Air tool set buying guide
Updated: 22 October 2026
You already own the compressor. The air tool set buying guide that helps is the one that starts from the plug on that tank, not from a piece count on a thumbnail. A five-piece box at about £25 and a 68-piece case at £126.12 are different jobs, and a 1/4 inch label does not tell you whether the coupler will seal. This page orders the choice: which type of kit, which thread, then the hose and the pressure the listing actually prints. Prices are the captured amazon.co.uk figures, from £13.85 to £157.00. Not a lab test. The ranked rows are the [air tool set comparison](/hub/tools/air-tool-set).
You already own the compressor. The air tool set buying guide that helps is the one that starts from the plug on that tank, not from a piece count on a thumbnail.
You already own the compressor. The air tool set buying guide that helps is the one that starts from the plug on that tank, not from a piece count on a thumbnail. A five-piece box at about £25 and a 68-piece case at £126.12 are different jobs, and a 1/4 inch label does not tell you whether the coupler will seal. This page orders the choice: which type of kit, which thread, then the hose and the pressure the listing actually prints. Prices are the captured amazon.co.uk figures, from £13.85 to £157.00. Not a lab test. The ranked rows are the air tool set comparison.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Kit type | Fitting | Hose | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Einhell Einhell 5-piece air tool set | Accessory kit | Not named | 4 m | 8.8 | about £24.98 | View offer |
| Best value |  Power Aero Novia Power Aero Novia 6-piece set | Accessory kit | 1/4 in, Euro | 5 m | 8.0 | about £22.80 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Draper Draper Storm Force 68-piece kit | Workshop kit | Not named | Not stated | 7.0 | about £126.12 | View offer |
On this page
Start with the job, not the piece count
Three kinds of kit sit in this comparison, and the piece count is a poor way to tell them apart. An accessory kit, from the 7E box at £13.85 up to the Stanley eight-piece at £42.00, is built around blowing, inflating, and often a wash gun or a paint gun. A workshop case is the other purchase: the Draper Storm Force 68-piece at £126.12 names a 1/2 inch impact wrench, a 3/8 inch ratchet, an air chisel, a die grinder and two blow guns, and the SIP 73-piece at £157.00 names an impact wrench, a 150 mm air hammer, a ratchet, a die grinder and a blow gun. The Hilka set at £41.99 is neither. It is one 1/2 inch impact wrench with sockets.
A five-piece accessory kit does not undo wheel nuts, however many nozzles the photo shows. A workshop case is not a spray outfit unless the components line says so. The SIP marketing text mentions paint; the included-components line does not list a spray gun. If the job is dust and tyres, you are in the accessory band. If the job is fasteners and grinding, you are looking at the two cases. The contrast between the two price bands is the accessory kit versus workshop kit page.
Match the fitting already on the compressor
Look at the coupler you already use before you read the kit title. In the UK the common thread on small compressors is BSP. The Hosemaster’s fitting notes put 1/4 inch NPT at 18 threads per inch and 1/4 inch BSP at 19. A partial screw-in can feel almost right and still leak. NPT is not BSP. PCL-style and Euro quick releases often share a BSP thread and still do not seal together, because the profile of the plug is different.
Only some listings in this batch print a thread at all. The 7E 20-piece kit states a 1/4 inch NPT inlet, so leave it unless your compressor is already NPT. Orazio and the Draper 28357 five-piece kit state 1/4 inch BSP. The Power Aero Novia eight-piece set states 1/2 inch BSP quick connectors, which is a different outlet from the 1/4 inch plug on many hobby tanks. The Novia six-piece set states 1/4 inch connectors and Euro quick fit. Einhell, both Stanley kits, the Clarke KIT1100 and both workshop cases leave the coupler unnamed. Reviewers of the Einhell still report needing a 1/4 inch BSP female quick release. Buy the thread your tank already has, then check the profile with a spare plug you know seals, rather than with thread tape on a mismatch.
Hose length and stated pressure
Hose length is a printed figure, and then it is whatever reviewers could actually stretch. Einhell states 4 m. The Stanley eight-piece states 4.5 m. Several kits state 5 m, including Orazio, both Novia sets, Clarke, Draper 28357 and the Stanley six-piece. The 7E file states 7.62 m, also printed as 25 ft. The two workshop cases do not state a hose length. A recoil hose’s stated metres are not the distance you can walk around a car. Coils fight you as they stretch. That reach question belongs on the air tool set for car tyres page.
