HF ratchet

[KEH]

To be exact, a extendable handle rat with a 3/8 drive on one side of the head and a 1/4 on the other. I was paying for a purchase ( a trailer jack) and saw this ratchet laying on the counter, obviously turned in for warranty since the head was locked up. After a few polite questions to the clerk, it turned out that
1. Yes, they had a few returns, 2. they just exchanged a new ratchet for the old ones, and she didn't know that other makes had repair kits and that the ratchet head could be taken apart.

Which brings me to a question: HF rats have been around long enough for some GJ members to have an idea of how well they hold up, so would anybody like to share an opinion on them? I have 3, I think, that I bought gently used from flea markets but I haven't used them enough to challenge them. They worked quite well when I used them.

KEH

 

[99LeCouch]

The composite ones are awesome, and hold up fine for homeowner use. The cheaper ones might not be all that great.

 

[ARFLY]

Harbor Freight has some good ratchets. The composites are spoken highly of on here. I have the ratchets you are talking about, the 3/8 and 1/4 and the 1/2. I have not used them much, but they have worked fine. Any mechanical device can and will wear out/break at some point.

 

[619DioFan]

My collection of HF ratchets is as follows-
1/2 inch drive extendable handle
3/8 inch drive dual flex ( head flexes and handle has a flex joint as well ) this is a favorite
long reach low profile with 3/8 flex head at one end and 1/4 flex at the other
short low profile with 3/8 non flex end and 1/4 non flex other end
1/4 inch drive roto head - another favorite

All have worked well for me. no warranty returns on any as of yet.

 

[Danglerb]

With HF they don't so much wear out as people will break them, same as any other brand, but in pro use ratchets do wear out leading to a sudden fail.

 

[Mr_B]

Be little selective on what pick and qc them a bit and with a 20% coupon they good value considering spec and current ease of warranty .
Plenty people use them without much drama .

 

[bczygan]

Buy them.

Use them.

End of story.

Bill

 

[jjgrappler]

I have a bunch of the HF Pittsburgh Pro ratchets. I just warrantied my first one after I toasted the gears working on my truck. I have a drawer of gearwrench, proto and other stuff and usually grab the HF ratchets. YMMV

 

[mrjaw14]

always drove me nuts the reverse lever was backwards

 

[bczygan]

always drove me nuts the reverse lever was backwards

Everyone else is backwards.....

Bill

 

[jd_1138]

I really like their composite ratchets and the swivel/roto head ratchets. Both are in their "pro" line but super cheap. I love them, but I am not a pro mechanic/tech -- just a DIYer who works on my stuff and the stuff of a few others.

The swivel head ratchets are cheap and useful enough that they are a great buy.

 

[joshmodelskidoo]

I have the flex head Pittsburgh pro and there pretty good. Got some stubby flex heads a few years ago that are standard Pittsburgh I believe and there junk. Heads binding and skip teeth

 

[bonneyman]

I bought a pair of the composite jobbies and they work fine and are very nice to hold.

 

[k1rodeoboater]

As a DIY guy they're an incredible value.

I broke the level off one of the standard teardrop 1/2" ones. That was over 10 yrs old. Walked in with it and walked out with a brand new ratchet. Was quite literally the easiest warranty experience ever.

Come to think of it all but 2 of my ratchets are from HF. Only other HF hand tool I have broken was a breaker bars rivet.

 

[Mr_B]

^
that easy walk in walk out warranty the big plus considering bargain basement price you can acquire a ratchet for with 20% coupon .
I have a few in secondary portable tools and they taken some abuse, not greatest ratchets in world but certainly better than the price you pay, bit of grease and thread retainer has them running pretty nice,
I warranty changed 3/8 flex head (bust it trying achieve impossible at pull a part yard) ., like you quick & simple no drama affair getting new one .

 

[HaroRider]

I actually like their ratchets, used them a few times. I cant buy them though because the selector is backwards and it drives me crazy.

 

[jgromada]

Considering how much people hate on HF on here, the verdict on the ratchets is pretty good.

Based on that I have bought a few and have been happy with them. Do use the attached coupon

 

[Nineeightyone]

I've used my buddy's extendable ratchet pretty heavily, and it's a solid buy for the money. It's great for situations where I don't want to go hunt down a breaker bar, or need *just a titch* more force applied. I was skeptical at first because I was sure it was going to bend the handle the first time any decent amount of torque was applied when fully extended, but it's been going quite well for over a year now under heavy use -- that was enough to convince me to buy my own, and now it earns its keep in my toolbox on a pretty regular basis.

 

[L5wolvesf]

Considering how much people hate on HF on here, the verdict on the ratchets is pretty good.

Based on that I have bought a few and have been happy with them. Do use the attached coupon

Thanks for the coupon.

I like my HF composites, have had them for over 10 years, DIY use mostly, no problems.

 

[Onefastgsx]

I have the chrome 72t 3/8s, 3/8s flex head, and the long reach 1/2 flex head. I've had them since the month they came out and have used them pretty heavily. Only issue was with the 1/2 flex head, I primarily use for wheels on my car, and I snapped the head off the handle when it was a couple months old. Exchanged it and haven't had a problem with it or the others for years.
The heads on the flex head models do get floppier than my gearwrench or Snapon wrenches. That's my only complaint

 

[Wamsutta]

I picked up a set of HF ratchets.

