I have been following Adam Savage of Tested and Myth Busters and really took his advice to heart. He says buy the tool first at harbor freight, once it fails buy a better one. 99% of my tools are still the "first one" and have lasted and preformed quite well!

Take it from a professional Mechanic/bodyman/custom car builder with almost 40 years in the industry. Jared is telling the truth!!! I have 3 snap on ,One Mac, and 4 craftsman boxes.....BUT I also have 4 US General boxes and 5 US General tool carts in my shop. Had there been a Harbor freight around when I started back in 1984, I would be living in a much nicer house.

As a former ford technician working day to day at a dealership my home shop toolbox and tools are same as what you just showed. Us general box with a mix of tools. The old reliable, some new icon and others. Thank you for showing up and coming technicians that they don’t need to go in deep debt to buy quality tools to make a living. HF is changing the game in a big way.

Having a manufacturer tell you here is our stuff and be honest when you show it to your audience, speaks volumes about them. Another excellent episode sir, quite possibly my favorite to date. Thank you.

Harbor freight has stepped up its game. Case in point, my son went to a tech school for automotive. The recommended tool list from the school with the usual tool companies, snap on, Mac, matco, cornwell etc came out more than a basic beginner set. Projected cost through the tech school with their "discount " was 8-10 thousand dollars including the price of a tool box. I went to harbor freight got everything on the list including the suggested optional tools and more that I knew he would need with a us general 46in tool box for 2800.00 total. He still uses them everyday since he got out of school two years ago.

I'm 29 years old and have been In a shop for 7 years. Soooo glad I've never step into the tool trucks. They stop at our shop and I watch the same few people go in EVERY week. I just shake my head and open my 800$ box. That thing has been opened and closed a million times and works as good as day 1. 😂

I don't comment on videos often. I feel like this is one of the most genuinely honest and helpful tool reviews I have seen on KZfaq. My wife even said to me that was really good review. Thank you for your honesty.

I like this box. What I really like most is the advice to young mechanics. This happens in any other field; you think the best brand is what you should have to be good. If a person is entering their 30s with a tool debt or expense of more than 100k, well then, the future looks stressful. Great job on this video. Hopefully, many can learn a thing or two.

I really like adam savage's system hes talked about. Buy the cheap ones when you first start out. You dont know what you need, whats going to get abused, whats goign to get broken or just not be sufficient for your job. Once that tool you use daily breaks, upgrade to a better brand. Spend a bit more money where its actually needed. Or if you find yourself getting frustrated because you dont have a tool, and it happens weekly, or monthly... just go out and buy it. Youve saved so much money by NOT buying everything that you can afford to buy more specialized tools over time. Eventually your tool set will be entirely customized to you and what your needs are. And you can be damn sure its going to be different than everyone else's needs.

You know Jared is charismatic when I hang out for toolbox and tool videos when I have no plans or no where to store a box or tool set like this. I still hangout to hear his thoughts and laugh and any jokes he drops. It amazes me how far harbor freight has come.

Mad props to you my friend. I generally despise when my favorite KZfaqrs dedicate an entire episode to an ad, but you knocked this out of the park. Straight forward, perfect advice for the young guys and seemingly from the heart. Good on you!

A tool that makes you money is a good tool 👌sweet looking box too. Great video!

As an aircraft mechanic at a major airline every tool I use every day came from harbor freight. Only problem I’ve ever had with them is with the number of close tolerance bolt heads in aviation that you have to deal with…Harbor Freight’s sockets and boxed wrenches are heavily beveled more than other brands which means it’s very easy to strip out close tolerance boots because their heads are at least half as tall as other bolt head types. I fixed the issue by grinding and repolishing the ends of all my sockets and wrenches with a bench grinder…and I didn’t hesitate one minute about it because they were all harbor freight. Tell every one I can to buy HB tools.

