2022 test13 productsHand Tools
Which Ratcheting Combination Wrenches Brand Wins?
We compared 13 ratcheting combination wrenches options head to head. SK came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
SK
Price shown in test: 66
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Runner-up
GearWrench
Price shown in test: 4 per wrench ($20 for a 5-piece set)
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Budget pick
Tekton
Price shown in test: 15
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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 | Claimed specs | Weight | Arc swing efficiency (passes for a full 360 circle, lower is better) | Back drag (grams of force, lower is better) | Rusty bolt box-end grip test (with washer) | Rusty bolt open-end grip test (no washer) | Box-end failure load (coupling nut, lb before wrench fails) | Open-end failure load (hardened Allen key, in-lb before wrench fails) | Outer diameter | Average finish score | Open-end slop (dial indicator, in, lower is better) | Open-end slop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1SK66 | claimed lowest arc swing in the industry at 1.7 degrees, 216 positions with six pawls for tight spaces, made in USA | 123.7 g, by far the heaviest of all 14 wrenches | 15.3 passes, the best of all 14 wrenches, winning this test outright despite its own conservative 1.7 degree marketing claim being far more conservative than its actual measured over-20-degrees-per-stroke performance | 288 g, third best of all 14 | six-point, refused to give up and finally broke the bolt at a peak torque of 663 in-lb, one of only 3 wrenches (with Olsa and Wera) to outlast the roughly 660 in-lb bolt | broke the bolt at a peak torque of 683.7 in-lb with no visible jaw stretching, the only wrench in this test not to show any stretch under load | 531 lb, the highest (best) of all 14 wrenches, winning this test outright; narrator notes it was 'barely bending' even around 500 lb | 836.8 in-lb, a comparatively weak result relative to its dominance in other tests, though with no visible gouges in the jaws (described as very hard steel) | 0.98 in box end (tied most compact with Williams and Blue Point), 0.97 in open end (best/most compact of all 14) | 3.67 overall, the best of all 14 wrenches; 1.75 when the two failure-load tests are excluded, an even more dominant margin | not tested | not tested |
| 2GearWrench4 per wrench ($20 for a 5-piece set) | off-corner loading design to reduce fastener rounding, 72 teeth, 5 degree arc swing claimed, made in China | 96.2 g | 25.5 passes, with about 15 degrees of slop before the ratchet engages | 109 g, the best (lowest) of all 14 wrenches, winning this test outright | 12-point, 586.8 in-lb before losing grip | 714.4 in-lb before rounding the bolt, the highest of all wrenches in this specific test | 329 lb, with only a very small amount of damage to the nut | 1,128 in-lb, described as almost stressed to 9/16 in | not tested | 4.5 overall, the second best of the 3 wrenches given an explicit overall score (behind SK); 3.25 when the two failure-load tests are excluded, tied with Tekton | 0.36 in, third best of the 4 wrenches given explicit numbers in this test | not tested |
| 3Tekton15 | six-point box end, 72-tooth ratchet claimed to need only a 5 degree arc swing, made in Taiwan | about 100 g | 18 passes, tied for third best of all 14 (tied with Capri Tools), described as by far the best result up to that point in the video | 394 g | 793.8 in-lb before losing grip, the best (highest) of all 14 wrenches in this test; narrator states he was 'quite surprised that the bolt withstood that much torque' | made two attempts before finally slipping at 638.2 in-lb | 224 lb, the ratcheting mechanism broke, a comparatively weak result | 1,173 in-lb, described as having plenty of open-end jaw strength, fourth best of all 14 | not tested | 5.17 overall; 3.25 when the two failure-load tests are excluded, tied with GearWrench | not tested | not tested |
