Cheap ratcheting flex head wrenches...

[cburnscrx]

Alright...before anybody freaks out about getting better quality it's just for my travel tools. Been doing the whole travel and fix misc stuff at the parents, in-laws, brother and friends thing for awhile and I want to add a small set of flex head ratcheting wrenches to the kit. I don't (and won't) spend a bunch of money on the wrenches, so don't throw out anything above $50 for both sae and metric combined. Just interested in everybody's thoughts on this. I saw some off brand ratcheting wrenches at Wally World, and they were Taiwan made, but don't remember now if they were flex head or not. I also don't remember them being cheap.

Right now I've got it down to Husky at Home Depot or Pittsburgh at Harbor Freight. Both are the same price after the coupon at HF. I think (and if somebody knows that would be great) that the HF wrenches are made in Taiwan.

*Now, if Home Depot will take the 25% off coupon...it's signed sealed and delivered because that would be $30 for both sae and metric.

 

[mudflap]

We have some HF ratcheting wrenches in the service truck. Would be nice if they were a little longer, but holding up fine...They were a little rough at first..but they smoothed out after being used and abused for a while...

 

[cheechi]

OK I know this is not exactly what you're looking for. Here's what I can contribute. Here is the HF ratcheting wrench (non flex) and a GW of the same size. I took these a while ago for someone when I first got my GW set. The pics are large on purpose, no complaining.

pic 1
pic 2
pic 3

 

[unslow1]

I bought some no names at Menard's for $10 for SAE.

 

[mech-tech]

How about the ones at wal-mart under the "Ultra steel" brand?

If anyone needs me, I'll be in the storm shelter hiding from the sarcasm of suggesting walmart for tools

 

[BearCuda]

I think the gear wrench stuff is still plenty cheap enough to be decent travel wrenches. I got my combined metric/ SAE ratcheting flex head sets for $35 on sale.

 

[Scout Driver]

I think the gear wrench stuff is still plenty cheap enough to be decent travel wrenches. I got my combined metric/ SAE ratcheting flex head sets for $35 on sale.

Agreed. GearWrench makes a quality tool, but the price is still reasonable and affordable for a "road box" tool. Find them on a Black Friday sale or at a pawn shop and they are downright cheap.

Scott

 

[cburnscrx]

I think the gear wrench stuff is still plenty cheap enough to be decent travel wrenches. I got my combined metric/ SAE ratcheting flex head sets for $35 on sale.

Are we talking about $17.50 a set? If so, steer me in that direction. If not, $70 is way above my budget for a travel set. The Husky's are $40 TOTAL, and I am trying to be cheaper than that if possible (and still be an actual usable wrench)

*I have the Gearwrenches in my home box, and they're very nice. I have nothing but good things to say about them.

 

[cburnscrx]

How about the ones at wal-mart under the "Ultra steel" brand?

If anyone needs me, I'll be in the storm shelter hiding from the sarcasm of suggesting walmart for tools

I remember looking at them awhile ago, and truthfully they looked pretty good. I just don't remember if they made a flex head version.

 

[cburnscrx]

I bought some no names at Menard's for $10 for SAE.

By chance do you have the model #? I would be really interested in that set if you do.

 

[Harrison2]

i was in the same situation just before black friday, i looked at the husky and hf and the gw ones...

i finally went with the gw because it was a larger set and a good price on black friday but out of the husky and harbor freights i would go HF, the ratcheting rings didnt have as much play as the huskys and from memory were a tad longer aswell as feeling better in the hand.

no doubt they're produced in the same factory just rebrands, id go with whatever is easier for you to get warranted if it breaks and if the HF set feels **** after a week switch to the husky but id start with the HF.

 

[nicksnothereman]

Alright...before anybody freaks out about getting better quality it's just for my travel tools. Been doing the whole travel and fix misc stuff at the parents, in-laws, brother and friends thing for awhile and I want to add a small set of flex head ratcheting wrenches to the kit. I don't (and won't) spend a bunch of money on the wrenches, so don't throw out anything above $50 for both sae and metric combined. Just interested in everybody's thoughts on this. I saw some off brand ratcheting wrenches at Wally World, and they were Taiwan made, but don't remember now if they were flex head or not. I also don't remember them being cheap.

