Tool Review: Beta Tools 3/8” Drive Reversible Ratchet
When it comes to tightening or loosening a fastener in tight spaces on a vehicle, a tool that can save time and energy is a tool worth noting. Eric Moore, fleet manager at Griffin Pavement Striping in Columbus, Ohio, reviewed Beta Tools 3/8” Drive Reversible Ratchet, No. 910/58, and found the tool did, in fact, save time.
The Beta Tools 3/8” Drive Reversible Ratchet is unlike most other ratchets. It features a rotating handle which the technician can twist or turn to rotate the socket. This is ideal for working in confined areas where the free-spinning motion of a typical hand-held ratchet may not be able to fit due to its ratcheting mechanism.
Moore noted the ratchet was very easy to use – simply attach the correct size socket and select the direction.
“The spinning handle was a nice addition, especially in tighter quarters,” Moore says. “While I have used many ratchets over the years, I have not had one with a handle that spins the head.”
Moore’s shop services light and medium duty trucks, Class 8 trucks, and ancillary equipment such as hand-held blowers and small engines. His team of technicians used the tool, and the overall consensus is that the ratchet performed well in all tasks it was used for.
“[We] mostly used the tool for removing fasteners — more specifically for changing batteries out in our fleet vehicles,” Moore says. “The Beta Tools [ratchet] made it a little bit smoother … and provides for more leverage than your fingers if the nut is still sticking on the threads due to the surface area of the socket and the ratio of the gear teeth in the ratchet head.”
Moore and his technicians found the handle to be sturdy, and with a wide range of equipment being worked on in the shop at all times the 3/8” drive size is one of the more common they use.
Moore says he looks for ratchets that offer a positive feel in the mechanism, a contoured handle for comfort (since he will “likely be using it all day, every day”), and as a higher tooth count for less swing to engage the action. He notes the [Beta Tools] ratchet seems to be of good quality and construction.
Moore notes that in addition to working great in his shop, the ratchet would be a good addition to a general toolbox.
“It can be a great tool for homeowners to have in the house with a small selection of sockets, or in the truck for those situations that always arise,” he says.
Moore is satisfied with the Beta Tools 3/8” Drive Reversible Ratchet. The only suggestion he would have for the company is to offer a longer version of the handle to reach further into difficult areas. Otherwise, Moore said it met his expectations, and the rotating handle is a good fit.
