Brandon wrote in with a deal tip about the new Kobalt Direct Drive gearless ratchet I recently reviewed:
As usual, I strolled past the tool deals while at was at Lowes for other things and saw that they had the gearless ratchet set marked down to $9.98.
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The real deal, though, is when I noticed another item number listed on the “new lower price” flyer. Sure enough, a quick search on my phone showed the other number to be the online deal of the gearless ratchet set plus the palm ratchet. I called over a sales associate, and he called a supervisor on the phone who said they would honor the price on the flyer. Thus, I scored the gearless ratchet and the gearless palm ratchet for $9.98 (actually a hair cheaper than that after getting 5% off for using my Lowes credit card. Sorry, I forgot to get a pic of the flyer.
I don’t see a way to easily get the bonus set, which is currently priced at $20, for the $10 sale price, but maybe Brandon’s method will work for you too. If not, this is still a great ratchet for a low price.
Keep in mind that this isn’t a one-ratchet-fits-all type of tool. It’s great for places where you need a teeny tiny swing arc. If you don’t often work in tight spaces, a lower profile, longer, and finer-tooth ratchet might offer smoother performance.
This is a great deal for $10. Heck, I thought $20 was a good price. Stores still have PLENTY of inventory, but I don’t think the price will drop further after the new year. If you wait a couple of months, maybe you’ll see these on clearance for a little less than $10, but it’s hard to say. The 5 Lowes locations closest to me are each reporting over 100 units available for online ordering with in-store pickup.
Buy Now(14pc Set via Lowes)
Buy Now(15pc Set with bonus palm ratchet via Lowes)
This deal is a little different than the 50% off promo from earlier this month, as that one was for the online-only set that also includes a free bonus gearless palm ratchet.
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Thanks Brandon for the heads-up!
Benjamen
Darn, waited to long and now it’s sold out at the five stores near me.
Stuart
Both versions? The bonus set dropped in price to $10 as well, but looks to be sold out. That was an online-only set. The regular in-store version should still be in-stock at most locations.
The 5 Lowes locations closest to me have between 94 and 132 of the 14pc sets in stock.
Benjamen
I spoke too soon. I only looked at the set with the palm ratchet. I had to return something at Lowes and found they had a ton of the 14pc set. So I picked one up.
LLOYD
Just back from the NE Tallahassee Lowes (3PM). The store manager honored the WEB combo including the Gearless Palm Ratchet. Our regional flyer only listed the ratchet set at $9.98. He was also pleased that I was going online to post a “POSITIVE.” What was interesting is that when they went to the WEB page they tried ordering it and could not. The item number was also not in their inventory system. I made a copy of the WEB page, converted to PDF on my cell phone and I’m sure it helped. Thanks everyone!
Hang Fire
Cheap spline sockets like these are very useful in the Rust Belt (salted roadway territory). Hammer them on, bust off the bolt, throw the pair away.
RobertW
The store demo ratchet would not function. Drive locked up. My 25 year old Radian Gearless changes direction by pushing drive through center of ratchet and operating ratchet from other side. This probably is a superior method of changing directions, eliminating the parts that locked up in the Lowe’s model.