Right now I've got it down to Husky at Home Depot or Pittsburgh at Harbor Freight. Both are the same price after the coupon at HF. I think (and if somebody knows that would be great) that the HF wrenches are made in Taiwan.

*Now, if Home Depot will take the 25% off coupon...it's signed sealed and delivered because that would be $30 for both sae and metric.

The "ultra steel" ratcheting wrenches aren't flex (if that's the set you mean) they are also 20 bucks for 5 like most of these sets coming out. Home depot has a chinese husky set for 20 bucks (I think). Small set though (5) I believe. Would the husky last longer than the harbor freight (pittsburgh pro)? Uh...don't know...doubt it at this point. The HF look goofy as hell though with the rainbow of colors (if I'm recalling correctly), but are seemingly decent taiwanese wrenches.

 

[nicksnothereman]

How about the ones at wal-mart under the "Ultra steel" brand?

If anyone needs me, I'll be in the storm shelter hiding from the sarcasm of suggesting walmart for tools

They ain't cheap enough + no warranty!

(no really they aren't)

I want to know who makes them. Gives me that taiwanese gearwrench factory feeling in my gut.

 

[Holt]

How about the ones at wal-mart under the "Ultra steel" brand?

If anyone needs me, I'll be in the storm shelter hiding from the sarcasm of suggesting walmart for tools

I actually thought these looked pretty good. Coo Tawain. Ratchets smootly. But not cheap at $40.00 per set. Look likes rebranded gearwrench.

 

[mrjaw14]

I have no doubt that some of the wrenches being looked at here are made in the same factory, but as discussed a lot with the SO vs williams debate, just remember that looks on the outside doesn't tell you if the chrome is the same thickness, or if the underlying metal is the same, or the heat treat is done to the same quality.

the op specifically mentioned a truck bag. that's exactly when you dont want something to fail. Now I'm not saying don't get HF or any of the others, but I'd get which ever brand you choose, then I'd beat the hell out of them a bit at home and make a judgement if you want to trust them to be reliable. You can also hedge your bet by including other tools to break fasteners free before using the ratcheting wrench, that's when the cheaper ratcheting wrenches are going to fail.

 

[mrjaw14]

Check this thread out...now this is a ratcheting wrench! a standard to judge the others by. I'd have no issues busting fasteners loose if my ratcheting wrench had the same guts as a SO dual 80

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=228449

 

[jmm]

I've been using Harbor Freight's flex head ratchet wrenches for years now with no problems. They're not something I use often, but they've held up surprisingly well.

An SAE set of those wrenches and a torque wrench were the first items I bought when I discovered HF five or six years back (before that, it was just Northern Tool in my area). For the price, I'm definitely surprised and very happy with the quality.

 

[cburnscrx]

the op specifically mentioned a truck bag. that's exactly when you dont want something to fail. Now I'm not saying don't get HF or any of the others, but I'd get which ever brand you choose, then I'd beat the hell out of them a bit at home and make a judgement if you want to trust them to be reliable. You can also hedge your bet by including other tools to break fasteners free before using the ratcheting wrench, that's when the cheaper ratcheting wrenches are going to fail.

Thanks for the info, I am sure some are rebrands and thats what got me thinking. My trave tools are more for fixing things when I get there, not too worried about the Suburban itself. I also have a set of Craftsman RP I keep with me for stubborn bolts. The flex heads are more of an access situation for under dash work, ect. This is all about allowing me to help everybody else when I get there more so than a true truck box.

 

[BearCuda]

Are we talking about $17.50 a set? If so, steer me in that direction. If not, $70 is way above my budget for a travel set. The Husky's are $40 TOTAL, and I am trying to be cheaper than that if possible (and still be an actual usable wrench)

*I have the Gearwrenches in my home box, and they're very nice. I have nothing but good things to say about them.

Yes, advance auto had a sale where I got both sets for $35. Got them about 5 months ago.

 

[Danglerb]

Wait for a sale on GW, nobody is much cheaper than they are on sale.

 

[bob from indiana]

I have the Husky flex ratchet wrenches and have been pleased with them. I saw a set at home depot for $20.00 recently. I bought mine last year right after Christmas.