2020 test4 productsPower Tools
Which 3/8 Inch Cordless Ratchets Brand Wins?
We compared 4 3/8 inch cordless ratchets options head to head. Milwaukee M12 came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Milwaukee M12
Price shown in test: $162 for the ratchet and starter kit
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Runner-up
Makita
Price shown in test: $189, the most expensive brand tested
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Budget pick
ProStormer
Price shown in test: $59.99, the least expensive brand tested
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Spec claims | Actual weight and balance | Noise level | Head size | No-load RPM | Trigger delay / brake | 28 lug nut removal speed test | Side-by-side race vs Makita | Maximum torque test | Rusted/damaged thread removal, 30 second test at 4.3 ft-lb resistance | Breakaway torque loosening test (lug nuts tightened to 90 ft-lb, 77.6/77.4 ft-lb breakaway torque) | Charge time from fully drained (4 amp hour battery, not a fair comparison to the others' 2 amp hour batteries) | No-load run time on a full charge | Estimated lug nuts installable per full charge (calculated from install rate and run time) | Side-by-side race vs ProStormer | Side-by-side race vs Milwaukee | Breakaway torque loosening test | Charge time from fully drained (2 amp hour battery) | Estimated lug nuts installable per full charge | Side-by-side race vs Earthquake |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Milwaukee M12$162 for the ratchet and starter kit | claims 35 ft-lb torque, 0 to 250 RPM, weighs 1.5 lb, 10.75 in length; tool made in China, M12 charger, two 4 amp hour batteries, battery cells made in Korea or Malaysia with additional processing in China; has a trigger lockout feature | 1,083 g (2 lb 6.2 oz); weight split 511 g / 570 g, giving 47 percent head-side / 53 percent handle-side, the best balanced tool along with Makita's 50/50 | about 81 dB, similar to ProStormer | described as the most compact head design of all four brands; transcript gives figures of 31.12 and 29.66 (units/axis not explicitly labeled in the narration, presumably mm front-to-back and side-to-side) right before this claim | advertised up to 250, actual measured max of 490, the highest of all four brands, well above its own rating; best low-RPM control of the test at a minimum of 15 RPM | faster off the line than Earthquake, barely slower off the line than ProStormer; does not brake as quickly as Earthquake or Makita | 1 minute 22 seconds, 2.93 seconds per lug nut, the fastest of all four brands | won all 3 rounds, described as close | 29.9 ft-lb (transcript states "29.9 lb" without the ft- prefix, but context matches the ft-lb test throughout), 3rd place behind Earthquake and Makita's tied 32.8 ft-lb | 101 rotations, called very impressive, narrowly edged out by Makita's 104 | shorter handle meant less leverage and more effort required, but held up fine removing both lug nuts with no damage | 79 minutes 30 seconds, called pretty impressive given double the battery capacity | 71 minutes 20 seconds, by far the longest of all four, described as totally crushing the competition | about 1,457, the best of all four brands | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Makita$189, the most expensive brand tested | claims 0 to 800 RPM and 35 ft-lb torque, overall length 13 7/16 in, dual drive (usable as both 3/8 in and 1/4 in), trigger lock feature, can be used without the battery as a manual ratchet; tool made in China, battery cell made in Japan with further processing in China, charger and tool bag made in China; 1 included 2 amp hour battery and charger; auto powers off after 1 minute of continuous use | 1,066 g (2 lb 5.6 oz); the most balanced tool of the test at a 50/50 weight split | 80 dB, the quietest of all four brands | 39.35 (unit not restated in this sentence, presumably mm); both Milwaukee and ProStormer have smaller heads than the Makita | advertised up to 800, actual measured max of only 361, well short of its own rating and not nearly as fast as the Milwaukee; minimum RPM of 39 | has an electronic brake for a quick stop; ProStormer was only a fraction of a second faster off the line, described as very close | 1 minute 27 seconds, 