I'm a weekend warrior type guy, used to only be able to afford the worst Harbor Freight has to offer so my modern USA recommendations are minimal. I've been fortunate to have a 300ish piece Craftsman USA set for the past 20 years, so that's my quality baseline. Honestly a lot of modern Taiwan stuff is probably going to get you by just fine, the vast majority of my Taiwan tools have held up. I've broken a lot of Chinese tools though, especially older stuff.
1. Sockets & extensions: 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 (impact only)
I've only ever used Craftsman USA chrome sockets, never had an issue. 6pt only, can't stand 12pt anything. My 1/2 deep are all impact, I got a great deal on Husky stuff at Home Depot (like 11pc sae and metric for $40 each), they work fine.
2. Ratchets ( flex-head? ): 1/4, 3/8, 1/2
I can't disagree with GJ here, Craftsman USA ratchets are not great. The 1/2 drive is a bruiser though, I use it like a breaker bar. I've had a Husky round polished handle 3/8 drive for over 10 years. Slightly more teeth than Craftsman USA, very low backdrag now but that might be from use. You want a fixed and flex head 3/8 imo, my flex is Pittsburgh Pro and other than a floppy head, it's a great unit for the money. I keep breaking the Craftsman USA 1/4, tried out an Icon unit. Had really excessive backdrag, fixed that with aggressive spinning chucked into my drill. I like it now.
3. Wrenches ( ratcheting flex-head, 6pt or 12pt?):
Gotta have regular combo wrenches first (they fit in places ratcheting ones might not, happens to me all the time), and they gotta be 6pt. I have Craftsman USA and they are very good. Regardless of how I feel about them, my Pittsburgh wrenches I got to fill out my metric set have also done every job I've asked of them. I have one Husky wrench because I needed a 16mm and it was $5. Weird thick end, it works fine but too bulky.
I have Gearwrench and TEQ Pro (rebranded Gearwrench) ratcheting wrenches. The open ends seem looser than my Craftsman USA stuff. I mostly use them when I can really benefit from the ratcheting action. They're very nice to have, but I can't do without the thinner profile of a fixed combo, and I'd be tempted to go USA only here due to the looseness. I like a tight tolerance wrench.
Flare nut wrenches I went straight to Snap-On and I have zero regrets. Don't mess around with weak tools and flare nuts. You'll have a bad time.
Special mention: my Pittsburgh crowsfoot wrenches flex, total garbage. I retired them from my box. Probably should go Snap-On there as well if you need crowsfoot stuff.
4. Screwdriver set:
I've had the old acetate handle Craftsman USA stuff forever. Starting to wonder why my stupid #2 cams out all the time. Vessel Megadora Impacta is in my future.
5. Pliers:
I've exclusively used Chinese no-name junk in this category, not even Pittsburgh quality. They still grip things. My Stanley FatMax vice grips are pretty decent I suppose. Really wanting Knipex Cobra, Pliers Wrench, and TwinGrip though. Those three and some needle nose would cover my needs.
6. Hammers:
I have a Summit Racing ball peen deadblow. Made in USA, cool blue color. Works good. Still need a soft head normal deadblow, but I get by with some awful old rubber thing for now.
7. Torx bits / hex / allen sockets:
I have exclusively Pittsburgh and Husky here, and they are fine. I had Pittsburgh impact torx that totally sucked though, twisted all of them and broke one. They don't even sell that kit anymore. I hear Capri makes nice sets here.
8. Drill / step bits ( for Milwaukee m18 )
I use Milwaukee Shockwave because they came as a bonus pack in with my impact driver. Nicer than anything else I've gotten my hands on, work good.
9. Calipers:
I use a cheap Clockwise Tools DCLR-0605, probably wouldn't rebuild an engine with it but it's certainly accurate to the millimeter.
10. Torque wrenches:
Love my CDI Torque 1002MFRMH, pretty much perfect range for cars and is deadly accurate. I'd like to pair it with a 2502MRMH, right now I use the 'ol wristometer.
11. Wire crimper/cutter:
I have a Klein Tools 1010 that is lightyears ahead of the no-name dull junk I used to use. I twisted it a bit when I used it like pliers though, didn't expect it to bend under what I thought was reasonable use.
12. Soldering tool:
I have a Hakko 508, works fine for the small odd job. More of a heatshrinked **** connector type of guy myself.
12. Punch set:
Whew, too precision for me. Just slam that drill bit in and hope.
13. Pry bar / files:
I thought we did screwdrivers already?
Seriously though, I'd love a set of Mayhew Dominators. So would my screwdrivers.
