Lowe's carries a tool line called KOBALT and I hear they are made by snapon. Dunno if that is true, but they look nice and I think they are priced quite competetively compared to craftsman. My brother in law is a bonafide wrench, and he swears that S/K makes the best ratchets hands down. I happen to have an S/K and when I reach for the cheater bar I make sure the S/K is on the recieving end, not the craftsman.

Speaking of craftsman, the finish quality of their tools has really gone down in the last ten years or so. I REALLY hate the anodized numbering on their sockets. Expose them to anything corrosive whatsoever and the numbers are gone forever. A few years ago, the wife bought me a small craftsman screwdriver set ( or some such set ) and they actually made her pay extra for the guarantee! Boy was I pissed! Told her to go and get a refund on the 'guarantee', and if they gave her any slack about it she would just return the whole set. Nearly swore off craftsman after that, but hey.. I have both a craftsman red, and wrinke brown finish tool box so what the hey. Their ratchets are definiely crap. I've had several work poorly straight out of the box, so to speak. Never had a problem with sockets or wrenches.

For screwdrivers, Klein do seem to hold up better.

You will have need for the occasional crimp... the best crimpers I have ever used are LOBSTER. Awesome crimpers, simply wonderful.

No craftsman is complete without a LEATHERMAN hanging on his belt. I currently have a leatherman CORE , which I believe is the replacement for the SUPERTOOL. Nice tool: stainless steel, quick release for the blades, but the design does pinch the hand a bit if you bear down on the pliers hard.

I think I can sum it up as such: your tools don't need to have one particular brand name. some brand names are better than others, such as Klein screwdrivers, strippers and cutters, S/K ratchets, etc.

It is nice to have the expensive tools, but who are you really trying to impress?