Park seem to be aimed at shop mechanics and I guess are designed with a bit more durability as they are to be used every day.

I would say its like comparing a sidchrome adjustable crescent to a cheapo chinese knock off. they feel noticeably different in the way they move. however, its generally not the case for all tools.

I started off with a cheap tool kit. The chain whip I still use. chain breaker broke the 2nd time I used it. crank extractor broke on a particularly difficult crank. the pedal spanner was just not machined with the exact tolerance and the surface wasn’t hardened so it rounded off a few bolts before I binned it. the cable cutters are ok and have had a bit of use. same with the 3rd hand thingo. the BB adapters didn’t really stand up to use.

So I have since bought:
1) Park chain breakers. I have the very small one that I carried on my MTB for emergencies. but I have used that a lot when I changed chains and only recently bought the bigger Park shop one. which is a bit easier to use.

2) cassette lock ring tool. It’s not a park one, and is fine. the attached handle is much easier to use.

3) Park pedal spanner

4 )Park BB tool

5) x-tools cone spanner set

6) xtool chain connector pliers

7) kingchrome allen keys and spanners

the X-tool cone spanners and pliers are pretty good value for the money. so I would recommend them and they are not something you use very often, but they are very handy when you do need them.

I have a bike stand that is a chinese version of the x tool stand which I think cost me $129. It’s about 7 years old works well and I cant justify buying a park one.

I would probably recommend just buying a few bits as needed. a lot of the stuff in the tool kits is just filler that you may not use. the bits that you do use a lot are just cheap and you would probably end up buying something better. There are a few sales online at the moment. THe Park and Lezyne stuff would be the way to go. Pedros stuff looks ok I have a couple of their brushes.

to start off I would recommend the following which with some allen keys will do all your basic maint:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/au/en/x-tools-chain-whip/rp-prod10184
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/au/en/park-tool-brute-chain-tool-ct-5/rp-prod7843
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/au/en/park-tool-home-mechanic-pedal-wrench-pw5/rp-prod12332
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/au/en/x-tools-chain-connector-aid/rp-prod10221
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/au/en/bbb-open-link-closing-link-tool-btl77/rp-prod47439
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/au/en/bbb-lockout-cassette-lockring-remover-btl12/rp-prod60748

which for around $80 gets you all you would probably use from a tool kit, plus a bit more and much better quality.

Doing it yourself saves you service costs and I think gets you more life out of your drive train. I run 3 chains on each of my road bike and MTB. I swap them over regularly and I think you end up getting better wear out of the chains and the cassettes and it keeps them shifting smoother.

the other thing you could look at, which I love is an ultrasonic cleaner. you can get a cheap one on ebay for $120. put some turps in it and drop in your chain and cassette. they clean up well and is relatively mess free.