I've been rather impressed by how much HF upped their game in the last 20 years. Back then I was growing my set and went with a 56" Clarke top and bottom bank plus the side locker. Later I did a bunch of welding to the side box to make it old what I needed. Then I outgrew it and bought a 41" roll cart from SnapOn as an add-on.. Still outgrew that. I still have the Clarke box full of Snap-On and Matco. If I were looking for another box I'd buy the Icon. As far as the tools, well they aren't going to work for you if you wrench in the rustbelt. The tool truck stuff does it in WI where HF fails. But if you are a DIY guy or a new tech I get it. As far as the debt trap of the truck, yeah Jared is spot on. I'm 41 and just paid them all off last year. Did help my credit rating though.

When I started industrial maintenance over 40 years ago, it was five and $10 a week and the only thing I could afford was good old craftsman. I made a living with it and supported my family with just craftsman tools.

Great video Jarod! I'm a retired mechanic and too bought mainly SnapOn, Mac & Matco tools. Occasionally a rogue Craftsman would make it in. But, when I was turning wrenches that's all that was available that would hold up in the daily use of professional work. Boy I wish these new tools and Harbor Freight existed back then! Mechanics today have such a great selection of cost effective and efficient tools available to them that they can get into the trade so much cheaper than when I was doing this. Love that tool box!

Ohhh I’m glad you got Icons! Vouching hard for them! Great value, but they will not break! Also made in Taiwan. I work with the US Navy, and have gone to Taiwan and worked with their Navy. Fell in love with that country. Taiwanese have insane work ethic and take pride with their work; and it shows. The Icon set we have have been awesome!

This is exactly the process that is spelled out in "The Innovator's Dilemma". It shows how upstarts destroy established brands. Come in to the market, and make cheap bad things, and sell them to folk with few options. But keep improving. All the time. The established brand won't lower themselves to compete with your bad things, and you'll hollow out their market while learning to build something good. You'll start to build adequate, and have earned a customer base. Then you expand and move upscale based on your new customers. Honda did it to GM, then Hyundai did it to Honda. Andy Grove of Intel read the book, and hired the author to teach Intel how to fight it. That's how they came out with the Celeron, and fought off AMD in the very early 2000s. It's exactly what Harbor Freight is doing to the last US tool companies. Pittsburgh is a laughable alternative to Snap On. But folk who couldn't afford Snap On bought em and made do. Then Harbor Freight's producers learned, and are now selling viable alternatives at a steep discount.

Probably one of the most honest and detailed reviews I've seen. I went back to school and one of my modules talked about tools needed, and it was a powerpoint that only showed MAC. Looking at their page and seeing (and knowing from the younger years) the superb craftsmanship, I noticed they had a "student program," also. I figure after the program, they 'll show up to reel in your soul. I was looking at other tools, hence this video. I did not know There where any other tools at Harbor besides Pittsburgh. I am so happy I found this video. Thank you for the information.

Thanks for the honest and in-depth review. I’m setting up a new shop for my channel next month and this was golden content.

Harbor freight in the last 5 years have really come up with quality. I love the icon brand.

$250K is a paid-off house in a lot of places. It is a pretty damn healthy amount of money to have in a 401K by age 40. There is absolutely nothing the tool trucks are doing for a tech/mechanic that is worth giving up the opportunity to have that money working for you for when it is time to put the wrenches down and retire. It's an antiquated model that has now evolved to the point of being predatory. Great video!

I think US general basically owns the market for above entry level tool boxes that you can actually afford. They are substantially better than what you see at home Depot and Lowe's, better than Craftsman and just a little bit more money. The series 2 blowout deals recently were one of the best buys I've ever seen in my life on toolboxes

I built my apprentice a nice start-up set by filling the 30" roll cart with HF tools. 5 years later and I've replaced a locking extension... That's it! Replaced broken Matco and Milwaukee cordless tools with Hercules and the same, I had one bad charger and ZERO fails from about 8 different power tools

GREAT Video!! I was diehard Craftsman back in the day & I can't count the number of tools I've broken in recent years and "upgraded" to HF's "lifetime" warranty tools. I know Craftsman had a lifetime warranty, but it's a pain now to get Lowe's to honor it if you didn't actually buy it from them.

Jared- I really enjoy these videos. I’m very much an amateur mechanic (mainly on bikes) from the UK, and I can fettle bits but usually stop when things get scary. I’ll never be as good a mechanic as you or probably the majority of your viewers - but your vids do give me a bit more confidence to go that little bit further on my projects. Thanks for the inspiration and being a general good guy.

