I agree with Mike on this one. I actually have one of the Park Multi Tools, not the fold out kind, the little one piece thing with some box end wrenches cut in it and hex wrenches sticking out. I also bought one of the cheap Nashbar things as an afterthought when I was buying some other stuff. One thing I find about both is that sometimes the rest of the tool gets in the way. With a regular hex wrench, you have the short leg and the long leg. You can get to pretty much anything with one or the other. Sometimes the 2-2.5 inch fold outs are too long and you might be stuck. I am partial to the long hex wrenches. You sometimes need a little extra leverage on larger sizes. I just bought a set from Sears. I keep the ones I need in my seat bag and the rest in my bicycle tool box.
You can get a screwdriver that has large and small phillips and flat bits all captive so they are hard to lose. The blade part pulls out of the handle and the pieces fit easily in a seat bag, except maybe the little tiny kind. The handle is full size so you can get a grip on it.
For a spoke wrench, I like the little Park triangle that fits all three sizes. You only need one, but it is not any bigger than a dedicated one, and somebody else might need a different size and you could help them out.
I could go on, but this is enough for now. Mike's the man. I gotta say, though, those Topeak Aliens and McGuyvers sure are sexy to a tool geek like me. :blush:
Regards,
Raymond