Hey everyone, an honest, unbiased review from a guy who owns a 35 year collection of various tools. I’ve been building my collection forever it seems. I once believed that “You get what you pay for”, simply stating: you only get quality if you pay big money! Well, that apparently isn’t true anymore.
Ok, so I’ve amassed a giant collection. I have 1 old Snap On 10 drawer roll out tool box, 1 Craftsman 10 drawer, a Hyper Tough 5 drawer (with cabinet), 2 Yukon workbenches with 2 drawers each (plus storage shelves) and two large Husky work cabinets full of tools. Those tools get used regularly, as I’m a car fanatic, who has been building and modifying for over 3 decades. I also like to do my own maintenance.
Anyhow, I started as a Milwaukee fan years ago but later became a dedicated DeWalt guy, eventually stepping up to Makita. I still love DeWalt but have passed down most of my collection to my brother. I still own and use Makita and in recent years, also began a rather large RYOBI One + collection. Honestly, DeWalt, Makita and even RYOBI are now wonderful companies that produce great products. Mostly expensive products (well not as much with RYOBI) but still wonderful.
With price in mind, and already having a huge collection of tools, I decided trying different brands of “cheap” and “cheaper” tools to quell my addiction. That’s when I came across SEESII. I saw the compatibility with my Makita batteries and my interest was pigued. I started by ordering the RT600B. I was immediately impressed.
I tested it against my Makita LXT series RW01Z 1/4”-3/8” ratchet. Both feel high quality in the hand. Both look great and are made with high impact ABS type materials, with metal gears and other fixed/moving parts. Yes, the Makita spins way faster, up to a claimed 800 rpm (which, I believe is way overrated) vs SEESII’s claimed 200, yet the resulting torque from the Makita is no way near the SEESII. The Makita makes a claimed 35 ft lbs. It does strain with most automotive bolts. The SEESII, well, it’s rated at 66 ft lbs, yet I’ve removed bolts torqued at 70-75 ft lbs providing some manual assistance. Last time I did that with my Makita, it went in for warranty repairs. Oh, did I mention that I picked up my SEESII for well under $100 on sale? It came with 2 2000mAh batteries, a charger and a sweet case! My Makita, $157 tool only.
I later tested it against my P344 RYOBI One + 3/8” (very nice job, RYOBI). The RYOBI is rated at 35 ft lbs. It handles that well. Beyond that, you’re manually assisting. It does allegedly spin to 230 rpm but the difference between rpm’s with the RYOBI and SEESII isn’t at all noticed in use.
As for DeWalt, I put the SEESII against my brother’s $170+ DCF513B 20v (tool only). The DeWalt, which is rated at 70 ft lbs is impressive, however my SEESII handled similar torque in real life testing. The DeWalt does also spins up to 250 rpm vs SEESII’s 200 rpm but it’s barely noticeable in practical use.
End decision, if I needed to pick, I’d grab my SEESII over my Makita, my RYOBI, and my brother’s DeWalt. A truly, honest opinion. I’ve used my SEESII for 3 separate “Garage Days” events with members of my car club. Several others have since bought SEESII products after using mine. I myself have ordered SEESII’s WH710 impact wrench, QH220 impact driver and an SC8B 8” chainsaw since buying the RT600B. I’m a huge fan now. I still love Makita, the new (making clear…..NEW) RYOBI and even DeWalt products, yet now I can continue to use all those expensive Makita batteries they share in common with SEESII and save some serious coin over buying Makita prices all the time.
Recommendation: if you’re a “Weekend garage warrior” like me, buy SEESII. Great tools. Less money spent. Great customer service. Fantastic warranty.
Additionally, here’s the warranty info:
Makita: 5 years
RYOBI: 3 years
DeWalt: 3 years
SEESII: 3 years
I can truly say that I’ve dealt with customer service from each, they are all wonderful. That’s where Milwaukee lost me. A couple bad experiences and I was done. It’s been years, hopefully they do better now. The rest, including my new fav, SEESII, great!
