Tool porn

Which of your race bikes have 6mm nuts on them?

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Ended up with a Veto Pro Pac TP LC as a portable bag for my most used hand tools.

Need to play around a bit with the layout to decide which items stay or to be added. The easy access/overview combined with the small footprint is quite neat.

Probably more on the functional side, and yes I did a tool tidy up as well. :)

I've been getting on very well with mine. Gradually packing more and more into it!

I put 6 different types of knipex in the pocket on the back.

I've finally had enough of rummaging around in a slightly broken Addis storage box to find the right tool I'm looking for. Inspired by watching John Hall's toolbox tour video, I bought myself a Peli case copy (the Peli I wanted commands far too high a second hand price) and will posh up my tool storage.
The plan is to fill it with Shadowfoam, spend a month or two with some templates figuring out what I use most often and get it planned out before buying the stuff. One sheet of it costs more than the actual box it's going in cost me.
I've also decided to treat myself to a few new toys/tools, just wondered if anyone has used the following and thought they're worth it or not:

• Sliding T- handle hex/torx. I already have T- handles of these but sometimes the bulky rubber handle gets in the way. Anyone prefer sliding ones? Probably won't spend a fortune on a set, AliExpress specials probs

• Wera Joker self-setting spanners. I've got open-end spanners already, but recently saw these and love the idea of slimming down a spanner set to just 4 self-adjusting ones. Anyone used them? Did they replace what you had already?

Sliding T- handle hex/torx

Park Tools set of hex aren't great, I like the 'form factor' of sliding T handles. Just wouldn't go for Park again.

I've bought a few Halford Professional tools in the modular trays over the years. https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand-tools/modular-trays/
Yeah, they're not super fancy and I was a reluctant tool snob, but the quality is good enough for everyday use and they have a lifetime warranty. I know a few automotive mechanics that use the Halford professional tools all day every day, Halfords replace screwdrivers without asking etc. Just like snap-on do.
(Get yourself a trade card and theyre about 20% cheaper too).
Wera torque wrenches are lovely though.

What about them isn't great? Unlikely I'll buy any that pricey anyway, but interested to know

This is the idea, just without the £millions of Abbey Tools in it

Tolerance is a bit too crap. At least that's my experience on the more common (bike) sizes. If a hex interface is tricky any of Park's other offerings (AWS, HR, whatever) have a much better fit.
The twisted end is useful for worn interfaces though.

PB sliding Ts are good, and I think they do Torx now too. Park tool don't make anything well, just as good as it needs to be for most people.
My question would be do you really need Ts? I really don't get their advantage over a good ball end L. They are slower to spin, harder to use one handed and harder to get in tight spaces. The only advantage I can see is being able to get higher torque without swapping ends, but I would almost always swap to a torque wrench at that point anyway.

I just caved and treated myself to my first Abbey tool. I've been using a crappy halfords chainbreaker all my life and finally just upgraded to the SRAM branded Abbey one. It's a lovely piece of kit by blimey it is heavy!

My question would be do you really need Ts?

I suppose I don't, but I like they take up less space than rubber handled T's

If I ever did get an Abbey Tool, it'd be that one

Wera

Their hex keys are the best too, get them. In whatever flavour you need.

Have done. Got a set of 950s inbound.

Abbey uses Wera bits in their 4-Way wrenches, a pretty good endorsement.

Talking of Wera...

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Which peli copy did you go for?

One of these, although I don't know if it's this one or the slightly smaller one yet. Hoping it's the bigger one as it'll fit the Shadowfoam depth perfectly

https://cvp.com/product/samyang_xeen_case_7424

Looks to be a marked improvement on last year's effort.

Ahem.

Side by side it’s definitely an improvement. Last years was a bit duff tbh, I’ve used the spanners a decent amount, but the screwdriver is shite, the extra bits are whatever.

Bottle opener gets plenty use at least.

After emailing they sent me some replacement Ti coated bits which are bigger and don't fall our of the handle, but I'm just too disappointed to invest again.

Also I've always wanted one, but never had the spare cash at the time, so I was doublely disappointed.

That said it was a fun experience with the kids - they really enjoyed helping each day.

I agree, the screwdriver was junk but the bottle opener and spanners were good.