Lowe’s recently launched new Kobalt rainbow color-coded ball end hex keys and also Torx keys.
There are 3 new sets, and each us available separately.
- Kobalt 9pc Metric Hex Key Set
- Kobalt 9pc SAE Hex Key Set
- Kobalt 9pc Torx Hex Key Set
Metric Sizes: 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10mm
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Inch Sizes: 1/16, 5/64, 3/32, 1/8, 5/32, 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8 inch
Torx Sizes: T10, T15, T20, T25, T27, T30, T40, T45 and T50
Kobalt says that the long arms feature a fine diamond coating to help prevent slippage and cam-out of fasteners. The long arms also feature a ball end – they advertise the same for hex and Torx sets – to help users work on out-of-reach fasteners.
Ball end hex and Torx tools typically allow users to engage with fasteners from slightly off-axis when straight access is less than perfect.
The short arm of each tool does not have the same diamond coating.
Lowe’s product images show similar color coding for each Kobalt tool set, but these could just be placeholder renderings.
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According to the product listings, the tool sets are already in stock at Lowe’s stores and online.
Price: $21.98, each set sold separately
Color-coded hex and Torx tool sets are very trendy right now. You can buy similar from PB Swiss, Wera, Wiha, Bondhus, Klein, and many other name brands, as well as many non-brand direct-to-marketplace tools.
Want USA-made? See Bondhus ColorGuard Hex Keys
Steven B
Great price…theoretically useful…but EVERY color-coded tool I’ve owned looks like S**T after one use…the paint chips immediately, often just getting out of the packaging.
Did I just have some bad experiences or is that the norm?
fred
“The long arms also feature a ball end – they advertise the same for hex and Torx sets – to help users work on out-of-reach fasteners.”
The pictures (or renderings) don’t seem to show ball-ends on the Torx keys.
I have mixed emotions about ball-ends. They do allow for some off-axis driving – but may slip in higher torque situations when trying to break free a stuck socket screw. But the long end of a hex key might not be the ideal tool for that job anyway. I wonder how the “diamond dust coating” will work out. I do like diamond coated Phillips bits from Wera for their slip-resistant properties.
It is amazing how the humble hex key (aka Allen Wrench) continues to be the subject of design changes – both cosmetic and more substantial. When William Allen patented (before WWI) – one of the first practical methods for cold-forming hex-recess socket screws – he probably never imagined the variety of drivers that would be available today. Robertson in Canada – had preceded Allen – but for various reasons his square recess drive screws were not an instant hit in the US.
Today – we still keep trying to figure out better new drive styles and tweak existing ones. When my partners and I acquired a fabrication business – I was introduced to a plethora of different fasteners that i had never heard of – ones like B.N.A.E. cross point, Bristol Spline, Cherry Lok, Eddie Bolts, Hi-Lok, Mor-Torq, Sel-O-Fit, SIT, Torq-Set and others. Today the humble hex driver – can come in varieties with center holes for security pins or Wera’s Hex-Plus shape. While Eddie bolts may have lost favor – Aster recess fasteners have appeared – and so on.
Blocky
fred, more than any other commenter on the wide web, you send me searching and reading in directions I never imagined.
Thanks for that.
fred
Thank goodness for the access to information that the Internet provides us. When I started in business in the 1960’s – even in the less esoteric realm of plumbing – it was not always easy to figure out some assemblies and/or source schematics. Now I can search the Internet and quickly find (usually) relevant information. If I want to know the specs on an Eddie bolt – a quick look on the Howmet site – and voila! Specs, instruction manuals etc. are often available online for even way outdated items.
TonyT
I absolutely love ball end hex drivers, invented IIRC by Bondhus. Then again, I have done a lot of assembling and disassembling automated machines, with screws frequently in hard to access locations.
Stuart
I don’t see it either, but they say it in the product descriptions. Either the image or their descriptions are wrong. Or both, given that we’re talking about Lowe’s.
Peter D Fox
Any inch set missing 7/64″ and 9/64″ is not a complete set. Mark this as an “also ran” not a well thought out
Not seeing any reason to consider this over one of the color coded sets by Bondhus.
Jonathan OAF
Icon hex keys have those and about same price as Kobalt.
Stuart
Looks like they wanted to limit each set to exactly 9 pieces for even pricing.
Peter D Fox
Obviously that’s speculation, however if that was the reason than this would be even more of a tool shaped object rather than tools ever worth considering.
Berg
Are color codes used on wrenches like this or on other tools like sockets standardized across brands? Or do you have to relearn the colors if you ever switch or upgrade to a different one?
MM
I’ve never noticed any consistency in color between brands of color-coded hex keys.
I prefer the way PB Swiss and Wiha color-code theirs: They basically follow the color spectrum. If you lay out the tools in size order they follow the colors like a rainbow. For example, perhaps the largest key in the set is blue, next smallest is violet, then red, then orange, yellow, green, as they get smaller and smaller. I like this because it makes relative sizing easy: Let’s say I grab the orange one and it doesn’t fit because it’s too big. If I need a smaller size then I instantly know to look for yellow without having to memorize anything. Most brands seem to pick colors at random and then you have to memorize the sequence.
Dave
I’ve been breaking, ruining edges through slippage and bending hex keys lately. How are these?
Processwrench
Wera hex+ bits in alloy, i have techs that use thiers every day all day for 5 years with almost no breaks. stainless are nice but can break
Plain+grainy
Seems like they would have a matching color dot on holder. Then you could quickly find the correct nesting spot.
Plain+grainy
And something different to distinguish the SAE from the Metric.