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Review on ๐Ÿ”ง Efficient Flex Head Ratcheting Combination: GEARWRENCH 85698 by Eric Power

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Rotating mechanism isn't the best

I love gear wrenches, but they're not perfect. The ratchets themselves seem pretty good as I've used them to take torque off some extremely tight parts. It's the twist locks that will be their downfall. I had one, I believe the ratchet head was installed backwards and locked at a 90ยฐ angle. When I finally unlocked it, the bullet holding it in place fell out. I removed the set screw, reinstalled the ball, and reinstalled the screw. The same thing happened again. I took it apart, rotated the ratchet head back and reinstalled everything and it hasn't blocked me again. However, most of them are simply not very durable and often fall off during use. I won't be using it every day so this shouldn't be a huge issue, but they could definitely use a redesign for the rotation feature. It's a little annoying, but for the price and size, they're worth the money.

Pros
  • Surface Drive Plus provides better fastener retention and almost eliminates fastener rounding
Cons
  • Not bad, but...