Snap On, ICON, MacTools, GearWrench 90 and 120, Olsa Tools, Craftsman, Duratech, DeWalt, Crescent, Tekton, Wera, Stahlwille, Nepros, Proto, Kobalt. All 3/8 ratchets tested until failure. Ratchets compared for working arc swing, back drag, handle to ratchet head slop, and directional switch force to change directions.
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➡ Products Tested In This Video (in no particular order):
Olsa Tools:
Craftsman:
GearWrench 90:
GearWrench 120XP:
Duratech:
DeWalt:
Crescent:
Tekton:
Wera:
Stahlwille:
Nepros:
Proto:
Kobalt Model #81747: Available at Lowes
MacTools: Available online at the MacTools store
Snap On: Available online at the Snap On store
ICON: Available at Harbor Freight
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This video is only for entertainment purposes. If you rely on the information portrayed in this video, you assume the responsibility for the results. Project Farm LLC
If you're working under the hood of a Car and you're in a tight space a flex Head ratchet could be a game changer so The question is is an $18 Flex head just As good as the one it cost $226 well let's find out in the first Test we'll compare the working Arc swing Of the ratchets then we'll see which Ratchets have the best build Construction we'll see which ratchets Have the best backd Drag finally we'll Test the failure load of each brand at a Very reasonable price of only $18 is This durch ratchet the Durk is made in China the ratchet has 72 teeth and Claims to have a 5° Arc swing Flex head Tilts up to 180° at any interval durte Claims that the ratchet can handle up to 195 ftlb a torque we're going to test That the durte has six different Positions 30° apart and the durte weighs 41.2 G manufacturers use a lot of Marketing information about Arc swing And tooth count they're trying to Convince you that their ratchet is best For working in a tight space so let's See how well the ratchets actually Compare working within a 30° space we'll See how many right to left passes it Takes to spend one full 360° rotation Gear slop tooth count handle width and Excessive tolerances are all factors and The durch only has 72 teeth and to have A pretty sloppy gear set and the dur
Attack completed one full 360° rotation And 24 back and forth passes at a price Of $24 is this Dalal Flex head ratchet It has a 72 too gear system for a 5 Dee Arc swing just like the durch the DeWalt Has 180° of rotation low profile Directional lever ergonomic handle with Anti-slip grooves for comfort and Control the DeWalt is made in Taiwan and It's 4289 G for the DeWalt and the DeWalt seems to have a much more refined Rasing mechanism than the dur even with Only 72 teeth it's making very good Progress at about 17° of progress with Each pass and the ralt takes the lead From the dirtech at only 20.5 passes at A price of $27 is this Crescent brand It's a 72 to ratchet that claims to have A 5° Arc swing teardrop head for Improved access and the flex head and The Crescent rest in nine different Positions for a 20° spread between each Position the Crescent is made in Taiwan And the crescent's the heaviest yet at 48.3 G and the Crescent also has 72 Teeth just like the durch and the DW and The Crescent performed the same as the Durch at 24 back and forth passes for One complete rotation at a price of $35 Is this Cobalt brand all the previous Ratchets had 72 teeth but the Cobalt has 90 Cobalt claims that the ratchet offers A 4dre Arc swing the flex head design Rotates 180° and the flex head on the
Cobalt has seven different preset Positions the Cobalt is made in Taiwan And the Cobalt is very light at 333.com ratchet head design but there's Quite a bit of gear slop for a 90 to Ratchet and the Cobalt moves into a Two-way tie with the DeWalt at 20.5 back And fourth passes at a price of $44 is This icon ratchet which is sold at Harbor Freight icon claims it their 92th Gear to gear mechanism produces a tight 4 Dee Arc swing it's a lowprofile 180° Flex head the icon is made in Taiwan the Icon weighs 4394 G and the icon claims To have an arc swing of just 4° and is Making very close to 20° of progress With each pass and the icon performed Very well and takes the lead from the DeWalt and the Cobalt at 18.2 passes at A price of $50 is this tekan brand it's A 92 ratchet that claims to have an arc Swing of just 4° the flex head has 180° In nine different positions to get to Those hard to reach areas tting claims To reduce the height width and the Length of the head the tekan ratchet is Made in Taiwan and the tekan weighs 433.92 place behind the icon and 19 Strokes at a price of $52 is this gear Wrench 120 XP gear wrench claims that This ratchet has 120 positions giving This ratchet a 3 Dee Arc swing it does This using double stack PS it claims it Can deliver up to 180% of the asme
