Allen keys might not be something worth getting excited about, but at least with the Wera 950/9 Hex-Plus HF1 set, you know they definitely cut the mustard.
Wera’s 950/9 Hex-Plus HF1 set may not be cheap but as soon as you use them, you’ll appreciate why they cost that much more than a regular set.
Photos by Pete Scullion.
Key features:
- L-key
- Hex-plus profile
- Extra long arms
- Chrome-molybendum steel
- Ball ends
- Holding function
- Take It Easy Tool Finder
- 6 x 950L HF (10 x 219, 8 x 200, 6 x 180, 5 x 160, 4 x 140 and 3 x 126)
- 3 x 950 (2.5 x 112, 2 x 100 and 1.5 x 90mm)
- Lifetime Guarantee
- £39.99 RRP
- Products.Wera.de
Wera are a German tool brand World-renowned for their screwdrivers and like their screwdrivers, their hex set looks expensive at first glance, but spend any time tuning a bike with them and that extra cost melts away as they’re a joy to use.
The poetically-named 950/9 Hex-Plus HF1 feature extra long chrome-molybendum steel L-key arms with coloured plastic sleeves. At one end you get Wera’s Hex Plus head and at the other, a ball head. Both come with a ball detent to hold onto whatever bolt you might be extracting or installing. The rubber holder comes complete with 9 different sizes; 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10mm. This is backed up bike a lifetime guarantee.
Getting the keys out of the rubber holder isn’t all that straightforward, but at least you know they’re not going anywhere fast and the holder opens up and locks neatly away too. When swinging off something like a very tight pedal axle, there’s almost no flex in the arm, meaning all your effort is going into the task at hand. The rounded, plastic-covered arms also mean one of the hex edges isn’t digging into your hand too.
That plastic coating also has another benefit in that you can easily identify which one you need every time, rather than trying to work out which silver or black one is the 3 or 2.5mm when you have them all loose. Worth the price alone is the holding function. Anyone here has had a very critical bolt hit the ground and roll somewhere hard to reach or covered in dust and other bolts.
Hex Plus is no fad either. Despite doing some heavy lifting, both the tools and the bolts that they have loosened or tightened are still in good shape and will be for some time. This is likely the only set of hex keys I have ever owned that haven’t rounded the 5 and 6mm within a few weeks.
This Wera hex set has become my go-to when doing anything beyond a single bolt, or where some effective leverage is required and I don’t want to have a big red mark on my palm where I have been putting all my weight into the tool only to achieve nothing.
What do we think?
If you want a high-quality set of hex keys that will still be going long after your pals have rounded theirs and their bolts to smithereens, then you should treat yourself to a set of the Wera 950/9 Hex-Plus HF1s.
We love:
- Tough as woodpecker lips
- Holding function
- Hex Plus is the real deal
Could do better:
- Not an awful lot
