According to this website, Channel locks are one of the worst tools ever made.
How the heck do you tighten fittings without them?
Don't say crescent wrench, that's on the list also.
http://homerenovations.about.com/od/toolsbuildingmaterials/ss/5worsttools_6.htm
Nearly all of tools which were mass produced since the Stone Age have served a useful function, or society would have quit buying and making them.
I have favorites in each category, like screwdrivers, but have resorted to using a dime to turn a screw when that was all I had.
If a guy has to carry a set of tools around all day only the most worthy will be in his/her tool pouch but most craftsmen have a wide variety of tools and some will only be used one a year, if that.
I tend to avoid tools that come with a free set of steak knives.