Great video!!! Thanks for posting that series 3 is exactly what I’ve been eye balling everytime I walk into harbor freight. Just need more input before I pull the trigger 🤘😎🤘

Jared. thank you for honesty, I am 77 years, and I still move a wrench or 2. When I started I bought a Sear box and tools, I still have them today. Snap on, Maco and all the others, .get these young mechanic in so much money trouble. Did I get looks because I HAD SEARS TOOLS you bet ya, it is what YOU can do, not the looks of your tool box! Keep up the good work. !

Hands down best tool review (honest tool review) on KZfaq!! Great job brother

I love harbor freight! Tools are priced like they know everything comes from China and don’t try to hide it!

Awesome video, thanks for sharing this. Not a mechanic, but love tools and hanging out in my garage

Awesome video, very informative, really glad Harbor Freight picked you to showcase their tools. Your very honest and keep it real. I try to add to my toolbox spending only $20-50 a month at Harbor Freight.

Sound is distorded and/or damaged from time to time.

Years ago I worked in an arcade. My bosses always bought the Craftsmen tools (American made version) because of the warranty.I pointed out that the Harbor Fight line was much cheaper, had the warranty, and reminded them that the most common reason for buying new tools was because the employees were losing them, not breaking them. I got a thank you bonus a year later when they saw how much was saved that first year. Store managers were happy because they didn't get as much grief when they had to replace a missing tool. Still to this day, my tool kits are filled with HF tools. If I break one, I buy the next level up. If I leave one in a car in the wreaking yard, I shrug and buy another. I have saved a ton by doing this.

Awesome Vlog mate Honest and full talk about tools Loved it thank you

Hello again Jared Thank you for another Great Video 👍 I 'm looking forward to seeing more content on you using the New Tool Box. I too am researching for my next purchase. Again thank you 😊

Great video Jared… Hope this helps people make more informative decisions on their tool purchases. I have found out over the year’s expensive is NOT always better.

Great video! I have 3-4k of HF tools in my wishlist. Currently, the dirt floor isn't ideal, and having to move everything to the garage in the fall is space prohibitive :) I agree on the HF tools. Overall, great products, and of course you'll always have a need for some specialty tools.

Jared, thanks for all the input definitely was thinking about getting a new US general box

Very good review, very honest. Thanks!

I really liked those Icon snap ring pliers when I was using them but I had a tip break off as I was putting in the last snap ring to close up a 722.6 Mercedes transmission and had to tear it back down to fish it out. It didn't cost me that much time but if I didn't notice it it would have cost me my reputation because that vehicle wouldn't have made it out of the parking lot. I replaced them with Knipex after that and love them. Pretty reasonable cost and much better form factor than the Snap-on snap ring pliers.

Back in the day, the Snap-On or Matco truck was my go to for tools. I still use my old Snap-On (and other brand) tools a lot, but you're right Harbor Freight has really stepped up their game in tool quality.

In the last month I was looking for this review. Thank you for putting it out Jared

Great video! Good message, not just for the new guys. I might try to sell my snap on boxes and "upgrade" in size to harbor freight

I discovered harbor freight a couple years ago and I love the fact that they have different product lines for different frequencies of use. For tools that are not use regularly Pittsburgh does great and if you need a tool for frequent use you just go for one of their upper lines. Still saves you a lot of money I completely agree.

I'm a hobbyist DIY guy. Most of my tools are from HF. I did buy the Husky tool box because it had the soft close drawers. I've been mostly happy with that box (the drawer rollers on the big middle drawer literally fell apart, but they replaced them under warranty). I'm thinking my next tool box will likely be from HF.

Thank you for sharing this.......this is so helpful for the young guys just getting into the trade or hobby!!!

