Your Current Favorite 3/8th drive Ratchet ?

Tempest1 said:
I have been picking up some of the newer style Gearwrench 120XP ratchets and am loving them so far. Very little back drag (especially after getting some lube in them), small head, and they run smooth. The 120 positions really come in handy with the 1/4" in tight spaces.
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I'm going to buy a flex head 1/2" Gearwrench 120XP. Watched a bunch of videos, including Project Farm, and those things flat out perform. I was thinking Koken, but they are way more expensive. Can't justify it, particularly for a 1/2" that doesn't get much use.
 
My favorite and most used 3/8 ratchet is my Metrinch one that came in my Metrinch tool socket set that I bought back in the 90's. I have used it extensively over the years and it has never broken or skipped.
 
Arc said:
I have a 50 year old 1/2" drive one that has outlasted all the new ones. Back then they made them easy to service because they wanted you to keep it forever. Pride in workmanship.
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My old Craftsman 1/2" ratchet punctuated the need for another ratchet, because the grease got sticky and the tool was not usable. Took it apart, cleaned it out, and it's back working. It's a crude piece compared to new ratchets, though. Very low tooth count, and tons of back drag.
 
my current go to at my second job is my Pittsburgh long handle flex head 3/8 ratchet. super cheap, lifetime warranty and it’s gone the distance. cheater pipes and all

at home/side gigs i use my icon G2 assortment or flex heads. love the back drag after they wore in. I sold my singular snap on hard handle rachet to buy a 1/4 through 1/2” set of icon G2 flex heads.
 
IMG_7872.webp

I just installed 3/8 anvils in four 1/4 Icon ratchets. All four were brand new out of the box and all four hardly had any lube in them. As soon as I felt them I thought they feel good but not great. I added a small dab of this Dumond Tech Pro X grease. It’s for the ratchets in bicycle cassettes. The stuff is fantastic. Makes the ratchets feel fantastic. All of my ratchets have this in them.
 
NYEngineer said:
View attachment 334865
I just installed 3/8 anvils in four 1/4 Icon ratchets. All four were brand new out of the box and all four hardly had any lube in them. As soon as I felt them I thought they feel good but not great. I added a small dab of this Dumond Tech Pro X grease. It’s for the ratchets in bicycle cassettes. The stuff is fantastic. Makes the ratchets feel fantastic. All of my ratchets have this in them.
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Dumb question: are the 1/4" heads smaller than the 3/8"?

I want a long-ish ratchet with 3/8" anvil but a head that is as small in diameter as possible. Willing to sacrifice strength to get it.
 
Not picky, but old faithful craftsmal basic model from 25 years ago works fine for me.

I did get a novelty ratchet from Lowes years ago with an integrated LED in the anvil.

I never torqued on it very hard and didn't use it much because of that. It's more of a collectible/toolbox queen now.

Illuminated Ratchet.webp
 
D60 said:
Dumb question: are the 1/4" heads smaller than the 3/8"?

I want a long-ish ratchet with 3/8" anvil but a head that is as small in diameter as possible. Willing to sacrifice strength to get it.
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The 1/4 inch heads are smaller than the 3/8 heads. The whole point of doing this.
 
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