Part of the trend toward longer ratchets may have to do with all the older guys out there, who have disposable income, bad wrists and elbows, and maybe don't have the strength they used to. I'm starting to fall into that category, and I'm not even that old yet!
I used to just reef on a short ratchet and get the job done. If I do that these days, I might find my strength lacking (especially in awkward positions), and I'll wake up the next day with sore forearms. So I try to avoid really reefing on tight fasteners, and tend to reach for longer ratchets than I used to. Similarly, I've never seen the need for XL wrenches in the past - but I've recently added some, purely for the extra leverage when needed.
That said, my longest 1/4" ratchet might be 9", longest 3/8" is about 14", longest 1/2" ~18" - so I usually move up a drive size when I need more leverage.
I used to just reef on a short ratchet and get the job done. If I do that these days, I might find my strength lacking (especially in awkward positions), and I'll wake up the next day with sore forearms. So I try to avoid really reefing on tight fasteners, and tend to reach for longer ratchets than I used to. Similarly, I've never seen the need for XL wrenches in the past - but I've recently added some, purely for the extra leverage when needed.
That said, my longest 1/4" ratchet might be 9", longest 3/8" is about 14", longest 1/2" ~18" - so I usually move up a drive size when I need more leverage.