3.11 seconds per lug nut | not tested | 32.8 ft-lb, tied for 1st place with Earthquake | started faster than Milwaukee but slowed around the 17 second mark, finished with 104 rotations, the best result of the test, narrowly ahead of Milwaukee's 101 | not tested | not tested | just over 30 minutes, shorter than expected partly because it must be manually re-triggered every minute due to the auto power-off feature | not tested | won all 3 rounds | lost all 3 rounds, described as close | longer handle provided more leverage, made easy work of removing both lug nuts | 61 minutes 29 seconds, the fastest of all four brands | about 585 | not tested |
| 3Earthquake XT$99.99, sold at Harbor Freight | claims 60 ft-lb torque, 0 to 170 RPM, variable speed paddle with electronic brake, compact head design claimed, 2 amp hour battery with a 12 volt charger; tool made in China; ships with only 1 battery versus ProStormer's 2; no trigger lockout feature | 1,352 g (2 lb 15.7 oz, just under 3 lb), the heaviest of all four; weight split 839 g / 511 g, giving 62 percent head-side / 38 percent handle-side, the least balanced tool of the test | 86 dB, the loudest of all four brands by a clear margin | 43.28 mm front to back, 40.3 mm side to side, notably larger than the other three brands despite the compact head claim | advertised up to 170, actual measured max of 256, better than advertised; also reaches as low as 30 RPM at slow speed | much better/quicker brake than ProStormer and Milwaukee; slower off the line than the Prostormer and Milwaukee | 2 minutes 9 seconds, 4.61 seconds per lug nut, a little over half a second slower per nut than ProStormer, described as noticeably slower and vibrating more | not tested | 32.8 ft-lb, tied for 1st place with Makita | off to a great start, faster than ProStormer initially, but gave up at 23 seconds and could not get going again; 57 rotations total | not tested | not tested | just under 28 minutes, the shortest of all four brands, attributed partly to its slower RPM | not tested | lost all 3 rounds | not tested | longer handle provided quite a bit more leverage, no problem removing both lug nuts | 91 minutes 35 seconds, by far the longest of all four brands | about 364, the lowest of all four brands | not tested |
| 4ProStormer$59.99, the least expensive brand tested | claims to be very light at 1.85 lb, 2,000 mAh battery, claims up to 30 ft-lb torque and 230 RPM, comes with a second battery, charger and several sockets; made in China | 843 g (1 lb 13.7 oz); weight split 472 g / 372 g, giving 56 percent ratchet-end / 44 percent handle-end | about 81 dB, similar to Milwaukee | 36.91 mm front to back, 30.37 mm side to side | advertised 230, actual measured 319, better than advertised | slightly faster off the line than Earthquake and Milwaukee, and a fraction of a second faster than Makita, but does not brake as quickly as Earthquake or Makita | 1 minute 52 seconds, about 4 seconds per lug nut | lost all 3 rounds | 18.6 ft-lb, a distant 4th/last place, described as not bad for a budget tool | spinning the engine fine but visibly slowed by the load; 38 rotations total | not tested | not tested | 49 minutes 40 seconds, about 19 minutes longer than Makita despite being the cheapest tool | not tested | not tested | not tested | did just fine on both lug nuts with no apparent damage despite the shorter handle | 74 minutes, about 13 minutes longer than Makita | about 745 | won all 3 rounds |
How it was tested
- weight and front/back weight balance
- noise level (decibels, measured 24 in from the ratchet)
- ratchet head size (front to back and side to side)
- no-load RPM, minimum and maximum
- trigger delay / brake response (side by side slow motion)
- 28 lug nut removal speed test
- side-by-side lug nut removal races
- maximum torque (electronic torque adapter test rig)
- rusted/damaged thread removal against engine brake resistance, 30 second rotation count
- breakaway torque loosening test on lug nuts tightened to 90 ft-lb
- battery charge time from fully drained
- no-load run time on a full charge
- estimated lug nut installation capacity per full charge (calculated)
“Milwaukee definitely seems to have done the best in this showdown, but I also really like the Makita quite a bit.”