TEKTON Composite Offset Ratchets

[woodstockva]

Hey Everybody

Despite how the TEKTON composite ratchets may appear to be "made of plastic", they arent. They are metal ratchets with a composite shell to prevent damage to the things you are working on. Unlike a metal ratchet (that will scratch surfaces/paint), the TEKTON ratchets are completely encased in a shell of composite material that will prevent accidental damage.

In this video I will show you exactly what is "inside", because I will completely remove the outer sheathing....exposing the metal ratchet hiding underneath.

I will also open the ratchet head itself, so you can see how the mechanism actually works.

These are extremely comfortable to use, they have excellent socket retention, a fine-tooth ratcheting mechanism, and are great for cold weather use....since they wont freeze your hands like a standard metal ratchet.

Thanks for watching!

Click here for more info on the TEKTON composite ratchets ---- http://www.tektontools.com/search.php?search_field=composite

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Dp7c7XElXEk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[dowmace]

These look eerily similar to the HF composite ratchets.

 

[Brownsfan]

I'm sure they are made by the same oem.

 

[woodstockva]

These look eerily similar to the HF composite ratchets.

I'm sure they are made by the same oem.

I agree......one BIG difference though.....

These cost just about the same, but you are getting the TEKTON lifetime warranty on them.....and TEKTON is the easiest company to deal with warranty claims....period.

Harbor Freight's warranty is a joke.....I consider broken tools from there dumpster food.....I have more than once wasted a trip (after calling to verify I could exchange) only to have the genius behind the counter tell me "sorry".

 

[ADSR]

Great review! Are you going to use the warranty and get a new handle put on the hacked up one?

 

[woodstockva]

Great review! Are you going to use the warranty and get a new handle put on the hacked up one?

Haha....not a chance.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

HF warranties have been easy for me.... but to each their own. They are both nice ratchets, or is a nice ratchet?

 

[Super Sport]

These cost just about the same, but you are getting the TEKTON lifetime warranty on them.....and TEKTON is the easiest company to deal with warranty claims....period.

How does Tekton handle warranty claims? I know they are sold at a number of local stores, but it doesn't seem as though those stores are designed to handle warranty claims.

The only gripe I've ever heard about the HF warranty is that you may be hassled with the need for a receipt. That doesn't seem that bad or unreasonable to me.

 

[woodstockva]

How does Tekton handle warranty claims? I know they are sold at a number of local stores, but it doesn't seem as though those stores are designed to handle warranty claims.

The only gripe I've ever heard about the HF warranty is that you may be hassled with the need for a receipt. That doesn't seem that bad or unreasonable to me.

Dave.R (member here at GarageJournal) handles all the warranty claims for TEKTON......basically you call him or shoot him an email with the problem you are having.....he mails you a replacement tool at no cost to you.

There are many companies that I refuse to buy tools from, simply because of the unreasonable hoops they make you jump through to successfully get a warranty claim.

If I am researching tools, I call the 1-800 # & ask to speak to the warranty claim dept....then I ask "what do I need to do to get a warranty replacement on your XYZ?"....you will find out very quickly the scams some of these companies pull if you try that. I would say that most of the "lifetime warranty" tools out there require to you send in (at your expense) the broken tool.....typically this will cost more than a replacement.....so they are in effect making you spend more than the cost of the tool to get a replacement. In this day & age, there is no reason a simple emailed photo shouldnt suffice.

To me, Harbor Freight (80 miles one-way) would never be worth my gas or time to ever do a warranty exchange again. Now, if its right down the street & your particular store is good...then lucky you haha

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Good review. My only criticism is I could've gone without the lengthy demonstration of cutting the composite material off of the ratchet.

As far as the ratchets go, it was interesting to see how they were constructed as I always wondered how the handles on these didn't snap with torque. I also had never thought about the benefit of the composite material not scratching work surfaces, although I don't think this has ever been a concern of mine. Overall, I don't know that I see enough benefit over a traditional metal or comfort grip ratchet to go out and buy a set. If anything, I think the bulk of the handle would cause clearance issues.

 

[ADSR]

Good review. My only criticism is I could've gone without the lengthy demonstration of cutting the composite material off of the ratchet.

What? That was the best part! And then the hackzall came out!!!

 

[monomach]

I agree......one BIG difference though.....

These cost just about the same, but you are getting the TEKTON lifetime warranty on them.....and TEKTON is the easiest company to deal with warranty claims....period.

