Over at Lowes, they have discounted the online-only Kobalt Direct Drive gearless ratchet bonus set by 50%, to $15. I reviewed this ratchet when it first came out, and I like it. It has the smallest minimum swing angle of any ratcheting tool I’ve ever seen or tested, ever. And for a holiday mass-market product, it’s designed and built pretty well too.
The Kobalt gearless ratchet isn’t perfect, as the ratcheting mechanism can jam up if you don’t rotate the direction switch all the way when changing ratcheting directions. But besides that, I don’t have much else to complain about.
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Here are closer looks at the Kobalt gearless ratchet and palm ratchet:
And don’t forget to check out the full review, which includes images of the ratchet’s internals.
You don’t really benefit as much from the Kobalt gearless roller clutch mechanism with the palm ratchet as you do with the regular ratchet, but it’s still a decent design with good comfort and finish.
Right now, the set is on sale for $15, which is a great price for what you get.
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If you already have sockets, throw the Kobalt multi-fit sockets that come with the set into a baggie and then into the car, loaner tool kit, or bottom of a storage bin. I don’t like combination inch and metric spline sockets, and prefer to use separate inch and metric 6pt sockets.
These sets are also available in stores, but without the free bonus palm ratchet, which is sold separately at about $10.
To be on the safe side, you might want to check it out in-stores before ordering online. This way you can judge the quality for yourself.
Buy Now(15pc Set via Lowes)
It’s unclear as to when this deal/promo pricing will end. On Monday, Lowes’ site said that the sale price is valid thru 12/01/14. Today, it says the sale price is valid thru 12/02/14. They might just continue to extend the sale period one day at a time until sufficient stock has been sold.
Jerry
I wonder what it costs to purchase the ratchet separately? I have a fearless ratchet of another brand, and really like it, but the ‘universal’ sockets mostly seem to be named as such, because you need to search the entire universe before you find a fastener that they fit on tightly. I’ve seen enough universal sockets slip when a normal socket wouldn’t have (even a 12 point) that I refuse to inflict myself with a setof them. I do farm maintanence and often work with worn, rounded, or damaged bolt heads, and have a pretty good idea what works. The very best sockets for dealing with rounded bolt heads I have ever used are made in the USA by HIT. The damaged fastener removers by Irwin or Craftsman work well, also, but I haven’t been able to find them in large enough sizes for farm machinery. The HIT sockets go up to either 1 1/8 or 1 1/4.
fred
At $15 for the set, one might throw the sockets away – and say that’s what the ratchets cost. Lowes doesn’t sell the 7-1/2 inch long ratchet (Part # 607403) separately – but they do sell the palm ratchet (Part # 0607977) for $9.98 and the 3/8-1/4 adapter (Part # 337348) for $4.97 – so if you paid for them separately (as Stu points out) – you might even say that the ratchet costs only pennies
Stuart
You can’t, or rather shouldn’t, consider the palm ratchet with 3/8″ to 1/4″ adapter as an equivalent to the standard length 3/8″ ratchet. The gearless roller clutch ratcheting mechanism shines with the regular ratchet because the negligible swing angle is useful in tight spaces. The palm ratchet is gripped with fingers at least at opposite sides. If you can turn your hand to turn the ratchet, the minimum swing/rotation angle becomes irrelevant.
You’re not going to find the gearless ratchet sold separately, at least not for a very long time. If it is ever sold separately, I’m almost certain it wouldn’t be for under $15.
Ktash
When I click on the link I get my local store which shows the item as currently unavailable and for $25. I cannot figure out how to get to the online site. Is there a trick?
Stuart
This is the online-only set that is not available in stores.
The in-store-only set is not available online. You cannot even see how many are available in stores.
Also, it looks like they raised the price to $25 this morning, with a “thru 12/4/14” sales period.
Ktash
Ah ha. I see that they are different pages. It was showing my local store for shipping to and a higher price, so I thought it was defaulting to my local store instead of giving me the $15 price.
DanG
Fortunately I saw the price decrease on Lowe’s direct drive set yesterday morning and I immediately ordered them. Lowe’s was also doing a free shipping promotion on all their products no matter what the cost. I ordered some metric 1/4 ” 3/8″ and 1/2″ sockets since they were 50% off also. Most of my sockets are SAE and they are slowly becoming an unwanted species. I will probably chuck the sockets that come with the direct drive set as well. Looking forward to getting them. I am very happy with my Steelman Pro 3-Piece 160-Tooth Cobra Ratchet Set. I’m also very pleased I got them for a better price than Amazon has. Right now I’m so ticked off at Amazon that I will not buy anything from them. So far I have been very successful ay steering clear of them.
Another thing I ordered was the Tekton composite ratchets. I could not believe who had them for the best price. It was Newegg!
fred
Since this ratchet is apparently made by J.S. Industries (Steelman) for Lowes – at least the UPC code hints at this – I took a look to see if the OEM might offer the ratchet as a stand-alone item. No luck – at least not listed of hteir webpage:
http://steelmanpro.com/hand-mechanics-tools/ratchets.html
RobertW
The gearless I have owned for at about 25 years is marked “Radian Drive” USA K3. You change directions by pushing the socket drive through the center.
Josh B.
The 14 piece set is now down to $9.98. http://www.lowes.com/pd_607975-22029-86773_0__?productId=50283593&Ntt=kobalt+direct+drive&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNtt%3Dkobalt%2Bdirect%2Bdrive&facetInfo=
Tom
My local Lowes has these down to $9.98!