| 4Olsa6.50 per wrench ($80 for a 12-piece set) | 100-tooth ratcheting, claimed to extract up to an 80 percent rounded bolt, marketed as 'premium unbreakable steel', made in Taiwan | 103.2 g | 27 passes, with about 17 degrees of slop before the ratchet engages, even more slop than GearWrench | 743 g (over 1.5 lb), described as extremely stiff, a poor result | six-point, easily outlasted the bolt at 668 in-lb, one of only 3 wrenches (with Wera and SK) to outlast the roughly 660 in-lb bolt | 675.9 in-lb before rounding, described as performing very well | 514 lb, the second best of all 14 wrenches, consistent with its 'unbreakable steel' marketing though the narrator notes 'everything is going to bend or break at some point' | 870 in-lb, about 200 in-lb short of GearWrench, with quite a bit of damage | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 5Greenlee22 | reversible switch, 15 degree offset box end for obstacle clearance, claimed 5 degree arc swing, made in Taiwan | 101.9 g | 22 passes | 601 g, a notably poor result the narrator specifically calls out given the wrench's relatively high $22 price | 12-point, 523 in-lb, performed almost as well as Capri Tools | 610 in-lb, described as built much more robust on the open end compared to some other brands | 371 lb, held on for quite a while with a lot of rotation before breaking, about the same as DeWalt, with quite a bit of damage to the coupling nut | 1,311 in-lb, the highest (best) of all 14 wrenches, winning this test outright | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 6Wera Joker 600023 | metal plate in the jaw for holding function, double hex geometry to reduce slipping, 80-tooth ratcheting mechanism (most other brands in this video use 72 teeth), made in the Czech Republic, the only non-Asia/USA-made brand in the video | 100.9 g | 16 passes, the second best of all 14 wrenches, behind only SK | 408 g, fifth best, described as better than average | 12-point, described as very well designed with a snug fit and very little taper, maintained very good contact with the bolt, which finally broke at 667 in-lb; one of only 3 wrenches (with Olsa and SK) to outlast the roughly 660 in-lb bolt | only 404.4 in-lb, one of the worst results in this specific test despite its strong box-end performance; narrator notes it 'uses a much different design than all of the other brands and it didn't work out too well' | just about 400 lb before the ratchet broke, and the broken ratchet gear became stuck on the coupling nut, a distinct functional failure mode from most other brands | 866 in-lb, gave up sooner than most, with quite a bit of damage to both jaws | 0.99 in open end, tied with Proto | not tested | 0.14 in, the best (lowest, tightest) of all 14 wrenches | not tested |
| 7Capri Tools20 | 72-tooth six-point reversible ratcheting, 15 degree offset box end for knuckle clearance, made in Taiwan | 117.5 g, described as by far the heaviest up to that point in the video (later surpassed by SK's 123.7 g) | 18 passes, tied for third best of all 14 (tied with Tekton) | 237 g, second best of all 14 | six-point, 529.8 in-lb; narrator notes the taper on this wrench seemed to keep it from staying fully seated on the bolt | 489.3 in-lb, described as below average | 302 lb, with the coupling nut looking 'as good as new' afterward, the least nut damage of any brand despite breaking at a lower load than most | 1,018 in-lb, almost matched Williams, with quite a bit of damage to both jaws | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 8Jagger10 | 72 teeth, claimed 5 degree arc swing, made in China | 99.5 g | 25 passes, with quite a bit of slop similar to GearWrench, barely edging out GearWrench by half a stroke | 580 g, described as still quite a bit of back drag despite being second place at that point in the video | 605 in-lb, described as performing very well | 566.7 in-lb, gave up a bit sooner than GearWrench and Olsa | 321 lb, ratcheting mechanism broke, about the same as GearWrench, with the coupling nut still in good shape | 1,290 in-lb, the second best of all 14 wrenches, performing even better than Jet Tech but with even more visible damage | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 9Craftsman17 | 15 degree box end offset for knuckle clearance, 72-tooth ratcheting box end for tight spaces, made in Taiwan | 90 g, described as relatively light | 24 passes, tied with DeWalt, with about the same amount of slop as DeWalt | 549 g, about the same as Jagger | 12-point, rounded the bolt at 691 in-lb, second best of all 14 in this test behind only Tekton | 469.5 in-lb, gave up a bit sooner than average, about 250 in-lb less than GearWrench | 415 lb, broke without any loud bangs or visible outward damage, though the coupling nut itself experienced quite a bit of damage; third best of all 14 in this test | 1,058 in-lb, held on longer than DeWalt, with quite a bit of damage to the wrench itself | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 10Blue Point39 | sold by Snap-on, 15 degree offset box head, claimed 4.5 degree gear engagement, reversible ratcheting box, 'flank drive' wrenching configuration, made in Taiwan | 99.1 g | 27 passes, described as a notable struggle given the brand's high cost | 415 g, about the same as Wera | 536.8 in-lb before rounding the bolt | 540.1 in-lb, described as performing well | 336 lb, nearly the same as Proto, with sparks flying when the ratchet broke, small damage to the nut | 945 in-lb, gave up a bit sooner than most, with a pretty big gouge in the lower jaw | 0.98 in box end (tied most compact with Williams and SK), 1.01 in open end (second most compact behind only SK) | not tested | 0.32 in, second best of all 14, behind only Wera | not tested |
