Best flex head ratchet style?

[Hamps]

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I have three of these and they are amazing. They can be a pain in the tail when you add a universal to them though. Buy the snap on because I abuse the crap out of mine and have never returned one of them. I've had them probably for ten years plus. I paid $75 for the 1/4 version and I think $125 for the 1/2 but they are my go to ratchets.

 

[someotherguy]

Haven't read through this whole thread but I'll throw in..

My favorite go-to ratchets are my long-handled flex-head 1/2" and 3/8" Craftsman pieces. Mind you they are OLD. I bought the 1/2" in the late 80's, for pulling bumper bolts off 1960-1966 trucks at the boneyard, with no access to power tools. Just ol' 1/2" Craftsman and PB Blaster. Good original chrome bumpers for those trucks were tough to find and I wasn't going to let them get away from me, seized bolts or not. That ratchet served me well for literal decades before I finally broke a tooth in the mechanism. Took a little hunting but I did find a rebuild kit. Bought a few of them, did it myself, because this was after Sears was already going down the drain. What sucks is the rebuild kits are generally Chinesium these days. Every now and then you can find some old stock ones, but it's been a while, so that may no longer be true.

Anyway the flex joint in those Craftsmans are "just right" so they don't move too easily. Nice detent in the positions holds them in place without being too floppy. Floppy is a major nuisance as I've experienced with other brands. Oh, and I do have a stubby 3/8" SnapOn flex handle which is pretty awesome, also an older model.

Richard

 

[skylark]

Haven't read through this whole thread but I'll throw in..

My favorite go-to ratchets are my long-handled flex-head 1/2" and 3/8" Craftsman pieces. Mind you they are OLD. I bought the 1/2" in the late 80's, for pulling bumper bolts off 1960-1966 trucks at the boneyard, with no access to power tools. Just ol' 1/2" Craftsman and PB Blaster. Good original chrome bumpers for those trucks were tough to find and I wasn't going to let them get away from me, seized bolts or not. That ratchet served me well for literal decades before I finally broke a tooth in the mechanism. Took a little hunting but I did find a rebuild kit. Bought a few of them, did it myself, because this was after Sears was already going down the drain. What sucks is the rebuild kits are generally Chinesium these days. Every now and then you can find some old stock ones, but it's been a while, so that may no longer be true.

Anyway the flex joint in those Craftsmans are "just right" so they don't move too easily. Nice detent in the positions holds them in place without being too floppy. Floppy is a major nuisance as I've experienced with other brands. Oh, and I do have a stubby 3/8" SnapOn flex handle which is pretty awesome, also an older model.

Richard

Prior to my current ratchets I had classic Craftsman as well. All of my stuff had the "V" shaped selector on them. I loved them. As they wore out I traded them in. HUGE mistake! I still have my 3/8 flex V ratchet that even though it is broken, I won't be getting rid of it.

 

[454cid]

I've had the Pittsburgh I bought sitting here, and the Tekton arrived today... I got a crash course in remembering one of the reasons I like the Pittsburgh composite ratchets so much. The Tekton was COLD COLD COLD, when I opened it! The composites don't freeze my hands since they don't conduct heat so well.

The Tekton was packed with this disolvable foam, and a little note telling me about it. Kinda cool.

Sorry the pictures are shadowy. I think both these ratchets look/feel pretty good. The Tekton ratcheting mechanism feels kinda chinzy, but that may becasue I'm not used to 90 tooth ratchets. I'm used to 36s and 72s. I wanted the 90 becasue I have so many clearance issues.

My first opportunity to use it, will be pulling the battery on the Volvo.

 

[Frank Enstein]

I've had the double bend handle 3/8" Pittsburgh Harbor Freight one for several years and it's been my go-to ratchet since the first time I used it,

 

[VIKING_MECHANIC]

These are probably my favorite two in my collection.

This Kobalt 3/8 I bought about 5 years ago and I've used the s h i t out of it. I've even used it as a hammer.

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This HF 1/2 breaker bar/ratchet I bought about two years ago and I'm actually surprised that I haven't broken it yet... You do have to watch for the set screw as sometimes it will back out.

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You know what they say? Every tool is a hammer, except a screwdriver, that's a chisel.

 

[castine917]

You know what they say? Every tool is a hammer, except a screwdriver, that's a chisel.

If your holding two screwdrivers than one is the hammer

 

[castine917]

I hated almost every flex head ratchet that was handed to me for years. Finally I tried and now love this craftsman one. It does have some indents to help hold in its flex but easy enough to readjust

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[PlayingWithTBI]

Here's one of my son's Snappy persuaders

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[97C1500TJ]

It seems there is a higher demand for the Pittsburgh but I really like my Proto flex head. It has an interesting way to change directions though. It’s a knob rather than a lever. Takes some getting used to. Stahlwille has a really nice flex head as well. Pricey but it’s nice! I like it over Snap On.