The GEARWRENCH set is the winner, and the case for its
$300 price is completeness as much as strength: the strongest 3/8-inch
ratchet in the test at 276.2 ft-lb, a 90-tooth mechanism that needed the
second-fewest passes in the tight-space test, and by a clear margin the
best selection of wrenches, sockets, and adapters — including a universal
joint and the correct spark plug socket, all sensibly organized.
The DeWalt is the value pick at well under $200. Its
wrenches are the standout — first in box-end strength at 1,820 in-lb and
top-two open-end in both pulls — and its ratchet finished second in the
failure test. The compromises are a smaller tool count, a missing 12 mm
wrench, and a wide ratchet handle that hurt it in tight quarters. The
Husky (4.8) rounds out the podium with the strongest adapter (240.9
ft-lb), near-perfect tool retention, and the correct spark plug socket —
a genuinely good set that simply costs GEARWRENCH money without the
GEARWRENCH selection.
Two patterns worth carrying into any purchase. First, piece counts mislead:
the 450- and 497-piece budget sets pad their numbers while omitting a 10 mm
wrench — the most-used wrench on a modern vehicle — and a spark plug
socket, both of which the fuel-bowl and spark-plug jobs immediately
exposed. Second, the compact-head trade-off is real: the Kobalt's stubby
ratchet won the working-arc test and the Craftsman's low-profile head is
the slimmest here, but both finished at the bottom of the ratchet strength
test. Buy the strong set, and add the one specialty ratchet the tight spots
demand.