Wera Tool-Check Plus Review: Tiny Ratchet, Great Tools, Weak Case

The Wera Tool-Check Plus looks like a compact assortment of bits and sockets. The surprise is the ratchet. It is much smaller than product photos make it appear, and that tiny size is the best reason to own the set.

We bought the original metric 39-piece Tool-Check Plus—Wera part 05056490001, sold on Amazon under ASIN B00I8MYMT2. The bits and sockets are high quality, the little ratchet is genuinely useful in cramped spaces, and the case is easily the weakest part of the package.

The tiny ratchet is the star

The Zyklop Mini ratchet is only 87 millimeters long. In your hand, it feels almost comically small. Then you put it into a space where an ordinary ratchet will not fit and its size makes perfect sense.

It is especially useful when there is very little room above a fastener or almost no space to swing a handle. The 60-tooth mechanism needs only a 6-degree return angle, so even a small movement advances the fastener. A larger ratchet might offer more leverage, but it cannot help if the handle has nowhere to move.

For larger engine work, our 3/8-inch Wera Zyklop set provides far more leverage and a similarly useful fine swing—but its ratchet also suffered the serious durability failure documented in that review.

The direct bit mounting also keeps the ratchet head extremely shallow. Add the included adapter when you need one of the seven metric sockets, or use a bit directly when height is the limiting factor.

The bits and sockets feel like proper tools

This is not a novelty ratchet surrounded by filler. The bits and sockets are well made and have held up like quality tools. The set covers Phillips, Pozidriv, Torx, security Torx, hex, one slotted bit, and metric sockets from 5.5 through 13 millimeters.

The small bitholding screwdriver and Rapidaptor extension make the assortment more flexible than the ratchet alone. You can use the bits conventionally, extend your reach, or put the same pieces into a drill or driver.

Do not lose the flat-head bit

The bit selection has a strange imbalance. There are six Phillips bits and five Pozidriv bits—11 variations of the two cross-head profiles—but only one slotted, or flat-head, bit.

Some duplication is useful because PH2 and PZ2 fasteners are common and bits wear. Still, one slotted bit in a 39-piece general-purpose set feels stingy. If you lose it, the Tool-Check Plus no longer contains a flat-head option.

The case is the weak link

The compact holder makes the set easy to store, but several details are frustrating. The plastic handle portion broke off ours quickly. Some bits can also be difficult to pull out of their slots, particularly when you are trying to grab one with cold or slippery fingers.

The sliding plastic retainer across the top is supposed to keep the ratchet and extension secure. In practice, it is close to useless. It does not inspire confidence that those two pieces will remain captured as the case wears.

That is disappointing because the case is central to the product's appeal. This set earns its space by keeping a surprisingly capable assortment together in a very small package. The tools deserve a holder as carefully designed as the ratchet.

Make sure you are looking at the same version

Wera has replaced this original Tool-Check Plus with newer variants, and similarly named metric, imperial, Plus 1, and Plus 2 sets are now sold. This review covers the original metric 39-piece set, part 05056490001 and ASIN B00I8MYMT2.

The closest current replacement is the Wera Tool-Check PLUS 1, part 05049055001. It retains the same basic formula: 39 pieces, the 87 mm 60-tooth ratchet, seven metric sockets, a bitholding screwdriver, an extension, and 28 bits. Wera added green locking components intended to secure the tools during transport.

At the time of writing, Amazon's newer PLUS 1 listing was considerably cheaper than the remaining stock of the original set. That makes the newer version the logical place to start if you are buying today. We have not personally tested its revised holder, however, so we cannot say whether it completely fixes the case problems described above. The heavily duplicated Phillips/Pozidriv selection and single slotted bit also remain.

The bottom line

The Wera Tool-Check Plus is easy to recommend for a boat, RV, vehicle, electronics bag, or compact home toolkit. The bits and sockets are high quality, and the tiny ratchet is not a gimmick—it reaches fasteners that larger tools simply cannot approach and makes excellent use of very small swings.

The poor case details keep it from being GoodKit Approved. The broken handle, stubborn bit retention, ineffective top slider, and oddly lonely flat-head bit are real shortcomings. Recommended, with reservations about the holder.