I’ve read comments on other videos from guys bashing HF tools and the people buying them. As far as I’m concerned they can piss off. I wrenched on heavy trucks for almost ten years until the arthritis in my hands said no more. The cheapest tools I had in my $8000 Cornwell box were a few USA made Craftsman screwdrivers and small sockets. All else were the big names. During those years I don’t recall NOT owing a small fortune to the tool vultures that pulled in our lot every single week. Even after I went into a different career, I had to sell most everything off to pay it off. Never again. And I mean never. I just bought a Series 3 56” box with a side cabinet to make it a 72”. It’s not perfect, but it’s great and a nice setup at home. The finish is flawless, unlike my Cornwell box that had to be sent back and touched up. And, it was about $6800 cheaper. The drawer slides are a little stiff, but I don’t have to worry about a heavy drawer creeping open that I may have forgot to latch. Overall, I’m very pleased with Harbor Freight. They’re really stepping up the game. 💪

Firstly i did not need the same tools as any mechanic, I'm a retired coach builder but I still have all my tools in a very nice rolling cabinet. It's not snap on but it lasted me the majority of my working life. Some of the tools I bought during my apprenticeship and they are still in excellent condition. My planes are as sharp as they ever were. My snips, left and right hand still cut like new. They are not snap on but I earned my living with my tools my whole working life. My cabinet isn't as big and has a 4 drawer box on top, but everything Inc ratchets etc still works like new. I used to shudder when I saw some workmates paying a fortune and running up debt to buy snap on.

The only thing u didn't mention was warranty. My snap on tool chest is from the 90s. Snap on still replaces the drawer roller rails for free. Not sure what harbor freight would do.I do, however, buy mostly harbor freight now as they are 2 miles from me.

I've found that upgrading or at least re-greasing/adjusting casters is one of the most rewarding things to do before using a piece of equipment. This started years ago when I borrowed a friend's HF Pittsburgh engine hoist. The chintzy steel casters irritated the hell out of me. I live near a shop that specializes in casters, and I bought a set of urethane wheels to replace the steel ones. The caster forks remained (they're a nonstandard mounting flange bolt pattern) and got cleaned and greased. It made a WORLD of difference! The hoist rolled much more easily and quietly. My friend was really happy as well: he had an upgraded hoist that was much nicer to use and I paid less than it would have cost me to rent one. Everybody wins! A few years later, I bought my own Pittsburgh hoist at HF, drove directly to the caster shop on my way home, and bought the same wheels. Last caster recommendation: twin-wheel casters are really great for heavy things that get moved often, as they change direction more easily.

Thank you for sharing… I been planning on getting the 72 top chest and bottom roll cabinet as soon I get rid of 2 roll boxes into one. I’ve never buy snap on box being so expensive. Now HF is probably the best choice. Once I grab the sale price.

My Dad started off at the tool truck and stayed with them until he realized the department store ones offered the identical lifetime warranty at a fraction of the price. Who cares if they looked less expensive. The Snap-On ones began to downgrade in appearance over the years too - just never came down in price.

Even my Leatherman can pick up a dime by the raised edge, a crankshaft is actually impressive!

Great information ! Thanks for sharing !

great in-depth video. I'm not even shopping for toolboxes, but I will be well informed when I do

I learned a lot from this channel and hope the best for you Jared unfortunately in my country is hard to find good tools and if I find one the prices are spicy

I have to say, every time I'm in HF I am very tempted by the big Icon pick set. Looks legit and useful

Such solid advice here. I was an F18 powerplant mechanic in the Marine Corps for 10 years. We only had tool truck tools. Ive never bought tool truck tools myself. Never. Havent really ever noticed the difference. Definitely not enough to warrant the price. Now I do have tool truck tools ive purchased 2nd hand, that were great at the prices I paid. But never new and def not with those crazy interest rates.

Love the content, keep helping people! So great!

They literally fixed everything I’m not head over heels in love with on the series 2. More traditional drawer layout, full length drawer release, and black trim. I just hope they kept their word and made series 3 backwards compatible with series 2, kinda need a locker 😂.

