Harbor Freight Has A New Icon Socket Set, But People Aren’t Happy
Harbor Freight has become a one-stop shop for many in need of power and hand tools. Its catalogue features brands from Predator to Bauer, all featuring their own wide range of tools fit for any job. Many of the store’s offerings keep budget in mind, too, with Harbor Freight having several finds that are no-brainers at their price. With that said, not every Harbor Freight item has been a guaranteed hit for the store. In fact, this is even the case for tools and the brands behind them that are exclusive to Harbor Freight. Look no further than the uproar around a recent Icon drop.
Icon has occupied Harbor Freight shelves for some time, providing customers with decent storage options, diagnostic tools, and hand tools at competitive prices. A recent addition to its lineup is a 52-piece 1/4-inch drive compact socket and bit set. Retailing for $79.99, this set includes a slim, locking flex-head ratchet, a spinner handle, a universal joint, 21 shallow sockets, and 24 steel insert bits, to name a few of the highlights. On top of all of that, the set comes in a solid reusable tool box. While this doesn’t seem like an out-of-the-ordinary offering from Icon or Harbor Freight, buyers aren’t loving it. Since this Icon set released, the Internet has become occupied with negative assessments of it. For more reasons than one, Harbor Freight customers aren’t happy.
Many feel the main elements of this Icon set are lacking
Of the many issues customers have taken with Icon’s new socket set, some of the biggest concern the main elements of the set. Redditor u/itbesandrodoe discussed the socket wrench in their post, noting that it’s not a pass-through model like in previous Icon sets. To use the new elements with the older pass-through version, it requires a 1/4-inch adapter bit and an extender. Many in the comments voiced their frustration over this, such as u/BucsLegend_TomBrady, who wrote, “people literally wanted the original plus sockets. It was the easiest gameplan possible. Instead they redesigned the whole thing and made it worse in multiple places.”
ThingsMen on YouTube covered the socket swap in their review of the new Icon set. Their demonstration showed just how inconvenient and unnecessary all the extra hardware is just to use bits, which the old pass-through style socket could’ve avoided entirely. In a separate Reddit thread, u/PerryTheAlligator addressed the socket switch, also covering another big issue with the set: “The screw driver handle doesn’t go on the ratchet without using a socket and a hex bit.” Commenter u/Coltron_Actual went as far as to say that they’re just gonna pass on this set entirely, even if it means having to mix Makita sockets with their current Icon hardware.
While plenty of Harbor Freight’s Icon tools are worth a buy, some should be avoided. Already, this socket set seems to lean in the latter direction with customers, and that’s before even discussing the price controversy.
Debate has arisen regarding price and value, too
The latest Icon socket set comes with a $79.99 price tag. In most contexts, that’s a good chunk of change to spend, and in this case, many customers believe it’s far too much for what the kit includes. u/bestwoodinthewest commented, “The offerings for this price point + no pass through on the ratchet was a huge let down after all the hype for this kit,” while u/TJBurkeSalad feels it lacks in terms of usefulness and new tools at such a cost. The Den of Tools broke the set down in their YouTube review, adding their belief that a price between $69.99 and $55 would be much more reasonable.
Some even think the price of this kit makes it worth looking into similar sets from other brands. “If you do a quick search on Amazon you’ll see a lot of good competition with better value. Not a bargain for sure,” wrote u/Crooked_crosses. Meanwhile, there are those out there that can somewhat justify the $80 asking price. For instance, u/pson7 broke down the contents of the kit, figuring that it should be around $115 given individual tool prices. It’s just to bad that Harbor Freight appears to have discontinued its 20% off coupons, as one could’ve gone a long way in softening the financial blow when buying this set.
Evidently, this Icon set is far from a winner. One can only hope that the brand’s future socket kits will have more folks rushing through the doors of their local Harbor Freight to buy it, rather than return it.
