Titanium Wrenches - The Perfect Trail Riders Toolkit

Not much fun, is it, lugging around a heavy-as-a-bowling-ball toolkit in a backpack or a fannypack during a trail ride? But you just know that the first time you ride without it, that's when you'll end up needing it most. Which is why I am always on the prowl for trail-riding-worthy tools that can lighten the load.

Once again, a seller at Sampeng market in Chinatown had the answer, this time with a amazingly priced set of titanium wrenches. The ultra-light combination wrenches are in five sizes: 8, 10, 12 , and 14mm perfect for Japanese bikes. The wrenches are unbelievable light, with the smallest, the 8mm wrench, weighing just 8.5 grams. All five together, including a 43 grams pouch, weigh a mere 142 grams. And as if titanium doesn't make these tools light enough on their own, all the wrenches even have lightening slots to reduce their weight even farther.

The titanium wrenches are made of tool-quality titanium alloy that will never rust or corrode. Because of their lightweight construction, they can't handle quite as much torque as steel wrenches, but they nonetheless should be able to turn any fastener that isn't corroded or jammed.

The packaging lists the maximum torque specs for each different wrench.

Even though these featherweight wrenches are expensive (4575 THB for the basic set), they have found a permanent home in my off-road backpack. They won't be leaving there any time soon.