Rolgear - 4" SILENT SMOOTH Ratchet S2 Steel Bit Nut Driver/Screwdriver

I searched this tool for a few months before purchasing. I am glad I did. During use with a normal ratcheting screwdriver, a big inconvenience is when you are loosing or tightening a screw and there is not enough friction for the ratchet mechanism to engage. Like when loosening, once you break the torque of the fastener and give it a few turns to when you could take it out with your fingers, the motion you make to engage the ratchet now just tightens the screw back because there isn't enough friction to engage the ratchet. Example- You twist the driver handle left to engage the screw and loosen it. You then then twist the driver handle right to engage the ratchet mechanism so that you can quickly switch back to loosening, but there is not enough friction to engage the ratchet mechanism so your motion right just un-did the turn you just completed.This almost completely removes that issue. If the screw has very little friction you simply apply a bit of forward pressure by pressing the handle in towards the screw that will give the rolling gears enough friction to work. This is very handy if you only have one hand available as all you have to do is push into the fastener and no matter how loose it is you can ratchet the handle without it working against you. Once you have a few threads in it engages normally and you can just use the regular ratchet motion to continue. Just a very small amount of friction is necessary.I also find I naturally want to just hold the handle in one hand and spin the shaft with the other for quickly installing and removing longer screws. You can do this with any other ratchet but the fact that this has no gears or "clicks" to feel or hear greatly helps you monitor how the threads are feeling as you spin the shaft whereas with a regular (tooth and pawl) ratchet screwdriver you would feel the teeth as you spun the opposite way which makes it difficult if you are "feeling" the threads for looseness or tightness or cross threading. This action is very similar to using a precision screwdriver with a rotating cap.The magnet that is in the bit holder has above average gripping power. I have no issues dropping screws with this even if I point the screw down towards the ground. The bits supplied are reasonably hard and tolerances are good but they are nothing special.The only cons I could say about it are that it is well make and feels solid but I wouldn't try and use it as a "demo" screwdriver i.e no hammering on the handle or prying. This is ok for me because I have plenty of other drivers that are better suited for that task. The second is that I would have got the 6" over the 4". I initially tried to get the 6" but they were sold out and I purchased the 4". The grip is just a tad bit on the small side but you can still get a reasonable purchase on the grip for high torque applications.I use this for electrical work when I have a lot of fine threaded screws that I prefer to screw in by screwdriver so I can feel the threads and the depth of the box. Any time I have a lot of screws that need to be screwed by hand, I reach for this.I highly recommend this driver if speed, control and comfort are needed. It is worth the $. It is one of the few newer tools where it's execution is as good as its idea. It really does solve the friction issue that all other ratchet screwdrivers have and allows for easy and very precise ratcheting. I wish gearless technology was more prevalent it other hand tools.

Silent ratchet is something else, for sure. However, it does take a 3-5 degrees turn to engage, just like a high quality toothed ratchet one would do - and Rolgear does not publish the torque specs, which makes me a bit suspicious. In my testing, granted with some tough screws driven into baltic plywood, the mechanism did slip occasionally. The direction switching knob could be a little larger. The handle shape and size is right on, but it is made of shiny plastic, likely ABS - it's lightweight and is not going to hold up well over time. The bit holding magnet is on the weaker side. The included bits are average. If you are looking for a heavy-duty, US-made silent ratchet, check out Craftsman 41796: be warned though that it's substantially larger, the handle isn't ergonomic at all, and the mechanism seems to have the same drawbacks.

Edit: rachet failed after some use. Can't get a replacement. Contacted through Amazon and their company website with no returnI am amazed with how much I like this driver. All the flaws with my other racheting screwdrivers are non existent in this one. There is very little wobble in the shaft, the direction has a positive click to it and is nearly impossible to accidently change while in use and the magnent in the bit holder more than strong enough to hold. The only two complaints I have is that the handle could be slightly larger in diameter and that there is currently no bit storage in the handle. However, with the small handle design I can store the screwdriver in my pocket and herdly notice it's there and the ergonomic handle is great, allows you to use as much torques as you need without slipping. The roller bearing rachet in this driver works very well too, has very little resistance and hasn't slipped yet, overall feels great to use. Ill be taking to work for daily use soon and will edit this review if ever there is a problem.Edit: after a few months in service the racheting mechanism is showing some weakness. Occasionally when turning a stiff fastener, about 30 In.lb, the rachet will freeze up and require to be reset which I find very annoying. Still works well for light duty so I took it home to remove light socket covers and whatever else.

While this is an excellent screwdriver, it has one flaw - the twist mechanism. If you wish to put it in the locked position, it's difficult to make sure it's actually locked and not in the forward or reverse position as there is no tactile or audible feedback, and it has a tendency to slip off that position and go back to the standard back or forward ratchet mode.Otherwise, an excellent driver. Very quite, feels well built and not in China, but the flaw needs to be fixed.

I decided to edit my review after a few months of use. I used the screwdriver several times per month for a few months. It worked great initially then it started to make a loud pop and something would slip internally. The bit would stay stationary but the handle would slip/jump about 45 degrees then it would lock back again to where you could apply more torque. It progressively got worse until it just constantly slipped internally each time torque was applied to the screwdriver. I feel this screwdriver is meant for very light delicate work and is not able to withstand the torques needed from basic average mechanic work. I would not recommend this bit driver. It's overpriced and fails quickly. Williams makes a great ratcheting screwdriver, it's a few dollars more but it will last forever under tough condiitons. Channellock makes a ratcheting bit driver for the same price as Rolgear but it's built much better than the Rolgear.

Worked well until you use a little too much force and becomes unusable because it slips

My favorite screw driver. The magnetic end holds a screw on strong enough to install screws and hardware overhead.

Good buy. Like the product.Thanks.

just received today, first impressions, mechanism is very smooth compared to a regular ratcheting screwdriver and can lock from anywhere (any angle swing arc). noticed mine has a very small feeling of "grit" when spun, barely noticable. shaft itself has a small amount of play, in and out as well as to the sides. magnet is very strong for bits.handle itself is surprisingly small, would be an improvement if it was slightly bigger for a more sturdy feel in the hand. direction switch is very small, and i can already tell, will be unusable if my hands get oily at all. directional lock is not that difficult to go into, but will require some focus.After a couple weeks of daily use, mechanism is still smooth, but gritty feeling has gotten worse, even after relubrication.If alot of pushing force is needed, the screw driver will lock it's self from rotating.All writing from the handle has been removed

Arrive clean and new. Seems to work fine