The "Harbor Freight Jack" marketed by some Chinese entity named "US General"
is sold by many other outlets at prices from $139 (or whatever HF is
charging now) to $350. So, the exact price is not that good a measure of
quality.
I have a US General jack(@ the $189 price level), a Griot's alum jack (3
years old and around $600), and a 35 year old Hein Warner 1 1/4 ton lo boy.
When I want to jack a street car, I use the Hein Warner -- it's a lot more
stable, and the slower lift rate makes it easier on old bones. When I'm
jacking a 1000# race car, the US General or the Griot's work just fine. The
Griot's jack has a nicer action, both up and down; the finish is a true
brushed aluminum. The US General is a little trickier on the release side,
and much of the finish is paint over aluminum; a nice feature of the US
General is that the rubber jack pad stays attached to the saddle when the
jack is stored on a trailer wall. It will be interesting to see if the US
General stays in good shape over time and abuse.
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