Heh, I wish I had the luxury of brand loyalty! If it's a good price or on sale and looks like it'll do what I need without breaking a month or two in, it can sit in my toolbox anytime and I won't complain! Let's just say there's an awful lot of "Mastercraft Blue" in my shop though! It's hard to argue with an air tool set that includes a 3/8" ratchet, die grinder, impact wrench, and chisel, along with a hundred or so various sockets, bits, adapters & fittings, stones, etc. for $100. I'm not going to herald their quality as being on par with the aforementioned names, but they've more than paid for themselves and are still going strong. Heck, my brother used that little air chisel to jackhammer probably 8 square feet of his basement to access his drain/water lines. He went through a couple bits but the tool itself is no worse for the wear.
I have a few other random no-name air tools that I've rescued from scrap and garbage bins in the last year or so, that just needed a good cleaning and oiling to be brought back to life. It's amazing how many people don't realize that EVERY air tool needs to be oiled, some much more than others, and then just run them until they inevitably die. Same guys that never clean their saws properly and then whine and cry when they overheat and die, I guess. At the mill last year, the millwrights were going to pitch out two impact guns, so I offered to look at them one day when we had some downtime. Half an hour or so with each and a bit of light oil, and they were good to go. I'd never even had one apart before then, but they aren't really that hard to figure out. Easier than most saws, anyway.
Back to the MC tools though - I can't imagine paying full price for something like a Snap-On ratchet/socket set. The same tools would be probably 1/4 the price at CT, still carry a lifetime warranty, and probably come out of the same factory or or the next one down the same road. I couldn't count the number of busted or worn out screwdrivers, sockets, wrenches, etc. that I've returned and gotten replaced no-questions-asked without a proof of purchase. I don't have to track down or wait for the bloody tool truck either!
LOL. I'm not sure I could even find the guards for any of mine anymore. They tend to come off right away, for better or worse. I wouldn't mind them so much if there was some sort of quick-release, like a cam lock etc., to make it easier to reposition the guard without having to whip out the screwdriver.
