2024 test18 productsHand Tools
Which Half Inch Drive Ratchet Brand Wins?
We compared 18 half inch drive ratchet options head to head. GearWrench came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
GearWrench
Price shown in test: $59
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Runner-up
SK (USA made)
Price shown in test: $157
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Budget pick
Neiko
Price shown in test: $18, transcript also refers to it once as 'around $20'
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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 | Working arc swing | Back drag | Directional switch force | Failure load | Tooth count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1GearWrench$59 | 19.1 passes for one full 360 degree rotation; finished third overall behind ARES (18.2) and the USA made SK (18.4) per the video's own final ranking | 300 g, second place behind Neiko's 158 g | 264 g, best of all 18 ratchets, described as the most user friendly | 943 lb of force before the main drive broke; converted to torque this is described as 'over 800 ft-lbs, the most yet'; the closing summary separately states the converted figure as 'approximately 85 ft-lb,' which is almost certainly a caption error dropping a digit (likely meant to read roughly 850 ft-lb) since it contradicts the 'over 800 ft-lbs' statement made earlier for the same ratchet; kept verbatim, flagged as ambiguous | 120 teeth |
| 2SK USA made$157 | 18.4 passes, second place overall per the video's final ranking (behind ARES at 18.2) | 400 g | 448 g | 1,042 lb of raw force reported during the breaking test; the closing summary's converted torque figure lists this ratchet at 782 ft-lb among the top three converted results, a different metric/unit than the raw 1,042 lb figure | 90 teeth |
| 3Neiko$18, transcript also refers to it once as 'around $20' | 20 passes, took the lead at that point in testing (not in the final top-3 for this category) | 158 g, best of all 18 ratchets | 312 g, second place behind GearWrench | briefly reached just over 900 lb of raw force during testing; the closing summary states it 'broke at 680 ft-lbs' as its converted torque figure | 100 teeth |
| 4ARES$24 | 18.2 passes, best of all 18 ratchets per the video's final ranking | 986 g, the worst result recorded up to that point in testing | 754 g | the transcript states 'over 97 pounds of force, the most yet,' which does not fit the surrounding context since every other ratchet's failure load is in the 600 to 1,100+ lb range; almost certainly a caption error dropping a digit (likely meant to read roughly 970 lb), kept verbatim and flagged as unreliable | transcript reads '122 ratchet' at introduction and '12 to gear set' later, which is inconsistent with typical ratchet tooth counts in this video (72 to 120); likely a caption-mangled '120 tooth' given the pattern elsewhere in the transcript of 'X to' meaning 'X tooth,' but kept as an unresolved flag rather than corrected |
| 5Klein Tools$25 | 23.5 passes | 330 g, third place behind Neiko and GearWrench | just under 400 g | 787 lbs before the drive failed | not tested |
| 6Craftsman$43 | 22 passes, described as a pretty disappointing result | 454 g, described as a little too much to work efficiently | 492 g | 780 lb before the ratchet let go | 120 teeth claimed (appears to use a 60-tooth main gear with two alternating pawls to achieve this rating), described as a sloppy and inefficient gear set for the tooth count advertised |
| 7Icon$45 | 21 passes, fourth place behind WorkPro at the point tested | 760 g, described as really struggling in this test | 346 g, third place behind GearWrench and Neiko | over 1,100 lb, the highest raw force figure recorded up to that point in testing; the handle had to have its length removed/reduced to 8 in from the drive due to excessive bending under load | not tested |
| 8Williams$53 | 21.9 passes, described as performing well for a 72 tooth ratchet | 738 g, described as struggling in this test | 1,256 g to rotate the ratchet's directional dial; the presenter notes this is 'apples to oranges' since the Williams uses a rotating dial rather than a lever like most of the other brands | no specific final breaking-force number is stated in the transcript; described only as the main drive fragmenting under load while the main gear and pawl remained in very good condition | not tested |
| 9Wera$53 | 23.9 passes; the transcript describes the handle as 'really getting in the way' and holding back this result | 464 g, about the same as Craftsman | 362 g, performed almost as well as Icon | 797 pounds before gradually losing grip | not tested |
| 10Stahlwille$118 | 20.2 passes, described as performing well despite only having 80 teeth | 718 g, described as needing to loosen up to work efficiently | 410 g | first attempt reached 819 lbs before the gearbox jammed; on retest it finally gave up at just over 800 lb | not tested |
| 11SK made in China$36 | 20.2 passes, described as really pretty good | 958 g, described as needing to revisit the design | 820 g | over 900 lb of raw force before breaking | 90 teeth |
| 12Mac Tools$185 | 22.5 passes | 840 g, described as way too much to work efficiently | 1,372 g, the most of any ratchet tested | 927 lb of raw force before the drive snapped; the closing summary's converted torque figure for this ratchet is 773 ft-lb, among the top three converted results | 90 teeth |
| 13Snap-on$220 before shipping and handling, $246 after shipping, handling, and tax | 20 passes, described as pretty good for an 80 tooth ratchet | 678 g, described as way too much for a premium ratchet | 876 g | 931 lb of raw force before the main drive failed | 80 teeth, dual-pawl 'Dual 80' design with 7 teeth in contact at once |
| 14SATA$11; the transcript also states 'only $1' once during the arc swing test section, almost certainly a caption error dropping a digit | 23.9 passes | 586 g | 486 g | 820 lb of raw force before breaking; minor damage to the main gear teeth | not tested |
| 15Pittsburgh$15 | 37 passes, described as pretty bad, due to an extremely loose and sloppy ratcheting mechanism | 430 g | 444 g | first sample reached 676 lb before failing (150 lb less than SATA); a second sample tested gave up at only 65 lb, a large and unexplained drop from the first sample; kept verbatim, flagged as possibly a defective unit or a caption error dropping a digit | not tested |
| 16WorkPro$17 | exact pass count not clearly stated in the transcript due to caption garbling around this section, but WorkPro is referenced as holding first place until Duratech's 22.5-pass result ('second place behind the work pro') and again when Icon's 21-pass result is described as 'fourth place behind the workpro,' implying WorkPro's own figure was better than 21 passes | 990 g, described as way too much to work efficiently | 638 g | 765 lbs before the ratchet 'stopped working like a pro' | 72 teeth |
| 17Duratechthe transcript reads '$177 for a 90 tooth ratchet,' which is very likely a caption/OCR error given every comparably specced budget ratchet in this video is priced $11 to $45; kept verbatim, flagged as probably meant to read approximately $17 | 22.5 passes, moved into second place behind WorkPro at that point in testing | 442 g, described as performing well for a budget ratchet | 564 g | first sample reached 822 lb before the teeth on the main gear completely stripped; a second sample tested gave up at only 235 lbs, a large drop from the first sample, kept verbatim and flagged as possibly a defective unit | 90 teeth |
| 18DeWalt$22 | 23.5 passes | 390 g, a little better than average | around 442 g | 857 lbs before finally breaking | 72 teeth |
How it was tested
- working arc swing test: right-to-left passes needed for one full 360 degree rotation within a confined 30 degree space
- back drag test: force in grams required to advance a socket, measured via a string and scale
- directional switch force test: force in grams required to change ratcheting direction
- failure load test: force applied via hydraulic press until each ratchet broke, converted to foot-pounds of torque using handle length
- overall average finish ranking across all quantitative categories plus a subjective 1 to 5 build-quality/construction rating
“the $59 GearWrench dominated the showdown with the best average finish of 1.7. It performed well in every single category, which is pretty rare for a ratchet.”