Hi Gary,
I'm a newbie but I'm also a former GM light duty tech. I own Mac, Snap-On, S-K, Kobalt, Blackhawk and Craftsman tools. To be quite honest I never use the Craftsmans.....ever. I learned while in the profession that they have a very big reliability issue and the ratchet gears are too coarse to work well in tight places. Kobalt and Snap On tools are both made by Williams and to be quite honest, for around the house and farm the Kobalt is a better choice than the Snap On due to the ease of disassembly to clean out the common farm grit and dust and re oil. The price is a lot better too. A set of three 3/8" drive Snap On ratchets cost me $235.00 two years ago. Of course professional tools are not necessarily required on the farm. HOWEVER--I am a firm believer in the best quality for the buck even though I have the advantage of owning at least half a dozen 3/8" sets to fall back on in case of a break. I can honestly say that I would repurchase all of the above listed tools again minus the Craftsmans.