Fleamarket Tools: The Flexiwrench
By Benjamen Johnson
You know a tool’s good when the only place you can buy it is from the online corporate store. The Flexiwrench Plus smart tool system is so hot, they can’t keep it in stock anywhere else. Yes, I’m being sarcastic. The system features two different handles, each with a 3/8″ socket that accepts different wrench or socket heads, similar to the Stanley MaxDrive. One handle sports two pivot points for snaking the wrench into hard-to-reach places, and the other handle functions like an articulated screwdriver.
In addition to the handles, the 19-piece Flexiwrench Plus set includes 3/8″, 7/16″, 1/2″, 9/16″, and 5/8″ open-end, box, and socket heads; a universal socket adapter for using standard 3/8″ sockets; and a generic looking case.
We can’t vouch for how well this tool works, but we’re pretty sure it isn’t the tool set we’d choose if we crashed our boat into a desert island. Can anybody take this tool seriously considering the Comic Sans-like font they chose for the case?
It’s a little late for Mother’s Day, but only $20 buys the Flexiwrench Plus 19-piece set for the father that has everything — if you really want to disappoint your father.
Flexiwrench Plus [Corporate Site]
May 8th, 2008 at 10:21 am
I’m especially impressed with the typo on the box - “Flexibitly”
May 8th, 2008 at 10:25 am
I would think a frequently asked question for the Flexiwrench Plus would be: if it flexes/bends along an axis parallel to the nut you are trying to turn, how do you get any torque on the nut? In other words, how does it act like a wrench?
The FAQ doesn’t answer that question, nor does the video.
May 8th, 2008 at 10:59 am
Like some fishing lures that catch more fisherman than fish - I suspect that some tools catch more wanabe toolmongers.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:41 am
I am impressed, their website is having a closeout sale
http://www.flexiwrench.com/index.htm
May 8th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Looking at the square drive on the wrench heads - I suspect that their illustrator was even worse than their engineer. If one attaches the head 90 degrees off of the way the illustration depicts the tool - then the application of torque would be possible.
May 8th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Probably ten or fifteen ways to bust a knuckle with these babies