As I’ve had my current set for a while now and a couple are losing their edges, I’m looking for some replacements.

What are the advantages of opting for the handled ones, if any? or is it a marketing thing?

Should I just go for the Park ones that I currently have at £20 or cough up £40 for the X-Tools handled ones? Can’t see a £20 obvious advantage for a garage tool kit.

Thinking stick with the £20 set as two of those will out last the £40 set or am I missing something

Thanks
Carl

The handled ones are be nice to use but don’t always fit in little gaps

But above all get bondus ones a normal set from 1.5 to10 should be £20.00 or less , the blue park l-shape ones are bondus steel with park logo

Coming from a motor vehicle/engineering background but now working P/T in a bike shop i fail to “get” the benefit of handled allen keys so i use my snap-on or facom 1/4″ drive Allen key bits as they fit in the torque wrench and on my spinner or driver handle. They are top quality bits and compared to the “shop” tools (mixture of park and something else?) they are of much superior quality, probably way overkill for your needs and budget but i’d advise a set of quality ball ended allen keys such as these facom allen keys.

Facom hand tools are excellent have to be doing something very silly to break them.

for the workshop/garage/home, this and some good handles

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-38716-33-Piece-Security-Bit/dp/B0001K9U46/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356816927&sr=8-1

also lets you use torque wrenches, just a bit holder or anything else

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-228527-Inch-Screw-Holder/dp/B000LFS0J2/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1356817073&sr=8-9

not ball-ended

edit: somafunk got there while i was checking amazon links.

Bahco ball ended and you’ll never need to ask this question again

I do have some 1/4 socket snap-on hex bits and they are shocking very easy to twist and the small ones just don’t fit as well as the bondus stuff. Never tried facom though

You cannot go wrong with these bondhus ones ebay, but try locally in a tool shop?

Of course, none of these recommendations are Allen keys…. 😆

Halfords lifetime warranty

I have some draper t handled ones been great for 5+ years

Well if your going to be like that. Ison distribution sells genuine “Allen” branded 3/8 drive bits in sets

Teng are pretty nice (have been using my set for years without any visable wear) I also have a set of Bondus, which are also great.
Bahco/Britool/Facom are all great.
Don’t use the ball-ends unless you have to, they will wear your bolt heads out.
Oh, and steer clear of ‘cycle-specific’ brands like Park or X-Tools – better quality can be had for the same/less money elsewhere.

Park Tools ones are very ordinary- I saw a suspiciously identical set of no-names at a motorbike show once for a fiver.

These are nice- best standard allen keys I’ve used

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bondhus-BriteGuard-Ballpoint-Long-Metric-Hex-Allen-Key-Set-9-Ball-End-BLX9MB-/400338292931?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item5d360590c3

(watch out btw, toys’ link is for imperial)

Teng are also lovely, but too expensive IMO- got a load of Teng sockets which are great, the slightly textured finish makes them easier to handle when elbow-deep in oil.

Got a fairly ancient set of Draper Expert handled ones which are just a bit more convenient to handle when you’re not working in small spaces. But the newer ones don’t seem as nice.

Superstar do a set but every time I’ve seen one that’s had a decent amount of use, they’ve been pretty damaged- ball ends missing, hex ends twisted or out of shape.

And yep- if you’ve got a socket set, then a set for those is very useful- good idea to get a long extension bar too. When I’m working on the car or motorbike these are more or less all I use (got a nice t-handle for the sockets too)

Oh and remember, ball-ends can be useful but they’re a recipe for rounded off bolts if used inappropriately.

I use snap on every day as part of my job, have tried other tool brands, but nothing comes close in terms of longevity and toughness, and can say that the T handled set from superstar components are up there with anything I’ve tried, no question.

‘Wera’ make some of the best. Something like these would be good.

druidh – My bad, Hex keys.

Might try the Facom ones, not inspired by Halfrauds service so wouldn’t like to test the warranty.

I’d thought of access with the handled ones, so going to opt for L-shaped again

Cheers all
Carl

Access not an issue wi the superstars, ball headed, so can get in anywhere.

I like the ones in a 3 pointed star shape, dead handy, don’t get misplaced and when you need the ‘other’ size you already have it in your hand. You also need a set of generic cheapies (fiver or so from a hardware store) for the odd occasion when the star shape is awkward.

+1 on the Wera ones, got a set for work and a set for the bike, very robust

Wera are good too, got a set of their Torx drivers, v good too.

+1 for Draper 08735 Expert set. Great value and great quality. Had em for years.

Wera ones at Toolstation are really good quality £19
toolstation wera

Wera… thread closed

I just have a cheap set of Rolson I use for the bike. Normally I really dislike rolson stuff but they have been pretty good and they are very long ball ended which makes them very useful.

I have been eyeing up the Wera ones if they ever need replacing out: http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Automotive/Hex+Keys/d60/sd3194

I have those Wera too. They’re great but I’ve lost the 5mm 👿

If anyone did a set that came with all the usual ones but about 5 5mms, I’d join the queue to buy one. It’d take me weeks to lose the extra 5mms.

Teng.

Oh my, those Wera look nice and I get discount at Toolstation 🙂

Can you buy the wera ones as a single set ?

DOH – Amazon one touch is my nexus friend 8)

I would always say get the best tools you can, don’t skimp. I treated myself to a set of L-shaped ball-ended hex keys from Snap-On, the dogs danglies, genuinely not rounded a bolt since.
They aren’t cheap, but a found a set (new) on fleabay for £25! RRP is around £80. Try the fleabay for some posh stuff.
.
Teng also make some good stuff, as do Allen and Barhco (do Barhco do hex keys?)

To return to the OP’s question about handles, good in that give more leverage, bad in that they make accessing tight spaces hard. Swings and roundabouts.

Mr Amazon has just delivered a set of the Wera ones and they are indeed very lovely