Icon Vs. Snap-On Wrenches: How Do Harbor Freight's Clones Compare?

Nov 05, 2024

Whether you're a professional mechanic, a DIY mechanic extraordinaire, or buying your first tools as you begin building your tool kit, finding good wrenches at affordable prices is ideal. Often, the highest quality equipment comes at the highest prices as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. While that saying isn't always 100 percent accurate, it is true in a lot of cases. An exception to that rule can be found when comparing Harbor Freight's Icon wrenches to those from Snap-on.

Harbor Freight is known for its uniquely branded products made specifically for the low-cost retailer. Its Icon collection, aimed at mechanics, features items ranging from storage cabinets to diagnostic equipment and shop tools, including wrenches. On the other hand, Snap-on tools, while generally held in high esteem, are considered overpriced by many mechanics and some consumers. Snap-on advertises its wrenches as being "manufactured with a special alloy steel, precision-forged and heat-treated for optimum strength — and up to 20% more turning power." But how do the less expensive Harbor Freight Icon wrenches compare?

Both Icon and Snap-on wrenches are available for purchase online. However, if you'd like to shop for wrenches in person, the experience differs between the two brands. Icon wrenches are available in store at Harbor Freight retail locations. In-person Snap-on sales require coordination with your local Snap-on truck driver for a time and place to meet.

Icon wrench sets offer a variety of styles featuring both SAE and Metric sizes. Harbor Freight sells its set of 14 Icon Professional 12-point combination wrenches online for $119.99. The SAE set includes sizes ranging from ¼-inch to 1-inch in 1/16-inch increments, plus an 11/32-inch wrench. The 14-piece metric combination set is priced the same and includes and includes sizes from 6mm to 19mm in 1mm increments.

For comparison, Snap-on offers its 14 piece 12-point SAE Flank Drive combination wrench set for sale on its website for $1,063. The Snap-on wrench set contains larger wrenches with the SAE ranging from ⅜-inch to 1 ⅛-inch by 1/16-inch increments, plus a 1 ¼-inch wrench to round out the set. The 13-piece Snap-on Metric Flank Drive combination wrench set contains sizes from 10mm to 22mm and is listed for $685.

Snap-on combination wrenches are made in the USA, unlike the overseas manufacturing origins of Harbor Freight's Icon combination wrenches. However, the Icon wrench's polished chrome finish looks and feels a lot like Snap-on's nickel-chrome plating. In addition, Harbor Freight Icon wrenches feature chrome vanadium steel construction whereas Snap-on reports its wrenches are a precision forged, heat treated "special alloy steel." Both manufacturers offer a lifetime warranty on their wrenches. While Snap-on's warranty service can be obtained online, by phone, or through a franchisee, Harbor Freight offers the same methods with proof of purchase, but its retail locations are easier to find.

A TikTok video pitting combination wrenches from Icon and Snap-on against each other by testing their tendency to round off the corners of a short piece of hex stock revealed the Icon wrench as the clear winner. The test crew from Royalty Auto Service went on to demonstrate that both wrench brands possessed sufficient strength to withstand the rigors of wrenching on stubborn fasteners, even when using another wrench to gain additional leverage.

A few Reddit users indicate the test used in the video is more of a parlor trick designed some time ago by Snap-on to demonstrate the superiority of its wrenches. However, the irony of Snap-on being bested at its own game isn't lost on some of those responding to the thread.