I have 2 sets of the deep sockets at home and work, have not broken any of them yet even in the impact. I must get a more powerfull impact, lol

 

If you look, you will notice that the rotating ratchet was (or still is) offered at Home Depot in the Husky line. In my opinion, just look for what seems to be the best quality tool for the money you are going to pay for it. I really like to buy USA only tools, but as mentioned earlier, it is getting harder and harder to find many that are really Made in the USA. I personally have mostly Craftsman and Klein tools, but everyone I know loves the GearWrenches, myself included, which we all know are made in good ol' Taiwan. I have finally come to terms on the fact that all tool manufacturers have some really good items, and then they all carry a great deal of crappy stuff that nobody needs.

 

I agree with dono,
I like Craftsman, Snap On, SK, Mac, Matco
there is my Snapon Ratchet I bought at the fleemarke for $19

 

Stanley tape measures are still made right here in the USA, a few miles from where I live, in fact.

As far as I know, Stanley still owns the Husky and Bostitch brands in addition to Mac Tools. See: http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_ck0kh

FWIW: When I was a kid our cub scout troop got to tour the Stanley Works buildings where the tape measures are made. It was really cool.

Also, one of my uncles worked in that part of the plant for over 30 years (he retired over 20 years ago). Whenever my father had issues with a Stanley tape measure he'd just drop it off at my uncle's house and it would get fixed up like new down in the basement. And he never had to buy a new tape measure because my uncle always had a basket full of reconditioned ones waiting for service.

 

Most of my stuff is Craftsman. What isn't Craftsman was given to me by other people. I jut like the fact that if one of my Craftsman hand tools break, I can walk into any Sears in the country and be given a new one free of charge, no questions asked.

 

Or a "rebuilt" one, in the case of rachets .......

 

Ihave several stanely socket sets. I perfer them over my craftsman tools. The main reason is that a craftsman tool set wont stay put in the box. I have 3 big craftsman sets. The stanley set the sockets fit in tight. If I drop the craftsman set you have a mess.

 

So far, the Stanley sockets that came in the set I got at chinamart have been excellent. The ratchets, however, have been useless crap. I got the first one replaced under warranty because it never operated properly. The one that I got as a replacement disintegrated in less than a month, having been used maybe 5 times. Never with a cheater or a foot or anything. Just little old me pulling on it. (seriously, I'm not a big guy).
Second time, I turned it in at work, because they will replace broken tools with a "same or better" policy. I got the top-of-the-line Craftsman replacement. (the polished chrome, 30-something dollar one. 3/8 dr.) Been using it with no complaints for a couple of years now. My favorite inexpensive ratchet, however, is the Ampro (Advance auto parts) brand. Been in my day-job box getting frequently abused for about 5 years now, and still going strong. I finally stripped the 1/4 drive one after about the same amount of time, but they are very good for the price, even though taiwanese made. Kobalts have been doing well so far also. I have to stay on a budget, like most folks, so I try to shop for decent values. I love Snap-On sockets and wrenches, but never really liked the ratchets for some reason. Also, when trying to maintain a roll-around box in the garage, another at the night job, a carry-around box for the day job, and a tool bag for the night job, as well as a top box on a bench in my parent's garage (for emergencies), I have to be realistic about what I can afford to get!

 

I always have had good luck with Stanley tools and Popular Mechanics tools which were Stanley's predecessers at Wally World. I recently bought a Snap On ratchet wrench set from a friend of mine. The set was missing 2 wrenches so I decided to buy Stanley ratchet wrenches to complete the set. Snap On's were $36 each and I got 8 Stanley's for $30. No brainer, right? I knew better but figured I could put the 2 I needed in my tool box at work and bring the rest home to have here and save some money. Big mistake. One of the Stanley's I took to work had chrome peeling off it the 3rd day I had it there. Needless to say, the Stanley's went home and I got 2 more Snap On's the next time the truck was at work. As for how they perform, I have never had any problems with Stanley tools in terms of how they work. It's just like anything else, you want something good, spend the money. If you are going to get them to tinker at home, no problem. Good tools aren't cheap and cheap tools aren't good.