husky pro ratchets

[unclethumbtack]

I am a pretty ********* wrencher (off-road vehicles) anyways I bought a 1/2 and a 3/8 inch drive husky pro ratchets at home depot, they were on sale. They have tiny heads and only 5 degree radius. Has anyone else tried these, so far I like them and I just wanted some body elses opinion.

 

[383astro]

I got the Husky Pro ratcheting wrenches that are awesome. I got them for a gift and wasnt sure if they were any good so I put them to the test and they did great.

 

[terabyte]

dude those are my favorite ratchets. the real reason I did this project was for my 3/8 husky

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26382&highlight=snap-on

I like them even more now.

 

[unclethumbtack]

yeah I have really beat on them and I really like them, I guess I am not crazy.

 

[terabyte]

the 3/8 loved permatex btw...
the 1/2 is brand new not broken in one bit and it didn't like it AT ALL...

 

[Fedwrench]

Hate to disagree but, those ratchets aren't that durable. They are Stanley made. Mac sells them as the micro tough ratchet. A few guys I worked with had them and they kept having to warranty them. The servicing Mac dealer quit selling thembecause of the durability issue. Your results may vary.

 

[terabyte]

I don't lean on mine that heavily. I mean I looked at the head on the thing and I know it's not going to hold ubber high torque loads.

I warrantied it once about a year ago.

I recently got the Stanly Micro branded ones for my track tool box.

 

[Gregster]

I have them at home.. good for home use. I was using Husky ratchets at work and found myself at Home Depot every week getting new ones. They just aren't durable enough.

 

[Joe B.]

Do they still even sell those at HD? My dad has one and I must say it is nice but he does not use it enough to have durability problems that a pro tech would see. My local HD just remodeled their tool department and the new Husky stuff is all low end china stuff and not anywhere near as nice as the older Husky ratchets.

 

[Gregster]

Do they still even sell those at HD? My dad has one and I must say it is nice but he does not use it enough to have durability problems that a pro tech would see. My local HD just remodeled their tool department and the new Husky stuff is all low end china stuff and not anywhere near as nice as the older Husky ratchets.

Agreed on that...It's all gone to hell now. A few years back it was ok stuff. The ratchets had no plastic internals and the sockets were wonderful. I still use all the old Husky stuff at home. Now it's all low end China stuff...

 

[garfunkle24]

It is the same as a Microtough and in my opinion, what Fedwrench said is absolutely correct. I absolutely LOVED using my Microtough 3/8 and 1/2" ratchets. The head was tiny, they had barely any drag so you didn't need to hold the fastener etc. However, I had to get warranty about every 6 - 8 weeks (sometimes more like 6 - 8 hours...) and my Mac dealer also quit exchanging or putting kits in them and if you wanted warranty you had to exchange for a 30 tooth unit (maybe it was a corporate policy). Before this he would actually leave me with 1 -2 kits on hand just in case. I traded both of mine for XR models and then never used them, ended up giving them away.

A few months ago I found that Canadian Tire sells the same ratchets under their Mastercraft Maximum brand and I bought some as the store is right by my house. It takes me literally like 3 minutes to warranty them on my way home and already a couple of the staff know my first name lol.

Now I'm back to Microtough goodness, but the simple answer is that they don't hold up worth a ****.

 

[terabyte]

I got these for my track tool box.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370115076195

I have no idea how to take them apart though. There is no c-clip like my HD one.

 

[garfunkle24]

I got these for my track tool box.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370115076195

I have no idea how to take them apart though. There is no c-clip like my HD one.

Disposable ratchets maybe? They just look like an evdn cheaper version of the same thing.

 

[terabyte]

Do they still even sell those at HD? My dad has one and I must say it is nice but he does not use it enough to have durability problems that a pro tech would see. My local HD just remodeled their tool department and the new Husky stuff is all low end china stuff and not anywhere near as nice as the older Husky ratchets.

Disposable ratchets maybe? They just look like an evdn cheaper version of the same thing.

agreed but there has to be a way to take them apart

 

[a390st]

One thing I'll say for the Microtough ratchets. They did a good job of proving how good Mac's warranty was. I thought they felt pretty decent, but they don't hold a candle to the dual 80 ratchets as far as durability goes.

