So I’m buying some new tools as I’m fed up of using me dads old battered mismatched tool kit. I have got some hex keys sorted (Wera HexPlus 9piece) but I also need a good socket and spanner set.

Seperate sets or one of those 2in1 jobbies im not fussed but what I don’t know is which tool brands are gonna last me 2 months or 2 years…

Budget is £100 but may be able to stretch a bit more if 1 product comes recommended a million times. Thanks in advance!

look at the halfords pro sets – they often put offers out that reduce the price dramatically.

wwaswas has the only answer, at that budget.

Are they any good or do I need to spend double to get a really good set?

they’re good enough for most amateurs. I’ve been pleased with mine.

There’s some sort of lifetime warranty too.

They’re excellent, I use mine for motorbikes, pushbikes and everything in between, never had a single issue. OK, so the Allen keys are a bit rubbish… but that’s about their only downfall.

here you go £100 exactly and ‘half price’

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_categoryId_255215_productId_862421

Funnily enough they are half price at the moment and come with a lifetime guarentee…gotta be worth a punt!?

These tools will be used for very frequent (we ride twice a week, 4 bikes in the house) motocross bike maintenance.

I use mine for my trackday 750 K7, My XT660x, pushbikes x3…

They’re fine.. get it bought

ooh weekend shopping sorted there then..

Halfords Pro here too. Perpetually half price (and if for some reason they’re not, just wait a week or two).

I did have one of the massive 150 piece sets, which got stolen. When I replaced it I went for one of the much smaller metric sets, once I realised I never touched any of the imperial stuff, or most of the big sizes. Meant I could also get a 30mm socket and breaker (for the motorbike rear axle) plus hex/torx bits and some decent screwdrivers and still be under £100. May be different if you fix old British cars though.

On it. Im gonna order the 28 piece socket set as I dont need a bigger set and the 9 piece combination spanners. I dont trust ratchet spanners…

We need some big sockets for rear axles/clutch baskets too but like you can just buy seperate.

I used to be a halfords socketa kinda guy then i discovered bahco for not alot more – i hve the bug halfords set an the bahco s240 and the 1/4 drive set as well

Bahco s410 on ebay for just 5 quid over your budget metric sockets and spanners

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/151151752833

Unless you specifcally want a 3/8 drive.

Ratchets piss over halfords and the bahco sockets are hex flank drive not corner bi hex ( means less rounding of bolts if they are a bit crusty….. Results in a slightly thicker walled socket though. Thats why i still hae my halfords stuff bi hex has its place but as a beginner set i think that bahcos a belter.

The Halfords Pro set is the standard STW answer.

Word of warning though, keep the receipt safe. Anecdotally, when I took a faulty ratchet driver back they were gearing up for a fight before I managed to produce the bit of paper. Might just’ve been that store / employee, but having the receipt made it a lot simpler.

Where as i broke my 1/2 drive 10″ long extension and there was no reciept required.

Ratchets are not usually covered.

I got in on the bahco deal that toolstop had from a PSA on here. Really nice tools.

Halfords pro stuff here. Used to use it on a weekly basis for pulling Landrovers apart, and I never broke anything…
if you can’t find a killer deal on something better (like Bahco) you’ll be fine with Halfords.

Another Halfords Pro user here. For everything from vans and Land Rovers to motorbikes and quads to push bikes. Most of the kit is over 10 years old.

The range in the 150 kits is good. For bikes I like to use 1/4 and 3/8 mostly, but still have the 1/2 for the odd bigger/tighter nuts.

And don’t discount the ratchet spanners, really useful. Just crack off any really stiff ones with a no ratchet first (good practice with sockets too). I did jam my 17mm ratchet not following this advice, but a bit of opposite lock free’d it up 🙂

Bahco/teng here.

Small local tool shop usually has some good deals on teng bits.

Though college has a trade account with snap-on… I ran away the last time they turned up, as my credit card was clear…

Halfords pro (again) Italian motorcycle owner so sees a fair bit of use.

Halfords pro it is then and i’ll get the ratchet spanners too.

Bahco user here – much nicer in the hand than Halfords stuff, and can get sets which are 100% metric so you’re not wasting money on imperial sizes you’ll never use. An S910 set of sockets and spanners can be had for about £116 if you shop carefully, and is a steal at that price (list is nudging £300).

I bought a lovely Bacho adjustable when I bought my house, just as a ‘present’ for myself.

Some ******** thieving oik had it away before I even used it.

Normally some good deals here:

http://www.tooled-up.com/category/socketry/29/

For motorbikes I’d probably go for something smaller like 3/8ths.

The Bahco set recommended earlier is only £75 here

That Bahco kit would get my money. I love my teng sets but when I think what I paid, brr. Wouldn’t do that again.

I’ve had the Halfords Professional set before. They do replace broken items without an issue usually from the single items in the display cabinets so it may not match the rest of the set. The biggest problem is quite a lot of the items have broken mainly the hex and torx socket bits which come apart too easily. The torx bits have snapped too. This is a problem when you have the car in bits and need that tool to complete the job and you now need to take an hours round trip to get it exchanged but you don’t have a working car so takes even longer. For that reason and the fact I don’t like chromed tools as they can very slippy to grip when you have oil on your hands/gloves.
I have replaced the Halfords Professional socket set for Bahco and Teng which have never broken and can be gripped with oily hands.

Bought Halfords Pro once and never again. The 3/8 drive hex bit snapped the first time I used it to undo a CV. Halfords took a lot of persuading to change it.

My Facom alen key with tube extension did it no problem.

Facom or Britool for me with a Snap On ratchet.

Britool is not the force it once way.

Its now a name only , its rebranded offshore crap these days “britool expert” tools are branded as expert – no mention of britool on the tool.

75 quid for that set is a bargain.

I already have a 1/4 and a 1/2 set , cant say ive found a need for 3/8 – the 1/2 goes down to 10mm and the 1/4 goes to 10

Lidl has this set regularly at £70, had one a few years gets alot of use, cant fault it tbh

Urgh .

I was subjected to that set at my mates house fixing his transit waterpump.

Ratchets seemed nice though, smooth action and the sockets were a good fit

Spanners how ever are not the size they are stamped with , ring ends are loose fit on bolts of the correct size and the open ends splay easy under load

Hex bits were a loose fit in hexes as well.my sks multi tool i retrieved from the van was a tight fit…..

Approach that kit with caution, some of its ok , some of its garbage.

I think that Bahco set linked above wins. Covers everything I need, comes with more sockets than the Halfords kits due to the 2 drive sizes. Very good find thanks a lot!

Having no 15mm socket would annoy me.

You could simply buy a 1/2″ 15 mm socket for like a fiver.

Of course.
Would be nice to be in the set though.

Look up s910 on ebay as well before you pull trigger, it is also good value