Do You Need a Backpack for Your Tools?

How Do You Work?

When you buy a tool storage solution, you shouldn't buy just any old thing! You're dropping a lot of coin on a piece of kit that you'll interact with everyday. There are two types of thoughts you should have about your tool storage when you're using it:

1. None, because it works so well you barely know it's there.
2. Positive, because it works so well that you work better.

If you've got negative thoughts because your toolkit slows you down, then you should rethink it.

If you buy a tool bag or tool box, and it doesn't actually fit in your workflow, you'll just be frustrated. Don't get frustrated with your tool setup, because there will be plenty of other things that will frustrate you in the workday!

So, consider these things before you buy a tool backpack:

1. How much weight you want to lift and carry
2. How far you need to go on a typical job
3. The number of situations this bag will be useful
4. How long you spend on site

Let's take a look at these:

How much weight do you want to lift and carry throughout the day?

If you're a strapping young stud, you'll probably just love lifting a heavy mass of cordura and too steel onto your back every time you head to job site.

But if you've been doing your trade for a while, you're older, or (dare we say?) smarter, you'll probably want to figure out ways to reduce the load on your body. Repeatedly strapping 30 lbs. of tools on your back is probably one of the least nice things you can do to your body. As Brad, of HVAC in SC, says:

I try to keep things as minimal as possible when I'm toting stuff around. I used to tote backpacks and big tool bags - it was everything but the kitchen sink.
That gets old real fast.

Some backpacks now come with wheels, just like carry-on luggage, and this will keep you from having to do lots of heavy lifting.

How far do you need to walk on a typical job site?

If you're traveling long distances with your tool backpack, you're going to hate your tool backpack. If you're doing long hallway walks, traversing large campuses, or hefting it to a roof, you'll regret a heavy bag.

For this type of travel, invest in an inexpensive folding hand truck for long distances and use snap links with haul loops and rope to pull your tools to a roof and keep them secure.

When will you use this bag?

You should always figure out how a tool bag or tool box fits into your workflow. What tools will you put into it? How often do you use those tools?

The form factor of a backpack is good: Tools are held upright in individual pouches. They are easy to see and easy to grab. But consider that many tasks only require a subset of your tools, so sometimes you'll end up carrying more tools than you need. You might find over time that you naturally start using smaller tool bags that are dedicated to particular types of jobs.

Do you tend to spend all day at a job site or do you visit multiple sites per day?

Do you stay the day at a job site or do you visit three or four job sites in a day?

If you tend to head to a job site and spend the entire day there, it might be easier to grab your one tool backpack and head to the jobsite rather than grab a few tool bags. You have most of your tools, you have one bag to worry about, and it is easily organized. An HVAC tech that does commercial rooftop installations may prefer this style of working.

However, if you visit multiple job sites in a day, you may want to avoid hauling a heavy tool bag to every job site. If you're a typical residential plumber, you likely don't want to haul a heavy backpack into every house you visit. You can probably anticipate the tools and inventory you need to do a faucet replacement or toilet repair, so you should instead build Grab 'N Go kits that help you complete those specific jobs.

When Tool Backpacks Work Well

Tool backpacks have a great form factor for organizing and finding your tools. They have tiered storage and stand up by themselves, which many smaller bags will not do.

If you don't stuff your tool backpack, you'll often have room for plenty of other tools that you need for a job.

Backpacks tend to work well when you don't need to carry them that much! If you do jobs where you need a lot of tools on each job, a tool backpack is a great option. For long walks, consider picking up a cart or buy a backpack with wheels.

If you spend your entire day in the same area of the job site, a backpack is easy to transport in and leave in a corner.

Some manufacturers are producing inserts that can help you organize different loadouts in the same backpack. This is probably a little less efficient than simply having separate bags, but is something to look into if you love your backpack.

Conclusion

You should always consider your individual circumstances before buying tool storage. Different fields within the same trade can result in very different working conditions. If you're in HVAC-R, you'll have different requirements depending on whether you do residential service, residential installation, supermarket refrigeration, commercial kitchen HVAC-R, or any other field and the tool storage you choose can make it easier or harder.