Wera Tool check Plus / Festool ratchet kit

[CarlsonCarpentry]

Hoping to make a best of both worlds kit.
I like the festool ratchet set but quality seems meh
I like the wera set but the tools are tiny.

Any users of either kit? Looking for feedback.

Most used parts? Any unused parts?
Better to have SAE or metric sockets? Both?
Most used bits?

Anything should be in this kit? Anything shouldn’t be?

Thanks!

 

[Holzhacker]

I've got the Wera 3/8" zyklop set with what you have pictured and a bunch of sockets and other bits. Mine is in metric since I mostly use it for working on the bikes. I like fast and reliable so my bikes are metric. Slow and loud doesn't do it for me. Since the sockets have very tight tolerances they also work pretty well on SAE sizes from my experience.
Next on my purchase list is the Wera 1/2" Koloss socket handle.
I also have the Festool ratchet set. Doesn't get used that much since I have the Wera. Was a bit limited to start for working on the bikes. The festool set works better for electronics or on tools as needed. Its not bad for basics but doesn't come close to the Wera.

 

[FestitaMakool]

I have both these, in photo below. I passed on the FT set as it is basically a bit set with ratchet.
The sets I have below are my most used “non grease jobs” for general use. I love them. I do also have one Cyclop set. The small ratchet is extremely strong and handy. You use the bit holder as extension. Now permanently put as part of my go-to woodworking kit.

 

[RKA]

I don’t do any mobile work, so I’m spoiled by a giant toolbox in the garage with most everything I need.  In the car I keep a metric tool check kit from wera.  I love their bit ratchets because they are small enough to fit where others won’t.  The sockets are really nice and the knurling at the base (I know there is another name for it) is terrific!  The satin finish is really nicely done too.  At work I have a 1/4” wera kit.  The only thing I don’t like is the ratchet.  The zyklop ratchets never grew on me (have a 3/8” at home too).  Handle is too short, it locks at 0-45-90 which more often gets in the way and the head of the ratchet is too big.  Overall it creates more problems than it solves.  I don’t use the one at home, it sits in the back of a drawer. 

SAE or metric depends on what you plan to use it for.  In the US you can get away with metric for cars.  But too much other stuff is SAE. 

Edit:  The name for that knurling I was referring to...I couldn't let it go.  It's called reeding, similar to what is done to the edge of coins.  And a fun factoid below for those curious about how and why it came into use for currency.
https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/reeded-edge-definition-768474

 

[FestitaMakool]

Im with RKA on the Zyclop ratchet. It is a bit odd to work with but I kind of like having different tools with different qualities. The special features of the Zyclop ratchet comes in handy now and then. The fact that it doubles as a handle for screwdriving then a ratchet and almost all settings in between makes it a typical go-to tool. The sockets with the serrated part on top, the serrated ring with finger rest and control on the small ratchet is absolutely fabulous. I use it very often when working “blind” and can’t see the nut or bolt.

 

[RKA]

Another option that doesn't have the clumsy locking feature of the zyklop ratchets is roto ratchet like the one below.  That allows you to spin a nut (with the handle inline with the bolt), then swing the ratchet to 90 degrees and to the final tightening as Festita describes.  If that usage is helpful, this is the alternative I prefer to the weras.

https://www.amazon.com/GearWrench-81223-Roto-Ratchet-Cushion/dp/B001M0O1BG

 

[FestitaMakool]

We have them here as well, under a different brand:https://www.biltema.no/verktoy/handverktoy/pipeverktoy/skraller/skralle-2000019452
- But these are probably not very good at screwdriving

Wera’s have locking positions for the handle’s angle, including top position as when it acts as a regular screwdriver.
My screwdrivers are almost exclusively from either Wera or Wiha, and the Zyclop has the same handle as their screwdrivers so it feels and sits well in the hand. (That is if you like their handles)

 

[FestitaMakool]

Be sure to include one more thing in your set:
I learned this from an old friend, a mechanic. Always have one very small slotted screwdriver at hand as in the photo: From left to right: Geilo of Norway, Wera and Wiha. The last one you all know I think, and is there pure for scale  [wink]
[attachimg=1]

Use it for: Clip removal, scraping, levering, cleaning narrow groves, your tools vents, punching, removing dried glue from tip of bottle, lifting o-rings, prying, marking, pull and loosen knots in strings, clean away clingy saw dust from tools - the list is possibly endless.. on a very rear occasion it works as a screwdriver  [wink] [big grin]
Ohh, and: They are best when the edges on the tip is rounded (too sharp for most things when new) - you’ll probably find a way to “round it off”..

 

[Spandex]

I have the Wera toolcheck plus and the Festool ratchet set (as well as 1/4” and 1/2” Wera zyklops).

The ratchet included with the toolcheck is extremely small and you definitely wouldn’t want it as your only 1/4” ratchet. The same goes for the short driver handle - but as a pocket tool kit its just about perfect. If you had a toolcheck and a Leatherman on you, you have a lot of situations covered with a tool kit that takes up hardly any space at all.

The Festool ratchet is just an average kit. It’s not terrible, but it’s not amazing either (although the price is usually eye-watering). It is nice having the centrotec driver handle though (think that’s only on the older sets now), and I have had occasions where I’ve used the driver handle connected to a CXS right angle chuck to reach inaccessible screws that needed to be turned manually.