88 teeth vs 80 just sounds like marketing to me. I'm not moved to buy based on 8 more teeth. Technically, more teeth can mean a weaker rachet, but I doubt 8 teeth make any appreciable difference.
The locking flex also looks hokey, but this is really personal preference. Most pros I know prefer the friction flex. These can be tightened such that they are very difficult to move, or loosened to suit. Several times I have needed to change the flex angle during the stroke to provide knuckle room. Is the flex lock defeatable? Can you set it to move freely?
The slim head IS a big deal to me and I would probably consider these based on that alone. Many times I end up using mid depth sockets to reach into a recess only to find I've run out of room getting the darned bolt out! Problem with smaller heads is that means smaller gears and thus a weaker ratchet. You can't have it all, more teeth, smaller head, greater strength. For normal sized ratchets, I don't think the loss in strength is an issue. Only factor in the really long ratchets.
I would consider these if they were over 12 or 14" long. Snap on makes a 17" 3/8 ratchet (FLL80, FHLL80) but I've not yet seen a flex head version. They have a 1/2" flex model in this size. The 1/2" head isn't really that much bigger than a 3/8" head with a mid depth socket. See
here for a comparison.
Snap On's shallow socket set comes with a shallow ratchet handle. But I feel this cookie isn't done baking. I'd like to see a range of longer ratchets with the reduced size head. Not sure if they would have enough strength to be 18" long or so tho.
Ratchet design is all about managing conflicting requirements, strong, yet small, fine toothed yet with the strength of a coarse tool, low back drag but high strength etc etc. And the longer the tool gets, the more strength the mechanism must have since we get mroe mechanical advantage. Long and strong is what I want, but not at the cost of a 1/2" sized head. This ratchet looks like an attempt to produce a long, small headed tool. I'll watch with interest to see how it is received.
If I were Snap On, I'd make a longer handle for the shallow socket set. They won't be as strong as F80, but they could get you out of a jam. This ratchet may be a good alternative.
