I hate

Allen keys for pedals are shit. Pedal spanners offer far more leverage and are less likely to round leaving your pedal stuck in crank.

If the cost of a tenner gives you this much stress, why didn't you just borrow someone's pedal spanner?

1) I've not yet seen an Allen key pedal which won't also succumb to a pedal spanner, so the rounding isn't the end of the world*

2) It wasn't the "tenner" part, it was the "going out" part - it was dark and raining and I just wanted to put my new pedals on, OK?

*Yep, aware that this undermines my entire argument, no need to point it out.