Torque performance the gear wrench is Made in Taiwan and the gear wrench 120 XP weighs 443.101 Point5 back and forth passes at a price Of $67 is this wearer brand the swivel Head locks into five positions at 0 15 And 90° points left and right the wearer Has 72 teeth which works out to be Around a 5° Arc swing the wearer is made In the Czech Republic and the wear is a Lot shorter than most of the other Brands and it's also lighter at 32.6 G And the wear's handle is way too bulky To work work efficiently within a tight Space and the handle really hurt the Ratchet's performance at 36 back and Forth passes for one rotation at a price Of $67 is this gear wrench 90 90 to gear Delivers a 4 Dee Arc swing Precision Engineered high strength PW for Increased durability locking Flex head With nine lock positions it also has an Unlocked option for adjustable access Angle the gear wrench is made in Taiwan And the gear wrench 90 weighs 425.00 has a gear set that seems very Welld designed and is making around 20° Of progress with each pass and the gear R 90 moves into a 2 a tie for first Place with the icon at 18.2 passes at a Price of $75 is this craftspin brand Enclosed ratchet head to prevent dirt Infiltration the ratchet head
Articulates 180° the Craftsman has 96 Teeth and claims a very impressive 3.75 Dee Arc swing the Craftsman is made in Taiwan and it's 4933 G for the Craftsman And the Craftsman has a higher tooth Count than most of the other brands and That's really helping it on this test And the Craftsman is going to be very Hard to beat at 16.3 passes very Impressive at a price of $121 is this Ala tools brand it's a 9 to ratchet Designed to have a 4dre Arc swing the Claim is designed for high torque Performance completely engineered Fabricated and assembled in USA with 100% domestically sourced parts and the Ulsa ratchet weighs 4225 G and the Ulsa Tools has a very compact head making it Very welld designed to work in a tight Space and the Ulsa tools ratchet also Has a very well-designed gear set at 18.1 passes to move into second place Behind the Craftsman at a price of $142 Is a stall wheel brand it's an 80 to Ratchet that claims to have a 4 and2 Degree Arc swing the ratchet headlocks Into four different positions the stall Wheel is made in Germany 357.00 teeth but the gear set seems very Welld designed for an 8 to gear set the Stall well performed well at 19.5 passes At a price of $165 is this Mac Tools Brand the Locking Flex at has 11 Positions with approximately 180° of
Flex it's a 90 to ratchet that's Supposed to have a 4dre Arc swing the Mac Tools is made in USA and the Mac Tools weighs With each back and forth stroke and the Mac Tools ratchet performed extremely Well for a 90 to ratchet moves into Second place at 17.7 passes at a price Of $173 is a Snap-on ratchet it's an 80 To ratchet that's supposed to have an Arc swing of 42° dual 80 technology Ratchet design features 80 to gear with Seven teeth in contact with the gear to Provide strength and durability the Snap-on is made in USA and is 4345 G for The Snap-on just like the stall wheel The Snap-on also has 80 teeth for an 80 Toth count the Snap-on performed well at 20 passes but not nearly good enough to Move into the lead at a price of $183 is This nepros brand the nepros is a 9 to Ratchet that claims to have a 4 Dee Arc Swing the flex head on the nepros offers Around 180° of range the nepros is made In Japan and the nepros weighs 367.8 G And the nepros has a very refined Ratcheting mechanism but the handle is Way too large to work efficiently in a Tight space and the nepros is finished At 21.5 passes at a price of $226 the Most expensive brand we'll be testing is Made by Proto it's a 90 to pair head Flex head ratchet designed to have a 4 Half Dee Arc swing it has neural bands
