Ratchets? Best light/medium duty

[Rinspeed]

Harbor Freight warranty isn't that all attractive on a ten dollar item when you live an hour away from the store.

it isn't any more attractive to me living 15 minutes away.

 

[lardy1]

Actually, that new style Blackhawk ratchet is made in Taiwan and it's a copy of the USAG round head ratchet because it lacks the floating palm control disc found on the classic FACOM design. It's an example of the SBD family crossbreeding. You can also get a version of the USAG ratchet in Dewalt trim as well. Facom is also offering a round head version without the palm control ring as a "high performance ratchet"

(J.161B)(237 A)-3/8" Drive High Performance Ratchet (USAG)

USAG 3/8" Drive High Performance Ratchet (237A 3/8) - it

www.ultimategarage.com

Round Head Ratchets | DEWALT

The Round Head Ratchet has a 5 degree arc swing making it easy to maneuver in restricted areas. Its contoured, ergonomically designed handle with anti-slip grooves help make this ratchet extremely ...

www.dewalt.com

(R.161) -1/4" Drive Palm Control Classic Ratchet (Ltd supply)

Facom 1/4" Drive Palm Control Ratchet (R.161) - the last of the classic 161 Series palm co - auto parts for your vehicle at Ultimate Garage

www.ultimategarage.com

According to our well respected poster, the Blackhawks are not the same as the DeWalt's and are made in Taiwan.

 

[VolvoRyan]

Another vote for Proto, particularly the fine-tooth ratchets. I have a bunch of SKs, some newer, some older, and really like them, but I'm a little leery since they've become Chinese-owned. As others have said above, GearWrench killed it on Project Farm but I only buy domestically made hand tools. I think GearWrench may be the one to check out for best value.

Olsa blew the doors off in that test? That's a USA ratchet. Sweet, too.

Who knows where the next batch-o-GearWrench ratchets will be made. Maybe you'll get a nice one.... or the $120 worth of instant throwaways that I got.

-Ryan

 

[Fedwrench]

That’s a great set, but I’m not sure the blackhawks are made in Italy. Does anyone know where they are made?

I bought the 1/4 inch drive round head Blackhawk off of ebay, and the plastic bag it came in had made in Taiwan on its label. Great little ratchet

 

[Etchase]

And the 3/8 Proto flex palm control ratchet, currently my reach for first ratchet, can be had for under $50. Cheaper than the last few years I believe.


Stanley Proto J5257F 3/8" Drive Flex Head Ratchet, 8-1/2" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002M84PL8?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Madjik Man]

If you are interested in these generic 72 tooth Asian ratchets, there are many options in the three for $25 dollar range. My pick is for direct from a manufacturer, Apex SATA brand so at least all the profits go to a US based company. Buy it thru Amazon if you want a thirty day return window to eliminate risk of a defective unit. I can’t imagine warrantying a $10 item, but APEX offers you a mail in one. I don’t see any advantage to going thru a distributor like Tekton, especially at the pre discontinuation price. What a rip off. SATA also offers APEX 120 tooth ratchets at a substantial discount to the Gearwrench brand sometimes, if you like those.

I have to stop buying ratchets because each new one I get I really like. And as a home gamer I’m not working on stuff daily so it gets hard to keep using past favorites too.

I love the Koken zeal ratchets. I use those for every job that isn’t gnarly.

For gnarly I find myself grabbing the Capri 90t that were released earlier this year.

But the last ratchet I bought was the Sata 1/4" Ratchet ST11971G. And I actually really like this thing after I added a bit of Lucas gun oil/lube to it.

 

[motorcitykid]

Mounting a hitch while doing brakes and rotors I used my dad’s Harbor Freight ratchet with an extendable handle and a 1/4 or 3/8” driver. I wouldn’t want it to be my only one but it was pretty cool.
I appreciate all of your input, I like learning what users find value in.

 

[Chrome Vanadium Cody]

After the last two LP90s I bought those would be a hard pass from me. Udder embarrassment for what they are charging.

That’s fair, I heard the first couple batches of them sucked but after that they figured it out, but with the state of SK these days who knows and it could be good to steer clear.

 

[chilly13]

I know this is a dead thread but I love ratchets so here's my two cents. Snap-On ratchets are amazing, get em off of ebay. Koken is amazing too, again ebay. Warranty may be hard though going that route. Lastly, I have a tekton ratchet that Is badass!