Harbor Freight's warranty is a joke.....I consider broken tools from there dumpster food.....I have more than once wasted a trip (after calling to verify I could exchange) only to have the genius behind the counter tell me "sorry".

Yeeeeeaaaaaah, no. Harbor Freight is walk-in, walk-out easy-as-pie and never denied. Tekton is mail-in.

Lowe's, Home Depot, Sears, and Menard's are also all easier to get a warranty from than Tekton. A warranty done through the mail is a ****** warranty.

Tekton is just Harbor Freight, but more expensive and a bigger pain in the ***. Most of the tools are exactly the same, including these ratchets.

 

[SASORacing]

As long as the tool from harbor freight says Pittsburgh somewhere, it's a life guarantee.


Manager at HF told me this upon checkout, no receipt needed

 

[MrJason]

Good review. My only criticism is I could've gone without the lengthy demonstration of cutting the composite material off of the ratchet.

With that said, can you list your demonstration videos, so we can see how you utilize your time?

 

[zcbauer89]

Yeeeeeaaaaaah, no. Harbor Freight is walk-in, walk-out easy-as-pie and never denied. Tekton is mail-in.

Lowe's, Home Depot, Sears, and Menard's are also all easier to get a warranty from than Tekton. A warranty done through the mail is a ****** warranty.

Tekton is just Harbor Freight, but more expensive and a bigger pain in the ***. Most of the tools are exactly the same, including these ratchets.

Actually, you don't have to mail in anything to Tekton. Just send an email with a pic of the broken tool and a new one is on it's way. Dave R, a fellow forum member takes care of it personally. Sounds easy to me.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

With that said, can you list your demonstration videos, so we can see how you utilize your time?

Did you read the part where I said "Good review"?

There is a lot of D-baggery going on in this thread. WoodstockVA put together a good review and all people want to do is argue about Harbor Freight warranties and sideline the subject at hand.

 

[MrJason]

Yeeeeeaaaaaah, no. Harbor Freight is walk-in, walk-out easy-as-pie and never denied. Tekton is mail-in.

Lowe's, Home Depot, Sears, and Menard's are also all easier to get a warranty from than Tekton. A warranty done through the mail is a ****** warranty.

Tekton is just Harbor Freight, but more expensive and a bigger pain in the ***. Most of the tools are exactly the same, including these ratchets.

All you have mentioned, is convenience.

As a Parts/Service Manager, you know that the job you do is governed by the ability to get inventory from a variety of sources, as the situation dictates and execute the job to expectation. If you order parts in, that's a part of life. I've yet to see any one industrial supplier that carried everything.

If you are lambasting Tekton upon their inability to be relegated to "mail in only", whereas the HF, Lowes, et. al., are "walk in, walk out", then you must live a privileged life, being able to get exactly what you want, at any given time.

It doesn't make Tekton any less valuable, if they have a return policy that is less convenient. It simply defines the lackadaisical customer they're dealing with, when the sole argument is based upon convenience, not performance.

The next time HF, Lowes, et cetera, doesn't have a replacement you need, I suppose you will define them as decidedly inconvenient, and devoid if value.

This, is the world we live in. Where if a consumer isn't instantly gratified, the supplier is depreciated in value.

Performance be damned.

 

[monomach]

Boo-hoo.

It's the exact same product as Harbor Freight, but at a higher price point and with a warranty wait of a week instead of the ten minutes going to Harbor Freight.

How the hell is anyone out of line comparing the two?

A mail-in warranty is all fun and games except for when you actually need to use the tool you bought. Works fine for Wright and Proto because they make things that never break, but when all you're doing is selling Harbor Freight clones...well, there's basically no reason to buy your product. It loses on every count.

 

[MrJason]

Point only clarified further. Thank you.

 

[3rdbuttondown]

I need to see it used as a hammer! It's worthless to me if I can't use it as a hammer.

 

[monomach]

Point only clarified further. Thank you.

Seller A is selling Product A for $1. You can have it in ten minutes.

Seller B is selling Product A for $1.75. You can have it in a week.

Buying from seller A doesn't mean you're lackadaisical or privileged, it just means that you're not stupid...and while seller B's product may be of equal quality to seller A's product, the quality of the actual seller is certainly lower.

 

[MagnumForce]

Wondering if warranty returns can be performed at Meijer? I am all in if that's the case.

