9502 Metric Hex Wrench Set

Full disclosure: I'm a hardcore tool nerd, with interests that lean towards heirloom tools made with exotic wood handles, festool power tools, and other incredibly nice things that I usually cannot reasonably afford. My work is a huge aspect of my life so, when I can afford to, I like to make sure the tools I have are the best possible quality out there. I'm a guitar tech/builder, and after becoming mildly frustrated with my "nice, but could be better for my purposes" Bondhus hex wrenches, I decided to go online and find the best hex wrenches that money can buy (within reason, of course). After looking around, I saw MIP/Thorp mentioned over and over on various forums, and decided to check them out on Amazon. After looking at them a bit, I ended up buying this set with the 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 wrenches, as well as the 1.3mm and the 3mm wrenches separately (not counting truss rod nuts, if you encounter a hex screw while working on a guitar there's a 99.9% chance that it's one of these 5 sizes). At approximately $10-$15 a wrench they're 2-3 times pricier than the competition, but for tools I use every single day on the job and off the job, it was easy to enough to justify. WOW! It's difficult to describe how satisfying these are to use without sounding like I've legitimately lost my mind. They're machined perfectly; They press-fit right into their proper screws with zero slop. The handles are beautiful, in type of classic simplicity, and they are the perfect size so that you can apply proper torque to the wrench from any position. I've heard some folks complain about how large the handles are since these wrenches are made for R/C Car applications, but personally I think they're perfect, as when working on guitars you are sometimes forced to use the wrench in a position that makes applying proper torque difficult. For the price, I think it's a little ridiculous that they don't pre-apply the size label wrapping before packaging the wrench. I like that they include it! But I expect that I'd find any excuse for why they don't do it to be insufficient. Still, it's such a small deal that I can't even knock off a star for it.

Initially I purchased a hex set from another brand. That set seemed like a great value at the time, getting a much larger set for nearly the same cast as the MIP set. After some use, I realize, as it usually the case, you get what you pay for. Several of those hex wrenches ended up with issues (broken, worn down, set screw in the handle coming loose). While I dont expect tools to last forever, I do expect significantly more use out of them than that first set was delivering. As such, I decided it was time to buy a quality product. I picked the MIP set up and have been using them for a week or so now and I have been very happy so far. Upon first getting the set, you will have to apply the labels if you choose to do so. Since all the handles are similar, the labels really help to quickly grab the correct driver at a glance. Basically, you peel the backing off the label and wrap it around the section right below the handle. Once that is done, you slide a piece of clear heat shrink (included) over the label and heat it up until it shrinks down around the label. Its not incredibly difficult to do, so I don't consider having to do this a big deal, but admittedly it is another step to take before putting the tools to use. Overall quality seems to be very good. My initial thoughts were that these might be a little smaller than I would prefer. The photos make it really hard to tell since there is rarely anything in them you can use to judge the scale. Ultimately, these drivers are just the right size in my opinion. Large enough that you aren't cramping your hands to hold on to them, but small enough that you won't exert tremendous amounts of torque to tiny screws. Only time will tell how they hold up in the long run, but so far I have yet to notice any wear on the tips. They seem to be as good as new. I look forward to a long life of using these drivers!

I tried Wera but I found the heads weren't precise enough and I would strip some screws. These MIP are just absolutely perfect as far as the heads, the fit is amazing and the metal is very strong. The handles are old school unfortunately, but I'd rather have a quality driver with 1970s handles than a 2020s handle with a weak driver. These are 100% worth the money.

I needed better small hex drivers for working on the rather tightly torqued, little hex bolts on air rifles and scopes. Amazing precise fit into hex head bolts. I've never seen so little wiggle by small drivers. Even the 1.5 mm fits precisely. The fitment isn't too tight, but it is so perfect that the driver's angular alignment to the bolt axis is controlled by the allen bolt. i.e., the driver engages so well that sideways tilt of the driver is resisted even on the 1.5 mm driver. The downside is that the drivers can only enter the bolt in good alignment, but wow the mating is very solid between driver and small bolts. Finished ends and facets of drivers are sharp, not rounded off like those on my Bondhus hex drivers. Yes, you do have to apply the size stickers and clear shrink wrap yourself. That should be simple for anyone whose dexterity is fine enough to be needing drivers this small. I should have gotten these years ago.

I cannot in mere human American words describe to you just how much better than any other hex driver on the market. Ho hyperbole whatsoever. I almost shed a tear when I felt how deep and how precisely the tip is when inserted. Or how true and mighty it is at consistently and effortlessly gaining purchase within the feeble and unreliable Allen fastener. Time and time again. These tools are seriously many orders of magnitude better in quality and usability than any other driver or even tool I've used. I'm so sad I went 34 years without these simply legendary MIP Hex drivers.

MIP makes some of the best RC tools out there and for the money you get American made high quality. I was looking at pro-tek tools and they are nice tools, but they are made in china and roughly $2.00 cheaper per tool. I would pay the $2 extra for American made. I am very happy with MIP tools and don’t regret my purchase at all.

The best Allen’s I ever purchased.

So far so good. Wish the drivers came with a little box to protect the tips or at the least a little plastic guard that slides over the tips. I'm nervous about throwing these in my tool bag as I don't want to bend the incredibly sharp edges. I've just let them sit on my table for the past week until I figure out how to store them. I purchased these drivers to replace the cheap "L" shaped hex drivers that came with my R/C helicopter kit. I had completely strip my heli and rebuild some components after a crash a few years ago. With lock tight on the screws, the tips of the "L" drivers would just bend and then strip the screws. So, I used a dremel tool and cutting wheel to turn the stripped screws into a flat head screw and backed them out with a flat head driver. That was before I purchased the MIP; the MIP driver seems to still fit the stripped hex screws and can back them out even after I turned said screws into a flat head screw. I recommend but caution you're going to want to keep them safe because the edge of the tips are incredible.