Frequent tighteners of fiddly little screws in hard-to-reach places will appreciate the screwdriver bit being magnetic, as that way it can pick up any that fall, even ones that fall into awkward-to-reach places. Probably of interest only to electricians, the screwdrivers aren’t magnetic, but can be made so with a magnetizer that’s sold separately. All the blades are extra-slim for working with sunken screws or those that are kept down by springs, and you get a selection of straight, Phillips, Pozidriv and Torx ends, none of them particularly big. The blades are moulded directly into the handles to make them “virtually unbreakable”, and the handles themselves are large, with soft rubber for an excellent grip.

There’s also an eight-piece precision screwdriver set that includes four Torx drivers, perfect for taking laptops apart, and even a pair of offset screwdrivers, with a different bit at each end, for those really awkward spots. They’re magnetic and have a weatherproof coating that should save them from rusting if they get wet. Things like anti-static wrist wraps or, at a push, working with your back leaning on a radiator can help to remedy this, but an insulated driver adds another level of protection. If you’re going to be doing work near mains electricity, it pays to make sure your screwdrivers are certified, and this should be clearly stated on the handle and the packaging in which they’re supplied.A halfway house between the Stanley Fat Max set and the cheaper ones, this set from Draper Tools offers a good range of different blades. Screwdrivers’ other uses – as general-purpose levers, tools for opening paint pots, and exploratory probes for poking things to see what happens – also put pressure on the join, and too much prying can lead to spontaneous disassembly. This second set is interesting because it contains four types of heads: flat, Phillips, Pozidriv (like Philips but with extra flanges) and Torx (star-shaped).

Static electricity builds up all around us, in our hair, our clothes, and when we walk on carpets, and would like nothing better than to run away to earth along the delicate lines of a PCB. It’s a shame that the case doesn’t have much to recommend it, looking cheap and as if the screwdrivers have been crammed in, but we expect its contents may get transferred to a work bag or toolbox fairly quickly. Thankfully, you have plenty of choice when it comes to screwdriver sets that are suitable for any eventuality.There may only be 12 screwdrivers in this set, but it’s an intelligently chosen selection of the most common sizes, from a precision 2. Key specs – Number of drivers: 44, Material: Hardened chrome vanadium steel, Case dimensions: 30 x 22 x 8cm, Weight: 1.

Insulated screwdrivers can protect you against electric shock (although, obviously, you should have safely turned the mains supply off before you even pick up a screwdriver), but not all are made equal. Sets that comprise a universal handle with many interchangeable tips are popular because they’re light and easy to carry, but once you lose one of the tips it tends to stay lost – they’re not very big and are often dull in colour. You get two handles, and 17 inserts, all 154mm long, to go in them, plus a matching pair of pliers and insulation strippers. Another benefit of insulated screwdrivers is that they can protect delicate electronics from static discharge that could damage them.It’s certainly comprehensive, a set for someone who doesn’t know what they’re going to have to deal with, but is determined to be prepared. A choice of the most common sizes, in both flathead and Phillips (cross-shaped) will do for most day-to-day jobs. It’s worth noting that metric bits have almost completely replaced Imperial-sized ones, but screws put in 50 years ago haven’t heard about this.