Royalty Auto Service (@royaltyautoservice) receives a ton of props from TikTok users for its coverage of various automotive topics. Whether one of the shop’s techs is delineating how he went about diagnosing a Ford Mustang issue, or another explaining the particulars of air conditioning repair warranties, they’ve managed to garner a large online following. And their following can be attributed to the variety of different car related content they post.
One recent example features a shop tech getting into a subject that’ll interest any DIY car enthusiast: A tool battle. That’s because when you’re working on your own car, the quality of your tools play a large part. The last thing you want happening when you’re swapping out a part is to have something snap or fail on you.
In his video, the Royalty Auto Service tech Thomas decides to do a head-to-head comparison between Snap On and Harbor Freight.
Harbor Freight vs. Snap On
The first test is between a Snap-On and Icon (Harbor Freight) 13mm wrench. The tech places a small 13mm wedge in between the two open ends of the wrenches at the same time. Next, the tech moves the snap-on wrench downward while the Icon item stays in place.
This surprises the tech who says, “I did not expect this.” Thomas gives a smirk and then rolls his eyes. He then re-tests the Snap On wrench against the Icon again and the result was the same. “Is this really happening right now?” he asks into the camera. Next, the tech switches the position of the wrenches in order to see if there’s any change. Again, to his surprise, the Snap On loses to the Icon wrench.
He then flips the wrenches around to try to closed socket portion of the wrenches to see which one would slip first. After the results of this test, things aren’t looking good for the Snap On, as it was the one to falter, not the Icon, in the assessment. On the second test of the closed wrenches, the Snap on slips off the test nut again.
“We really weren’t expecting this at all,” the TikToker recording the video states off camera.
Why the Snap On surprise?
If you ask any tool or equipment junkie about the quality of Snap On tools, they’ll probably tell you that they’re top tier. Like these folks in a Reddit post who say that although they’re well made, that they’re relatively expensive.
One commenter says, “Snap-On really only makes sense if you plan to work in a shop where the tool truck comes by once a week. Zero cost, zero time, zero effort, no questions asked warranties. So for like side cutters that will wear out eventually, it’s almost a no-brainer. But if you don’t expect to have tool truck access throughout your career, I wouldn’t bother.”
Snap On’s reputation for quality is renowned in various forums, but one Quora user says that durability isn’t even the best feature of these tools. According to them, it’s the “convenience” of the brand’s warranty. Reps of the company have no problem regularly stopping by shops to replace items or talk through products in person with consumers.
Therefore, it’s safe to say that among professional mechanics, there’s a belief that Snap On makes some of the best tools out there. Which could explain the shock that the Royalty Auto tech experienced in his testing.
What about metal?
Next, the tech grabs a 13mm metal piece that fits into the closed portion of the Icon and Snap On wrenches. He attempts to try to make either of them slip, pressing down in opposite directions. However, neither of the tools bend. Consequently, he calls for the vice grip to determine which one of these wrenches will move when placed in it. The tech then slides the nut into the vice grip and tries the Icon wrench out on it. It’s positioned at an angle that allows for him to use his weight to pull it down.
The Icon doesn’t budge, prompting the mechanic to state that if it doesn’t get a nut loose, you’ll need a bigger wrench. Next up is the Snap On, which performs similarly with the metal piece. After seeing them both perform similarly, the tech is still visibly flabbergasted. He goes on to claim that he didn’t expect this outcome “in a million years” before stating that the results come down to his opinion.
However, there’s another test he wanted to try out, which is something he says every mechanic has tried. And that’s the extension “Daisy Chain” technique. He places the Icon’s closed wrench portion on the nut in the vice. Then, he grabs another Icon wrench over the “open” back end portion of the wrench to pull down and loosen a nut. He says that while he could’ve pulled harder and snapped the wrenches, that he didn’t. That’s because the amount of force he applied should already loosen any nut.
After trying to same technique with the Snap On, he says that it ultimately felt like it flexed more than the Icon wrenches.
So which one is better?
The tech says that he’s ultimately not a fan of the Icon wrenches because they have “sharp edges.” However, he concedes that they did hold the nut in place “better than the Snap On.”
“This is very awkward…I did not expect that,” he says. He goes on to say that it also boils down to whatever customers want to spend on their tools. And the price difference between the two can be defined as astronomical. An Icon 14-piece set of combination wrenches runs for $130 at Harbor Freight. Snap On’s 14-piece combination wrench set offering retails for $1,063 at the Snap On store.
Towards the end of the video the two techs sparred about the quality of the two tools. The one conducting the test points out that when it came to the nylon nut, the Icon wrench outperformed the Snap On and that tells viewers everything that they need to know.
TikTokers appreciated the test
As one commenter penned, this type of assessment helps folks who are worried about being able to afford dependable tools. “This is actually critical because people need to know that they can still get decent quality tools and they don’t have to bankrupt themselves to get it.”
Royalty Auto Service jokes in a response to one of its commenters that they just did wonders for Harbor Freight’s sales in their video. “I mean after this we’re expecting @Harbor Freight to send our guys some stuff. We unintentionally just boosted their sales pretty good,” they joked.
Someone else writes that this test made one of the techs re-asses every Snap On buy they’ve ever made. “Snap-on guy is laughing, while the mechanic is rethinking his past purchasing decisions,” they wrote.
While another remarks pretty much everyone who saw the video feels the same way. “We’re ALL rethinking our past purchase decisions!” they wrote.
But there was another TikTok user who says that Snap On’s warranty and customer service is what makes the brand special. “Not in the least! my Snap-on guy has shown up every week and handled warranty without fail while Icon has not,” they said.
@royaltyautoservice This was not what we expected… AT ALL! #snapon #harborfreight #tools #tooltok #mechanicsoftiktok #mechaniclife #cartok #automotive #autorepair #viral #fyp #foryou #stitch ♬ Pop beat BGM / long version(1283324) – nightbird_bgm
The Daily Dot has reached out to Royalty Auto Service via email form and Harbor Freight and Snap On via email.
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