has several varieties in a bunch of sizes and bottle styles. There are several competitors and the store brand. You can go crazy with over choice. It takes up a couple of yards of shelf space. In Costco there is a 2 pack of large Heinz yoked together.....done. When a customer has to stop and decide which is best they often don't buy any of a product.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Mechanical Noise]

P&G sells 3 brands of laundry powder; a former executive told me they are basically the same but they offer different price points because they know some people feel better when they spend more and some feel better when they spend less. If this is a true good, better, best product differentiation then that’s good; if it’s just pricing games then Schmidt is still a schmuck.

Sears tried the 2 price tiers on the same product with Craftsman and Craftsman Industrial.

NOT a screaming success.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

I dunno - their cheap one already have a pretty solid reputation. I think people would need to see some serious improvement.

Less flex would be good. I have the earlier, thick head, HF breaker bar. It's plenty strong where it's most likely to break, around the drive, but the handle is so thin that it flexes like crazy. Well, crazy for a breaker bar. Less flex would inspire more confidence.

I also have the SK 1/2" breaker bar, it's a toss up in my mind which one would break the drive first, they're both strong, but the SK's thicker handle makes the bar much more pleasant to use.

 

[jobo1004]

The 24" Proto with a knurled handle is around $33.

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I "upgraded" my harbor freight breaker bar to this one and it broke the first time I used it on a suspension bolt on a late model Toyota Tundra. The bar didn't flex but the head sheared right off. The fastener wasn't rusty, but was in a spot too tight to get my impact. It really surprised me and I've since re-bought another harbor freight breaker bar to replace it.

 

[VinceG]

Its funny I do not ever use a breaker bar anymore. I have long handle ratchets for that. If they did not intend for them to break stuff loose then they would not make them that long. I have worked on Class 8 trucks for over 25 years and haven't had a breaker bar in my box for at least 20 years. I now have some that I inherited from my wife's Grandfather

 

[mowersplus84]

I Will be picking up a couple icon breaker bars once they are available at my local Hf.

 

[Newell33]

In the last 25 years I think I’ve only used a breaker bar once or twice. If I can’t get to it with an impact, then I use my craftsman long handled 1/2” drive swivel head ratchet. It was purchased around 15-20 years ago, and is incredibly well built. Breaker bars that I’ve used either flex too much, or they break off at the swivel head. I’ll stick with my trusty ratchet until it lets me down.

 

[ku17]

24" 1/2" drive Proto breaker bar at Zoro, $33.39.

https://www.zoro.com/proto-breaker-bar-24-l-knurled-grip-handle-j5469/i/G4872642/

I got the 18 5/8" Proto from Zoro a while back to carry in my truck, for about the same price. Zoro frequently has this sort of pricing.

Zoro also has constant 20% off coupons so you'd be paying $26.71, and it's made in USA, and it's rugged. I know one guy says he had a problem with his but I can tell you that I've applied pulling forces in excess of 400lbs on mine without breaking the head or even plastic deformation. If you live next to a HF then I could see how the warranty convenience would be appealing, otherwise I would look at other options.

 

[Nineeightyone]

So is the main difference from the Pittsburgh Pro breaker bar the comfort grip handle? I'd like to pick up a breaker bar with a grip, but I don't know if I $50 want one -- if I'm gonna spend $50 on a breaker bar I think I could do better.

edit: I didn't see that there's a Pittsburgh Pro comfort grip breaker bar, I (like many other users) don't see a place for the Icon breaker bar in the Harbor Freight lineup. It's a shame, because if there were improvements to be made I'd be all over a higher-end breaker bar at a reasonable price.

 

[Mr_B]

And one thing I have learned from all my many different market sales is sometimes having too many options isn't always good for the customer and they can find decision making overwhelming. Foe some reason Home Depot comes to mind with that thought ... verses building a reputation by providing certain things that just work and the customer feels gets their value from, like maybe an smaller ACE or True Value hardware store

Bang on with that, My wife been in retail for years and she says same thing, selling same product in big range of no name brands reduces sales as creates to many questions, doubts, item features they now want so lost sale.
Top end and low end all really needed in decent quality/design that sensible value for money, all the fluff in the middle is retail crazed greed on thinking they can push as much junk they want no hassle with flashy brand names and exaggerated comparison claims they can dream up. Common sense was lost a decade ago and insanity runs the modern world .

 

[zendriver]

Hmmm

Harbor Freight sells over $5 billion/yr, of relatively low priced tools - which means they sell a shitload of tools and seem to be opening a new store, about every 5 minutes.

However, upping their game by appealing to the American obsession, of wanting to "move up" by offering "higher end", is just a business recipe for disaster.

My uneducated guess, is just like everything else they sell, they have relatively little "skin in the game" - since they just put a "name" on an Asian product that already exists and offer it at their store. Their hardest part is probably dreaming up the name, which for for some products, seems to take about 5 minutes.

Personally, I have always had a tough time, telling wealthy people, they don't know what the hell, they are doing.