Tool Review: GearWrench 120XP Flex Head Ratchet
GearWrench's 120XP Flex Head Ratchet includes all the features of the standard 120XP Ratchet plus an adjustable flex head with six positions, giving the end user additional clearance and improved access. The tool features a longer reach handle than the standard 120XP, providing unprecedented access for hard to reach fasteners. The tool accomplishes such quick ratcheting by employing a 60-tooth gear that alternately engages double-stacked pawls to produce 120 positions and three-degree swing arc. The new ratchet comes available in both full polish and cushion grip in 1/4" and 3/8" drive sizes, allowing for greater comfort and ease of use for technicians.
The review
Maverick Mejia, a technician at Car Clinic, an auto repair facility in Mahopac, NY, gets to do the brake jobs and radiators while his co-worker diagnoses all the vehicles. This means he gets to use wrenches and ratchets all day.
When he received the GearWrench 120XP Flex Head Ratchet, he saw it as an upgrade over the flex head ratchet he already had.
"It is quicker than my other namebrand ratchet," says Meija. You can hear the difference."
"I really like the flex head, it's stiff and stays in place when I try to put a socket on a bolt in a tight spot. It does not flop around."
Mejia was impressed that the tool felt like other name brand ratchets. "Its handle is real nice, it is like one you'd see on a much more expensive ratchet," he said.
This was not Mejia's first exposure to GearWrench either. His boss handed him the original 120XP back in October 2012. He noticed a lot of things in common between the two tools. "I have a lot of experience using the older 120XP and even though it uses a snap ring to hold the ratcheting mechanism in place, it has held up to the work I do with it, like brakes," he said. "The new one also uses a snap ring instead of the mechanism being screwed into place.
"I don't anticipate long-term reliability issues, but it helps that the parts store two minutes away carries GearWrench. I should not have issues getting them to warranty the tool ... To be honest, I never broke a ratchet before, so I just do not see it as a very likely situation."
Mejia, with his experience using several different brand ratchets, did have one idea to improve the tool. "The one thing I'd like to improve is the amount of positions the flex head can go to," he recommended. "My co-workers' flexhead ratchet can go in an infinite number of positions because it works on friction. The GearWrench can go into six hard positions and then it can flex a little bit when you pop it onto the bolt in a tight spot. It is not as perfect as a ratchet that can be put exactly where you want it."
When asked to rate the tool Mejia said the ratchet was "definitely a nine" on a scale from one to ten. "GearWrench gives technicians a superior ratchet at a reasonable price," he said. "I'd definitely recommend it."
