Difference in feel between stubby and regular driver

[DrDeezRespect]

I just received my stubby driver today and call me crazy but the ratchet feels completely different (in a bad way) to the larger driver. Backforce, although I have no way to measure this, seems higher and the ratcheting seems not as smooth. Directional selection also seems much stiffer. Could this be a one off faulty driver or has anyone else noticed a difference between the two in the same way? 

 

Thanks! 

[manikyath]

Contact LTTstore support.

 

<in theory> it's the exact same ratchet mechanism, just with a shorter shaft attached to it.

[LMGcommunity]

33 minutes ago, manikyath said:

Contact LTTstore support.

 

<in theory> it's the exact same ratchet mechanism, just with a shorter shaft attached to it.

Agreed. Contact support if you're unhappy with it.

[Adam Pilolla]

They aren't going to feel exactly the same; that's impossible to guarantee just due to the way in which our screwdriver ratchets are manufactured. But they should fall within an expected tolerance and at least feel similarly to eachother.

 

I'll echo the sentiment that you should contact support (see my signature). Make sure to include as many details as possible and if possible, attach a video demonstrating the problem. We'll take care of you if your driver does turn out to be defective.

[broadcaststorm]

Received my stubby today and would like to echo the comments made by the OP.
The ratchet "feels" different to my normal driver, directional selection feels is clickier but not bad, the bit storage is really stiff in a way the bigger driver never was. 
I'll give it a couple of days and see if it loosens up before contacting support, I know you're busy! 

[DrDeezRespect]

39 minutes ago, broadcaststorm said:

Received my stubby today and would like to echo the comments made by the OP.
The ratchet "feels" different to my normal driver, directional selection feels is clickier but not bad, the bit storage is really stiff in a way the bigger driver never was. 
I'll give it a couple of days and see if it loosens up before contacting support, I know you're busy! 

right, its not "bad" but it feels objectively worse than the big driver right? 

[DrDeezRespect]

1 hour ago, Adam Pilolla said:

They aren't going to feel exactly the same; that's impossible to guarantee just due to the way in which our screwdriver ratchets are manufactured. But they should fall within an expected tolerance and at least feel similarly to eachother.

 

I'll echo the sentiment that you should contact support (see my signature). Make sure to include as many details as possible and if possible, attach a video demonstrating the problem. We'll take care of you if your driver does turn out to be defective.

yeah its not that they just don't feel the same, its that the back drag is noticeably worse. I  emailed support and attached a video with both drivers connected to eachother with one bit. Clearly can see that the large driver engages the ratchet without moving the attached drivers shaft, but then the stubby doesn’t have sufficiently low enough backforce to keep the large shaft from turning. Wish I could upload it here but its more than the 20mb file limit 

[broadcaststorm]

2 hours ago, DrDeezRespect said:

right, its not "bad" but it feels objectively worse than the big driver right? 

Agreed, maybe that's 6 month's muscle memory making me feel the difference, the tone of the ratchet is different but maybe the length of the shaft effects this - IDK. 

What's really frustrating is the bit storage, it feels like there's something under the bit storage pulling back on it.
I can barely open it with one hand whereas the big driver has always been easy to just pull open with my thumb and index finger. 

[savagemadman]

10 hours ago, broadcaststorm said:

What's really frustrating is the bit storage, it feels like there's something under the bit storage pulling back on it.
I can barely open it with one hand whereas the big driver has always been easy to just pull open with my thumb and index finger. 

The difficult to open bit storage was my immediate first impression. It feels like they forgot to grease it. Very uncomfortable to open with one hand, and way more resistance when closing it.

[DrDeezRespect]

6 hours ago, savagemadman said:

The difficult to open bit storage was my immediate first impression. It feels like they forgot to grease it. Very uncomfortable to open with one hand, and way more resistance when closing it.

I agree. Honestly surprised at how different they feel. 

[NEvana0003]

I initially thought that the stubby screwdriver had worse "back drag", but when comparing with the full size screwdriver, they preform basically identically. I think that the smaller size changes the sound, and makes it feels a bit different in a vacuum. That being said, the bit holder is harder to open than on the full sized driver, hopefully that will wear in and get easier.

[DrDeezRespect]

22 hours ago, NEvana0003 said:

I initially thought that the stubby screwdriver had worse "back drag", but when comparing with the full size screwdriver, they preform basically identically. I think that the smaller size changes the sound, and makes it feels a bit different in a vacuum. That being said, the bit holder is harder to open than on the full sized driver, hopefully that will wear in and get easier.

