Since Silca’s re-launch a few years back, everything they have produced has been absolutely top-shelf. The Silca HX-One Home Essential Tool Kit comes with Allen keys that have been hardened to S2 and have a chrome-like finish with a red polymer grip so you can hang onto them if you are, perhaps, a bit sweaty.
The wrenches are L-shaped with a ball-end on the long side. Sizes included are 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10mm, plus a 6mm to ¼” adapter for Torx bits: T8, T10, T15, T20, T25 and T30, plus screwdriver bits PH1, PH2, SL4 and SL5.
It all comes in a handsome, machined Beechwood box. I’m an absolute sucker for tools that work this well AND look good.
While it’s not meant as a travel set, I have slipped the case into the pocket behind the driver’s seat of my car, and they are readily at hand any time I need a wrench for something. Relative to my needs for almost any trip, this kit has everything.
Compared to the plastic, slip-in holders that a great many Allen wrenches fit into, this is a much easier dispenser to work with. With those plastic holders, I would inevitably tire of slipping each wrench back in after using them, so they’d end up loose on the bench. With the HX-One pressing the tools back into their individual snug perches makes more sense than not returning it into its rightful home, which eliminates that whole looking-down-at-the-bench-and-grabbing-the-wrong-wrench experience.
This is not a cheap set of tools at $149, but it these are the best-quality wrenches I own, and I own a bunch. Any time something is stuck and I want to make sure of a precise fit and a wrench that won’t get rounded, I use these.
As a word person, I could quibble with the name of this toolkit, but I have zero complaints about the actual contents of the box. In a perfect world, I’d have a set in my workshop and one in the car, and heck, as long as we’re dreaming, one in my back pocket for on-the-go adjustments. Anyone who’s looking to build a collection of bike tools that will serve them for the long haul, might consider investing in this handsome set.
The Cycling Independent is brought to you, in part, by Shimano North America.
