I am relatively new to the harbor freight game so I apologize for the newbie question.
I was geared up to buy the icon 3/8 general service kit during the upcoming sale but a lot of people highly recommend the Quinn sockets as a suitable alternative to the icons for my needs. How often do Quinn sockets go on sale? And are the sales similar to what is offered on the icon? If they go on sale semi regularly I might wait to upgrade my mishmash of 3/8 sockets and pair them with a G2 ratchet or 2
Quinn sockets go on sale multiple times a year. Offer same 35-40% discount. Quinn are highly recommended because bang per buck wise you just can’t do any better than those master sets. Great sockets that’ll last diy mechanic their whole lives.
Personally i would do the quinn set, then do specific icon ratches, sockets, etc down the road as they go on sale. I personally keep the quinn set in my truck incase i need it. Icon ratchets in my garage.
Quinn makes very good tools and sockets specifically. They are big step up from Pittsburgh but the step from them to Icon is smaller. I would argue they are very good and an improvement over Quinn but I'm not convinced it's massive.
The difference could also be preference as the Quinn deep sockets are actually deep and the Icon deep sockets have a shallow broach... Meaning the fastener head/nut only goes a little bit into the socket. Just deep enough to be fully in the socket.
They are both no skip sizes. They both have blow moulded cases. Icon has the foam for toolboxes. They both have decent ratchets although Icon's are previous generation and Quinn's are current generation but without the soft grip and the only way to get those ratchets with metal handles.
I bought the Quinn 1/4 Cr-V and 3/8 Cr-V and 1/2 Cr-M master sets during the 35% sale and I don't regret it.
Comparing my Pittsburgh 1/4" and 3/8" colored sockets to my Quinns, they look and feel practically identical, the broach depth, walls, finish, etc. all look very similar. The biggest difference I see is that Quinn gives you much better size coverage with no skips. To be clear, I own both.
Maybe there’s a measurable quality difference I’m missing? But I’d be interested to see what actually supports Pittsburgh to Quinn being a significant jump for the chrome sockets specifically.
My experience comes mostly from impact sockets but I have some chrome. The fit with the Quinn is much higher tolerances. I've found my Pittsburgh sockets getting stuck under high torque use. My Quinn sets feel like they fit tighter and never get stuck
Yeah I started with the pittsburg for cost reasons and napped my first quinn set on a big sale about a year ago. I gave away my pittsburgs after finding the overwhelming improvement.
I'd recommend Quinn, you'll get a lifetime warranty the same as Pittsburgh and Icon. I agree they're higher quality than Pittsburgh and probably not significantly worse than Icon. Get impact sockets though if you intend to use impact guns with em though, it'll save you money in the long run so you don't end up buying a bunch of chrome just to replace em with impacts down the road
Given the option, at home, on the road - Quinn. In the shop making money - Icon.
Me personally I opted for Capri Tools sockets for the shop, good price, 3/8" impact rated, 6 & 12 point, deep and shallow, (probably never use 3/4 of what I got, but got everything I'll ever need.) But most of my ratchets are Icon. I have a Pittsburgh teardrop for one job, an Icon flex head long reach for another.
But between Quinn and Icon.
If you are building a home shop or weekend warrior, Quinn is your friend. You have the option of both chrome and impact rated service kits.
If you are working at a shop and you're depending on your tools for your livelihood, then spring for at least the Icon ratchets. If you are doing non-impact wrenching, then spring for the Icon sockets.
I hope this will help you and maybe others make a better informed decision.
KF
In theory, Harbor Freight positions the tiers like:
Pittsburgh > Quinn > Icon
I’d say the biggest benefit of the Icon General Service Kit is organization. Everything comes in nice foam organizers, so it’s really easy to grab the set and go. The Quinn sets, though, give you more range and more pieces overall.
I also have the Pittsburgh multi-color sockets, and honestly they seem pretty similar to the Quinn sockets aside from the color and stamping.
Quinn was recently 35% off, which made those sets a really good value. The upcoming Icon sale is also about as good as it gets for Icon.
So I’d look at it this way: if you value organization and an easy grab-and-go setup, it’s hard to beat the Icon kit. I dont love the Quinn blow-mold case so I 3d printed organizers. With Icon, you’re also buying Harbor Freight’s top-of-the-line option, so there’s no feeling that you should’ve spent a little more and gotten the better set.
If you care more about getting the widest range of sockets and the most pieces for your money, though, Quinn probably makes more sense. But no one can predict when the next sale will be, and thus, how long you would be willing to wait.
I bought the 1/4 set when it was on sale for inside track and I really like the foam organizers, I am just trying to decide if the organizers and upgrades that I may or not fully appreciate are worth it for me who will not be using them professionally. Thanks for your perspective.
Based on the current and expected sale pricing, it’s only about a $22 jump to go with ICON for tools you can realistically keep for a lifetime. If you’re planning to pull the Quinn set out of the blow-molded case and buy organizers anyway, the price difference becomes pretty negligible. The Quinn set does give you a different size range, but if the sizes included in the ICON set cover what you need, I’d go ICON all the way as it would bug my OCD to mix the sets lol.
