Stubby ratcheting flex head wrenches

[DrBaker]

For decades I've only had standard wrenches. Recently I got a set of ratcheting wrenches. I never knew how much I would love them. Why did I wait so long for that luxury?

I've been wanting a set of stubby wrenches for a while. Now I intend to make sure the stubby set is also ratcheting. As I searched online for a set, I found them, but with an extra feature of the flex head. Now I'm wondering if I will love the flex feature and wonder how I lived without it before.

Any reason why I would want to stay away from stubby flex head ratcheting wrenches?

 

[jim1987]

No. Just pay attention to not get.it backed into something, because 99% won't have a reverse lever.

I can wait to find a deal on them myself.

 

[bcradio]

For decades I've only had standard wrenches. Recently I got a set of ratcheting wrenches. I never knew how much I would love them. Why did I wait so long for that luxury?

I've been wanting a set of stubby wrenches for a while. Now I intend to make sure the stubby set is also ratcheting. As I searched online for a set, I found them, but with an extra feature of the flex head. Now I'm wondering if I will love the flex feature and wonder how I lived without it before.

Any reason why I would want to stay away from stubby flex head ratcheting wrenches?

Ratcheting wrenches are not a replacement for standard wrenches. They are an addition. You don't want to get to a point where the ratcheting end is too big to fit on the bolt head and you are SOL. The regular stubby is always going to fit (if any will fit at all), but the ratcheting stubby is not always going to. The ratcheting is merely for speed. I would get a standard set of stubbies and then a set of ratcheting.

I have the locking flex stubby craftsman US SAE/Metric sets and I do like them. I just have not found a need for them yet as I have standard length flex ratcheting wrenches that will usually flex to any position I need making stubby an un-needed feature. I have used my regular stubby set quite a bit though where no ratchet wrench would work.

 

[supersteve]

For decades I've only had standard wrenches. Recently I got a set of ratcheting wrenches. I never knew how much I would love them. Why did I wait so long for that luxury?

I've been wanting a set of stubby wrenches for a while. Now I intend to make sure the stubby set is also ratcheting. As I searched online for a set, I found them, but with an extra feature of the flex head. Now I'm wondering if I will love the flex feature and wonder how I lived without it before.

Any reason why I would want to stay away from stubby flex head ratcheting wrenches?

If you would like a brand recommendation, about 9-10 years ago I bought a set of Blackhawk (Proto) Taiwanese short flex head ratchet wrenches in a 10mm-19mm set. I recommend them highly, they are some of the only Taiwanese tools I would put up head to head against my Snap-on stuff (cue the Kool-aid comments). In fact, the guy who used to work next to me would always pull out his Snappy equivalents and hold them up and they would flop over, having lost their tension in the flex joint. This was in spite of having them warrantied several times. My Blackhawks are as tight as the day I got them and I have seriously reefed on them at times. Hopefully current production is still high quality. Maybe some other guys can share some more recent experiences.

 

[Conductor562]

If you would like a brand recommendation, about 9-10 years ago I bought a set of Blackhawk (Proto) Taiwanese short flex head ratchet wrenches in a 10mm-19mm set. I recommend them highly, they are some of the only Taiwanese tools I would put up head to head against my Snap-on stuff (cue the Kool-aid comments). In fact, the guy who used to work next to me would always pull out his Snappy equivalents and hold them up and they would flop over, having lost their tension in the flex joint. This was in spite of having them warrantied several times. My Blackhawks are as tight as the day I got them and I have seriously reefed on them at times. Hopefully current production is still high quality. Maybe some other guys can share some more recent experiences.

I'll second the Blackhawk recommendation. Excellent wrenches for the money. I have one of the earlier sets and one of the newer sets. Both have been great, but I'd have to say the newer ones seem to be a little smoother.

 

[brass89]

Ditto on the having standard (non ratcheting) backups. The heads are smaller for tighter spaces and if the ratchet mechanism gives out, you'll be out of a tool in addition to the busted knuckles. I like ratcheting and flex ratcheting, but occasionally the ratchet part will give up the ghost. Nice to have a dependable back up until it can get fixed/replaced. There are times the flex in the head will be a blessing, other times it'll be a curse (when applying a lot of force at an awkward angle and the joint bends sideways). Having a lockable flex can help to some degree.

 

[JDon99]

Blackhawk also makes reversible non-flex stubbies, very good quality.