Mike Wren - Toptul

[mikebramel]

Hi there, just wanted to put my experience with Mike. I actually joined this forum just browsing but this guy advertises on the front page. I clicked on the link and they sure looked nice, but I couldnt find any prices on his site so I just put it off. But then I was reading a few other posts and some had said they were good. So we traded emails a bunch of times and what not. Called him, he got my order out the next day. For about 110/120 shipped I got
Metric Flare Nut wrenches
Metric double box 45d wrenches
1/4 metric deep
1/4 metric shallow
insulated screwdrivers

Im very impressed with the finish and solidity of the tools. Normally I go to sears and harbor freight. Im not exactly a snap on customer. But at the price theyre unreal. I mean I had bought a set of line wrenches from Harbor Freight and Sears. The sears set goes up to 22mm same size, but the toptul set is heavier and has a much nicer finish. The harbor freight set does not fit as tight as the sears or the toptul and they look like an unpolished turd and only go up to 19mm. The toptuls were the same price as the sears or 3x as much as the harbor freight. The sockets have a really nice fit on the fasteners I have tried. The screwdrivers I LOVE. Strong magnet, very comfortable to use with the contour and the material. Its rubber but its not plastic. Its inbetween and not too bad to clean. Overall Im very happy. Will buy again when the other stuff I was interested in comes in stock. Thats about the only negative, he doesnt have everything instock before the new shipments. Would recommend these tools to anyone. the site is
www.wrenhandtools.com

 

[expatriated]

Yep, Toptul is awesome. There is another quite long thread here about different orders and Mike's great customer service.

Every once in a while I try to find out if any pro has been using them hard for a few years and if there have been any quality issues. I've only heard of very minor stuff so far. For the money, I don't know how you can beat these tools.

 

[mikebramel]

yes, i think he said he supplies a couple local shops and they work out great.

forgot to say there is a 20p off discount when mention garage journal

 

[mooman]

Funny. I emailed him yesterday morning and have not heard from him. Bought some other stuff off of ebay instead.

 

[TejasBimmer]

.... I clicked on the link and they sure looked nice, but I couldnt find any prices on his site .....

You did not look very hard...
http://wrenhandtools.com/shop/index...th=90_181_91&zenid=atcbj1h1qdbvnhes2ff0gsrmv6


Go to any of the tools and near the top is a link to the prices.
Oh BTW, I too am a Toptul owner and love the set.
Glad you enjoy yours too.

 

[vette-kid]

Funny. I emailed him yesterday morning and have not heard from him. Bought some other stuff off of ebay instead.

He is pretty swamped lately. I have an order in with him that I am waiting on him to get to as well. But I guarantee that you will be pleased with his service if you give him time to respond. Plus Mike guarantees all the tools he sells. A little patience is worth it, trust me!

 

[Robertob]

Might be nice tools but with so much competition out there not having all the prices and some kind of ordering system is a major detraction.none of the stuff i want has prices on it, which is annoying to say the least.

 

[Bull]

Might be nice tools but with so much competition out there not having all the prices and some kind of ordering system is a major detraction.none of the stuff i want has prices on it, which is annoying to say the least.

If you follow the link that TejasBimmer posted above, then use the menu there, you should be able to find prices. I am finding them for things I am looking at.

The lack of pics is an issue, still. I see two different satin finish, long metric 14 pc combo wrench sets listed. There is a big difference in price, but no details and no pic to tell me why.

I don't want to have to send an e-mail for every question I have, you know?

 

[vette-kid]

If you follow the link that TejasBimmer posted above, then use the menu there, you should be able to find prices. I am finding them for things I am looking at.

The lack of pics is an issue, still. I see two different satin finish, long metric 14 pc combo wrench sets listed. There is a big difference in price, but no details and no pic to tell me why.

I don't want to have to send an e-mail for every question I have, you know?

Hey guys, I know the website is a little less than user friendly, but most of the prices for wrenches, sockets, ratchets, etc are up there. Just not any of the specialty stuff yet. And I believe he is working on getting the site redone, remember he is new at this and had a tough time getting good help for the website. If you have questions call or email him and he will be happy to answer. I have found Mikes customer service to be second to none, and the tools are of exceptional quality at the price point (light years beyond CMan, IMHO).

For his sake, I hope he gets the website fixed and running soon, I think he is losing out on a lot of business because of it.

 

[Bull]

vette-kid, do you happen to have the long-pattern wrenches?

