Ratchet ring spanner, flexible or fixed head?

I've got a set of ratchet spanners (ratchet one end and open spanner other end). My go to spanner for various jobs. They are / were the Halfords professional and the ratchet part is fairly slim and has been useful in tight spaces.
The flexible head ones look nice but have a lot more bulk that would in some cases render them useless for me.

Edit. Just seen @PaulRainbow reply. I suspect that he uses them more than me. What ever you buy make sure that the ratchet is a decent one with a small movement engaging the next 'click'.
 
" . . . . What ever you buy make sure that the ratchet is a decent one with a small movement engaging the next 'click'. . . "

This is the key - as slim a head as possible and lots of 'clicks' per revolution. I had a good 'value' set but one day used a mate's Teng Tools version and the difference was amazing.

Some of these spanners are completely flat and you flip the spanner over to change direction. But I prefer a cranked head with an actual lever to switch from tightening to un-tightening.
 
Skylark said:
Many thanks to you all for your responses. Looks like the swivel head wins. I'll almost certainly buy from Halfords as I have their Trade Card.
Click to expand...
One thing to note is that the hinges in the swivel heads can come undone by vibrations...(I have several which dissambled themselves) the hinged ones are really great for saving knuckles...
 
Personally, I use normal combination spanners, mainly as I tend reach for a socket most of the time. Or an impact with socket on the end. I find ratchet spanners often won't fit due to adjacent fastenings or hardware, and the mechisms prone to sticking or snapping.

Granted what I'm doing is likely a bit more heavy duty, on my yacht I have a Halfords 1/4 set and some cheapish combination spanners plus a couple of adjustables and vice grips. seems to get most things achieved!
 
This may give you some ideas on what to look for. It’s a 17 minutes long video review. It does a good job of explaining comments made here saying that you want a head that clicks after just a small rotation.

 
Skylark said:
Many thanks to you all for your responses. Looks like the swivel head wins. I'll almost certainly buy from Halfords as I have their Trade Card.
Click to expand...
Just be aware the Halfords 8mm one is crap - mine lost its mechanism after ~ 12 - 18 months, so now is just a rather fancy looming OE spanner ! But defo for the swivel heads.
 
LiftyK said:
This may give you some ideas on what to look for. It’s a 17 minutes long video review. It does a good job of explaining comments made here saying that you want a head that clicks after just a small rotation.

Click to expand...
This guy is the crack cocaine of tool reviewers. But most of whats in the review is over the top for the type of tool. My ratchet spanners are flex head gear wrench and I've never had a problem. They'll all be strong enough to tighten to max torque for the size of bolt and I don't use them for maximum breaking power situations, I bet no one does. I'd also use a non-ratcheting socket handle if i need to add leverage to crack a stuck nut, breaker bar. Same with the open ends, very rarely rely on them for maximum power, rare to not be able to put a ring over a nut or bolt. If you have a decent set of combination spanners you can rely on that if you really need to use an open end.

And not having the smallest angle is a small issue in nearly every situation other than theoretical ones. Needing a few more goes back and forth as well, they are still much quicker compared to using standard spanners.

I'd save money and not go for expensive on the ratchets.
 
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