Ok I told you I would do this so I hopped on the Goldwing and headed to town(72 degrees!!). I had the saleman at AutoZone meet me out front with my sale (called ahead of time) of a Duralast 3/8 Snap-On copy. First I would like to say my expectations wern't set to high and the price I thought was a bit steep for a Ratchet made in Tiwan. I got back home and reached in the saddlebag and grabed up my new $21.28 Duralast Ratchet and looket it over. It looks good and the Chrome looks like Nickel Chrome about like Snap-On uses. Overall it looked pretty good. I'd give it a solid 95 on a scale of 100 against the Snap-On.
The first thing I did was hook it up and yank down 200 ftlbs. It was a pass. I pulled it 6 more times in differant spots just to make sure. Thats cranking on a 3/8 ratchet. Don't let the photo below fool you, The ratchets are almost the same in size with the Duralast being a bit longer
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Of course the Duralast is made in Tiawan
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Here is the Plate veiw from both ratchets (The 830 was the closest I had on hand) very similar. The snap on is sealed the Duralast is not. The fitment is so good I don't see much dirst getting in.
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As you can see the internals are very differant so nothing will interchange. The Duralast has a large floating pawl that appears to be very well made. The case is machined well. The gear is supported on one side(plate side) and the gear fits snug in the case. I would have liked to have seen support on the case side but it doesn't seem to have any affect on it's operation. The Snap-On pawl is small but the gear is supprted on both sides making it strong.
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The gear on the Duralast is also a bit larger. Again it's the angle that makes the Snap-On gear look bigger.
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The thickness of the ratchets are near identical
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The handle end is a pretty good copy and comfortable as you would expect. Again the Duralast ratchet is about 3/8 of an inch longer in total length but I lined the handle up for comparison
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So to wrap it up in my opinion and not have used this ratchet in a pro enviroment but being so familiar with them I'm confident when I say this (again I never expected this ratchet to pass) that it's more expensive than almost all Tiawan ratchets I've seen BUT that it exceeds the quality of most American Ratchets. I would take it over a MAC anyday or even Matco. I havent used a Cornwell in a while so I can't comment on those. At first I expected half *** quality with just a good warranty. In the end it's like buying a 36 tooth Snap-On at 1/5 the price. The Snap-On 36 tooth list for 100 dollars Duralast Lists 19.99. Is there 80 dollars differance? Hell no! This is an excellant ratchet and now having tested it I know it's a good ratchet as well. What I thought was a high price is now a bargin. Would I use it in a Pro enviroment, Absolutly with the greatest of confidence. I really thought I was going to be able to bash this ratchet but I have nothing but praise for it. If you get over the prestige of owning a Snap-On I would say this would be the next best choice and I have a lot of ratchting under my belt. Had it been a POS I would have taken it back to Autozone. I'm proud to add this one to my collection. My advice would be to buy it. I really like it.
You should buy an 88 toother. I have both dual 80's and 88's and tend to favor the 88's more. BFR118T is a good one to start out with and its made in the USA.
http://www.matcotools.com/Catalog/toolcatalog.jsp?cattype=T&cat=2407&select=&page=2
I have yet to purchase a Taiwanese tool that was a complete failure. Not sure what they do different but in my experience they absolutely seem to hold a higher standard of quality compared to stuff that comes out of various chinese factories. This is why i was so dissapointed in the GW switch and will be avoiding them from here on out.
If every US tool production company folded up shop i'd have zero issue with using taiwanese made hand tools.
They are putting the chromium powder for making those ratchets down rivers in taiwan. And you want to promote their product?
I've had the cover fall off Snap-On ratchets. Sometimes the screws come out. I always put mine back together with a drop of Locktight. Sometimes they still come apart. Just because you don't maintain your ratchet doesn't mean it *****. The reason the Snap-On man carries kits, screws and lube on the trucks is even the best ratchets fail. If I only owned ratchets that never fail it's because they never or very rarely get used. Nobody builds a failure proof ratchet. If I said all the Snap-On ratchets I've have failed were **** I wouldn't own a single one.
I have a Snap-On 747 Swivel Head ratchet and I know it's had at least 20 Kits installed over the 10+ years I've owned it. I consider it one of the finest ratchets I own.
How about them? Much of our domestic produce is harvested by folks in the country illegally, getting paid peanuts, and working under deplorable conditions. It's also typically heavily subsidized. The chances of staple or perishable crops being easily importable are pretty slim. About the only thing I see around here that comes from China on a regular basis are ginger and garlic. Even the dragonfruit is from a domestic source.
Take a look at the labor issues surrounding 2 buck chuck. It's produced domestically and it ain't a pretty sight.
The full polish Craftsman is 28 dollars and nowhere near the quality. Just mind blowing
Wait you mean the free visits to the er for a little sniffle and all the other programs they leech off of that are not available south of the border. My problem is with all the cheap americans buying this imported **** and then have the nerve to ***** that the taxes are to high, or they can't find a job. And before some says it yes I know that I am using an imported computer and watching a tv made in china, not much I can do about that. But I can buy a quality made in the USA ratchet with several to choose from.
As far as parts from auto zone the majority of the parts I have used or replaced are junk period. Buy what you want where you want I do.
Yeah we marvel at the days when this country banded together after the attack on Pearl Harbor and tooled up to feed the military machine, well those days are gone. That was a whole different generation right there with a whole different set of values, principals, and skills, all forged during a much different time period. Most Americans just don't have the same grit the we once had as a society in the old days.