On the handle for increased grip and Slip resistance the Proto is made in USA And a Proto weighs 49.6 G and a Proto Also has a very refined 90 to gear set In a much smaller handle compared to the NEOS and a Proto performed very well at 18 passes when working in a tight space Ratchet efficiency makes a huge Difference and the Craftsman is the most Efficient in the lineup at 16.3 passes M Tools finished in second at 17.7 and Proto finished in third at 18 let's Compare the build quality of the flex Head and the handle using the dial Indicator and a CR ship on the dirtech Ratchet is a bit of an issue at almost A/ inch of slop and the build quality of The flex handle to the Head pivot area Is much better with the DeWalt at 0.03 In in other words the DeWalt has 90% Less slop and a crescent has about eight Times as much handle slop as a DeWalt at Almost a/4 in and a Cobalt has 0.17 in Of handle slot which is good enough to Move into second place behind the dwall And the icon performed even better than The Cobalt at 0.11 in to move into Second place behind the dwall and the Tekan performed almost as well as the Icon at 0.126 in to move into third Place behind the icon and the gear rench 120 is very close to the same as the Tektin at 0.124 in and the re is Designed to prevent slot between the
Handle and the head and a gear rinse 90 Is a lot better than average at less Than 1/10th of an inch and a Craftsman Barely edges out the gear rinse 90 at 0.083 in and the Ula tools has done a Great job at only 0.017 in to move into Second place behind the weara and a Stall wheel also performed a lot better Than average at 0.054 in unfortunately The Mac Tools is a little bit too loose For a premium tool ratchet at 0.15 in And the Snap-on perform well at 0.078 in Which is a little bit better than the Craftsman and the gear wrench 90 and the Nepros did a very good job in moves into A two-way tie with the Ula tools at 0.017 in and the Proto performed just a Little bit better than the Snap-on at 0.075 in handle slop reduces efficiency Especially in the tight space and the Wear are finished on top in this Category however the Ula tools and the Neee proos tied for second place at 0.017 in a ratchet with a lot of Back Drag really makes removing and Installing fasters and tight spaces a Challenge at times if there's enough Space adding resistance to the socket Using finger pressure allows the socket To advance but sometimes that's not an Option I'll be using a 7/8 in socket Fishing line in a scale to measure the Backd drag and the durch performed well At 215 G and the DWT has a much tighter
Ratting mechanism and that HED on this Test at 396 G and the crescent's gear Set seems pretty loose like the durx 226 G of backd drag and the Cobalt performed Very well in this test at 192 G and Moves into the lead and the icon gear Set is pretty tight and it has 298 G of Backdraft just like the DeWalt the tek's Gear set is pretty tight and it's 389 G Of backd drag for the tekan and the gear RS performed a little bit better than Average at 266 G and a wear did very Well at 194 which is good enough to move Into second place behind the Cobalt and A gear inch 90 performed almost the same As a gear inch 120 at 296 G and a Craftsman has by far the best working AR Swing but it has way too much backd drag At 686 G and he also tools this compact Has a great working Arc swing and only 219 g of backd drag very impressive and A stall wheel performed a little bit Better than average at 289 and the Mac Tools has a great working Arc swing but Quite a bit of Back Drag at 447 G and The Snap-on performed about the same as The stall wheel at 299 G and the nepros Performed about the same as the Snap-on At 296 and the Proto has just a little Bit more Back Drag than the Snap-on and The nepros at 333 g a ratchet with low Back Drag can really make a huge Difference in many situations and the Cobalt in the wear performed extremely
Well at under 200 g of Back Drag and the Durch Ula tools and Crescent also Perform very well in the low 200s if the Hands are greasy it can be very ult to Change directions with a stiff Directional lever and it takes 338 G or About 3/4 of a pound of force to switch Directions with the durch and the Directional switch on the dwell is very Stiff and it takes 788 G or 1.7 lb of Force and it's very easy to change Directions with a crescent at 204 G and A Cobalt performed about the same as the Durte at 322 G and the icon moves into Second place behind the durte at 297 Very much like the DeWalt the tektin is Pretty stiff at 588 G and a gear inch 120 moves into the lead over the Crescent at at 199 G and a wearer uses a Much different setup and it's easy to Rotate at only 199 G and a gearin 90 Also performed very well at only 238 G And the Crescent takes a little bit more Force than average at 396 G and the Directional switch on the Ula takes Quite a bit of force at 589 G and the Stall wheel is pretty easy to work with At 263 G and the Mac Tools requires a Little bit more force on average at 488 G and the Snap-on takes even more force In the Mac Tools at 534 and the nepros Really struggled on this test 829 G and The produ takes a little bit more Force Than most of the other brands at 48 so
