ADVICE please (tool bag / box reccomendations)

[SPARK2B]

hi all, hope you are all well and enjoying this 3 day weekend, be you working or off or both.

firstly, my first year of level 2 is about to finish within the next 6 weeks or so,....i have learned so much since i signed up for college in sept and started this new route, and have gained invaluable advice from the discussions here and from members in private messages,...all more appreciated than i can express on here.....

many thanks to all !!

NOW,.....TO BUSINESS, the kit / tools is growing, and i am soon to be applying for trainee / mate work (as soon as the savings start to run low ........my question is,..what to keep it in, i am buying decent kit, so would like something nice to keep it in,...do you recommend......

...tool box,.....?

....tool bag,....?

...open top type bag,.....?

just to fit hand tools , drill, hammer, bolster, tape, fittings etc in..

..and any recommendations for a belt pouch for drivers and snips etc etc,....as one i had before although not cheap, was shallow and often spilled bits and bobs

so guys, advice on this and any links most appreciated

*****I CANNOT, AS MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE SPEND THE MONEY ON A VETO PRO-PAC***** YET.......


as always, your input is most appreciated

SPARK2B

 

[Mark1985]

I use the stanley fatmax bag,Stanley UK - FatMax® Tool Bag its not too bad apart from the tool you need is always buried at the bottom of it.. i don't see the point in spending loads on a bag as its not going to earn you any money,better off spending money on tools you need..

 

[shanky887614]

I use the stanley fatmax bag,Stanley UK - FatMax® Tool Bag its not too bad apart from the tool you need is always buried at the bottom of it.. i don't see the point in spending loads on a bag as its not going to earn you any money,better off spending money on tools you need..

a decent bag will save you time therefore money

besides a decent bag is less likely to scatter tools all over the place

 

[CTID]

I really don't get people saying don't waste money on a good bag:
1) a good well organised bag looks professional and like you have pride in your tools. If you have pride in your tools you will appear to a customer to have pride in your work.
2) ease of finding the tool you need. Too many lads I see on site are emptying bags all over the place just to find a tool, taking un-necessary time.
3) people bang on about buy the best tool you can afford. A good bag maybe expensive but is protection for your expensive tools.

In my opinion a good well organised tool bag saves you time, looks professional and protects your hard earned tools from the elements of sites and from prying eyes. I can tell in very little time if anything is missing from my bag. Call it OCD but it's saved me time and money over the years.

 

[fuel]

Had a Stanley FatMAX bag and didnt like it as it was not organised at all, better off with a bag for life. Now using the CK Technicians Tool Case for 6-7 months and love it, would buy another after this one.

 

[shanky887614]

Had a Stanley FatMAX bag and didnt like it as it was not organised at all, better off with a bag for life. Now using the CK Technicians Tool Case for 6-7 months and love it, would buy another after this one.

buy the magma over the standard ck, there still ck but better quality

this is why ive got veto xxl-f

my gear wouldn't fit in a ck technicians bag

ck is 46 x 42 x 21 h l w
veto is 40.8 x 64.8 x 24.1 h l w

 

[jimjimjim]

Eh? 200 quid on a tool box and lets face it, it's not even that. It's basically a rigid bass.

I'll have a tool box at £40 and then £160 woth of tools, ta.

Jim

 

[shanky887614]

Eh? 200 quid on a tool box and lets face it, it's not even that. It's basically a rigid bass.

I'll have a tool box at £40 and then £160 woth of tools, ta.

Jim

I paid 175 ish for mine.

where are you getting 200 from and ive had 2 bags fall apart in half the time ive had the propac so its already paid for itself.

I refuse to carry a toolbox around for miles when I can get a perfectly good bag with a shoulder strap

if I wanted cheap I would just use a drill box

 

[edexlab]

I also have a veto xl and bought it very reluctantly (£149.00) after realising I'd spent twice as much on other makes in 5 years as the cheaper makes just fall apart at around 5 to 6 mths

I personally never liked boxes especially as most sites you had to carry them up flights of stairs which isn't good for your back!

Also bags do stay well organised which saves time, and no one breaks them by standing on them or sawing through the edges!

So in view of this yes they are very expensive but then so are the tools they carry,

I reckon I've usually got @ 5/600 quids worth in mine, had mine for 3 1/2 years now and still in very good condition , a bit dusty but otherwise near new,

So if you can afford it they are well worth the money and for the detractors of spending this much, I think the adage "buy cheap buy twice" is very true in this case

For the OP I'd go for something like a stanley tote they're cheap do the job but won't last more than a year but its not a bad start and with a bit of imagination there are ways to adapt them to make them more organised, ( you may already know this but also you can offset against your tax even if your on the books as you can for any tools )

I did look at the snickers range which do have some good ideas but I felt the quality wasn't there for the money!

 

[mayfair]

Sorry wont let me delete

 

[shanky887614]

you need to actually link to the image e.g. the .jpg file

 

[davesparks]

I got a decent Stanley metal sided toolbox with a lid you can stand on when I was in my second year of my apprenticeship for about £30.

I've still got it, the catches are a bit bent but it still holds all the heavy/non-everyday tools, hammers, chisels, stocks nd dies, nibblers etc.

I also have a bag for everyday tools and a tool belt I use to hold tools for little odds nd sods jobs.

 

[Zebra Stripe]

I think whatever you get tool bag/box wise will drive you mad and be next to useless or no different from a strong carrier bag. Ive had boxes, tote bags and now oh how a hate it, a tech ck bag thing. I can never find anything, nothing fits into the stupid loop things, on fact I seem to loose things on regular basis. I hate this bag even more than a tote bag and i regularly attack it with my pad saw or screwdriver for being so completely useless…

 

[imago]

I stopped buying any bags/boxes described as "electrician's" years ago when I realised that they are either unsuitable or overpriced because they're targeted at electricians.

For the last six years I've been using a carpenter's/kitchen fitter's bag which is Howden's own brand. It's far better quality than any of the electricians bags I've seen and that includes the ridiculously high priced ones. The perimeter has more than enough pockets and loop for drivers, strippers etc etc. In the middle goes everything else because while there are dividers I don't need them.

They're designed to hold hammers, drivers, chisels, drill bits etc so they cope very well. When you consider that the tools an electrician uses are no different in the main than a chippy there's no reason to spend £150 - £200 on a bag because it says "electrician" in the description. I have a better quality product for £40:00.

 

[uksparks]

I stopped buying any bags/boxes described as "electrician's" years ago when I realised that they are either unsuitable or overpriced because they're targeted at electricians.

For the last six years I've been using a carpenter's/kitchen fitter's bag which is Howden's own brand. It's far better quality than any of the electricians bags I've seen and that includes the ridiculously high priced ones. The perimeter has more than enough pockets and loop for drivers, strippers etc etc. In the middle goes everything else because while there are dividers I don't need them.

They're designed to hold hammers, drivers, chisels, drill bits etc so they cope very well. When you consider that the tools an electrician uses are no different in the main than a chippy there's no reason to spend £150 - £200 on a bag because it says "electrician" in the description. I have a better quality product for £40:00.

I am sure you have a nice bag and are happy with it, but am confident my £190 bag will be of better quality and more suited to our trade. I'm afraid I'll have to agree to disagree with you.

i agree that some tools are the same, but on the whole they are quite different.

 

[Resu]

What's the point in arguing over a bag that the OP has quite clearly stated he is not interest in (yet)?