Who cares who made it or where it comes from. It was purchased from an american store that employs thousands of americans. This thread is about how good a ratchet is, not where it came from. Global trade is fact and yall need to get used to that.
Nope but I still will not buy one from autozone. If you like them fine but I feel the majority of the stuff sold there is garbage. I would rather buy oem
Is that it? I mean, there are no qualitative benchmarks you use to determine what is ****, and what is not? It's just a matter of what store it came from?
On another note, it is a shame that all these threads like this almost inevitably devolve into the same old hackneyed bickering.
The last time I bought glow plugs for my Powerstroke I bought OEM Ford plugs from Autozone for a FRACTION of what the dealer wanted or what I could find on eBay.
Ignorance is bliss I guess Bull.
It does get old. I'm surprised that mrholeshot keeps making the effort to inform, given the fact that every thread like this ends up beating the same dead horse. It's too bad that some just can't keep their comments which have no value whatsoever to themselves.

Wait you mean the free visits to the er for a little sniffle and all the other programs they leech off of that are not available south of the border. My problem is with all the cheap americans buying this imported **** and then have the nerve to ***** that the taxes are to high, or they can't find a job. And before some says it yes I know that I am using an imported computer and watching a tv made in china, not much I can do about that. But I can buy a quality made in the USA ratchet with several to choose from.
As far as parts from auto zone the majority of the parts I have used or replaced are junk period.
Buy what you want where you want I do.
You can't be in the tool making, steel making, mining, chemical, logging, or most any other productive business without polluting or causing some type of impact to the environment. I agree that we should do things as clean as possible with minimal waste, but it will never be 100% clean and pure. If that's your concern then go culture tofu for a living and try not to poop or pee.
As for your computer, you did have a choice. I've got a bunch of Apple stuff that was made in the US. But, as it turns out, that's expensive... too expensive for most people. Their market share has jumped considerably since they've moved their production to China. Thankfully, we're still left cleaning up the mess they left here -- Silicon Valley has the highest density of Superfund sites in the country (about 30 I think, more than half are from high tech manufacturing).
TVs were made in the US of A too, but consumers preferred the Chinese counterparts
Hi-ball all of mine have been in action in a pro environment without failure for at least 4 years. It is not hard to track down an autozone. If it broke and you needed it right away you would have to wait on the snap man to come by. Also he may or may not have a kit on the truck. I have waited 2 weeks for a kit before. If you are in a "pro" shop Autozone will hand deliver a new tool and pick up the old one with just a phone call.
Hi-ball all of mine have been in action in a pro environment without failure for at least 4 years. It is not hard to track down an autozone. If it broke and you needed it right away you would have to wait on the snap man to come by. Also he may or may not have a kit on the truck. I have waited 2 weeks for a kit before. If you are in a "pro" shop Autozone will hand deliver a new tool and pick up the old one with just a phone call.
My snappy man was never more than a phone call away usually was there within 45 minutes tops too bad he retired and I moved jobs
The thing is, Steve, no one on here besides mrholeshot and DavidB are conducting tests of tools. These guys are doing side-by-side comparisons that we can't get anywhere else. So, even if their methods might seem flawed to you, they're all we've got unless someone else steps up to the plate..
IMO, if a 3/8 ratchet holds up to 200 ft lbs multiple times, that says something about it's quality and potential longevity. Unless some of us have Sequoia arms, we aren't going to be pushing 3/8 ratchets that far in normal usage.
Well, I guess that when you said the tests were "deceiving," I thought was another way of saying "flawed."
What is your position on Blue Point?
Also, we do have a member in this thread who reports he has used this line of tools for years in a professional environment, so we can't ignore that.
I could easily lay into a ratchet with over 200 ft. Lbs. which is probably why all (3) my armstrong ratchets broke (stripped the main gear)! Everyone says armstrong has great ratchets yet 3 broke on me. From that point on I decided it wasn't worth breaking myself over cheaper tools. If I come off hard on some subjects it is because tools have broken on me, and I have gotten hurt from them.
Working in my free time on larger and older equipment, as well as doing almost any repair on my vehicles as well as family and friends, I come across stuck fasteners quite often and I will pull, if it doesn't break loose, I move up to 1/2 or heat it up. Not once has a snap-on ratchet broke free when I pulled, which equals no pain for me. And I like no pain.
I apologize for my English/Typing skillz up front.. Im No match for a School teacher. LOL.... Wait a Minute... Deceiving has a entirely different meaning than does Flawed. (In my mind) Are you trying to trick me?

Geeze......it's a rachet not a damn airplane. Mr.Holeshot went to the trouble to buy and test it on his dime. I respect that. He gave it a real world test.....it passed. Nobody ever said it would take the place of Snap-On or your favorite truck brand.
I have all brands of rachets ....Snap-On, Cornwell, Mac ,SK, etc. Hell I even have a Ace Hardware Professional 1/2 rachet.....tough as hell with lifetime warranty. I have a few Duralast wrenches and sockets and every one has performed flawlessly. I may just have to try a rachet and give it hell.
Right now it's still a free country...so buy what you like .![]()
My appologies to everyone for ever posting this thread. I promice I wont do it anymore
I dont get it...But whatever.My appologies to everyone for ever posting this thread. I promice I wont do it anymore