Opinions seem to vary a great deal over who currently nakes the best Lockning pliers.
Some people say Spanish Grip-On locking pliers, which also get rebranded by others such as Snap-On and Proto.
Others prefer the French made Facom and Usag locking pliers with the modified jaws which allow for really wide opening. These are nice, but really expensive.
Others prefer German made locking pliers from Bollman Grip, or Knipex, or one of the major German tool companies that are likely just rebranding the lcking pliers from two or three different German manufacturers. Brands such as Stahlwille, or Elora, or Hazet, etc.
Then there are the fans of Taiwanese locking pliers, which may be imports, but which seem decent, such as Gearhead from Pep Boys or Toptul, or Blackhawk.
Then you have Milwaukee locking pliers, which use a modified screw with an eyehole, which a lot of people like.
There are also people who seek out Japanese made licking pliers, of which there still seem to be two or more brands made in Japan. I forget which brands of the top of my head, but ‘Top’ may have been one of them, and maybe ‘Supertool’ another.