PB Swiss Tools are top quality tools, and I am especially fond of their ball-end hex keys. I ordered a set of their new rainbow-colored inch hex keys last year, and they are everything I expected them to be.
I bought a lot of PB Swiss Tools a couple of years ago, during the great Amazon PB Swiss fire sales of 2010 and 2011, where the retailer heavily discounted the brand’s tools and then cleared them off their shelves for good once PB Swiss severed their business relationship.
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At the time I couldn’t really budget for a metric set, rainbow-colored or otherwise, but I was able to piece together a small set with individually sized stubby-tip hex keys.
I had plenty of random hex keys and sets, such as from Bondhus and Wiha (here’s my review of their MagicRing ball hex sets), and so I couldn’t really justify a set of new PB Swiss hex keys, even at a great discount.
But stubby-tip hex keys? That’s something I didn’t have, and not many brands offer. I bought one size in 2009, 5mm, and ordered additional individual sizes over the course of about half a year. I spent between $2 and $5 for each size.
I’ve been using these hex keys for a couple of years now, and have found them to be spectacular. This is partly why I invested in the pricey rainbow-colored inch hex key set. Once you taste PB Swiss quality, it’s hard to go back to anything else.
The ball ends are super-precise and offer great fastener fitment. But with these hex keys, the magic is in the short end, which is short, straight, and set at a 100° angle.
I’m not going to tell you that these hex keys saved my bacon, but there were plenty of times where the unique size and shape of the short end saved me a bit of time or from a frustrating hassle.
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They’re problem solvers that come in handy when working in tight spaces. These PB Swiss stubby hex keys can fit into spaces inaccessible to any other hex tools I own.
Other brands offer stubby hex keys as well, but I don’t think I’ve seen any with angled short ends like on these. In my usage, that slight angle has come in handy about as many times as the stubby end’s shorter length has.
I heartily recommend these PB Swiss low profile stubby hex keys, but they’re quite expensive. A set of shorter keys will set you back about $60, a set of longer keys will set you back about $75, and a set of rainbow-colored long keys is priced at $80.
If I lost all of my PB Swiss stubby hex keys, I’d wince at the price, but would replace them in a heartbeat, with a set of PB Swiss’s rainbow color-coded ones. My only disappointment is that PB Swiss Tools doesn’t make anything similar in inch sizes.
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If you want something similar but a lot less expensive, Bondhus offers a couple of stubby ball end hex key options. Their inch and metric stubby ball end hex key set is just $27 via Amazon. They also offer stubby hex keys in different finishes, but the black oxide set offers the best bang for the buck.
I would absolutely buy my PB Swiss stubby hex keys all over again, and they do offer a better engagement angle than Bondhus’ right angle stubby drivers. But 10 years ago, when I had a tighter tool budget, I probably would have went with Bondhus’s stubby hex keys in BriteGuard or GoldGuard finish.
ktash
The rainbow colors are more than a gimmick very useful in easily identifying the one you need. I’ll always buy those over the plain metal ones, other things being equal.
SteveR
I use hex key (or Allen) wrenches about two or three times a year, if that. Many years, I don’t use one at all. I’d need to be in a job as a repair tech or machinist to use them often enough to justify paying that much money for them, and I suppose that’s the point. It’s not enough to know that a given color means a particular size; I’d also have to use them often enough to know what size was needed just by looking at the hex screw. And these days you have the added problem of guessing if it’s an inch (SAE) or mm (metric) fastener.
I have the same problem with sockets, screwdrivers, Torx bits and combination wrenches. To be honest, I can’t ever do better than pick up several that look close in size and hope one of them will work. If you’re consistently able to select the correct size hex wrench just by glancing at the fastener, you are indeed blessed.
fred
Bondhus offers something similar:
http://www.bondhus.com/bondhus_products/tool_categories/l-wrenches/briteguard_stubby.html
Allen
I just cut old ones off when I need a short one. There are usually some around that need cutting off anyway.
BikerDad
huh. I needed a stubby tip hex key recently for adjusting the lower guides on a bandsaw. I just found an appropriately sized hex key and ground it down. Of course, had I been somewhere other than my own shop, it would have been more troublesome.
Benjamen
I would imagine the stubby hex keys twist less too, especially the smaller ones.
Nathan
So am I to gather that the angle of of the bend is less than 90 on these – or some of them. So as to accommodate grip with the shallow distance to the fastener? I have large hands so often I have clearance issue with hex keys.
I’ve never had to use something so short but I could see the use.
Also how is the quality better than an american made bondhus? they fit correctly, and smooth and clean, take quite a load (i’ve only ever bent one and it was tiny 3mm).
Stuart
It’s greater than 90°. When you’re turning a fastener, the angle the long end of the L-keys are inclined above the horizontal 0°.
PB Swiss vs. Bondhus is a tough comparison, but I find that PB Swiss hex keys are springier and a touch more precise. They’re better tools, but there’s nothing wrong with Bondhus. I have more Bondhus tools than PB Swiss, but there are certain categories where the PB Swiss quality is worth the extra investment.
Bondhus offers stubby hex keys, but not with as good ball ends, and not with the stubby ends at an angle.
That 3mm Bondhus key you bent or deformed – if you had used a PB Swiss one, it probably would have just sprung back.