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Lightweight Wrenches


ScubaCinci
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So the professional nitpicking mechanic in me is noticing a few things from the pictures. 

1st is that the wall thickness on the heads is way too thick, I can think of all kinds of places that wrench won't fit because it is just too large. 

2nd is the grip area in the center of the wrench is not smoothed.  Just wait until you get that first carbon fiber splinter in your palm and that bugger is gonna be painful for the next month till it works it's way out.

3rd is the heads are not angled away from the axis of the tool.  Lots of busted knuckles.

As for the price, I have payed more for single wrenches than that entire set so the price doesn't scare me off.  They just don't look as ergonomic or functional as other available options.

 

If I was all geek about getting super light weight I would just buy the titanium wrenches.  They are roughly the same price or cheaper and weigh less with none of the faults of carbon fiber.  Motion-Pro and a couple other people carry them.  Here is a 5 piece set that weights less than the carbon ones and is $60 cheaper.

 

http://stores.advmonster.com/titanium-open-box-wrench-5-piece-set/

Edited by vf1000ride
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Cool concept/product, but that is a metric shit-ton of cash for 5 box-end wrenches. I'd feel a lot better about their longevity, too, if they were 6-pt instead of 12-pt….

A set of snapons runs $300. And they're regular old regular.

I really don't see much of a purpose in carrying around a wrench set. In most cases you can't even remove the seat with a wrench. If you need to carry more tools than what's required to access the battery, you should consider a different motorcycle.

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I recently picked up a set of Stahlwille (Made in Germany) metric deep offset ring spanners on Amazon for like $145, the complete set weighs 2.7 pounds and they feel nice and light in your hands.  

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HB00CA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

DSC00026.JPG

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A set of snapons runs $300. And they're regular old regular.

 

 

My Snap-On wrenches were almost $500.

 

Yup.  And my Craftsman (Yeah, yeah….I've heard all the Crapsman jokes) wrenches cost me $29.95 on sale and are still functional after daily home garage use over a 20-30 year period.  One of the wrenches in the set was mis-cast, which wouldn't happen with the Mac or Snap-On set, but I returned it for a new one without a hassle.  If I did mechanic's work for a living, I might be able to justify the high cost of a stuffed roll-box in the 10s of thousands.  You obviously get value out of your high-end tools and that's a good thing.

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Craftsman is not as good as they used to be, but they're decent for home use. I stopped buying them after the third or so time a ratchet slipped and I busted my knuckles. That shit hurts for days. Also, I've yet to have a Snap-On tool fail. I've replaced gears in a couple ratchets that were over a decade old, but that's all warranty covered.

For a professional setting, Craftsman won't cut the mustard for me. For the regular home mechanic, they're better than nothing...barely. :p

Craftsman went to shit when they came out with their "Profesional Series". So in a nut shell the basic Craftsman line is now made in China harbor freight quality crap. And if you want the old quality Craftsman line you have to buy the higher dollar "Professional Series", which is just the old stuff with a different label and higher price. Even though it works for me I know it still nowhere near profesional quality. Edited by 2talltim
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Also, I've yet to have a Snap-On tool fail. I've replaced gears in a couple ratchets that were over a decade old, but that's all warranty covered.

This is why I buy snap on. It's the highest quality tool. I rarely ever have to replace anything, and usually when I do it's because I've missed placed it. I don't want to admit how much I've spent on tools, because its sickening... But I've been disappointed every time I didn't buy snap on. It's really turned me into a tool snob and now the tools at my house are gradually turning into snapon.

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I'd never buy a carbon fiber wrench of any sort just to save weight on my bike, the price alone drives me away. Cool for those with the money to try something new, but ( like Dave said ) without an offset and smooth grip I dont want anything to do with them. If I need that much tooling to go along with me, then I'm sure all the luggage I'd be toting would exponentially outweigh the extra tools anyway. A handful of wrenches/sockets are only a few pounds at most. Maybe a good investment for a roadside assistance mechanic using a Ninja 250 to work from?

I'm a SnapOn fan, but I'm slowly collecting my way into them by replacing my old Craftsman tools as they break. I'll have to get some pics of the Snappy boxes some of our tech's have at work. Some ridiculously beasty 8 wheelers with full hutches on top of the upper deck, 3 tiers of toolbox just screams penile compensation. They are stupid expensive at over $30k for the boxes alone. Those guys have monthly tool payments of about $400-$450. Dave's box pic'd above is plenty, maybe add a side locker for bigger elec/pneumatic tools.

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