Hey guys, I know the website is a little less than user friendly, but most of the prices for wrenches, sockets, ratchets, etc are up there. Just not any of the specialty stuff yet. And I believe he is working on getting the site redone, remember he is new at this and had a tough time getting good help for the website. If you have questions call or email him and he will be happy to answer. I have found Mikes customer service to be second to none, and the tools are of exceptional quality at the price point (light years beyond CMan, IMHO).

For his sake, I hope he gets the website fixed and running soon, I think he is losing out on a lot of business because of it.

 

[The Muffin Man]

vette-kid, do you happen to have the long-pattern wrenches?

I have a set in the standard, long, and extra long pattern wrenches (as well as the "Super-Torque" pattern )

 

[Bull]

Ah, good!

I need long wrenches; I'm tired of trying to put torque through a dinky-length Craftsman 15mm wrench, for example.

How do you like your set? How does the length compare to the other long wrenches available?

I have a set in the standard, long, and extra long pattern wrenches (as well as the "Super-Torque" pattern )

 

[Vinko]

I know calling is the best way, but I usually do my shopping late night after work. I found the website to be a pain in the ***, and pricing was cumbersome to access. I would've loved a shopping cart feature. I wrote down a bunch of stuff I wanted for business, and then it just got to much of a ordeal, going back and forth between site and toptul catalog online.

I ended up going with some SK stuff on Amazon, and some Blue Point and some Craftsman, some stuff from Armstrong.

Now Steve at Ultimate Garage has a much better set up. DOn't know how how his prices are.

But Mike needs credit for all that work and marketing of the stuff here. No doubt.

But for me, his site and all was a lesson to me. My website ***** too (way worse than his was), and I've probably lost sales as a result. Esp. from people like me that don't want a hassle. Just want to order. I'm told in E-Commerce, there's a large and significant segment of people who just want to add stuff to a cart, pay and be on their way. If you don't make it easy, you lose sales. There's probably some truth to that.

 

[vette-kid]

vette-kid, do you happen to have the long-pattern wrenches?

Nope, I dont have any of the wrenches actually. I have a handful of the ratchets and sockets, extensions, etc etc and some screwdrivers. I think they are all way better than their craftsman counterparts. and the satin finish is awesome.

I know calling is the best way, but I usually do my shopping late night after work. I found the website to be a pain in the ***, and pricing was cumbersome to access. I would've loved a shopping cart feature. I wrote down a bunch of stuff I wanted for business, and then it just got to much of a ordeal, going back and forth between site and toptul catalog online.

I ended up going with some SK stuff on Amazon, and some Blue Point and some Craftsman, some stuff from Armstrong.

Now Steve at Ultimate Garage has a much better set up. DOn't know how how his prices are.

But Mike needs credit for all that work and marketing of the stuff here. No doubt.

But for me, his site and all was a lesson to me. My website ***** too (way worse than his was), and I've probably lost sales as a result. Esp. from people like me that don't want a hassle. Just want to order. I'm told in E-Commerce, there's a large and significant segment of people who just want to add stuff to a cart, pay and be on their way. If you don't make it easy, you lose sales. There's probably some truth to that.

All fair enough and true enough Im pullin for him just because he has given me great service...and he is the little guy here. Im sure he has already heard it, but I will pass some of the feedback along when I talk to him next.

 

[The Muffin Man]

Ah, good!

I need long wrenches; I'm tired of trying to put torque through a dinky-length Craftsman 15mm wrench, for example.

How do you like your set? How does the length compare to the other long wrenches available?

The Toptul wrenches that I have are absolutely fantastic. The tolerances are right up there with the top brands, and have zero indication of spreading after using them everyday for the past 18 months. The finish is superb as well.

Toptul's long pattern wrenches measure out to be virtually equivalent to Snap-on's Standard length wrenches. For example, Toptul's 15mm wrench
measures out to be 9 inches in length which is the same length as Craftsman's Professional long pattern wrench ( the raised panel Craftsman wrench is listed at 7-13/16 inches.)

Here is a photo I had taken with the length differences. From top to bottom are Toptul's extra long pattern (13.5in), Snap-on's standard length (11in) and Toptul's standard length (9.4in)

 

[Robertob]

So far I have emailed (saturday) and called (this morning). He must not want my money.

 

[jvitez]

I'm told in E-Commerce, there's a large and significant segment of people who just want to add stuff to a cart, pay and be on their way. If you don't make it easy, you lose sales. There's probably some truth to that.

Agree completely. I too do most of my 'net shopping at night. Phone calls often end up in telephone tag. Some US businesses only have toll free telephone numbers for US residents, so I'm paying long distance charges to call them. I just did this at a performance diesel site, and no one even bothered to call back after 2 days. I looked at Mike's web site and found it very cumbersome to navigate. An excellent online retail website must be easy, clear, and informative, not full of bling and applets that slow things down. I hope he fixes his site soon.

