DieHard Flex Head Ratchet Review

Personally, when I hear DieHard I think of either the classic 1988 Christmas film or the car batteries once sold at Sears. Imagine my surprise when I walked into an Advance Auto Parts recently and saw an advertisement showing Bruce Willis pushing a car battery through an airduct à la the movie. My interest was piqued to say the least.

As it turns out, Advance Auto Parts acquired the DieHard brand in 2019 for $200 million. And, since then, has rolled out a whole host of tools available exclusively from the store. No longer is DieHard just a car battery brand even though they make those, too.

After perusing the tool selection, I came to the conclusion that most of the DieHard tools are your standard auto parts store fare. Meaning they’ll get the job done but are nothing to write home about. A lot of the tools appear to be made overseas by OEM manufactuers with the name brand stamped or printed on at some point.

There were, however, a few standouts in the bunch – the DieHard flex head ratchet being one of them. When I picked it up in the store it felt really solid and comfortable in hand. Upon initial inspection, the quality looked great and the action was really smooth and tight when I turned the anvil.

Even though I try to stay away from Chinesse or Taiwanese made ratchets like this, I decided to buy all three sizes based on a positive initial impression and put them to work. This review is my final verdict.

Unboxing The DieHard Flex Head Ratchet

Packaging

There’s nothing really to say here, so I’ll largely skip the packaging section. The ratchet doesn’t have any packaging per se. Rather it has a plastic tag that the ratchet anvil is pressed into. There is some branding and standard information on the tag that says the ratchet is made in Taiwan. I will say it is a pain to get the ratchet off the tag. I resorted to using side cutters to cut it out.

From my research, it appears if you buy all three ratchets in a set, rather than individually like me, they will come in a box. You’ll also get EVA foam to neatly organize your ratchets in a tool box, which is a nice touch if that’s how you store your tools.

Initial Impressions

As I said earlier, initial impressions are great. The ratchet has some weight to it and the comfort grip is, well, comfortable. The chrome plating is nice with no obvious defects.

The selector switch actuates very easily. The anvil feels solid when you give it a wiggle and it turns very smoothly. The action reminds me a lot of Stahlwille ratchets and it even makes a very similar sound when you spin it.

One thing I don’t like is the laser engraved logo. It makes an otherwise handsome ratchet look cheap. Plus laser engraving tends to wear off over time. The way the logo is implemented into the comfort grip is very nice, however.

Build Quality

I have no way to tell the exact type of steel used in the construction of this ratchet, but it is listed as heat-treated chrome vanadium steel. Which, is standard. The polished chrome finish is very nice with no defects as observed above. It doesn’t look very thick, however. When compared to other high-quality ratchets in my collection, the chrome appears a bit more gray.

The machining is pretty impeccable. Even the machined surfaces inside the ratchet head are very well done. There’s no obvious chatter and it’s very smooth, although some machine marks are visible. Personally, I’ve seen some very expensive ratchets with rougher internal machining than this, so I’m impressed.

The internal components seem to be of similar quality. Which, is to say, good. The pawl is nice and big so it offers significant engagement with the 90-tooth gear.

The spring tension is light, which translates into minimal back drag. The tradeoff is that the selector switch doesn’t give a very positive click when you actuate it, and, in some cases, it may be easy to move it accidentally. This hasn’t been an issue for me with any ratchet, but I do hear people talk about this and wanted to at least mention it.

The DieHard Flex Head Ratchet Ratchet In Action

Since purchasing these ratchets, I’ve been using them as my daily drivers. And, for the most part, I’m very happy with them. All three drive sizes have held up well, even when abused.

Starting with the 1/4″ ratchet, I like the length and size. I also find flex head ratchets in this size particularly useful. Often times I’m working on small fasteners in awkward situations and having the ability to go at them from different angles is very helpful. There are situations, however, where the extra length and bulk of the handle gets in the way.

Back drag is also very important in this drive size and the DieHard Flex Head Comfort Grip ratchet doesn’t disappoint. The action is very light and precise. And, the same goes for the other drive sizes.

I like the length of the 3/8″ drive and think it’s perfect for an everyday use ratchet. Of course, there were times when a shorter ratchet was needed, but I find the extra length provides excellent leverage so you don’t have to reach for the 1/2″ drive as often.

Speaking of, the 1/2″ drive ratchet is a beast. It’s long and sturdy, and, in most cases, I’m sure it can replace a breaker bar. Personally, I reach for an impact wrench when things get really tough, so I didn’t test the 1/2″ drive’s maximum capacity. But it didn’t skip a beat when I did use it.

Final Thoughts

I’m overall impressed with the DieHard flex head ratchet. It has a lot to offer (especially at this price point) and only a few minor gripes. Here’s a short list.