Beerhippie
Well-known member
I ordered this set (because GJ members are bad influences) on Tuesday and it arrived yesterday afternoon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000XW4C8Q?tag=atomicindus08-20
<$30, worth the chance?
Here's what I got:
Nice packaging, not too much excess plastic (it was shrink-wrapped).
COO, as per Amazon and the back of the box, is Taiwan.
What's inside:
The case--as advertised--is aluminum, with injection-molded plastic corners and acrylic(?) top. It seems well made and likely pretty dust resistant. The liner is not blowmold/vacuum-formed cheap plastic--it's nice die-cut foam. Bonus!
But how mini is it?
For scale, the palm of my left hand is 3 1/2" across.
It has to be an improvement over what I've been using:
That's basically unusable due to backdrag and just general crappiness.
Here's how low-profile the ratchet is with one of the bits in it:
1 7/8" tall. One place the trash pass-through General might be better, as that is just the height of the bit used--if it were usable.
The one thing it didn't come with that it should have, IMHO, is an adapter to use 1/4" dr. sockets. Fortunately, I have several in my various tool boxes. I picked out the shortest one.
That seems a little tall for the low-clearance, tight-space work I bough it for. I cut the adapter down by about 1/4", making it that much shorter:
Impressions so far?
The ratchet has 72 teeth, by my count. Seems very smooth, with little backdrag and no noticeable backlash. Direction selector works well, but has no noticeable detent in either direction.
Bit selection is nice. Phillips fit JIS very well. Not sure what the PZ bits are for. US standard Phillips?
Bit retention is magnetic and could be a little stronger, but not bad.
For low-clearance, a pass-through design would be better, but bit retention is always a little iffy with the ones I've used.
Everything seems well made and nicely finished, including the case. Seems like a very good deal for <$30!
I think the next step is to take the ratchet apart, just out of curiosity, then put it to use for a real review.
I'll report back in after I put this through its paces---
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000XW4C8Q?tag=atomicindus08-20
<$30, worth the chance?
Here's what I got:
Nice packaging, not too much excess plastic (it was shrink-wrapped).
COO, as per Amazon and the back of the box, is Taiwan.
What's inside:
The case--as advertised--is aluminum, with injection-molded plastic corners and acrylic(?) top. It seems well made and likely pretty dust resistant. The liner is not blowmold/vacuum-formed cheap plastic--it's nice die-cut foam. Bonus!
But how mini is it?
For scale, the palm of my left hand is 3 1/2" across.
It has to be an improvement over what I've been using:
That's basically unusable due to backdrag and just general crappiness.
Here's how low-profile the ratchet is with one of the bits in it:
1 7/8" tall. One place the trash pass-through General might be better, as that is just the height of the bit used--if it were usable.
The one thing it didn't come with that it should have, IMHO, is an adapter to use 1/4" dr. sockets. Fortunately, I have several in my various tool boxes. I picked out the shortest one.
That seems a little tall for the low-clearance, tight-space work I bough it for. I cut the adapter down by about 1/4", making it that much shorter:
Impressions so far?
The ratchet has 72 teeth, by my count. Seems very smooth, with little backdrag and no noticeable backlash. Direction selector works well, but has no noticeable detent in either direction.
Bit selection is nice. Phillips fit JIS very well. Not sure what the PZ bits are for. US standard Phillips?
Bit retention is magnetic and could be a little stronger, but not bad.
For low-clearance, a pass-through design would be better, but bit retention is always a little iffy with the ones I've used.
Everything seems well made and nicely finished, including the case. Seems like a very good deal for <$30!
I think the next step is to take the ratchet apart, just out of curiosity, then put it to use for a real review.
I'll report back in after I put this through its paces---