 

[vette-kid]

Hey guys, I just spoke with Mike. He says you all are right to critisize the site! He is fully aware that it needs work. As I said before, he has had a hard time finding good help to get it the way he wants. Sounds like the guy he hired at first just didnt deliver on what he promised. So he is working on it and hopes to get it sorted out soon.

Robertob, be sure you give him your forum name when you contact him as well. That way he will give you the discount.

 

[vssjim]

Ah, good!

I need long wrenches; I'm tired of trying to put torque through a dinky-length Craftsman 15mm wrench, for example.

How do you like your set? How does the length compare to the other long wrenches available?

Buy an extrs long set of those wrenches and you wont be disapointed they are GREAT

 

[Bull]

Buy an extrs long set of those wrenches and you wont be disapointed they are GREAT

That's what I have my eye on. Do you know what they go for?

 

[Stewie 03]

I guess it's time for me to weigh in on this thread on behalf of Mike and the Toptul line in general. I have been looking at Toptul for quite awhile after reading mostly positive comments about the quality as compared to the price point.

All of a sudden while reading one of Mike's posts I realized he lives in Spokane, WA and it just so happened that I was heading over there like 4 days from then to visit the in-laws. I left Mike a VM, he called me back the same day and we chatted for 10-15 minutes about what I was looking for and how best to meet up. I wanted to look at these tools in person and hold them in my hand before I bought any just because I had the opportunity to do so (I would have taken the plunge anyway).

A few Sundays ago I had the pleasure of driving to Mike's house to meet him and check out some of the Toptul lineup and I wasn't disappointed to say the least. His 4 year old daughter (not good with names) was as into tools as her father is and hung out with us in the garage most of the hour I spent there. He introduced me to his wife as she was passing through and she seems to be very pleasant as well. OK, on to the tools. I was looking to purchase a 4 piece plier set and a non-insulated screwdriver set if possible (he had already told me he didn't have them in stock but my adolescent excitement wouldn't cave until I confirmed that in person). Turns out he was right and he didn't have any in stock at the moment but I managed to purchase the plier set and a 3/8 drive polished breaker bar (10") and, with the GJ discount, got out of there for a tad over $40. Not bad at all if you asked me!

While there Mike showed me a ton of different tools from socket sets to multiple ratchets to specialty tools to individual screwdrivers and so on and so forth. The satin finish is a sight to behold and the chrome is brilliant. Everything I held in my hand seemed to be of very hight quality. He was very energetic, easy to talk to and appears to genuinely love what he does. I have already given the wife a list of things I'd like to see for father's day and she promised to place an order with him.

He gave me a catalog which was nice to have and although it was from 2008 it really provided me an opportunity to spend time planning out my future purchases.

What it boils down to for me is I plan on purchasing many more tools from him starting with ratchets, screwdrivers, breaker bars and wrenches. He is about to place a fairly large order in the next 30 days or so and should have much more stock by sometime in July or thereabouts. Happy Shopping!!

 

[expatriated]

Hey guys, I just spoke with Mike. He says you all are right to critisize the site! He is fully aware that it needs work. As I said before, he has had a hard time finding good help to get it the way he wants. Sounds like the guy he hired at first just didnt deliver on what he promised. So he is working on it and hopes to get it sorted out soon.

Robertob, be sure you give him your forum name when you contact him as well. That way he will give you the discount.

Man, if I had the ability, I'd be talking to him hard about setting up a killer website for him in exchange for tools Surely someone here has that ability? We'd all benefit.

 

[posaune]

That's what I have my eye on. Do you know what they go for?

I have noted that they were $53 or so (full polish 10-19mm in a tray), but I don't remember if that was before or after the discount.

In the meantime, here is another size comparison pic.

Toptul
Proto 500
Gearwrench
Gearwrench standard ratcheting
Craftsman 6pt raised panel

 

[expatriated]

Is that the Long or Extra Long version on that Toptul?

 

[vette-kid]

Man, if I had the ability, I'd be talking to him hard about setting up a killer website for him in exchange for tools Surely someone here has that ability? We'd all benefit.

Yeah, if I had the ability I would too!

 

[posaune]

Is that the Long or Extra Long version on that Toptul?

Extra long. It came from the gaaf1007 set.

 

[comedyman809]

toptul is made in taiwan. kind of a turn off if you ask me.

i know a lot of things are made there or china, but why add to the fire by buying another brand of taiwanese tools.

gearwrench is my exception and of course any usa made brand that outsources there ratcheting wrenches to taiwan/china is ok too ...EG: proto, blackhawk by proto, sk to name the ones i have.

