GEARWRENCH1/4" Drive 72 Tooth Quick Release Locking Flex Slim Head Ratchet, 12" - 81030

This is a great little tool, with a specific purpose. Accessing hard to reach, SMALL fasteners.If you put your 1/2” socket on there and try to break a bolt torqued to 50 ft/lbs, you’re gonna break the tool.The flex head locks very firmly, the swing required to engage the ratchet is very short, and the slim arm of the tool makes it great for getting deep into machines. Being able to put various hex bits into the tool in addition to the 1/4” drive is perfect for low clearance applications.I guarantee everybody with less than 4 star reviews was misusing the tool. You wouldn’t use a jeweler screwdriver to pull screws out of lumber, so don’t use this to break bolts.

Good for tight spaces and smaller applications

This is the kind of tool that you don't need until the day you need it for real. The ratcheting feels nice, I own from entry level chinise branda up to very expensive snap on stuff. Is not snap on quality buy it feels good

Definitely not the quality I expect from Gearwrench! I have metric and SAE combination ratchet flex wrench sets, flex flarenut set, palm ratchets, and a bunch of others. (Not to mention my full shop toolboxes of Snap-on and Mac Tools... so it's not like I'm new at this!) Those Gearwrench tools are well made... and they look and feel nice. My flex heads are my go to wrenches most of the time. This... not so much. The thru the head bit adapter comes out too easy... like way to easy. Whatever spring system/ "locking" mechanism is in this, it's so weak I don't expect it to last long at all if it's this weak to begin with! This is a tool designed to reach into hard to get places. Last thing I want to do is either spend time fishing out, or worse... lose a 10-15 dollar Snap-on socket due to a poorly made ratchet handle! The finish is horrible compared to the others. The beam of the ratchet is nowhere as smooth as the pics. As a matter of fact, it's quite "sharp" or thin if you will. It feels very "mickey mouse". Yes, it's 1/4" stuff, but at its regular price point it should be comfortable in the hand and finished at least as nicely as all of the other tools I have from them. After all that's what you want out of your tools. It has a lot of potential... if it was made better! There is very few brands of tools I nestle between my Snap-on and Mac's... very few. These always had a place in my revered tool box drawers. I'm going to keep this as I got it on sale for 20 bucks plus I had a gift card on account. It's not worth the gas to drive to send it back. It'll make a nice ugly paperweight when the fan is on in the shop. After that I doubt it'll be useful as the adapter will probably fall out into the void. This is a big disappointment guys. The next time I get a crappy tool like this from Gearwrench, I promise I'll send it back and buy no more. Please...get with it and do better, huh?

The GEARWRENCH 81030 ratchet has become an indispensable tool in my collection. Its slim head design and 12-inch handle provide exceptional access and leverage, making it ideal for tight spaces and hard-to-reach fasteners.​

I would really like to endorse this wrench but it has a design flaws.The 1/4 drive is itself a 1/4 shank that is removable. This is a GENIUS idea because you can remove it and there is a 1/4 hex hole in the wrench into which you can inset the drive shank of many tools. A BRILLIANT idea!The problem is that the shank does not lock into place except with a ball detent and spring, so when you put a normal 1/4 in socket in the drive and use it and then go to remove it, more often than not the drive shank disconnects from the tool and you have the socket AND the drive shank in one hand. Just as modern ratchets have a button to press to release the socket, this tool needs a positive retainer on the drive shank that only separates from the tool when activated.

This is not a 1/4 ratchet, but you can make it one.Removing a socket pulls this "ratchet" apart causing many problems, poor project progress, wasted time along with mounting frustration. However, if you desire, you can make this a 1/4inch long handled dedicated delicate ratchet by... filing a groove around the top of the drive stem and using a "C" clip, (3/16+-), to hold your newly minted "Ratchet" together. With some effort this makes a fine light duty ratchet for those who want a handle with room on it for two hands. But don't use it for heavy, hard to turn large nuts and bolts.

As an ASE Master technician I have used many ratches over 40 years. These are a great ratchets, a good value, and on the way to being among my favorites. I now have three.