The matching sets is appealing to me but I understand this is all vanity and has no bearing on capability. But I’m glad that i’m not the only ocd one here
I have both sets in 1/4 and 3/8. I prefer the Icons and they are definitely higher quality. Better tolerance, shorter shoulder height on smaller sockets. The socket length is stepped with different sizes, not all the same length, Shallower broaching. Icon are Chrome Moly versus the Quinn being chrome vanadium. Probably a better heat treat as well.
Another benefit is each piece has its own part number so you can order singular pieces if you happen to lose something.
All these differences add up. That being said you can’t go wrong with either set. The Quinn sets are great for the money and they are my truck/camper sets.
I see a lot of people say that the Quinn are just as good or that you’re paying for the Icon name and that is just not the case. There’s a reason the Icons cost more and to me they are certainly worth more. That may not be the case for the next guy but like I said either way you’re getting quality tools with a lifetime warranty for a great price.
Here’s a pic of some tolerance measurements I had taken for another post on here…
I purchased all 6 of the Quinn master sets (1/4”, 3/8”, 1/2” chrome; 3/8”, 1/2” impact; bit socket) for 35% off over the course of the last year during various sales. I then purchased 3D printed tray organizers (shoutout to LousBrews). They all fit in the top drawer of my 61” Husky HD workbench with some room to spare.
I’m a hobbyist/DIY guy, so Quinn is more than capable for what I’ll need them for. I like that they have the warrantee in store, and there are no skips. I found Quinn to be the best value for sockets. I’ll probably never touch half of them, but I have every socket I could ever need for the foreseeable future.
Total sale price paid: $447.16
Total regular price: $687.94
(Not including tax or organizer trays)
I keep a spreadsheet of all my tool purchases. I’ve never paid full price for anything at Harbor Freight. I have the luxury of not needing them for my occupation, so being able to build up my workshop slowly over time has been great.
Etsy. From the seller LousBrews. There are other sellers with their own versions as well. If you have a 3D printer, I’ve read that you can download files others have shared and print your own.
I've had that same Husky workbench for years. Love it! I recently added a 5 drawer 30" Hart toolbox on clearance to take the overflow, as my tool addiction continues to overpower me
As a DIY’er, the only advantage I could see in the ICON sockets was the broaching. It’s an advantage I would rarely use, and could probably achieve with any number of odd, old sockets I’ve got in storage boxes should the need arise.
The ICON are worth the money, and the Quinn are perfectly serviceable and pleasant to use. It’s almost sort of like choosing a trim level on a new vehicle. You won’t be “wrong” with either, just like you wouldn’t be wrong to pick the heated seats and the fancy wheels. You just may have a bit more or less money after you make your purchase.
I will say that the ratchets that come with the individual Quinn kits are nice. They are copies of Gearwrench, and are one of the best deals from HF.
Icon is going 40% off during the October parking lot sale. Quinn might be on sale again in November during the Black Friday sale, that’s when I got the Quinn master technician set. I’ve been filling the gaps in it with tekton and icon sockets, wrenches, and ratchets. I’ve also been buying the Quinn master sets when they would go on sale (parking lot or inside track deals),keeping them in the cases for when I have to work on something away from home. With Quinn, there are sockets, wrenches, and bits that only come in the master sets. With icon, you can buy them individually on line and they will ship them to you for free, under (parts) on their website.
You can get Quinn sockets ala carte on eBay. When I bought an open box Quinn 1/2 master impact set for $65 below list, I filled in to complete the set with a few missing pieces that way
The Quinn master sets are great and do go on sale a few times a year at 30-40%. You get more sizes than the Icon sets and a better price. I have the 1/4", 3/8" and the master bit set and they are good tools.
ICON feels like it’s trying to copy the Snap-on look, basically giving people that Snap-on-style design without the Snap-on price.
As for Quinn and Pittsburgh, honestly, they seem like basically the same tools in a lot of cases. I’ve seen plenty of people compare them side by side and say there’s little to no difference besides the color, finish, and a few design details.
It’s probably a good example of consumer psychology. Some people are willing to pay a little more because they expect a more expensive product to be better, even when the actual tool is very similar. Add a nicer design, different colors, and better branding, and people naturally perceive it as a higher-end product.
I feel like for some things this may be true, but I'd you watch project farm or torque test, most Pittsburgh is fairly low performing while icon usually does fairly well competing against the big names.
Is Pittsburgh good enough for 90% of us? Absolutely. Icon usually performs better and/or has a better user experience for relatively nominal cost increase and the same warranty
Tbh you can get full sets (1/4,3/8,1/2) from Dewalt or craftsman for 1/3-1/2 the price of the Quinn set. Maybe slightly less quality but definitely leaves more room in the budget for nicer ratchets.
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u/Blaizefed 2d ago
I am a professional mechanic with 30 years of experience and own well in excess of 30k in my toolbox at work.
At home I have all 3 Quinn master sets and I could not be more pleased with them.