Tool Review : BETA Mini 900/C39 - BETA Tools

[woodstockva]

Hey everyone

I just uploaded a new review for the BETA Mini 900/C39. It is a 1/4" drive toolset that I picked up last month to keep in my wife's glovebox & in our tank bag on the motorcycle when we go for rides this summer.

It is a big set that fits in a very small case. It comes with the following:

1/4" ratchet
1/4" socket driver
11 6pt metric sockets - 5, 5.5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14mm
Bit socket
2" extension
4" extension
1/4" universal joint
22 bits - flat, phillips, posidrive, metrix hex, security torx, 1/4" square drive bit

I am a big fan of BETA, and really like their tools. They are top quality, and I was really happy to see them becoming available again in the US.

Check out the video here ---> www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiiTKzV3xZo

Thanks!

Woodstockva

 

[north]

Thanks for the review.

What's the handle grip like? is it much difference between the orange and black parts? Also, how's the ratcheting resistance?

 

[woodstockva]

Thanks for the review.

What's the handle grip like? is it much difference between the orange and black parts? Also, how's the ratcheting resistance?

The handle is definitely one of the best parts of the BETA ratchets....they fit perfectly in your hand. I read online that they worked with a lot of "real life" auto techs in Europe to come up with that design, and that it took a lot of fine tuning to make it what it is today.

The orange & black parts of the handle are two distinctly different things. The orange is sold plastic (hard), and the black is a rubber inlay that is softer....not super-soft, but definitely not hard.

The resistance when ratcheting is not bad at all. The 1/4" ratchet has 48 teeth w/a 7.5 degree swing arc. The 1/2" ratchet has 72 teeth w/a 5 degree swing arc.

One other thing I will point out (and will cover in a future review of the BETA 1/2" ratchet) is that unlike typical ratchets sold in the US, the center cog of the ratchet head does not have the "teeth". The teeth on the BETA ratchet are machined into the ratchet head/handle itself & the center cog is what contains the pawl. On the 1/2" drive version there are 17 teeth on the pawl that engage the teeth on the ratchet itself.

The only other ratchet that I own with this design is an old JH Williams 1/2" SuperRatchet. I think that other companies do not make them this way, because they can sell you a rebuild kit....aka the "guts" if the ratchet breaks & BETA would have to replace the entire ratchet itself it the teeth stripped out. But, given the fact of the large surface contact area w/17 teeth engaging at a time, I dont think this is a point of failure on them.

Thanks for watching!

 

[colin39]

Nice review, I bought the facom nano set which has the same bits in a smaller box.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

Good review. Who makes the bits themselves? Are they Beta, or the European equivalent of Apex, Zephyr, etc?

 

[north]

The orange & black parts of the handle are two distinctly different things. The orange is sold plastic (hard), and the black is a rubber inlay that is softer....not super-soft, but definitely not hard.

Thanks. For some reason I'm not sold on the hard/soft mix on a handle. I guess I'll have to buy me a BETA ratchet some day to find out. (Damn you and your fancy reviews!)

Round heads less typical than pear heads? I thought the SK round head was THE american ratchet.

 

[Deskmechanic]

Isn't that the Facom/Proto/SK design? That is a very common ratchet mechanism.

 

[woodstockva]

Nice review, I bought the facom nano set which has the same bits in a smaller box.

Thanks!

Good review. Who makes the bits themselves? Are they Beta, or the European equivalent of Apex, Zephyr, etc?

I just checked them & "BETA" is stamped on each bit.

Thanks. For some reason I'm not sold on the hard/soft mix on a handle. I guess I'll have to buy me a BETA ratchet some day to find out. (Damn you and your fancy reviews!)

Round heads less typical than pear heads? I thought the SK round head was THE american ratchet.

The hard/soft isnt noticeable when holding and using the ratchet. It is honestly just very comfortable.

Isn't that the Facom/Proto/SK design? That is a very common ratchet mechanism.

I stand corrected! I didnt even think of SK since I rarely use mine....I did just go take it apart though, and while it does have that design --- it also only has 3 teeth in the pawl engaging. The 1/4" BETA has 11 teeth in the pawl & the 1/2" has 17 teeth in the pawl.

Thanks for pointing that out! I guess more-so what I was trying to say was it is a older design that the other companies had moved away from (in my opinion due to warranty rebuild kits).

 

[north]

I take it that the BETA has a floating pawl then, unlike the hinged pawl of the SK?

 

[woodstockva]

I take it that the BETA has a floating pawl then, unlike the hinged pawl of the SK?

I assume that is what it is called. It slides left & right.

I will disassemble the ratchet later tonight & post pictures of the "guts" on this thread.

 

[SpannerMonkey]

Nice video. I have the Facom Nano set too. I have the one with the sealed ratchet though:

I am a beta fan too though: