My 5 yr old Wera set are a bit worn, especially the smaller ones, so time for a new set.

What’s the current decent quality recommendations ? Not fussed about price, within reason.

Allen key sets are all made by Allen.

Wera are 20 euro on Bike-components.de currently

Wera.

Said it before & I’ll say it again…

I’ve had a set of these since time immeterial, like when I was an actual mechanic. If I lost these, I’d replace them with these.

The coloured wera are the best I have ever used and we have had all sorts of top end sets at work.

Facom are the best I have ever used.
Bahco sets I have bought cheap from Amazon (£11 or so) and are also good.
I have had Were and Bondus stuff in the past and never been impressed with it.

Ok, so Hex Key set to keep scotroutes happy 😀

Looks like another set or Wera ones then (mine are an all green handled set) or maybe Facom. I have some old Bahco ones which were ok in their day.

PB Swiss if you’re feeling flush, but the Facoms I’ve had for a while are doing sterling service

We’ve started using Wera hex keys at work and they are noticeably nicer/tighter/better cut than others we’ve used before. It’s the multi-coloured sets – makes it easier to identify the right size.

At work we use bondus hex keys. Cheap but very good – the cheap part is useful as you can change them without giving it a second thought the moment they get worn. Or it’s never a problem if you need to cut them down the fit in a tight space.

Worst ones Ive had were blue point t-handle ones and some of the small size snap on socket mounted hex ones.

I have multicoloured wera and they are great!

Does anyone make a Torx and Hex set, colour coded and T-handled, with wall rack? I also don’t want to pay silly money for them..

(moon on a stick?)

Thanks all, Set of multicoloured Wera ones just ordered on Amazon Prine, with delivery between 0700 and 1100 tomorrow 😀

I have wera, Allen and snap on hex sets.

Superstar t bar set are the ones I reach for every time, nice tools are not always the most expensive ones.

I have a couple of sets of the facom ones. They are very good. I have some stainless wera ones which are nice and a think maybe a touch longer so you can lean on them a bit more but they are round aection not hex so the facom ones are probaby ‘faster’ in use – you can grip the shaft and whizz out the bolt easier. The facom ones are a no brainer.

Recently purchased wera coloured ones and very impressed 8)

Titanium ones on eBay……..£1k!! (KS Tools)

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ks+tools+titanium+allen+keys&client=safari&sa=X&hl=en-gb&biw=375&bih=559&tbs=cat:1632,pdtr0:716517%7C742956,vw:l,init_ar:!SgVKAwjgDEoKUggI5d0rIKysLQ%3D%3D,ss:44&tbm=shop&prmd=sivn&srpd=11640290942722272555&prds=num:1,of:1,epd:11640290942722272555&ved=0ahUKEwjmj82a96fVAhUrIcAKHRozA50QgjYIowI

FACOM, 25 years old and only the 2.5 is worn.

Teng here and like them a great deal:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000Y8HLNC
…and they also do a similar Torx set:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000Y8HLPK

These are my primary go-to allen keys and I’ve found them excellent. You can also buy them individually when they start to go tired, but so far, I’ve not needed to.

Oh, one other daft thing, but I have a set of machined small allen keys which are a hold over from my days racing RC cars. I’ve never come across anything like them in mainstream sets as the edges of the hex are literally razor sharp and for tiny adjusters (e.g. brake reach etc) they are absolutely second to none. They are a much valued tool and kept in a safe place so they don’t get beaten up in the toolbox!

These are the closest I can find:
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/arrowmax-allen-wrenches-1.5-2.0-2.5-3.0-4.0-5.0x120mm-6-pcs/rc-car-products/40246

They aren’t exactly like mine, but they are machined so I assume they would be similar. Highly recommended, but not cheap 🙂

Swiss Tools are the prettiest:

The Bondhus set I have are still in decent nick after many years.

Not THE most expensive, but not at the Cheapo end of the spectrum.

http://www.rowland-tools.co.uk/blx15mm-ballpoint-hex-key-set.html

I might get shot for this, but I picked up a Halfords set few weeks back which they back with a lifetime guarantee for breaking or damage.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_14552_productId_1183543_langId_-1_categoryId_173014&cm_re=mmworkshop-_-Workshop-_-lifetimeguarantee

If it’s the lifetime guarantee, then it’s the “Halfords Professional” stuff, which is typically pretty good.

genesiscore502011 – Member

Titanium ones on eBay……..£1k!! (KS Tools)

If you are in the running for some Ti tools and be warned they are useless.
http://www.imprex.net make the best ones. They are just about useful as tools.

I can highly recommend a facom set. Managed to bend one removing a pedal that must’ve been seized to crank for a good 5 years however this was because I got my 21 stone mate to step on the end of a bar I’d put over the key to extend it even further. Got the pedal out but rounded the end slightly (barely) as it slipped. Contacted facom and they sorted it to send a new one within a week after seeing a blurry photo.

The Bahco set from Amazon for around £11 is hard to beat.
I also recently bought some Bahco T-handle keys in the sizes I regularly use – they are brilliant.

Silca 🙂

Another vote for the Wera coloured set, I have them and they are great.

I’d take T-handled ones from Lidl over posh normal hex keys.

Different colours is a useful feature though.

I have a set oh Bahco from Amazon and very good they are too. Not sure how much better/worse they are than other options but they do the job nicely and didn’t cost the earth.

Different colours is a useful feature though.

I have to say that I rarely pick up the wrong sized driver these days. It’s amazing how quickly you get your eye in and, tbh, I’d never remember the colours anyway 🙂

I got some Wiha ones like the below purely because the holder is awesome and they all spin out when you open it.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/wiha-magic-ring-metric-hex-key-set-9-pieces/8095g

My boring-coloured Bahco and Teng ones are every bit as good as my colourful Weras imo and way cheaper. Buuuuut, I’ve lost the bastard 5mm out of both of those whereas my Weras have stayed a set. Black and silver allen keys have their own special laws.

The colour makes no difference to me in use fwiw, if they were all the same colour it’d be just as good- the point is that they’re distinctive so they don’t get swept into other tools or lost so easily.

I’ve lost the bastard 5mm out of both of those

Teng sell them individually (assuming you’re talking about the T-bar ones:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331336208745

It’s funny that certain sizes of hex keys vanish more than others. At some point they will all turn up, probably in the same place as my 9mm sockets.. 😉

I’m so sad, I saw this thread and bought the same toolroll and PBSwiss hexes and Torks.

Spotted at Tweedlove – A tool roll to covet

Edit. Just remembered I bought the flush cutters and Knipex pliers too. 😳

Not overly impressed by the £11 Bahco set on Amazon.

I left my 8mm on the window sill after a quick pedal change and it rusted.

Still they were pretty cheap.

I’ve had a set of Park P-handled for years, still going strong, takes pride of place in the centre of my tool board.

That’s a seriously compact toolset – very impressed. I have bookmarked.

We need a “show us your toolbox” thread now 🙂

richmtb – Member
Not overly impressed by the £11 Bahco set on Amazon.

I left my 8mm on the window sill after a quick pedal change and it rusted.

rich – I think you need to get your double gazing looked at….. 🙂

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/yawn-best-allen-keys-wera-bondhus

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/recommend-me-a-set-of-allenhex-keys-please

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/good-quality-allen-keys

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/recommend-me-an-allen-key-set

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/allen-keys

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/new-t-handle-allen-keys

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/which-set-of-hex-wrenches/page/2

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/which-set-of-hex-wrenches

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/t-handle-hex-key-set