 

[nine4gmc]

I have a HF composite ratchet in my junk yard tool bag and it's decent for the money, I like the convenience to stop by the store 3 minutes from home to warranty it out even better. Luckily I never had a problem with the composite though I have traded in 5-6 of the regular chrome HF ratchets over the past few years and not once needed a receipt.

I shop online to save money, so a product I buy online would have to be significantly less expensive than an exact product I can walk in pick up in a local store, especially seeing that there are over 500 stores with 3 being within 60 miles of me.

 

[John in OH]

Hey Everybody

Despite how the TEKTON composite ratchets may appear to be "made of plastic", they arent. They are metal ratchets with a composite shell to prevent damage to the things you are working on. Unlike a metal ratchet (that will scratch surfaces/paint), the TEKTON ratchets are completely encased in a shell of composite material that will prevent accidental damage.

In this video I will show you exactly what is "inside", because I will completely remove the outer sheathing....exposing the metal ratchet hiding underneath.

I will also open the ratchet head itself, so you can see how the mechanism actually works.

These are extremely comfortable to use, they have excellent socket retention, a fine-tooth ratcheting mechanism, and are great for cold weather use....since they wont freeze your hands like a standard metal ratchet.

Thanks for watching!

Woodstockva, despite all the fuss in this thread regarding warranty, you made a nice review. Thanks!

 

[ecotec]

I agree......one BIG difference though.....

These cost just about the same, but you are getting the TEKTON lifetime warranty on them.....and TEKTON is the easiest company to deal with warranty claims....period.

Where is the cost about the same?

At HF, the composite ratchets are OFTEN on sale (the 1/2" for $9.99, the 3/8" for $8.99, and the 1/4" for $7.99) Sooo… The price with a 25% off coupon is 1/2" for 7.49, 3/8" for $6.74, and the 1/4" for $5.99.

I rarely ever buy anything at HF without using a 25% off coupon on my phone. I have never had them not work, except for during the parking lot tent sale on a certain color tagged sale price (green maybe?)

If I NEEDED to warranty a HF ratchet, I could do so and be back to work in 20 minutes. Much like the Sears warranty, although you have to keep the receipts. I do think Tekton has a very nice warranty, but I think that the HF/Sears model works better when you need the tool right away.

Sooo… The Tekton tool is the same tool as HF at twice the price. You have to wait for the mailman for warranty. Although some guy on the internet says "TEKTON is the easiest company to deal with warranty claims....period", his statement is absolutely ******* debatable.

Your review is full of debatable superlatives. Why don't you review the Tekton dead blow hammers next.

 

[ecotec]

I could price these ratchets to the penny at Amazon and Meijer's if absolutely needed.

They are nice ratchets.

You are absolutely better off buying them from HF… Period (absolutely debatable).

Tekton on Amazon 1/2" $14.08, 3/8" $14.99, 1/4" 10.83. Total for all 3: $39.90
HF on sale and 25% off coupon total for all 3: 20.22 plus tax.

Period. For the EXACT same tool.

 

[chiz1180]

Excellent and informative review. As far as the warranty concerns I think it would be pretty much a wash. For some people it is very convenient to go to HF, for others like myself it is out of the way 50ish mile round trip. I dont drive a prius so my car gets about 20ish mpg and with the cost of gas in my area being about $3.60 it would cost more in gas for me to buy the HF version than the Tekton, as I can get Tekton shipped to my house free threw amazon. And honesty how many people here would have this ratchet as their only option?

chiz1180

 

[Dave.R]

Yeeeeeaaaaaah, no. Harbor Freight is walk-in, walk-out easy-as-pie and never denied. Tekton is mail-in.

Lowe's, Home Depot, Sears, and Menard's are also all easier to get a warranty from than Tekton. A warranty done through the mail is a ****** warranty.

Tekton is just Harbor Freight, but more expensive and a bigger pain in the ***. Most of the tools are exactly the same, including these ratchets.

We almost never request a mail in. Normally I just want a picture Emailed in showing the damage. I don't care when it was purchased, or where.

Most times if you're in the continental US, you'll get your replacement in about 2-3 days.

 

[Kev442]

Wow. What if you don't have a HF store 10 minutes away? What if it's over 20, like mine? What's a hour of your time worth? A gallon or two of gas to go to HF roundtrip in your truck exceeds the value of the ratchet? Don't you own 50-60 ratchets like every other GJ member?
I think Tekton is filling a worthwhile niche with inexpensive mail order products with a no hassle warranty. They also seem to be "cherry picking" some of the best cheap imports. I only own one Tekton item currently, but it's been a gem.