They were running a special, buy 3 and get 1 free.

 

[Rabid Badger]

I picked up a set of HF ratchets.

They were running a special, buy 3 and get 1 free.

I'm not sure what you think you're accomplishing here.

 

[finn]

Put me in the Hates HF catevgory, but I do like my little 2/8” drive composite ratchet.

Also my 5 drawer cart and random orbital buffer-polisher.

The other stuff—- not so much.

 

[Wamsutta]

I'm not sure what you think you're accomplishing here.

You mean the dollar bill? That's there to establish scale so that the viewer has a rough idea of how big the ratchets are. With that dollar, you can tell that they're 3/8 drive Pittsburgh flex head ratchets in the standard length.

 

[Rabid Badger]

You mean the dollar bill? That's there to establish scale so that the viewer has a rough idea of how big the ratchets are. With that dollar, you can tell that they're 3/8 drive Pittsburgh flex head ratchets in the standard length.

In the interest of saving time:

Those are Snap-On ratchets.

Your nonsense posts aren't contributing anything to the conversation occurring in this thread.

Do you have anything to say that does contribute to the conversation?

 

[kctyphoon]

That extendable handle dual head ratchet youre talking about - can easily be converted to a single head 3/8 ratchet. They use the same 72 tooth setup as the others. I swapped the heads of that an the long handle composite 3/8. So now its an extendable 3/8 ratchet with a socket release button instead.

I have another long handle 3/8 ratchet w/indexing head (i think its indexing) that i made from one of their ratchets and one of the breaker bars. Was it the ratcheting breaker bar maybe? I forget.

Ive used their composite 1/4” ratchets at work for years. They are near impossible to break.

 

[SeisMec]

Those are Snap-On ratchets.

Doubt that.
https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-drive-professional-flex-head-ratchet-62321.html

 

[Coopduc]

Doubt that.
https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-drive-professional-flex-head-ratchet-62321.html

Look closely. Badger is correct.

 

[SeisMec]

Look closely. Badger is correct.

My bad. I see the red plastic is different at the head end.

 

[ChrisLS8]

Never heard of em

 

[ChrisLS8]

I'm not sure what you think you're accomplishing here.

90% of his posts are useless trolling on his 4th or 5th account. Pay no mind to the super mechanic

 

[Professional Tool User]

The Harbor Freight ratchets I can give a pass to are the composite ones and the rotohead ratchets. The Pittsburgh Pro flex head ones have a tedency to lock up. The composite ones seem to have the same generic internals and seem to be thick enough to prevent it from locking up.

 

[Rabid Badger]

The indexable head ratchets are well made. They're handy for getting around obstacles every once in a while, like changing the fuel pump on a 1970 F-250 with a 360.

https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/sockets-ratchets/12-in-drive-indexable-head-ratchet-62315.html

https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/sockets-ratchets/38-in-drive-indexable-head-ratchet-62316.html

 

[Robbie B]

Well what about the Icon stuff? Is it worth a darn? I was at the store yesterday and saw a few features on the combo wrenches that night make me go for them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rabid Badger]

Well what about the Icon stuff? Is it worth a darn? I was at the store yesterday and saw a few features on the combo wrenches that night make me go for them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The flex heads are not very impressive.

The fixed head ratchets are solid, but their priced 50-60% higher than Tektons that are using a nearly identical mechanism.

The roto heads are nice, but then so are the Pittsburgh rotos, and they cost less than half what the Icons do.

 

[barrybeefburger]

Im in the printing industry, about 9 years ago I bought a couple of the composite wavy handle 1/2" drives, the main reason was regular metal ratchets tend to crack the inspection windows on the running boards when the guys drop them down after using them. In those years I cant tell you how many 17mm sockets that we have worn out but the ratchets are still going strong, they are beat to hell but they still work fine.

Imagine if the ratchet was made by SO it would be revered as much as the F80 but because they are made by HF they are considered redheaded step children, I dont get it.

 

[EZ_Garage]

I own all three sizes of Pitts Pro ratchets in: Tear Drop head (aka low profile), roto head, and straight composite as well as the 1/2" extendable. I have owned and own, various other brands and I consider the HF ratchets at least the equal of the other brand ratchets that I own.

I have looked at the PP flex head ratchets and opted to go in a different direction as the head doesn't lock or have detents.

The use of the $5 off any PP Ratchet coupon makes most of the PP ratchets under $15 with a lifetime warranty. I think that probably represents one of the best bargains going. $0.02

 

[Nineeightyone]

That extendable handle dual head ratchet youre talking about - can easily be converted to a single head 3/8 ratchet. They use the same 72 tooth setup as the others. I swapped the heads of that an the long handle composite 3/8. So now its an extendable 3/8 ratchet with a socket release button instead.

This is awesome to know, I like the extendable handle ratchet but the 1/4" drive gets in the way sometimes. Looks like it's time to buy some ratchets to build a frankenstein ratchet :B

Edit, because I missed the point: I'm a pretty big fan of the Pittsburgh Pro ratchets, they've been good to me over the years in 1/2" drive flavor and I occasionally use my 3/8" drive depending on what my needs are. Tekton also offers a pretty solid ratchet for similar money, that I'm a big fan of in terms of durability and comfort.

 

[Jsf721]

I have the Pittsburgh Pro 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2" ratchets.

In use 5 plus years. I am a DIY guy, moderate use and zero issues.