Recommend a quality tool brand?

Thinking I might invest in some decent Hex drivers, spanners etc. but TBH I am not really up with which brands are cheap (destroy the thread/head) type gear vs. the gear that is actually going to last and shouldnt hash up anything you use them on!!!!

Would appreciate some recommendations of decent enough small tool sets (dont need much just the usual sizes for bike working)

Cheers

[timwilky]

Snap on if you have a big wallet.

Brilliant value for money is Bahco. Teng.

Many seem to suggest Halfraud Pro. No thanks, I like the skin on my knuckles. Then again I have snapped Snap on breaker bars before now.

Teng for me.

Despite what TW says, Halford's Pro socket sets and torque wrenches are good quality and a fair price

[Wideboy]

Originally Posted by Jabba

Despite what TW says, Halford's Pro socket sets and torque wrenches are good quality and a fair price

and life time guaranty on some of it range

[timwilky]

BTW Britool doesn't seem to be as good as it once was. Draper was/is terrible. At one time I liked Kamasa, until I could afford to buy decent.

Still it broke my heart a few months ago to spend >£100 on a 1/2" ratchet from snap on.

Machine marts pro range is good, lifetime warranty as well.
I havent had a single socket break and i am not kind to my sockets.
Both my britool ratchets have broke, so not impressed with them.
Halfords pro range stuff is ok, i have some sockets of these, expensive IMO for what they are.
No better than machine marts stuff but more expensive.

Originally Posted by specialone

Machine marts pro range is good, lifetime warranty as well.
I havent had a single socket break and i am not kind to my sockets.
Both my britool ratchets have broke, so not impressed with them.
Halfords pro range stuff is ok, i have some sockets of these, expensive IMO for what they are.
No better than machine marts stuff but more expensive.

Thank you, never realised the stuff had a lifetime guarantee, I need a new ratchet.

Originally Posted by Jabba

Despite what TW says, Halford's Pro socket sets and torque wrenches are good quality and a fair price

Agreed. My toolkit has all manner of quality tools in it from Snap-On, Britool, Teng, Sykes Pickavant etc, with a growing number of Halfords Pro in there too.

[embee]

I think Britool went the way of all things, not what they were, but having said that I inherited this 1/4" drive set and have to say it's the best bit of kit I have, it's the first thing I reach for when doing routine fiddling maintenance and the quality is pretty good, recommended.

(old Britool stuff is near bombproof).

Otherwise Teng is nice, Facom too. Stahlwille make some very nice slim spanners.
The couple of Halfrauds Pro things I have seem good. I recently needed some Torx star sockets in a hurry, so got a Pro set from Machine Mart, and have to say I was favourably impressed, good fit, nice finish, freed off some VERY tight caliper bolts on a Vauxhall.