Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Reviews are always a matter of degrees. In a few days you can discover the basics, in a few weeks you get a feel for the item, and after a few months you learn what its real flaws are. Rarely will you can use an item for over a decade, and still be using it a few times every week. Also: I've tested hundreds of DIY gadgets. These are the 10 I recommend most This is where I am with the Wera Tool-Check Plus portable toolkit. I bought this kit back in March of 2015, and after a lot of use, it's still going strong. Note that my kit is the metric version, but there's also an imperial version for those still working with fasteners sized in inches. The Tool-Check Plus holds everything together in a tough polymer carry case. There's a small 1/4-inch ratchet, a screwdriver bit holder, and a selection of bits and sockets, and everything is of the highest possible quality. The ratchet might look small, but looks in this case are deceptive. As well as handling delicate, precision work (like removing the bolts holding a water pump on an old Ford, bolts I know would break if I stressed them with a power tool), I've had this on stubborn bolts, applied as much pressure as I could, and the ratchet never showed signs of giving in. The ratchet in the Wera Tool-Check Plus kit is small but super strong! Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET In addition, the forward/backward lever is small enough to not get in the way, but large enough to work even when wearing gloves (warm gloves or rubber). On the top is a knurled piece that allows you to spin the ratchet by hand. A great touch, and something that tells you that this has been designed by people who use tools. But there's more. A lot more. There's a screwdriver bit handle that's ergonomic and perfect for driving screws, and there's a selection of bits to tackle pretty much ever fastener you'll come across -- straight edge, Phillips, Pozidriv, hex, and Torx. These are again some of the best of the best bits that I've owned. A compact but highly usable screwdriver bit handle is part of the kit! Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET There's also a selection of sockets (5.5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12 and 13mm for metric, and 3/8, 1/4, 5/16, 11/32, 3/8, 7/16, and 1/2-inch for the imperial set). These are color-coded and have the sized etched on them clearly. They're all the sizes you'd need to use with the 1/4-inch ratchet or screwdriver handle that form part of this kit. They have also been machined to be able to undo rusty and rounded fasteners. And again, it's hard to find better sockets. These sockets have seen a fair bit of use and are still like new. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET And all this in a package that weighs about seven ounces and can slip into a pocket. Over the decade-plus I've owned this kit, I've used it a lot, from assembling home and garden furniture, to basic stuff like fixing lawn mowers, garden tractors, and automotive work. It's a great "grab-and-go" kit for those times when someone says "can you give me a hand with this kid's play set/garden furniture?" Also: Want an entire tech repair shop of tools in a single messenger bag? Why I recommend this product The Wera Tool-Check Plus was very much an impulse buy for me. It looked cool, I had space in my toolbox, and I thought it might be useful one day (who else uses that as justification for buying a tool?). But what at first seemed like novelty rapidly turned into a tool I use all the time. I've lost count of the times I've used it in the past few months alone. Yes, I bought this kit over 10 years ago! And I'm impressed that Wera still make and sell this kit -- a testament to its quality! Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET I'm not just impressed by its utility, but also just how good it looks after so many years. While writing this, I got to thinking that maybe it wasn't as old as I thought it was, but a quick search through my Amazon purchase history showed that it was indeed bought over ten years ago. I bought it with a bunch of other Wera tools that are also still in my toolbox, albeit they don't get as much use (although if you want a bigger version of this kit to handle tougher jobs, I can highly recommend the Wera 29-piece 3/8-inch ratchet set that sells for about $115). Available in both imperial and metric, the Wera Tool-Check Plus kits priced at around $100 each, and I think after a decade of use, I'm more than happy to say that there are tools for life! Looking for the next best product? Get expert reviews and editor favorites with ZDNET Recommends.