 

[Bo Heck]

toptul is made in taiwan. kind of a turn off if you ask me.

i know a lot of things are made there or china, but why add to the fire by buying another brand of taiwanese tools.

gearwrench is my exception and of course any usa made brand that outsources there ratcheting wrenches to taiwan/china is ok too ...EG: proto, blackhawk by proto, sk to name the ones i have.

So your review is of what Toptul tool? Or of what service did Mike provide to you. You say why add fire...I ask the same of you. Get out of this thread.

 

[expatriated]

toptul is made in taiwan. kind of a turn off if you ask me.

i know a lot of things are made there or china, but why add to the fire by buying another brand of taiwanese tools.

gearwrench is my exception and of course any usa made brand that outsources there ratcheting wrenches to taiwan/china is ok too ...EG: proto, blackhawk by proto, sk to name the ones i have.

So, buying taiwanese is a turn-off, unless you like the brand?

Toptul's quality is better than Gearwrench. If you make an exception for GW, I don't see how you can exclude Toptul.

 

[Joelfke]

It tends to annoy me to read people's comments negatively toward toptul from people who have never dealt with Mike Wren nor have they even held a single toptul tool.

I was skeptical. I gave them a try. Mike's customer service alone was worth the tryout. Now I LOVE toptul. I just wish his inventory was larger. (although i hear rumors of a new shipment

 

[BOONEY7750]

I have not bought anything from Mike yet, but I will. I sent him an email because I was getting frustrated navigating his site. I got a response in a day from him personally and he seems awesome. If I am going to take a chance on a new brand without seeing/holding it first he would be the only person I would try that with based on my experience with him so far. As far as buying American????? Where was that computer monitor made? The TV? The Truck? The gas you drive on? Buy American when you can, but don't **** on a good dude because you think you’re cool.

 

[Bull]

I sent Mike an e-mail through his website this evening asking about the extra long metric combos. I had a reply literally within minutes. He has a nice personality in his writing; I bet he's a good dude in real life.

I think I am going to bite on those combos; I have never had anything but standard-length Craftsman and similar wrenches, and they ****!

 

[The Muffin Man]

I think I am going to bite on those combos; I have never had anything but standard-length Craftsman and similar wrenches, and they ****!

Are you going to buy the Extra-long or long pattern ? Polished or satin chrome?

 

[Bull]

Are you going to buy the Extra-long or long pattern ? Polished or satin chrome?

Extra-long, and satin

 

[The Muffin Man]

Extra-long, and satin

An excellent choice

 

[expatriated]

I agree. I need to get the same set.

 

[TejasBimmer]

I have bought two sets of tools of Toptul and I am impressed of the quality and feel of them.
I currently using the tool kit of 130 pcs 1/4, 3/8 & 1/2" to work on my little car.

The photo below, if you look at the bottom of that photo you will see the box.

I originally bought these kits for my Tacoma to carry for emergencies.
I would recommend Mike's shop and Toptul to anyone.

 

[crbnfbr]

I have quite a bit of Toptul in my box including sockets, ratchets, drivers and wrenches most of which was purchased from Mike, and it's always been a pleasure doing business with him. I agree that his site isn't the easiest to navigate, but it's not that bad. Also, his supply currently is a little lacking. I know I've been waiting to make a pretty significant purchase as soon as he gets his next shipment.

As to the quality, I have been nothing but satisfied with all of my Toptul tools. Mind you I'm no professional, but I've definitely put them to the test a few times. The fit and finish in my opinion, for what it's worth, is as good as any. Plus, I absolutely love the look of the satin finish as I've never really been a fan of mirrored chrome.

Bull, I can almost guarantee you'll like the extra long combos. I have the exact same ones, and they were also my first purchase from Mike.

 

[supertooljunkie]

I haven't bought that much from Mike yet. Just a set of 1/2 drive Torx sockets. They were in stock and I had them in a few days. With my GJ discount, sockets and shipping were $3-4 cheaper than the T-55 I was thinking of buying from Snap-on. I haven't used them yet. Hopefully this weekend. Beautiful tools in a metal box, can't beat the price.
I have a 1/2 flex, soft handle, long ratchet on back order. Can't wait to get it.
Mike mentioned to me both via e mail & on the phone that his site needs work. Be persistent and it will pay off.

 

[Bull]

I can almost guarantee I will like, them, too!

Buying new tools is alien to me. I'm kind of cheap overall, and only really buy used tools for myself. And today of all days my wife reminds me that her student loan repayment is soon to enter "Phase Two," which means $400 per month to that ********. So now I don't know if I should splurge on myself.