I tested the backdrag by connecting the large driver to the small driver and reversing the direction on each one. The large driver ratchets back without moving the shaft of the small driver however the small driver will move the large shaft, meaning the small driver does in fact (in comparison to my large driver) have a higher drag. 

 

Still waiting to hear back from support though. 

[Mojo-Jojo]

My outsider perspective: you're comparing a used/older driver with a new, out-of-box one. Maybe (idk) there's an explanation in the fact that your full-sized one has been "broken in"?

[mpulsivity]

Mine does have a different feel.  I have a ten month old regular and 2 more regulars I bought last month and a brand new stubby.  All three regulars feel exactly the same and the stubby feels a hair stiffer, but IMHO I think the reason is that the regulars have more mass in the shaft and the handle, thus more inertia than the stubby even though they have the exact same ratcheting mechanism.  The bit storage has broke in after a few days and feels pretty similar to me.

[vetali]

In my experience the LTT screwdriver (bought both mine at launch) felt stiff at first, especially the bit holder. Notice it with the stubby too. My stubbys ratchet feels a bit tighter than my regular screwdriver. Giving it some wear in time, just haven't had to use it much yet.

[Guspaz]

My stubby also has significantly higher backforce than my full-sized (it feels like it's rubbing on something and the ratcheting actions feels slightly gritty), and the difference is very obvious when comparing them directly. The bit holder is also much harder to pull out, as if it wasn't lubricated properly. It also has a strange smell to it when the bit holder is open. It's like a strong cat urine smell. I don't have any pets, and the full-sized one didn't have any such smell. I contacted support about the increased backforce and stiff bit holder (didn't mention the cat urine smell at the time), and they told me that the engineering team is completing in-depth testing of the stubby's ratchet and bit storage to verify if the difference from the full-sized one is intended or not. I get the feeling that they've received many complaints about the ratchet and bit holder if they're doing in-depth testing.

 

I expected the stubby to have similar performance to the full-sized driver, but with a smaller shaft and bit storage, and that's not what I got. But they're looking into it, which is good enough for now.

[DrDeezRespect]

10 hours ago, Guspaz said:

My stubby also has significantly higher backforce than my full-sized (it feels like it's rubbing on something and the ratcheting actions feels slightly gritty), and the difference is very obvious when comparing them directly. The bit holder is also much harder to pull out, as if it wasn't lubricated properly. It also has a strange smell to it when the bit holder is open. It's like a strong cat urine smell. I don't have any pets, and the full-sized one didn't have any such smell. I contacted support about the increased backforce and stiff bit holder (didn't mention the cat urine smell at the time), and they told me that the engineering team is completing in-depth testing of the stubby's ratchet and bit storage to verify if the difference from the full-sized one is intended or not. I get the feeling that they've received many complaints about the ratchet and bit holder if they're doing in-depth testing.

 

I expected the stubby to have similar performance to the full-sized driver, but with a smaller shaft and bit storage, and that's not what I got. But they're looking into it, which is good enough for now.

I got the same email. I expect them to find a difference as well. I look forward to them sharing their findings.

[DrDeezRespect]

Just updating, I still have not gotten a new update from support about any testing or news from the lab. 

[Alex T88]

Just got my LTT stubby yesterday. I can say that overall (the ratchet and the bit holder) it does feel a tad more rigid compared to the normal screwdriver. To be honest, I can't remember exactly how the normal screwdriver felt, since I got it (back in January), because I've been using it almost on a daily basis. However, to me it is no issue whatsoever. Compared to my Stanley stubby, even though the handle is not as grippy, the LTT stubby feels much better to use  for work. The design of the handle, feels much better in my palm, providing less strain to my wrist, being more ergonomic. Overall, another top quality product from LTT. As far as I am concerned, it's definitely worth it's price (even with the added shipping and taxes). Given that it is something that I don't use as often as a normal screwdriver, I expect it to last a very, very long time. 

[DevilSu]

I got two stubbies, orange w/ sliver shaft and all black.

Yeah since I ordered two at once, can confirm all these issue should not exist if the product is within spec.

I can tell my all black one has a tighter selector ring and a higher pitch when ratcheting. (comparing to the orange one

Meanwhile the orange stubby has similar selector ring force and ratcheting sound as my full size all black driver.

I think there might be a batch of stubbies that has some issue.

Its far from a defective product, but as a fidget toy man that sores my hand real quick lol

I did email support and will wee how they handle this.

 

oh and the smell, both my stubbies have the smell, I will describe as a really aggressive smell, but only if you are close to it.
There is no smell on my full size driver so I think it will go away eventually.

