134 LOVE ONE+

A friend paid me back a few quid he owed me that I had completely forgotten about, so I did the only sensible thing I could: I bought something I could use for our trip. The snappily titled Ryobi Cordless Impact Driver Starter Kit is currently winging its way to me at the speed of DPD.

After some research, I found that at 1,800 inch-pound torque, it won't win any arm-wrestling contests against its more expensive contemporaries, but it has enough muscle to handle what most DIYers throw at it. I only need it to have enough oomph to remove 16 wheel nuts and then get them back on.

Is it the best impact driver on the market? Nah. But at roughly half the price of some of the premium brands, it's like flying economy plus - not quite business class, but definitely more comfortable than basic economy.

It should be perfect for my needs, and the relatively cheap cost means I don't need to explain to Lisa why I just spent the monthly mortgage payment on a power tool.

What about features? It uses Ryobi's ONE+ battery system, which means it plays nice with about 175 other tools in its lineup (should I buy any). It also has an LED battery indicator and a work light to help me see what I'm doing. There is a variable speed trigger which apparently takes a bit of practice to find that sweet spot between "gentle persuasion" and "trying to send the screw to the centre of the Earth." Oh, and it is light enough to use all day without developing Popeye arms.

A bonus is that other owners mentioned that it sounds loud and like a tiny jackhammer. I can act out the fantasy that I'm a highly trained mechanic changing the wheels on an F1 car in the pits at Monaco when I'm actually a ham-fisted idiot taking the alloys off a 12-year-old Abarth on my driveway - result!