 

[Conductor562]

Are the Tekton and HF composites the same ratchets? Yes. Can you find a sale and use a coupon and get them from HF cheaper? Yes. Can I probably warranty it faster at HF? Maybe, depends if I'm going that way. If not, it's just as quick to have it mailed.

That being said, I like Tekton. Their Customer Service is awesome. I've actually seen where they've tracked someone down who left a negative experience on Amazon or somewhere, in hopes of making it right. They participate here as well. They aren't here trying to sell ****. I've never seen Dave post a sale or anything like that. They're here to answer questions, address concerns, and handle any warranty issues. In other words, strictly on a Customer Service basis. That means something to me and I'll pick Tekton over HF any day, even if it is a couple bucks more.

Besides, I have around 60 ratchets. If one breaks I'm reasonably sure I can tough it out for a couple days.

 

[OutsideMachinist]

I wouldnt be concerned with warranty on something that is 20 bucks or less personally. If I wasnt gonna go back to the store anyways then I would just throw it away and buy another later on. It's a $10 dollar ratchet.

 

[rice rocket]

I wouldnt be concerned with warranty on something that is 20 bucks or less personally. If I wasnt gonna go back to the store anyways then I would just throw it away and buy another later on. It's a $10 dollar ratchet.

What gets you more functionality though, two ratchets or one ratchet with a 2-3 day lead time for replacement?

If this was the same price as the HF, there wouldn't be this discussion. And I know it's popular to hate on Harbor Freight quality, but this is the same item with a different name, and a better warranty.

When Tekton moves to rebranding higher quality stuff and charge less (like they have with the Wilde pliers), they'll earn more respect.

 

[Skin]

Boo-hoo.

It's the exact same product as Harbor Freight, but at a higher price point and with a warranty wait of a week instead of the ten minutes going to Harbor Freight.

Cant speak for other members since everyone else, according to what you're saying, seemingly has a HF next to their house but for me, while there have been 3 new stores openings in the last 4 years, getting to any of them and back is a solid hour.

I'll take mail in any time over wasting an hour of my time, the gas required, and the stress of dealing with traffic.

 

[Matt Rain]

Up here in America's Hat, Princess Auto sells these under the "Pro-Point" label. The 1/4" version may be my favorite ratchet of all (and I've got Snap-Ons and SKs in all 3 major sizes.)

Great design and ergos, would love for a premium brand to copy it and make a high end version.

 

[jeremy v]

I think the bulk of the handle would cause clearance issues.

I agree on the too fat handles. I have a couple of these ratchets and I ground and smoothed the composite way down on the handles. They are now about half the original mass and they work much better. I like how they keep my fingers warmer when working outside in winter, but the thing I like the most is that there is very little weight to the handle itself, so you can manipulate the ratchet and work the mechanism faster than a normal ratchet. There is almost no handle momentum to ratchet swings. That aspect is really nice, especially when you are using a bit socket.

 

[MagnumForce]

There, priced them at Meijer for you. Couple bucks more but I will gladly spend it at Meijer which is the store version of the second coming of Christ.

HF is an hour one way, Meijer is 5 mins from home. Now get Meijer to do warranty exchanges.

 

[nieuport17]

To OP, thank you for the review. Its good and enjoyable to watch.

 

[BikerDad]

Boo-hoo.

It's the exact same product as Harbor Freight, but at a higher price point and with a warranty wait of a week instead of the ten minutes going to Harbor Freight.

Reading comprehension doesn't seem to be one of your strong suits. The OP already said that HF is a 80 mile drive, one way, for him. Perhaps you can drive 80 miles in 10 minutes, but the rest of us without your incredible resources, we understand that an email and waiting a week can definitely be a better option than burning $20-40 worth of gas to warranty a $20 tool.

How the hell is anyone out of line comparing the two?

A mail-in warranty is all fun and games except for when you actually need to use the tool you bought. Works fine for Wright and Proto because they make things that never break, but when all you're doing is selling Harbor Freight clones...well, there's basically no reason to buy your product. It loses on every count.

Perhaps, unless you don't have a HF nearby.... in which case HF loses by default.

 

[Davefr]

Why all this incessant paranoia about warranty??

 

[Brownsfan]

Because for some reason on this site warranty is the only factor when buying tools. I have never seen so many so Hung up on warranty. I really never even think about it when buying tools. It sounds like some here break tools at an alarming rate. Like the government should get involved and recalls issued.