I have used several Harbor Freight tools, with great success, for years. I've also seen pure junk sold by them.
IMO, the cheap tool on the truck almost always trumps the fancy tool you can't afford to buy. Many times, it is the blades / bits / accessories that make a tool perform, more so than the tool itself. For example, I have probably spent three times as much on bits, than I did on my roto-hammer itself.
There are some tools too important for you to compromise on, or take chances with. I might take a chance with an umbrella - but that parachute needs perform 100% every time!
I dislike the temptation to judge items by brand name alone. Almost every "quality" manufacturer out there has a few products that are disappointments.