Pressure stays in the unit the listing uses. Einhell states 8 bar. Hilka’s bullet states 90 psi. Orazio and the 7E kit state 150 psi. The Novia six-piece blow gun states a maximum of 6.2 bar, and a reviewer says the box said 6.2 bar where the listing had claimed 8 bar. Do not invent a bar figure where the listing is silent: Clarke, Draper 28357, both Stanley kits and both workshop cases have no stated pressure in the files we used. Orazio is the only kit here with a CFM line worth quoting as a listing claim, at 6 CFM or higher. That is not a measured flow.
What a buying guide will not tell you
No kit in this comparison prints a usable noise or vibration figure. Einhell’s listing also prints 8 decibels and 8 volts. Those lines are not measurements you can rank. There is no torque test that lets this page call one impact wrench the strongest. Star ratings do not prove that a gauge is accurate. A householder does not need a written scheme of examination under the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations merely because a blow gun arrived. HSE’s INDG178 puts the likely threshold on the compressor receiver, at or above 250 bar litres, not on the handheld tool.
A kit spray gun is for ordinary paint you are prepared to learn on. Two-pack isocyanate needs a booth and air-fed breathing apparatus under HSE’s motor-vehicle repair guidance, and a gravity gun in a £30 box does not meet that. At work, the noise and hand-arm vibration rules still apply if staff use the tools, even though these listings give you no decibel or m/s² number to file. The shortlist, with a reason to skip each pick, is the best air tool set page.
Common questions
What should you check before buying an air tool set?
Check the coupler already on your compressor, then the tools named in the included-components line, then the hose length and the pressure in the unit the listing prints. Piece count comes last. In this batch an accessory kit is about £13.85 to £42.00, the Hilka impact set is £41.99, and the workshop cases are £126.12 and £157.00.
Does 1/4 inch BSP mean the kit fits your compressor?
No. It means the listing claims a BSP thread, not that the quick-release profile matches your plug. PCL and Euro couplers can share a thread and still leak. Orazio and Draper 28357 state 1/4 inch BSP, and reviewers of the Draper still said the fittings were not what they expected. Einhell does not name a thread at all. Match a plug you already know seals.
What is the difference between BSP and NPT on an air tool?
BSP is the thread UK compressors usually use. NPT is the North American thread. The Hosemaster notes 19 threads per inch on 1/4 inch BSP and 18 on 1/4 inch NPT, so they are not the same fitting with two names. The 7E kit states 1/4 inch NPT. Buy it for an NPT compressor, not as a cheap BSP starter.
Is a 68-piece kit better than a 5-piece kit?
Only if you want the tools the 68-piece case names. Draper 83431 lists an impact wrench, a ratchet, an air chisel, a die grinder and blow guns. A five-piece accessory kit lists spray, wash, inflate or blow, depending on the ASIN. More pieces often means more sockets, not a better gauge or a longer hose. The workshop cases here do not even state a hose length.
Do you need the compressor’s CFM, or is tank size enough?
You need the air the tool actually asks for, and most of these listings do not print it. Orazio’s 6 CFM or higher is the only CFM claim to quote from this batch, and it is a listing line rather than a test. Tank size alone does not tell you whether an impact wrench will crack a wheel nut. A 50 litre minimum from another guide is not a rule for these kits.
Which kits in this comparison actually name the fitting?
The 7E kit names 1/4 inch NPT. Orazio and Draper 28357 name 1/4 inch BSP. The Novia eight-piece names 1/2 inch BSP. The Novia six-piece names 1/4 inch connectors and Euro quick fit. Hilka’s impact wrench names a 1/4 inch BSP inlet. Einhell, Clarke, both Stanley kits and both workshop cases leave the coupler unnamed in the files we compared.
When should you not buy a kit gun for paint?
Do not buy one for two-pack isocyanate, for a colour match on a car panel, or if you have nowhere to extract the overspray. HSE’s guidance for motor-vehicle repair puts that work in a booth with air-fed breathing apparatus. A kit gun is a hobby tool. The Novia six-piece and the 7E kit do not include a paint cup at all, whatever the bullets imply.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures in the stored listings for these twelve kits. HSE pressure, noise and vibration duties apply at work. They are not a certificate for a domestic blow gun.
- HSE INDG178, written schemes of examination (retrieved October 2026)
- HSE HSG39, compressed air safety (retrieved October 2026)
- BCAS, working safely with compressed air (retrieved October 2026)
- Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, regulation 4 (retrieved October 2026)
- Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, regulation 4 (retrieved October 2026)
- HSE MR2, two-pack spraying (retrieved October 2026)
- The Hosemaster, air hose fittings guide (retrieved October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved October 2026)