Let’s talk Kabo ratcheting wrenches…

[impactims]

They seem to be an OEM that makes ratcheting wrenches for a variety of tool suppliers.

They are all made in Taiwan, right?

It looks like ICON ratcheting wrenches are all Kabo. Like these ones….









Looks like Cornwell / Blue Power also use Kabo exclusively for ratcheting wrenches.










Same for Carlyle, Mountain with their extra long ratcheting wrenches. Same for Matco……

Who else?

And how do you tell if it’s Kabo or someone else?



And, you might say the ICON and Cornwell extra long ratcheting wrenches are the same with a price difference of about $200. But, at the very least, there is a difference in tooth count.

Same with Blue Power and Cornwell. There is a tooth count difference. 120 vs 72.

 

[WhataTool]

Matco is moving away from KABO, like their new DBE flex head reversible wrench set.
There's also an entire long thread about the various brands selling the KABO reversible.
It's all quite boring, everyone selling the same stuff. Im waiting for someone to actually design something new to look into this category again.

 

[Steel_Rain]

KnurledNut made a post years ago about this:

KABO COMPILATION: spline extra long flex ratcheting double box wrench

The KABO spline XL flex ratcheting double box wrench is infamous here on GJ, mentioned often. It is almost always found with different brand name labeling. As such, pricing can vary greatly, depending on distributor, warranty, 72t or 90t count, etc. The purpose of this thread is to be a...

www.garagejournal.com

Agreed on Kabo being a boring, albeit, inexpensive. They are reliable for the most part.

SO did reinvent these recently with the XFRRM705 in this thread: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...705-ratcheting-wrenches.527821/#post-10576920

 

[Fedwrench]

Kabo might be boring but, I choose to think of them as stable, high quality, and durable.

If you want a ratcheting wrench not from Kabo, SK released flex head X Frames recently, and there's always Duratech and Infar seems to making wrenches for a bunch of brands these days

 

[KnurledNut]

I always liked Kabos exposed screw because it can be removed to free the wrench if it gets stuck.
I also like the modified open end they did on some of the combos. I always wanted to see how it fared against FD+ and WG2.0.

 

[WhoWhatNow]

Stupid question: are the Icon version reversible?

 

[Steel_Rain]

Stupid question: are the Icon version reversible?

Yes:



All these Kabo style use the same push slider to switch. It can get annoying in some situations, but it works.

 

[Rabid Badger]

Who else?

And how do you tell if it’s Kabo or someone else?

Why are you asking? Last I heard from you there was no reason to buy anything but Snap-On.

 

[Hakeem]

I believe these reversible wrenches from Harbor Freight are made by Hi-Five aka NewTools:



But all the other icon ratchet wrenches are in fact by Kabo

 

[WhoWhatNow]

Yes:



All these Kabo style use the same push slider to switch. It can get annoying in some situations, but it works.

Thanks for confirming. I think I will pick up a set next time they are on sale.

 

[Steel_Rain]

I got the Icon versions for the one thing…convenience.

I have 3 HFTs within 15 min of me, so I can warranty them very easy and all my local stores seem to stock 2-3 boxes of these at all times.

Hopefully they will have another 25% off sale on all Icon tools soon, that comes and goes pretty often. I don’t see that coming with the Black Friday sale (yet), but they are know to drop that kinda stuff at random.

 

[dnschmidt]

KABO is innovative. TOPTUL makes great stuff but they come out with something new every blue moon. KABO is always coming out with new stuff. They are my favorite Taiwanese hand tool manufacturer.

 

[impactims]

Why are you asking? Last I heard from you there was no reason to buy anything but Snap-On.

To expand my knowledge of who makes what.

 

[Amrecords]

Yes, the Icon wrenches shown, except for the reversible ones, are made by Kabo tools. I have a lot of tools under their own KABO brand

 

[impactims]

What about this Kabo wrench set?

Who offers it other than Cornwell?

 

[WhataTool]

VIM is pretty similar

VIM Tools FPRW100 3 Piece Nano Flex Ratcheting Wrench Set

Buy VIM Tools FPRW100 3 Piece Nano Flex Ratcheting Wrench Set with an everyday low price and fast shipping! JB Tools

www.jbtools.com

 

[impactims]

How about these?

Who offers the other than Cornwell?