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Review - Details

Cool Tools: 34-Piece Maintenance Tool Kit - Review

Kilohercas

Table of contents

RoadTest: Cool Tools: 34-Piece Maintenance Tool Kit

Author: Kilohercas

Creation date:

Evaluation Type: Workshop Tools

Did you receive all parts the manufacturer stated would be included in the package?: True

What other parts do you consider comparable to this product?: All my tools

What were the biggest problems encountered?: Quality

Detailed Review:

Hello every one. Today I finally get some time to write review for this product.

To be honest, at first, i was happy so i will get some high quality tools, but it was downfall after opening toolkit. ( I guess i have to read retail price first image )

Since retail price is normal, i thought it will be simple toolkit, but it feels so cheaply you can't even imagine. It's hard to say that for me, I fell like i should be positive about this review,sine i get free tools, but i have to be honest and say my opinion.
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At this point my expectations was high. It looks good. Book type holder looks nice, have no problems here.

 

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As the name suggest, it is 34 peace computer repair kit. It has IC Extractor, Cutter, Stripper, Pliers, Screwdrivers, Tweezers, Socket Set, Bit Set, Retriever, Ratchet Driver, Wrist Strap, Hex Key Set. I guess it's all you need for making PC from spare parts, but not much for anything else.

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This is what I think is most useful bits, just question how long they will last. Removing Allen key ring from book holder made them detach from holding springs. But what can you expect for 34 peace for 20UER? I guess exactly that image

 

Even players can mate in same location, it like 0.8mm gap at the tip. this is simple test of quality ,and it failed so baddy

 

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And screw driver. Well it feels and looks cheapest of all. CW CCW actuator fells bad,  whole screwdriver weight is 89g. I liek to get heavy screwdriver, than if feels just better. This one is so light, and ergonomics are not nice ether.

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Since is for computer repairs/builds, it has some extra screws and washers, but only few, maybe for good for single computer build image

 

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So in conclusion, for 19.99$ price is good, but don't expect it to last. If you don't have any toolkit, and you are making computer from separate parts, maybe, just maybe it is good investment, but if you do that regularly, I would simply buy better single function tools for it. My main working area is electronics, so it looks that i don't have lot use for it. Will put it on the shelf for dirty work,and use my good tools near the reach of my hand.

Anonymous

  • I also appreciate the honest review. So many road tests give a score of very high, close to 60 points out of 60 possible. Yes, I understand a free kit is appreciated, so value for money is high. But I want to know the weak points too.

  • Having used similar looking tools (and been guilty of still using some of them), I can't disagree with the assessment. I grew up with lots of bargain basement Chinese screwdrivers with bits made of "Chineseium". Cheap tools have their quirks and weaknesses, but as long as you know the limitations or you are only using it to do stuff you wouldn't sacrifice quality tools for, then it might have been worthwhile to have around. Most of the time, life is about "making do" and for $20 for 34 pieces ... that's 59c per piece.

     

    Even nowadays, I do have quite a few cheap sets around, as I never know which family member might "borrow" them - as long as they're "good enough" and you get at least a couple of uses out of them it can still be good value. After building close to 100 computers by hand in this lifetime, a cheap screwdriver has never ruined any of the computers although a number of cheap screwdrivers have been ruined in the process image. As it wears out, you just have to know when to give up and throw it out before you start stripping heads and making life hard for yourself.

     

    While I personally don't mind cheap tools - the one thing I do mind is the fact that the existence of cheap tools seems to have made quality tools nearly extinct. By the time I actually do want a quality tool, I can't find a place that carries them, or the prices are just astronomical but the quality is still uncertain ...

     

    - Gough

  • Nice honest review.

    I wouldn't make any apologies for it.

     

    Many people fail to buy suitable tools or only think they'll need it once.

    In the long run cheap tools can damage products far more expensive than the tools, so always buy quality.

     

    Mark

  • Clear, concise and fair.  That is was I would expect of a roadtester.

    Good job.

    Gene

  • Thanks for the honest review.

    I have to admit, it does look a little on the light side, but it might be sufficient at a remote site as long as you do not need to do any major work.

     

    DAB

  • Having seen what a local IT team uses, I think they'd be very happy with this.

    At one point I felt like donating some screwdrivers : )

    The tools get passed around, and people borrow screwdrivers to open their PC themselves to insert a stick of RAM, and forget to return it. I've done it plenty of times, forgetting to return a screwdriver or PC cable etc till the next day, or worse.

     

    Local support IT team (think IT Crowd) purchases are more cost-sensitive, their equipment budget is tiny. I'm guessing they are the target market.

    Design engineers have it very different - even as a junior engineer at places I've worked gets given a tool case with all sorts of fairly good quality tools already inside, and no issue taking it home whenever they want to do some DIY. I still have one or two tools from an old work place (they didn't take them back when people left) which still function.

    But for IT teams swapping our disks and memory, and general maintenance when people are daily demanding their hard disks are swapped out immediately etc., I think they'd possibly appreciate such a kit that they can throw in their drawer at the end of the day.

     

    I'm not sure they'd expect anything less than 0.8mm gap in pliers. For the target market, I think it's not an issue.