Probably the only thing I'd like to see with the Series 3 is some removeable protective rubber sheeting in the drawers. You're putting tools in there, and on a smooth surface they are going to slide and bang and scratch. I'd pay the considered fair price for that little bit of protection inside. When they get filthy with grease and oil and dirt, take em out, do a quick pressure wash and dry, then put em back in. Edit: So after looking back through I had somehow missed that there are indeed protective sheets in some/most of the drawers. (Whoops!) Guess that makes the above part kinda void, though I'd argue that for the drawers which didn't have them, it'd still be great to get them. Could even have them as a silly addon. "Toolbox Gaskets"

Very good advise. As a former toyota technician, I wish someone would have told me this when I started out. Because now I work in a shop at a coal mine and all of my tools are just sitting at home under a tarp and only get used for basic maintenence.

Great info Jared. Thanks

I have a series 2- 44" top & bottom & its high quality, no complaints. However, I really like the idea of a hutch for power tools. With that being said, does anyone know the weight of this new series 3 setup? only asking because I will be relocating my tools within the year, want this new one👍

I don't even have $10K in my whole tool collection yet because I buy everything budget or on sale. There are very few jobs I can't do on a car. It's wild to me how much some people spend on tools.

Couldn’t agree more, had the same experience with the Pittsburgh pliers. Replaced them with knipex pliers. Another thing to add to the avoid list is the cheap Pittsburgh Allen’s they twisted and stripped Fasteners. Everything else has held up well. Also to mention is typically (this can be store dependent) their warranty is just as hassle free as a tool truck.

I have the previous generation of the U.S. General box. Top and bottom was $2250 tax and all. It's 5 years old now, it's fantastic, zero issues.

Jarrod and his addiction!

This is a great series. I have 2 of the starter sets you recommended. One for my garage and second I added big rubber tires to for my mobile work. This one is still a little big for me but I love it. If I had the room I could see getting one.

Time well spent. Thanks Jared, great video.

Great video helped alot💯

Its cool to actually see it outside of a trade show! I hope they'll start offering the ICON boxes in more color and trim options

I'd rather see some wrenching instead of a QVC commercial lol.

That’s a nice tool box! I like the color and the size. This will probably be what I upgrade to when I’m ready.

In my first 25 years as a mechanic, I bought only used Craftsman, Mac, and Snap-On toolboxes at estate and garage sales. My impact sockets were all Cobra. My wrenches, ratchets, and chrome sockets were all Craftsman. My air tools and 110vac power tools were all Chicago Pneumatic and Chicago Electric (along with the Cobra sockets they were all purchased off independent tool trucks BEFORE I knew about Harbor Freight. Thank you, Larry's Tools on Wheels and Phil Nugent Tools!) As tools wore out or broke, I replaced the individual tool with a name-brand unit. 40 years later, I still have most of my original tools, plus a few Name-Brand specialty tools like a triple-square head bolt key for Lexus engines and some specialty Volvo cylinder head/camshaft/cam-cover and pulley/synchronizing tools. Three rules I live by... 1) ALWAYS pay cash for tools. It's cheaper to save up for a tool than to Finance it. 2) When starting out, buy your tools used whenever possible. Estate sales, garage sales, 'trade-ins' on the Tool Trucks. My last two toolboxes were trade-ins from a Snap-On truck. 3a) It's OK to borrow tools when first starting out. BUT! If you have to borrow a tool more than TWICE, It's time to buy your own! (Some Tool Trucks will even let you try a tool for a few days before buying. It never hurts to ask!) 3b) If you break a borrowed tool. Offer to replace it or pay for a replacement ASAP! The same day if possible.

Bet you dont have enogh 10mm sockets 🤣🤣

What is up with the audio it's terrible

I have their ICON toolbox and it has been great, also got the top box and locker. After a year one of my coworkers got the same set up, but in blue. I also have had good luck with their ratchets and digital angle torque wrench. I have been a professional mechanic over 40 years and these are the Best Buy in the tool box market right now.

Excellent video. Planned to watch just the box, maybe 10 minutes, stayed for the whole thing.

Awesome video, love the lighting & audio! Like I tell new photographers that come into the shop looking to start, it’s not the camera that makes the photo, it’s the person behind it….

Very nice seeing an honest, no BS review. Also props to HF to send this to you and telling you to be brutally honest.

