Best Ratchet Wrenches

A ratchet wrench is a handy tool when tightening or loosening nuts and bolts. The ratchet action ensures that you can turn the tool in only one direction, ensuring that the nut or bolt will be tightened properly. It will also ensure a good grip when trying to loosen a stubborn nut or bolt. You’ll find ratchet wrenches employed in automotive or bicycle repairs, as well as in numerous projects in which a wrench is required. You can find ratchet wrenches with a fixed head, in which case you have to get a full set of wrenches of different sizes. There are also ratchet wrenches that have a pivoting head, to get at the nut at an angle. You can also get a ratchet wrench with interchangeable heads--otherwise known as a “socket set”--this certainly saves space, since the wrench heads are not very bulky.

We've put together this guide to help you select the ratchet wrench that answers to your needs. It'll help you:

• Choose the right type of ratchet wrench,

• See useful tips about that type of ratchet wrench,    

• Read reviews of different brands of ratchet wrench, and what customers are saying,

• Select the right brand of ratchet wrench, and

• Compare prices and find the best deals.

There are two types of ratchet wrenches:

• Fixed head/Pivoting head: This will consist of a single wrench with a ratchet mechanism, allowing you to turn a nut or bolt in only one direction. This is have to be part of a set of such wrenches, since each wrench is good for only a specific size nut or bolt. They will typically have a similar-sized open-ended wrench on the other end. The wrench can be either fixed-head, or allow the head to pivot at an angle.

• Interchangeable heads: This will also be known as a “socket set” (although not all socket sets have a ratchet mechanism): It will consist of a single handle, into which you insert ratchet heads of various sizes. The heads are designed to fit a range of sizes in the metric or English system. Once attached to a nut or bolt, the ratchet can either rotate by you turning the tool with a wrist action, or by just rotating the fingers (like with a screwdriver).

Based on all the consumers' reviews we've scanned, these are the top things they mentioned about their new stuff:

• Number of wrenches: The more wrenches, the more versatile your ratchet wrench set will be. GearWrench makes sets of 12 and 13 piece ratcheting wrench sets, ranging from 8 mm to 19 mm. Husky offers a set of 20 ratchet wrenches, ranging from

• Measurement systems: You will see two systems of measurement: metric and SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers). The metric sizes don’t cover all the possibilities, so there are non-metric options as well. The Husky 20-piece ratchet set has 10 metric sizes and 10 SAE sizes.

• One direction for tightening, one for loosening: If the ratchet wrench can only be used in one direction, how can it be used for both tightening and loosening?

  • With a fixed head ratchet wrench: Once you have found the correct size head for a particular nut or bolt, you turn the ratchet wrench clockwise to tighten it. You flip the ratchet wrench around 180°, and now it rotates counterclockwise, to loosen  the nut or bolt.

  • With an interchangeable head ratchet wrench: There is a switch in the ratchet handle, that allows you to rotate the ratchet wrench in the opposite direction. One setting of the switch will let you turn the wrench clockwise, while flicking the switch will let you turn the wrench counterclockwise.

• Pivoting ratchet ends: Some fixed-size ratchet wrenches have pivoting ratchet ends. Instead of being in a straight line with the handle, the ratchet part can be bent at an angle with respect to the the shank of the wrench. This is especially useful when using the tool in tight spaces. The GearWrench 9901 12 Piece Metric Flex-Head Combination Ratcheting Wrench Set has such pivoting heads.

• Length of the socket heads: There are two main sizes of socket heads when using the ratchet wrench with interchangeable heads: the short length is ¼”, while the longer one is ⅜” long. You’ll find that the longer length will be necessary to reach nuts that are screwed onto a longer bolt.

• Make sure you have the right size: If you use the wrong diameter wrench or head on a nut or bolt, you run the risk or stripping the ends of the nut/bolt. It will be much more difficult to get it out afterwards. So it is imperative that you choose the right size.

Milwaukee--is an electric power tools company, founded in 1924, and located in Brookfield, Wisconsin. They were founded by A.H. Petersen, who manufactured tools and dies. His first innovation was the one-handed drill, which revolutionized the power tool industry. Together with A.F. Siebert, they expanded to electric sanders, hand grinders, reciprocal saws, hacksaws, band saws, and more.

Apex Tool Group--(or ATG) was founded in Sparks, Maryland, and includes over 30 different brands of tools, including Crescent, mentioned above, Lufkin, and Paterson. They started as the Wiss Scissors Factory in Newark, New Jersey in 1848. They make hand tools, power tools, and electronic tools for industrial uses, vehicle repair and assembly, aerospace, and DIY projects.

GearWrench--is a maker of hardware and power tools, located in Sparks, Maryland. They started with a patent on a five-degree ratchet wrench in 1996, but they expanded to a full line of tools for automotive and industrial technology as well. They make torque wrenches, ratchet wrenches, files, screwdrivers, and more.

Husky--was founded by Sigmund Mandl in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1924. They are presently the house brand of The Home Depot. Husky is their line of hand tools, pneumatic tools, and tool storage products. Other tool companies manufacture tools, and sell them under the Husky name.