Pear-Heads or Round-Heads???

[Al Borland]

I have many of both, wondering if anyone has a favorite type and why.

 

[M6erfan]

niether if they don't have quick release...other than that, doesn't matter to me. I have both and don't see a clear advantage of one over the other

 

[ptschram]

I prefer the pear heads, unless by round you meant the rotating round head ratchets, and then, it;s still a tight race.

I HATE the round head ratchets, they are the biggest PITA to rebuild on the tool truck. Fortunately, I only have two customers who own them and when they break them, they graciously repair them themselves!

 

[M6erfan]

I prefer the pear heads, unless by round you meant the rotating round head ratchets, and then, it;s still a tight race.

I HATE the round head ratchets, they are the biggest PITA to rebuild on the tool truck. Fortunately, I only have two customers who own them and when they break them, they graciously repair them themselves!

So aside from the repair issue, any other reasons you prefer pear heads?

 

[colin39]

I love my round head facoms1/4 3/8 1/2 and 3/4
But also love my pear heads in the same variant

 

[crewchief888]

most of mine are pear heads, except for the old SK's i have..

but i really dont care, as long as it works.

 

[BK13]

I would say pear head, but my newest infatuation is a Proto (Facom design) round head.

 

[shockwave]

Pear heads for me usually lower profile ratchets too

 

[ChevyEFI]

Flex handles feel weird and unnatural to me vs. a roto-head.
And a center-located selector is also my preference over a lower-mount lever.
I guess you could say I grew up on SK and never warmed up to the pear.

 

[ganymede]

Both. I can't imagine living with just one or the other.

 

[Fedwrench]

I own both round heads and pear head ratchets. The pear head ratchet far outnumber the round heads. It's hard to beat the crisp fine tooth action, thin ratchet heads with improved access, and reduced handle swing engagement angles that today's pear head shaped ratchets offer.

The classic Facom/current Proto round head palm control ratchets are a joy to use every where except where space is an issue

Maybe one of these years SK will surprise everyone by finally releasing their new line of fine toothed ratchets or the replacement drop in cartridge based on their new x frame ratcheting boxed end wrenches.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

First quality ratchet I had was a SK roundhead. It felt so much better than the Craftsman pear head ratchets I was using. Roundhead ratchets still feel a bit more "positive" to me than pear heads. Maybe because the teeth are broached in to the handle.

The Proto type dual pawl ratchets rate a very close second, though.

 

[ku17]

I thought I was all aboard the pear-head train until I was kinda backed into getting a round head Proto because Armstrong didn't have any flex head ratchets available. I was set up to be disappointed and hate the thing. In the end, I noticed very little difference. The action was fine, it turned bolts without any issues. My only complaint is that I had to manually check if I was fighting or loosening since the head doesn't tell you, not really a big deal. At the end of the day, most of my ratchets are pear but I wouldn't shy away from a good ratchet just because it's a round head

 

[joecon]

I always used SK ratchets so I was a round head guy. Then I got a duel 80 and I
use them all the time. The last ratchet I've gotten is a 1/4 matco long handle and
I like it a lot.

 

[jakemac]

Pear head, no quick release.
Most round heads that I've tried tend to have a round handle that rolls in my hand when wrenching. Quick release mechanisms tend to skip on me and get in the way when I need to bear down on the head.

 

[Itinerant]

I don't have a preference but I've got about three times more pear-heads than round.

 

[McFarmer]

I gotta be able to switch it with my thumb.

The Wera round heads I can.

 

[gdocktor3]

Small 1/4" round heads are superb. Pear heads for the bigger stuff. Though, I do like my 1/2" Williams Superratchet round head with the 4 pawl design.

 

[tubamonster]

I've always preferred pear heads, mostly because they are easier to find with a quick release and you don't have to hold the socket to change directions. That said, I've never really used a round head ratchet. I have a Snap On TR72 that I always grab because I like it so much even though I have an SK 1/4 ratchet.

 

[Jim C.]

Most of mine are "pear head." I call them "tear drop"......but whatever. Same thing. You get the point.

 

[bodyguy16]

In my work box it's all pear heads dual 80 and some mistakes matched love the ease of a lever to switch rotations in tight areas. However at home its all round heads! Mostly older stuff like challenger/proto and husky stuff that was passed down and or given to me from friends,as long as it does what I need it to do I'm ok with either.

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk

 

[L.Cheapo]

I own one round head ratchet. Havent touched it since the 90s. Hard to bead a dual80, and before that, my favorite f936 hard handle.

 

[justme-]

I have and use both, buy my preference is for the pear only because of the ease of direction changes. I used to require quick change, but now that I've been regularly using non quick change ratchets more often I don't really notice it or care.
If only it were easier to tell the direction of my sk ratchets....

 

[drink]

I have many of both, wondering if anyone has a favorite type and why.

Most of my ratchets are quick release pear heads. However, I do have some round heads that are not quick release and they have a wheel that rotates that changes direction. I have to use both hands to change direction but someday I might be able to switch with just my thumb. Some tool ads say the round heads will rotate more than a pear head. I was raised on quick release pear heads and I like them. A round head will work but I am just not used to working with them.

 

[Murphy4570]

I hate round head ratchets. I only own one, and it is a stubby 1/4" drive ratchet. Not used much.

I like ratchets that use a ball detent and have a selector lever. See the ratchet in my avatar for an example (F936).