I really appreciate this review. I'm currently looking to buy a bigger/second tool box, this looks like what I want. I still have many of my Mac, Snap-on and such for tools but I've never bought in to the big name boxes, I'm still using an old Craftsman I've had for 20 years, just bigger than the first Craftsman box I started with in the early 80s.

I'm looking to upgrade off my 32 inch wide Craftsman soon. It's a great box but I have twice as many tools as this thing can hold. The biggest challenge to upgrading is figuring out where to put everything. I'm really glad you showed how you organize your tools because I'm really bad at it and I got some good ideas from this.

I really like how this looks! I was a professional wrench for many years but I never ponied up for one of the "fancy" boxes. I have one of the cheapest US General boxes from many years ago and this makes me want to upgrade!

The full length lock on the handle is awesome, my 34" cart has that and it is awesome quality and i love the detent in the drawers for when you remove the lock and it doesnt open itself from the weight of 300 sockets😂 I also have their credit card and it always says "0% interest with equal monthly payments" so youre right, they probably will charge you the full thing randomly, i always pay those off way early anyway. I'm 21 i am not getting into credit card debt

Amen you are 100% honest with that. When harbor freight started around where I am I had to drive a hour 1 way I have Pittsburg impact sockets I bought 17 years ago and I have not broken 1 on them. And now they have really stepped up their game. I definitely would not have a snap on tool box if they had these boxes when I bought my snappy box

Game changer for the home DIY'er that has always wanted a hutch box without breaking the bank, I would own that in Red or Black. I also think the ICON boxes are a great value as well. I also saw that the Series 3 has side lockers, bonus.

Really enjoyed the video, 2x speed with the captions on is the best way to watch imo

I've been a Master Automotive Technician for 40 years. I have every brand of tool you can think of in my box. I never let myself fall into tool snobbery. Buy what works and that you can afford. HF's quality has grown by leaps and bounds and I tell new techs to seriously look there to get your tool collection going, or continuing. Snap-on and the other "name brand" tools have become incredibly expensive and out of reach for the average mechanic. Good video and well said. 😎👍

As a former tech, late 90's, there was no knowledge of manufacturers. We had tool trucks and cheap tools. Fast forward to today, there is so much information on who actually makes the tools so the trucks can rebrand. Along with better competition from overseas manufacturers. In conclusion, the overseas brands are 1/10 the cost and do the same job with same warranty.

Great video! I'm just a home mechanic so I didn't spend the type of money you did but I have friends that did, it was painful to watch. I picked up the twin to your small box (mines red) on sale at Home Depot for $200 about 10 yrs ago, still love it. I looked last time I was there and they sell for $500 now. I got the big one (close but not as good or as nice) on clearance at Home Depot for $550, about 6 yrs ago. The box's Harbor Freight are selling now are nice enough I would spend the money for it but I don't want to move all of my tool, and realistically it works. I would/will 100% buy the Icon stuff as needed.

Hello again Jared Part two. That was very good advice you gave 👍 👌 KZfaq keeps freezing up?

This was a really good review. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

I’ve been eying this box every release and every article waiting like a dog for a bone and finally it’s here!!!!

I remember breaking those pliers when we were wrenching on the bus. The Yukon tool set was great.

I bought that Quinn set a couple months ago because of your video and I love it I was looking at a set on the interwebs and I'm so glad my algorithm through that video up just in the nick of time

Ok I was a home garage"mechanic" And engine builder when I was a kid . And now been a truck driver for 36 years and will be returning soon so I decided that I need a new tool box and a new collection I realy did not know where to start... WELL I JUST FOUND OUT! you gave me some great ideas on a new collection and storage.. thanks for a frank conversation with no BS .. I have been looking around, asking my tech friends they all say the Harbor freight is the way to go. One more thing every one of them told me the same thing and I did ... join the inside track club and save even more... Ok gone on long enough...thanks again

been using a us general toolbox (64457/64458) for a few years now and absolutely love it. it replaced my little 5 drawer craftsman that i had for probably 30+ years.

The Craftsman wrenches and sockets/ratchet/extensions that I bought from Sears in 1978 are still the ones I use today. Not one failure. The advice here is great - don't buy the $200 ratchet when the ICON (the new Craftsman level of tools in my opinion) will last a very long time.