A serious post about the usefulness is the Meme Tool

Here are some shots of the meme tool saving my butt:

• My buddy's old BMW at night a couple hours from home - alternator/water pump belt tensioner - nothing else I had was long enough and/or shallow enough... except the meme tool

• '01 Volvo V70 oil separator: There are bolts at the base that run all the way around this thing, and the back is right up against the firewall. In one area, all the 1/4" extensions I had were either way too short to reach or way too tall and fouled on the hood cowl for a couple of the bolts, especially with the ratchet attached. No problem for the meme tool. Further down, you have more clearance and my roto bit ratchet would have cleared the cowl, but there's a stud coming out of the firewall that kinda blocks the way. With the pass-thru extension, no sweat for the meme tool. At the end, the meme tool pass-thru extension comes in handy again (though not critical) in giving the best "hold" on the bolts - taller stuff would work but not exactly stable. Easier is better.

• Same Volvo, but just a couple weeks ago. The ball joint had a hex that needed to be held to get the 22mm (!) nut off the ball joint. I tried my little 1/4" ratcheting wrench around the bit, but it couldn't handle the torque (very frustrating). The meme tool just barely cleared and held barely well enough to get things going (technically, that's the longer VIM version, but the Icon with the extension at the end would have worked equally as well - the VIM version just happened to be handier and I already had a bit kit out).

These are just the few things I bothered to take pictures of - I've used this thing over and over in ways that often surprise me and save my butt, too. The first time I used it I'd come to do some work on my mom's car and brought a brand new jack that needed a blade screwdriver to set up, which of course I didn't have... Until I realized the meme tool had one. A blade bit in the end and using the extension as a T-handle worked great.

I do not understand why people keep trying to post "the next meme tool" or "the $10 meme tool" in this sub. The collection of features makes it better than anything else I've ever seen. If it doesn't have the following, it's not a substitute.

• Flex head

• Pass-thru extension

• Bit at the end of the handle, allowing a t-handle mode, or using the extension there to double the length/reach.

• Very shallow profile - my SK 1/4" LP90 flex head ratchet is actually slightly shallower with a socket, but obv can't do anything else the meme tool can.

The VIM/Facom/Toptul are all identical except the VIM is longer and it's 1/4" socket adapter is slightly shallower than what is included in the Icon. And they're all a LOT more expensive. HF/Icon didn't invent it, but they put it out in a nice package that is a nice value (IMHO) and it's legit one of my most-versatile and most-used tools