Wright Tool3430 3/8" Drive Ratchet with 1/4" Drive Ratchet Handle Silver

what you see is what you get. so if you dont like this old school style of ratchet then you wont like this priduct. i like wright tools they are made in the USA. i like their sockets, extensions, and wright grip wrenches. beautiful chrome. but im not a big fan of this kind of ratchet. the selector switch is awkward and wonky to me but thats just my opinion. i prefer the new style ratchets. maybe an old timer would disagree. for this price point i would rather get a williams made in usa ratchet or a bahco.

To be clear, this item is a very small ratchet. It is a standard 1/4" drive ratchet with a 3/8" drive end, which is why it looks exaggerated in the picture -i.e. the handle really is that small compared to the 3/8" drive end. Again, let me re-iterate, you are getting a 1/4" drive ratchet as far as the size of the handle, it simply has a 3/8" end on it. I saw from a previous review (since deleted) that people were upset with the tiny ratchet that they got when they ordered this. Hopefully this clears up the confusion.As far as an actual product review, this unit is a very nicely made, superbly chromed and US-manufactured ratchet. The mechanism is quite nice, ratchets very smoothly and uniformly and the whole unit has a quality feel to it. There's good heft, if there is such a thing for 1/4" ratchets, and it does not feel cheap at all. The mechanism has 45 teeth and the round head design gives you a very small, compact form factor that still has a lot of strength and a low ratchet arc so you can maneuver in tight spots. This is a good thing, as it complements the entire purpose of this ratchet.This ratchet is essentially designed to let you use 3/8" drive sockets/extensions/etc where a regular 3/8" drive handle won't work, for example under a dash board or in cramped spaces in an engine bay. It should be clear that this would be for low torque situations only, as you wouldn't want to put any serious loads on any 1/4" drive tool. For that purpose, I find it to be a superb piece of American made equipment. I would definitely recommend this unit to others and would certainly buy another one of needed. For the price, you are hard pressed to find an equivalent anywhere else, especially off the tool trucks.

The head is very slender which is awesome if your bolts are crowded and it is a slick looking tool. I love supporting usa made tools but this one has a huge flaw. The internals are held inside the ratchet with a split ring on the outside. Now sk ratchets are tough as nails and they use split rings but this ratchets ring is not tough enough. I was loosening a bolt and applying a moderate ammount of pressure (not a lot) and the split ring gave and internals flew out and it took me a while to find it all (inside of a press at work when it happened). I put it back together and I still use it from time to time but I just have to baby it. Overall its an ok ratchet just doesnt handle much torque.

This head is tiny! Shipping wasn't fast, but it's not a prime product. The handle is a good length, comfortable. The head is about Half the size of my Snap-on 3/8-1/4 ratchet. Look at picture, it's barely bigger than the 3/8 drive, happens to be slightly smaller than the body of my 10mm socket. 45-tooth count, so it's not fine, but there is very little over-travel/take-up. Also, can flip the direction knob with your thumb, usually don't need both hands. I'm thinking about buying more Wright-brand ratchets!

My old one looks like picture. The one on the right it what I received. Still nice just not what I was expecting.

Wright tools worth the money usa

Use 3/8 drive sockets in tight places

This ratchet fills a nice niche in a household tool kit. Its small enough to get to almost anything, and you can use commonly owned 3/8 drive sockets. Wright is Made in USA (if that matters to you), and the fit and finish is excellent. Their tools are also extremely solid, short of outright abusing them, they shouldn't break with normal usage and care.