 

[krusty the clown]

agreed but there has to be a way to take them apart

i alway's figure somebody had to put it together so it has to come apart!

 

[terabyte]

One thing I'll say for the Microtough ratchets. They did a good job of proving how good Mac's warranty was. I thought they felt pretty decent, but they don't hold a candle to the dual 80 ratchets as far as durability goes.

thats it!!!! I'm going to find me an F80 on the fleabay. I'm tired of hearing about these things. I WANT TO SEE WHAT THE FUSS IS ABOUT!

i alway's figure somebody had to put it together so it has to come apart!

bingo...

 

[SteveV]

I purchased one of those small-headed Husky pro ratchets in 3/8", and it failed on me in less than a year. When you would change directions with the selector tab, it wouldn't catch. I would sometimes have to bang it on the floor for it to engage. I never put a cheater bar on it, or abused it in any way. Just a few months of light wrenching.

I was also unhappy with the way Home Depot handled the return. It wasn't a "no questions asked return", despite it coming with a lifetime warranty. After a few minutes of paperwork and jumping through hoops, the guy at the counter said rudely ,"we're not really supposed to do this, but we'll make an exception and let you have a new one to replace it."

I've pretty much wrote off Husky tools because of the way Home Depot handled the return. It's too bad it didn't work out because it's a great little ratchet in terms of size and feel.

I don't think all of Husky's tools are junk, and maybe I just got a bum ratchet, but the price of Husky's line of hand tools is so close to Craftsman, I really don't see the point in buying Husky at all. Craftsman hand tools are usually American made (unlike Husky, which is mainly Taiwan and China), have an excellent warranty, and are usually higher quality.

 

[eschoendorff]

One thing I'll say for the Microtough ratchets. They did a good job of proving how good Mac's warranty was. I thought they felt pretty decent, but they don't hold a candle to the dual 80 ratchets as far as durability goes.

On the flip side, the 80 series ratchets have a HUGE head compared to these Microtoughs.... I guess everything is a trade-off....

 

[a390st]

Notice I didn't mention the size of the heads. The F80 and T72 have quite large heads. I assume the S80 does, too, but I don't have one yet. In fact, the T72 looks sort of strange with a tiny little handle and a large head. They're not so thick, but just large. They do seem to hold up pretty well, especially for a fine tooth ratchet. Those Microtoughs are just a flimsy design. Smooth, but flimsy.

 

[eschoendorff]

Notice I didn't mention the size of the heads. The F80 and T72 have quite large heads. I assume the S80 does, too, but I don't have one yet. In fact, the T72 looks sort of strange with a tiny little handle and a large head. They're not so thick, but just large. They do seem to hold up pretty well, especially for a fine tooth ratchet. Those Microtoughs are just a flimsy design. Smooth, but flimsy.

Too bad Snap On cannot (or will not) figure out how to blend the best of both worlds...

 

[a390st]

E, do you have a T72? The handle looks like a toothpick compared to the head. It is a very nicely designed handle, and looks good, but it is tiny. I guess I'm accustomed to the Craftsman rhft ratchet with a boxy handle and the Craftsman new generation ratchet with a bigger handle. The SK 1/4" ratchet has a more traditional larger handle, too.

 

[eschoendorff]

E, do you have a T72? The handle looks like a toothpick compared to the head. It is a very nicely designed handle, and looks good, but it is tiny. I guess I'm accustomed to the Craftsman rhft ratchet with a boxy handle and the Craftsman new generation ratchet with a bigger handle. The SK 1/4" ratchet has a more traditional larger handle, too.

No, I don't have a T72... in fact, I don't think that I have any Snap On 1/4 drive ratchets (except the one that came with the Corvette). I have a Facom that I love and a couple others... and old SK Pro that kicks ***. The Facom has at least 72 teeth, is a round head and does everything that I ask it to do. a T72, in my case, would just be redundant.

Now, if I really have clearance issues, I just use a square drive adapter on a GearWrench. Problem solved.

 

[a390st]

The Facom is a pretty good ratchet. I also like the SO and Matco/Wright round heads. That SK has the deepest head of any ratchet I've ever seen, but the 3/8" version I handled felt pretty smooth.