A few of my favorite things - Wera screwdrivers

From now until Christmas I will be returning to what I love most: talking about gear and tools and accessories so you can use my experience to guide your gift giving. Expect to see recommendations for gardening, woodworking, home improvement, hiking, big game hunting, small game hunting, camping, backpacking, bike commuting, mountain biking, parenting, kitchen, and more. All recommendations will be for gear I own and use, and have either purchased myself or received from family as a gift--so I'm not being compensated to promote a particular item, though I may receive compensation for purchases made through links provided.

First up--a seemingly simple bit of tools: the Wera Kraftform lasertip screwdriver set. 

I stumbled upon Wera tools a couple years ago at my local Woodcrafter. I had recently been fighting with some Phillips head screws on AC vents, so when I saw the laser etching on the Wera screwdriver I was curious. The packaging claimed that the etching helped the driver maintain its grip to reduce rounding off screw heads. I decided it was worth $8 to test that claim. Sure enough, it works! Now, yes, there will still be times that the driver jumps out of the head and rounds it off some, but it is much less often than with 'normal' screwdrivers. 

As an added bonus, the handle is far more comfortable than any other screwdriver I've ever used. 

I used that Phillips driver for a couple years until I misplaced it. Then I upgraded to the six-piece set that includes 2 Phillips head drivers, 2 Pozidrive drivers, and 2 flathead drivers. The included rack was easy to cable-tie to my pegboard for easy storage and access. There are a number of different Wera sets with various combinations of drivers that might be better for specific situations, but this set has served all of my needs for general home improvement and maintenance. 

Admittedly it's an expensive set of screwdrivers at $40 for 6. But the true value is in not rounding off every other screw it touches, which is virtually priceless. If value is more important than performance, here are some options from Dewalt, Milwaukee, and Klein that should provide quality at a lower price-per-piece.

A more versatile option, but without the laser etching, is the Wera Kraftform bitholding screwdriver. This driver is a handle with the Wera rapidadapter bitholder quick release that allows you to swap between 16 different included bits, and includes a carrying case. This one comes with several Phillips, Pozidrive, flathead, Torxs, and hex bits. I was concerned that the quick release would have play in it, but it holds the bits securely enough that you'd think it was a 1-piece screwdriver.

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