Topeak Alien Mini-Tool
By James Sharp

There comes a time when a person will need tools on the trail. Miles from home a bolt rattles loose, a spoke breaks, or a chain breaks. Eventually this will happen on a ride; if you ride with a group chances are it will be sooner and the person will rely on the kindness of his ridding buddies for the tools. There are certain precautions that can be taken to limit mechanical failures, but a stray stick or a nasty crash will, eventually, come along. Clearly there is a need for a small toolkit that has all of the necessary wrenches, hex wrenches, box wrenches, spoke wrenches, and even a chain breaker. The Topeak Alien has all that and more.

With 22 different tools, there is little that a person cannot take care of on the trail with the Alien. It has two different halves that snap together, and a pouch with a belt loop to help keep everything close at hand. In one side there are: 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 mm hex wrenches, a phillips screwdriver, a pedal wrench, 8 and 10 mm box wrenches and a tire lever. The other side has: 2.5 and 8 mm hex wrenches; 8, 9, and 10 mm box wrenches; 14 and 15 gauge spoke wrenches; a flat bladed screwdriver; a bottle opener; a chain tool; another tire lever and a knife. The box wrenches and knife lock in the open position, preventing premature closure while in use. The knife also locks in the close position, preventing it from opening and slashing your spare tube while bouncing around in your pack.

Let me get the bad out of the way first. The plastic case that holds all of the tools has edges that are a little sharp. This is fine when working with gloves, but it can dig into bare hands. It's not really an issue, just a little uncomfortable. The Pedal wrench is "for emergency use only" and not really made for repeated use. How much more difficult would it have been to make a more durable wrench? The last issue is applicable to all mini tools—due to the many tools, it is hard to get to some bolts.

The good points far outweigh the bad, though, and there is really little that is bad. The compact shape is easy to carry, and the pouch is a very nice feature. I use it to strap the Alien to the underside of my seat. The pouch isn't water proof, but I just dry off the tool after particularly wet rides. The pouch does a decent job of keeping mud and muck off of the Alien. With such a plethora of tools, I have helped others and myself in many trailside repairs, everything from flats to loose bar-ends. The chain tool is very good—better, in fact than the one I use at home.

Summary: Topeak's Alien is really an amazing little tool. In a surprisingly compact package there is about all the tools a person could want on the trail for minor repairs. About all that is lacking are pliers. At 302 grams (about two thirds of a pound) with the case and 271 grams without it, the Alien isn't exactly light, but for all that is has it is worth the weight penalty, especially far from home where a mechanical failure equals a long walk.

James Sharp is a contributor to GearReview.com specializing in mountain biking

For more information contact:
www.topeak.com
Todson Inc.
8 Spring Brook Road
Foxborough, MA 02035
USA
Phone: 800-213-4561