Harbor Freight's Pittsburgh Pro 1/4" Drive

I'm pretty discerning when it comes to ratchets. I've owned several Snap-On 1/4" drive ratchets. I like the padded grip and swivel head ratchets, with the fine toothed head. At $100 each, it really hurts when they grow legs and walk away .

Some of you may know that I work at a junkyard, which is different than working in a single bay or even a garage in that my tools travel and are always exposed to the weather. That and I generally burn out reverse in my impact guns, but that's for another tool review :whistle:

So I purchased the Pittsburgh Pro 1/4" drive swivel head padded grip ratchet, and the Pittsburgh Pro fixed head padded grip ratchets from my local Harbor Freight. For less than $20 each, I had NO hope of these things surviving the abuse I put my ratchets through. After having been let down by other cheap ratchets, I've really grown to like my Snap-on ratchets, I just can't justify the cost anymore!

Well, as you can tell by the pictures, I've been using these for a few months now and have been VERY satisfied.
Not only are they fine toothed for a short swing, they have very close to the same dimensions of the Snap-On ratchets as far as handle length, shank depth and head profile.
I've put them through everything I can so far, including removing 14mm fasteners from cylinder heads with a pipe over the handle. (You'll no doubt notice the curve in the end of the grip in the last pic from not having the pipe buried down beyond the depth of the shank through the grip )
I'm no longer "gun shy" about the gears slipping under excessive torque, resulting in the old Crafstman busted knuckle and ensuing stream of expletives.
A lot of the time I'll grip the ratchet in one hand and strike that hand with my free hand to break loose a fastener, and have yet to have an issue using these ratchets.
I honestly would expect this ratchet to handle absolutely anything my Snap-On ratchet could take.
The only flaw I have found, that you will see in the pics, is that the reversing lever is held on with a small Torx bolt through the face of the ratchet head. This screw does pivot as you switch from "on" to "off", so if you're not paying attention, you could over time back that screw out inadvertently.

But at a quarter of the cost of Snap-On, and with lifetime replacement, that's a very minor issue.
So, in short, if you're a pro and are on the fence, or a DIY'er looking for a value these carry my seal of approval for everyday use and abuse!
Chock this one up as a Harbor Freight WIN!











Let me know if you found this review helpful and if you would like to see others like it in the future.
Also feel free to share your experience with these tools if you own or have used them. Positive or negative. That way we can all make an informed decision when it comes to spending our hard earned cash.

When I buy a swivel ratchet I only buy this pattern as it is much less likely to tip over and much easier on the knuckles.
It is available in several different brands this is a Laser

Laser Tool Link

Dude, you can't go posting stuff like this when I just bought one of these :

store.snapon.com/Dual-80-174-Technology-...Ratchet-P890478.aspx

Seriously though, I love the review! This kind of torture testing is the kind of stuff I'm looking for, not unboxing or first impressions.

Reading this thread I was inspired to order a set of new ratchets and new wobble extensions.
The new wobble extensions are Bergen branded and have an interesting new feature they can be locked so they act as normal ridgid extension. They were very low cost but appear good quality.





Ebay UK link

The new swivel head ratchet set just arrived 1/4", 3/8" amd 1/2" it turns out they were not a set but 3 items bundled in the same box. Two were branded Neilsen (a very good budget brand) and one was branded Predator. When I examined them they appear excellent quality and although branded differently all made in the same factory.
Not only that but comparing them with pictures of the eqivalent Laser & Pittsburgh Pro ratchets is very obvious they are also made in the same factory.

I like those wobble extensions with the second detent to use as a straight extension when needed.

I'd like to see the ratchets if you have time to post a pic.

I have since discovered that most of the better quality rachets sold under different brand names including TopTul are made by William Tools in Taiwan
They do slight variations for different brands the Laser and Toptul versions only differ in having a quick release button.
Some of the other William Tool products look exactly the same as Snap-on?
www.wtools.com.tw/

UPDATE: Finally had to exchange the swivel head ratchet. It was my fault, not the ratchet.
I had it on a really tough 14mm exhaust manifold nut and stomped on it with my boot to break the nut free. ( I know, savage...) In all fairness, that probably would have broken any 1/4" ratchet. It was not the right tool for the job, and it was not the right way to use it. I was away from my tool box and didn't want to have walk to the other side of the yard to get a bigger set.
I walked in the store with the broken ratchet, grabbed a new one off the shelf and the girl at the register rang me up. No questions, no problem, no charge.
And I didn't have to wait until Tuesday when the Snap-On truck shows up.

Noah wrote: I had it on a really tough 14mm exhaust manifold nut and stomped on it with my boot to break the nut free. ( I know, savage...)

:lol: :lol: :lol:

And the award for Most Savage User goes to...