| 11Williams20 | 12 points of contact, unique directional lever to switch turning direction without flipping the wrench over (unlike most other brands in this video), recessed corners and ends for extra turning power, 15 degree angle for knuckle clearance, made in Taiwan | 97.1 g | 28 passes, with even more slop than Craftsman and DeWalt | 289 g, fourth best of all 14 | 12-point, gave up a bit sooner than average at 447.7 in-lb | 530.4 in-lb, described as about average | 325 lb, the ratcheting gear fell off entirely (a distinct mechanical failure rather than the ratchet simply breaking), about the same load as GearWrench and Jagger | 1,033 in-lb, about the same as Craftsman, with a lot of damage to the lower jaw | 0.98 in box end, tied most compact with Blue Point and SK | not tested | 0.37 in, fourth of the wrenches given explicit numbers in this test | not tested |
| 12Proto26 | 12-point with a reversing lever for quick one-hand operation, made in Taiwan | 85.6 g, described as pretty light | 18.7 passes, described as better than average but not as efficient as Wera, moving into fourth place | 647 g, described as really struggling, a poor result | 12-point, 719.5 in-lb, performed much better than average, one of the better results | test result explicitly thrown out by the narrator: 'I messed up and I didn't get the Proto fully seated on the bolt... I subsequently damaged the wrench before I caught this mistake, so I'll go ahead and throw out the test results.' No valid figure exists for this test, and the wrench itself was damaged in the process, which may also be a caveat for its later failure-load results | 341 lb, about the same as GearWrench, Jagger, and Williams, small amount of damage to the nut | 1,045 in-lb, very close to average, quite a bit of damage to both jaws | 0.99 in open end, tied with Wera | not tested | not tested | no specific number given, but flagged by the narrator as performing poorly due to its off-corner loading design causing 'a lot of excess back and forth unloaded travel' |
| 13Jet Tech9 | 12-point box end for a precise fit, off-corner design distributes force on the round rather than the corners, made in China | 101.9 g | 33.5 passes, the worst (least efficient) of all 14 wrenches, making only about 11-12 degrees of progress per stroke | 772 g, the second worst of all 14, described as 'definitely way too much to work efficiently' | 12-point, gave up early at 475 in-lb, about 200 in-lb less than Olsa | no result for this specific sub-test appears in the transcript for this brand; not explicitly flagged by the narrator as a skip, so this is noted as a possible transcript gap rather than a confirmed intentional omission | 226 lb, the internal ratcheting mechanism broke, described as less than half the strength of Olsa, one of the weakest results of all 14 | 1,233 in-lb, moved into the lead at that point in the video (later surpassed by several other brands), with quite a bit of damage | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
How it was tested
- weight comparison
- working arc swing efficiency: number of back-and-forth passes to complete a full 360 degree rotation within a 40 degree working space
- open-end slop measurement using a 1/2 in Allen key and a dial indicator, measured 6 in from the base of the wrench
- back drag: force in grams required to advance the unloaded ratcheting mechanism, measured with a socket, fishing line, and scale
- box-end grip strength on a heavily rusted bolt with a washer added to reduce contact area (bolts typically break around 660 in-lb)
- open-end grip strength on the same rusted bolt with the washer removed
- box-end failure load using soft coupling nuts, measuring the force in lb before the wrench itself fails
- open-end failure/strength test using a hardened Allen key, measuring the torque in in-lb before the wrench bends or breaks
- outer diameter comparison for both the box end and open end, relevant to working in tight spaces
“At a price of $66, the SK seems way overpriced. However, it is the best wrench.”