The gear RS in the wear came out on top At only 199 GS the Crescent also Performed very well at only 204 G head Size has a huge impact on whether or not A ratchet can be used in a tight space And the Cobalt has the most compact side To side ratchet head only 26.371 six and also tools 2.45 mm front To back head size is also a factor to Consider and the gear rinse 90 is the Most compact at only 12 12.15 mm Cobalt Finished in second at 12.2 mm and also Tools 12.86 so taking into consideration Both side to side and front to back Dimensions the Cobalt is the most Compact at 321.com also tools 365. n and tektin 394.455 Both PS and the main gear are still in Good shape and the DeWalt is a lot Stronger than the durte finally breaking At 269.50 ft-lb and the 38 in drive is At a point of failure a look inside the Ratchet and the PA is still in great Shape but there's some damage to the Main gear instead of one loud pop the Crescent sounded off three separate Times as it experienced failure inside The ratchet head at 22.8 ftlb and the PW Broke and there's also extensive damage With the main gear and a Cobalt is a lot More compact than most of the other Brands and size seems to make a huge Difference and the handle on the Cobalt
Broke at 169 5 foot lbs inside the Wratchet head the switch mechanism also Failed the PO and the main gear are Still in good shape and a Harbor Freight Icon can handle some serious torque and The drive finally broke at 287.4 ftlb to Move into the lead the handle did Bend But 287 ftlb is a lot of force the Pollen to gear teeth are still in good Shape and the teken made it to 2658 ftlb When things went from happy to double Snappy the handle is a source of failure And the rashing mechanism held up just Fine and the gear inch 120 XP is a Little bit stronger than average finally Letting go at 27 7.9 ftlb and the drive Broke but both Paws and the main gear Teeth are still in good shape and a wear Or let go a little bit sooner than Average of 2561 ftlb and the 38 in drive Is a source of failure and the gearin 90 Is very close to the same strength as a Gearin 120 at 276.50 ft lbs the main Gear and the P are still in great Condition and the Craftsman proved to be Incredibly strong with a drive finally Snapping at 295.27 at 279.50 ftlb and all sorts of Parts when flying off the star wheel When it finally let go at 22.2 ftlb the Lock for the flex head position the Quick release mechanism and the drive All broke during the test and the Mac Tools ratchet gave up a lot sooner than
Expected at only 206 ftlb the handle Pivot pin broke and the handle became Bent and a Snap-On snapped off at 292.50 Ftlb very impressive while the resting Mechanism still functions properly there Is some damage to one of the PWS and the Neee pros threw in the towel a lot Sooner than most of the competition at Only 231.50 ft-lb and the drive was a Source of failure while the Paul is in Good shape the main gear did experience Some wear and tear and the Proto Drive Snapped at 263.50 ft-lb the p in the Main gear survived the test without Damage if you're looking for a ratchet That can handle a lot of torque the Craftsman came in on top at 2952 lb the Snap-on performed well at 292.00 ftlb so which ratchet is the best And the Ula tools dominated The Showdown With an average finish of 4.8 it's a Very good ratchet and and offers a Complete package while the directional Switch is a little stiff it's a Relatively minor detail and the Osa Tools beat the gearen 90t in all but one Category the gearin 90t flex head is on The left and the gearen 90 ratchet is on The right and the regular ratchet is a Lot smaller and much more refined Compared to the flex head tool the gear 90t is definitely my favorite ratchet of All time gearen could easily win this Showdown if they adapted a smaller
Ratchet for a flex head style tool I get Asked the question all the time whether Or not tool manufacturers reach out to Me actually they do and they're using The reviews to help improve their Products which is a big plus all the Videos in this channel including this One are viewers suggested so if you have A video idea I hope you'll take time to Leave a comment thanks so much for Watching please take care and I look Forward to next time