A lot of their stuff is junk, I'll give you that... BUT, I've also had some real good luck with stuff from there, too...
I have a sliding compound miter that I've cut a lot of wood with and it was only $90 on sale. Same with an angle drill. I've also bought some paint guns for $20 that work pretty dam good for the price (no different than some $100 guns I've seen all over the place). And for cheap dremel bits....can't beat HF.
Oh, and wrenches.... if you get the Pittsburgh Pro wrenches (like $25 set), they really aren't bad at all. I weld on them to make special tools, and I don't care if I beat them up. They don't bend like a lot of cheapos do, the sizes are correct, and the finish holds up pretty well. (Just make sure you get the ones made in India....NOT china....for real..lol)
Don't get me wrong, HF certainly sells some junk, but it depends a lot on what you get. I wouldn't buy any cordless tools from them, but a $9 set of 5 pry bars? Hells yeah!

 

ya HF is good for something you only intend to use once or twice. or you know your going to have to modify in order to use it and dont want to destroy a good tool. been there several time just because of that.

 

Just got back from HF and I was wrong; the place was packed, lol.
Yep, there's people that absolutely hate HF, then there's the one's that know that you can find awesome deals there. You have to be selective though, and always buy on sale. If you're unsure about what you're getting, get the extended warranty.
Another thing to consider is that a lot of the products they sell are marketed under other name brands. At HF you don't pay for the marketing.
A while back I bought a Dremel Tool (made in Germany). The magnets on it broke off after a year of very light use. Got a HF variable speed rotary tool with a crap load of bits for $20 (1/3 the price), and it's still running strong. Also got a vibratory tumbler for $30, still running good.

 

Ya I guess not a fan. I only use craftsman, matco and snap on. I look at mac tools are junk based made from stanley. I can't stand using cheaper tools since I have gotten poor results. I am a huge tool guy. Have about 12k worth of tools. In fact my box is more expensive than most people's bikes hahahhahaah.

Yet what ever works for the individual is what it comes down to. Tools are broken into three categorizes we learned at school. Home Owner, Professional, and Indurstral/Avaiation. Matters on what you need and why. I could go on all day the pro's and con's of all those three.

 

Yeah, I hear what you're saying. But that's what I mean by selective. I use Craftman myself; love the lifetime warranty. But if I can buy a box of nitrile gloves at 50% off what regular stores sell them for, or say a magnetic parts tray for $2, regularly $10 retail, I don't see it as a big detriment

 

Yep. We use HF for stuff like screwdrivers, oil pans, gloves, hex tools...things that don't need to be quality to work. And we have occasionally found some awesome stuff there- a while back they had rear stands that were obviously the same as the name brand for an insanely low price.

 

True I get what your guys are saying now. I mean don't get me wrong I do have some HF stuff myself but its the cheaper stuff like magnetic trays and gloves as well. If you can save a little money here and there you can throw it towards your toys more hahha.

 

Those little magnetic screw trays are THE BEST INVENTION EVAR.

 

Ya there not bad. I personally never use it. Matters what job I am doing. Remake over like my bike I use zip lock bags and a sharpie. For just quick stuff i just kind of put them in groups and remember the area

 

Speaking of tools... a while back, I picked up a set of metric Great Neck combination wrenches from Auto Zone in a pinch. I've had these for about five years and are still holding up very nicely. Lifetime warranty too. Also have a Great Neck phillips screwdriver, which happens to be my favorite one; it's never stripped a screw.