DRAPER STORM FORCE 10.8V CORDLESS RATCHET

SCORE 8/10

Ratchet (part number 17135) £47.94 Battery (part number 16254) £16.74 Charger (part number 16255) £15 drapertools.com

Draper’s Storm Force range of 10.8V cordless power tools all use the same batteries and include a combination drill, ¼in impact driver, reciprocating saw and this impact ratchet. Replacement 10.8V 1.25Ah lithium-ion batteries can be bought separately for less than £17 each. A flat battery should take one hour to recharge.

This cordless ratchet has a 3/8 in square drive, making it suitable for fitting impact sockets. There’s also an LED light to help illuminate the work area. It’s approximately the same size as the Milwaukee M12 IR-201B and very similar in design to the Sealey ratchet, right down to the shape of the metal trigger and the three lights on the body to indicate the state of the battery life.

Draper’s impact ratchet has a maximum torque of 45Nm, which is the same as the equivalent Sealey (below) and 2Nm less than the Milwaukee. However, we’ve concluded that a high-torque value isn’t required for most situations where small fittings are being tightened and could potentially be overtightened. If a fitting cannot be undone because the impact ratchet cannot produce enough torque, then it can be used in the same way as a manual ratchet driver.

As we discovered with all impact ratchets, once they lock up when attempting to tighten or loosen a fitting, this provides some kickback in the body, which can be transferred to your wrist.

This impact ratchet worked just as effectively as the one from Sealey and the prices for the individual products (body, battery and battery charger) are similar. However, if you buy the equivalent Draper kit (two batteries, charger and body), it works out more expensive going by RRP, but it’s worthwhile shopping around for deals.