TIP-TOP TT02

From its gaudy green box to its double scalloped, feather edged patches, the Rema Tip Top TT02 touring kit is more an institution than an accessory. You're spoilt for choice these days if you're looking to mend a tube but you'll go a long way before you find better quality tools for the job than these.

Inside the box you'll find some decent quality emery paper, a tube of vulcanising solution and seven patches: six round ones and a long one for big holes. Oh, and a bit of tube to mend a Woods valve, if you have any of them knocking about.

There aren't that many variables in a puncture kit. The main one is the quality of the components, and I have to say that in all my years of trying I've never found a better patch than the ones in a Tip Top kit. The feathered edges hold fast and effect a lasting repair each and every time, and the backing is perforated so it's easy to remove from the centre without peeling the edges of the patch off.

There's no chalk, which may or may not bother you (you can always lob a bit in), and it's pricy, but it's unlikely you'll find a better kit no matter what you spend.