[Avaviel]

On 10/1/2023 at 8:54 AM, DevilSu said:

oh and the smell, both my stubbies have the smell, I will describe as a really aggressive smell, but only if you are close to it.

There is no smell on my full size driver so I think it will go away eventually.

Plastic outgassing!

The plastic has trapped gasses that slowly escape.

[Guspaz]

Got an e-mail response from support today. The official answer is, there's nothing wrong with it, the higher backforce is within spec, deal with it. Keep it or return it, no exchanges.

 

I'm not pleased. I don't want a refund, I want a stubby screwdriver with similar backforce to my full-sized one.

[Adam Pilolla]

37 minutes ago, Guspaz said:

Got an e-mail response from support today. The official answer is, there's nothing wrong with it, the higher backforce is within spec, deal with it. Keep it or return it, no exchanges.

 

I'm not pleased. I don't want a refund, I want a stubby screwdriver with similar backforce to my full-sized one.

Hey, I just had a look into your case. Here's what my colleague Ryan responded with:

 

 

Manufacturing tolerances being what they are, it is impossible for us to guarantee that two screwdriver products will perform exactly identically to one-another.  We will guarantee that they perform up to a certain standard, however, and after thoroughly testing with our known-good internal samples and comparing them to your case, it was determined that your product is performing up to that standard, hence the above. To use an analogy, since you're posting on these forums, you're likely familiar with the concept of the silicon lottery (the idea that two identical CPU models might perform slightly differently from one another) and there's a similar concept at play here.

 

I totally understand the desire for a replacement product, but in this particular case it would be very unlikely to resolve your issue as your product was determined to not be defective. If you're still dissatisfied, the product may not be right for you (as disappointing as I know that might be) and thus a return becomes our only remaining option. If you'd like to do that, feel free to reply to Ryan's message and he will get that taken care of for you as soon as possible.

[DevilSu]

On 10/1/2023 at 9:54 AM, DevilSu said:

I got two stubbies, orange w/ sliver shaft and all black.

Yeah since I ordered two at once, can confirm all these issue should not exist if the product is within spec.

I can tell my all black one has a tighter selector ring and a higher pitch when ratcheting. (comparing to the orange one

Meanwhile the orange stubby has similar selector ring force and ratcheting sound as my full size all black driver.

I think there might be a batch of stubbies that has some issue.

Its far from a defective product, but as a fidget toy man that sores my hand real quick lol

I did email support and will wee how they handle this.

 

oh and the smell, both my stubbies have the smell, I will describe as a really aggressive smell, but only if you are close to it.
There is no smell on my full size driver so I think it will go away eventually.

Back with updates. TLDR, I got the replacement stubby and Im really happy with the quality of the product.
(Although mine was full black and the replacement one is black with sliver shaft, no more black shaft lol
My case was my stubby had a tighter selector ring.
But it is impossible to prove it since we have no way to measure the force to turn the ring.

So instead I recorded the sound of the selector ring and compare it with the full size driver (and with my other good stubby.
And by converting the audio into a waterfall spectrogram shows the stubby I had sounded way different than the normal selector ring.
The support team responded super fast and shipped the replacement like almost instant after I drop my return stubby at the post office.
So far no issue with the replacement stubby.

as for the back force, my two stubbies do have larger back force than my full size driver.

And I do agree with Adam that the back force wont be the same since it's just not the same product as the full size driver.

Im fine with it personally, but maybe you can return it and order a new one to verify it yourself (? have to pay for another shipping fee though
Really sorry to hear that :(

[DadT3ch]

Just got my stubby late last week and I too am of the opinion it feel different.  A little worse  Nothing crazy but definitely feels different.  the orange handle of course also has some variation to its shade of orange but that is mostly to be expected.

 

Edit: In fact, compared to the full sized, the ratchet of the stubby feels much looser.  When I slowly rotate the ratchet of the full size driver, there's a very clear and defined click when the gears rotate around as though <THIS> is the moment the teeth release.  With the stubby, its much less defined;  quiet, and feels like its rolling more around the gear teeth rather than it hanging on for the last sec and then clicking into place.  I can slowly rotate it and kinda be in the middle of a gear and question if its grabbed the next set of teeth or not.  If that makes sense.  The orange is also a bit more off than I would expect.  Not only in shade but the stubby seems more matte orange than my full sized from the 4th or 5th wave.

Still very nice but much less of a satisfying ratchet.  I would ensure these differences are not present with w/e fidget spinner they are working on.