Cliffs:Overall i think they are a great Taiwanese wrench set for the money. They fill a need, and perform outside of their specialized function as well. If you're looking for high gloss chrome and engraved labeling in order to match the rest of your wrench sets (I think laser printing is better for size identification anyways) then it may turn you off - but for the money considering there isn't a lot like it on the market it's a good buy.
This is one of those non-replacement sets that wont replace your standard open/closed end wrench set but if you break it out to get somewhere difficult you can use if for the rest of the job while its out because its versatile enough, aka not a one job tool.
The first thing you notice about the Astro 7117 is that it's not a high chrome finish, more of a satin (not quite matte) chrome - which to me is a nice stand out since high chrome is old hat at this point and you're not going to worry about finger prints and smears like you might on a nice SK set. The next thing is the foam packing it sits in once you unbox it. I'm liking these foam carriers the more I see them, a lot less bulky than blow molded cases and more stack-able than your mini standard wrench rack that many sets come in. Does take up more space in your box, though.
The wrenches are as nice as you could ask for. Nice positive bite on bolts and nuts. They do what they are designed to do in awkward locations where you need to get to a bolt and a 90 degree approach to the bolt doesn't lend too much movement with a traditional wrench. This is true in total angle of rotation and angle of approach to the bolt.
I've used these more as a breaker wrench for bolts and nuts that havent been touched in years. For this purpose, though, I wish they were about 1-2" longer - but I understand they were designed for awkward spaces so that might mix well. When you dont want to break a bolt loose with a ratchet and socket (or dont have enough vertical room for a ratchet assembly) and a Std. wrench doesn't offer the correct bite or enough rotation on the hex bolt, these do the job great - and will do the rest of the job well if it's a few bolts, but with many bolts I would try to switch to a ratchet/ratcheting wrench or something air powered as would be the case with any fixed wrench.
Another reason its well suited for breaking bolts is the 90 degree difference between the closed and open end. When using the box end, it really does make applying pressure to the other open end a lot easier and more comfortable (but you do lose clearance on that end).
They are advertised as high torque, I havent found an alloy for them yet - but they seem quite ding resistant thus far. I have hammered on a couple of the wrenches so far, including the 12mm pictured.
That largest and smallest wrenches in the set:
The wrenches seem display more of an offset off of a table than when in use (shown on table and on a bolt)
] $80 is a bit high to pull the trigger blind.
