I tried a few different brands: halfords, neilsen, blue spot, Titan, amazon basics, and they all failed to do the job. Neilsen were the worst even though they were extra long ones like these: the build quality was awful (fingerprint marks on a new sealed set, protruding screws on the flex heads and all at different tightness, many too loose to work at an angle where you don't have room for two hands so need the heads to have some resistance instead of just drooping, and the thickness of the steel gave no room in a tight angle surrounded by pipes; Neilsen were by far the worst ones I tried).
some that i tested were ratchet, some were flex head and the Titan was a tiny swivel ratchet (which was useless but admittedly isn't designed for busting rusted mounting bolts) as the mounting bolt on a hyundai santa fe is really awkward and I had difficulty.
When it comes to these Draper ones though:
I couldn't have finished replacing the alternator without these. absolutely brilliant build quality, a properly nice set, perfect length, width and size to get the job done with ease (basically they are slender with a very good ratchet). what I found most impressive though was how effective they were with such little room given how long they are (I badly cut my finger and knuckles using the others and socket extensions), these draper ones made it seem ridiculously easy and there was only enough room to get one or two clicks on the ratchet to give an example of how tight the space around the nut was. These were the right tool for the job, and now have become one of my favourite tools I've ever bought (along with a 1/4" Bahco ratchet set, again a set of high quality). I wish I bought these first and avoided the damage to my hand. Buy cheap buy twice, and a lot of agro. These were worth every penny. I always thought Draper were a cheap brand, but now rate them very highly since owning these. These are the type of spanners that should be kept in a drawer/set worth hundreds of pounds more... but come in a simple cotton sleeve, not that there is anything wrong with that, I was just not expecting them to be as well made as they are. Deceptively good, Thank you draper
| Manufacturer | Draper |
|---|---|
| Part Number | 27778 |
| Product Dimensions | 45 x 8 x 4.3 cm; 1.98 kg |
| Item model number | 27778 |
| Size | One Size |
| Colour | Silver |
| Finish | Polished |
| Material | Chrome Vanadium Steel |
| Power Source | Hand Powered |
| Item Package Quantity | 1 |
| Number of Pieces | 1 |
| Included Components | 1 x Draper HI-TORQ Metric Extra-Long Double Ring Ratchet Spanner Set (7 Piece) |
| Batteries included? | No |
| Batteries Required? | No |
| Item Weight | 1.98 kg |
