I've spent way more time looking over ratchets that I would care to admit, and I've worked with ratchets for over 20 years. You have a lot of qualities to look for in a ratchet, for example: - Do you want a round handle, which makes it easier to put a pipe on it for more torque - Do you want a plastic "comfort grip" - Do you want a flex head, and if so, do you want it locking? - Do you want a ez-release socket - How fine of a angle do you want? (Finer as in less angle rotation per click) - How much back drag are you looking for (How much reverse torque is required to click/ratchet - if too stiff, then the ratchet will move the nut/bolt in the reverse direction, something you obviously don't want) - How long do you want the ratchet? Longer = more torque, but harder to fit into spots - How thick do you want the ratchet, measured from the end of the square drive to the back of the ratchet - thinner is usually preferred to get into tighter spaces - Do you want a round head or teardrop shape? - Do you want it polished or not? - Do you want the backing plate attached via screws or a circlip? So obviously, even for something as simple as a ratchet, there are a lot of things to consider. This is a HEAVY ratchet. If you want something substantial feeling, this is going to be your friend. I prefer heavier ratchets, so this was exactly what I wanted. I wanted a rectangular handle design and not a round design. This is getting harder to find. It does mean you need a bigger pipe/cheater bar, but most of the time I can get more torque on a rectangular handle because it doesn't dig into the palm of my hand as much. This is highly polished, which is nice because it cleans up easier than a more cast surface finish. The downside is that scratches and gouges show more. For me, usability is most important, after all they are not jewelry. The quick release mechanism is quite nice - it is almost flat with the back of the ratchet head, which helps prevent accidental triggering if you were to bump it against something. The handle is quite long - much longer than a standard craftsman ratchet. I was surprised about how long it is. It is longer than I would prefer to be honest. The ratchet mechanism has less back drag than a craftsman, but more than harbor freight Pittsburgh ratchets which are known to have very little back drag. Now, this is as-delivered, and I haven't opened the head up yet to see if it was oiled or not. It has 60 teeth, which is almost double what a standard craftsman ratchet has, however isn't as fine as newer 72/90/120/144 tooth ratchets. 60 teeth is fine for the most part. The thickness of the head is more than I would have liked - it is about the same thickness of a craftsman standard ratchet, which compared to newer styles is pretty thick. The handle does not have the comfort plastic/rubber grip. This to me is a plus, because the rubber tends to degrade over time, and quickly gets nasty looking with oil/grease. Once you get grease on it, the only way to get it off is to use harsh solvents which can destroy the handle material. Also, putting a pipe over the comfort material will deform or tear it, not to mention require using a thicker pipe. Lastly, the backing plate is attached via a circlip. This makes disassembly a little bit more difficult as you need circlip pliers, however you don't have to worry about screws backing out or getting stripped. I also feel as if the circlip holds the back plate on better than the screws. There are better options out there, especially if you are okay with a round handle. But for those of us that really want the rectangular cross section, the pickings are quite a bit slimmer. I don't like it as much as the Link ratchet I had (Which broke) but they appear to be out of business, so I had to look elsewhere. If you are like me and only want a rectangular cross section handle, other choices include the craftsman standard and ultra thin ratchets, the Dewalt ratchet, and a few gear wrench ratchets. If you were only going to buy one ratchet, I think this is too long. But, if you plan to get a shorter, stubby, ratchet as well, then this would work well. Without using it much, I can say the quality is there, I can't imagine this breaking at all under normal use.
