Tekton came out with a new set recently. One end is ratcheting flex head the other end is 12 point fixedI have the Gearwrench set and a handful of Matco's, They are quite handy, I use them about as much as a normal combination wrench. The 18mm gets used quite a bit on caliper bracket bolts, 14mm too. The fixed box end can be as useful as the flex box end.
The spline feature is somewhat annoying though, it can get hung on on fasteners at times. 12pt would be better IMO, no ones makes them like that. Matco (Kabo) spline drive is better than the GW, but the cost of the Matco wrenches offsets it. GW is also 120 tooth vs. 72 IIRC, it can make some difference depending on what you're doing.

If you want cheap, there are Chinese options (I assume) for $55 on Amazon.$700 for imported wrenches, and just being 8-19 is absolute lunacy

The point isn't that I need a cheap option, the point is that it's a mid tier quality brand importing product and charging Snap On money for it. Compared to Tekton which offers more sizes all together for less than one of the VIM sets, and the quality is going to be nearly identical.If you want cheap, there are Chinese options (I assume) for $55 on Amazon.
Probably not great, but good enough to help a DIY guy reach a challenge spot.
Although convenient to think about tools in three levels, there is an infinite scale between each of those levels.The point isn't that I need a cheap option, the point is that it's a mid tier quality brand importing product and charging Snap On money for it. Compared to Tekton which offers more sizes all together for less than one of the VIM sets, and the quality is going to be nearly identical.
I have a full set of the old Tekton 6pt. I love them and do not find the heads too floppy. Could just be a preference thing. I’m sure they’ll loosen more as they age (Mine were some of the very last produced, purchased on closeout of prior design).I just bought a 17-19mm Tekton old style 6 point for $25 to go with my Astro Nano impact sockets.
Not super thrilled by it honestly. The head is too floppy. Will probably keep it however for my limited use. Can always use electrical tape to stiffen it up.
I would buy the recent Mounainn/Icon/Tekton stuff over the old style.
Does anyone make a locking or indexing head?
That Lang reminds me of the old C-mans I have that are next to useless. The heads are so big they just often do not fit. I gave mine away since they were about dead last on my “preferred reach” chart.I have the old style Tekton double flex and I like them. Although I think they are a bit long for normal use. Also wish they were 12 point to make it easier to get on the bolt.
I also have a non flex offset double ratchet from Lang and I like them better because they are much shorter.
The Tekton ones I have are Imperial and the Lang ones are Metric. I think I will end up getting another set of each to have Metric and Imperial in both sizes.
The Lang ones do have a much smaller tooth count, but because they are so short it has not been much of an issue. Might be a bigger issue with a real long handle. Picture of the Lang Wrench.
![]()
I took me awhile to figure out just why the Nano stuff works so well and why it’s almost always my first choice. But I think I had a bit of an epiphany.I'd rather have a few sets of the Astro Nano stuff.
Spline drive doesn't bother me, I don't really care if it mars up a fastener or not, in the salt belt, I like the grip on already corroded fasteners. If I want a hex end, I have the Craftsman V series single flex end ones (the six point ones), which I've found surprisingly nice to use lately. Otherwise I use my Icon/Cornwell double flex reversibles.I'm surprised you guys are non-challant about wrenches being spline drive; I'm still stuck on wanting my wrenches to be hex.
They've said elsewhere that they would sell a "complete the set" set if you email them.I took me awhile to figure out just why the Nano stuff works so well and why it’s almost always my first choice. But I think I had a bit of an epiphany.
Astro realized that almost every common fastener a mechanical will see is a capscrew in a blind hole. Very, very few nuts on very long studs or bolts are used such were you need a very deep socket to reach down the length of threads to grab the hex.
What this means is that a very shallow socket that’s just deep enough to handle the head of a common hex head is quite sufficient.
And not only does the shallow/short socket fit where other sockets won’t, it is much less likely to come off the fastener under torque loads. Deep sockets move the torque apply distance farther above the plane of the head head and this caused your applied torque to want to pop the tool off the head. The deeper the socket, the worst this is.
At the other extreme, you have something like a box end that applies the torque exactly in the center of the hex itself, so it’s going to stay on the hex.
The shallow Nano sockets just work brilliantly in the real world. Grab a 22mm ratching XL box wrench and you can use the 1/2” drive Nanos almost like you’d use the 3/8 Nanos with the Astro 78318 ratching wrench (17mm). I see they’ve added the 78218 for the larger 22mm hexes now, so that’s a great option.
I do wish they made an “oops I shoulda bought the larger set” completion set that lets you buy the 20-24mm sizes in case (like me) you made a mistake and bought the 3/8 set that stops at 19mm.
![]()
![]()
Fixed/Flex Ratcheting Wrench Set with Organizer (14-Piece) | TEKTON
14-piece set includes 6–19 mm (metric) fixed/flex head long 12-point ratcheting box end wrenches with modular wrench organizers. No skipped sizes. WRB95303.www.tekton.com
I think the Vim models are made by Tone as they share that strange flex head design where there's only grooves halfway across the flex head base. Probably the most expensive though. I like the new Tekton versions because they aren't really long. The Gearwrench set is great if you really need length. I feel that sometimes they're too long to use. I think Tekton has the best warranty service of the bunch.![]()
I’d rather buy an equally-capable tool at a fraction of the price and invest the money I saved. To each their ownIf I ever got one of those it would be 12 point and Snap-on. I'd rather have one nice wrench instead of a whole set of mediocre wrenches.
The point isn't that I need a cheap option, the point is that it's a mid tier quality brand importing product and charging Snap On money for it. Compared to Tekton which offers more sizes all together for less than one of the VIM sets, and the quality is going to be nearly identical.
I agree with this. I have the Gearwrench GearBox XL set, and it's really handy. I use the fixed end to break the fastener loose, and the ratcheting end to spin it out. It's great for caliper bolts.Personally, I would get the single flex with the non ratcheting fixed end. Used the fixed end to break loose and the ratcheting end to run the bolt out.
I do got one complaint about vim that isn’t there pricing or warranty. They made these sweet ratcheting wrench heads that fit on 3/8 extensions. NORA is the product codeThe VIM are reversible, the Tekton aren't. Everything VIM sells is available online thru other vendors for considerably less than on their website, as has been said every time someone complains about their pricing. And now you will bring up the warranty....
It's simple, don't buy VIM if you don't like their pricing or warranty. It's just another option to consider.