Custom LeatherCraft 1539 Multi-Compartment 50 Pocket Tool Bag

[Marmotjr]

My new job requires us to bring our own tools.  They do provide some standard driver bits, preferred taper bits, and a couple self centering bits, and a couple other bits and bobs, but for the most part, you have to supply everything else.   And as we all know, letting others (especially an untested newb) sort through your tools is highly frowned upon.  Most guys have their own tool boxes in the shop, and keep work their work tools there.  As I have a home shop, and only one set of tools for right now, I had to find a solution that was mobile and functional.   I had picked up a generic bag at HF as budget was tight to start, but within a couple days, I had it completely filled, and the pockets were next to useless.  Then I picked up this beast from amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EDTSZG

In the main compartment I can easily hold Drill, driver, mallet, large sanding block, earmuff style protection, extension cord and phone charger, tool battery charger and battery, 3 glue bottles and a couple other items.  As you can see in the pic, the side pockets fold out, and the pockets hold a bunch of smaller stuff.  The fold out flaps are reinforced by straps so they open flat to the ground and actually provide a stable surface to put stuff on.  The bigger pockets int he fold out section easily hold the BORG style driver and drill bit boxes, easily taken out and replaced.  They are big enough to hold a block or shoulder plane.  The exterior tape clip is actually very well designed, easy to slap your tape measure on, but has solid positive grip to it that even bumping it with your leg repeatedly while walking won't knock it off.   The out flaps also contain a variety of other pockets for items, and one of them is designed for papers, but with a well stuffed bag, getting papers in and out without wrinkles might be an issue.   I have yet to fashion chisel tip guards for my chisels, but so far the pockets have held up well to them, and they don't dull the chisels (much) at all. 

The biggest bonus I have discovered with this is that since it opens flat to form a usable area, one could easily fashion a mobile base cabinet for it to sit on.  This will allow me to have a cabinet with a drawer or two and a large storage area to keep in the shop, and a similar one at home, negating some of the need to double up on tools for now. 

The shoulder strap is overly long, which is a good thing as it's adjustable.  I'm a bigger guy and almost all my bags with a strap get set to their longest setting, I actually had to shorten this one up a bit so it rode more comfortably on my hip.   The downside with this being so big is that it can get heavy with all the extra stuff you can cram into it.  But even fully loaded, and opened up completely, I can pick it up and move it with little fear of stuff falling out.   If you are working out of one area for a length of time, this bag is great.  If you need to be constantly moving, the extra weight it can carry may be become a hindrance, but it handles it like a champ.

So if you're looking for a tool bag to keep a lot of tools in, and have it hold up (I see little wear or stress points yet), then this would be my recommendation.  It may be a little pricey, but it will surely outlast the smaller bags. 

My only complaint so far is that it seems to grip the mechanical pencils I'm using far too much in the pockets, so I rip the top off the pencil trying to get to it, but they're cheap pencils.  Getting better pencils would probably alleviate the problem.  I also wish there was a opening in the main compartment so I could snake the extension cord out of it, and a place to coil up the cord easily on the outside.  But that seems to be a problem unique to me, as I keep my battery charger in the bag all the time. 

If this bag is too big for your needs, then they do make smaller ones.  I'd assume the quality was the same across their line, so I'd think they'd all be as nice.

 

 

 

[Ronn W]

Thanks for the well written.

[mat60]

Nice handy bag.  I was wondering is this for the most a power tool shop and if so what are you doing that you need so many hand tools?

[Marmotjr]

It's what would fall into a hybrid shop.  We have a separate mill (same company, just across the street) that cuts all the lumber to spec as per the engineering drawings, but since it is all bespoke one of a kind stuff, quite often there is quite a bit of tweaking to do, so hand tools and power tools go side by side here.   There is such a variety of things happening, the lists of tools is quite long.  In the last two days alone I have had to build a router table jig, 4 identical glue up jigs, use an EZ-out (bolt remover), block plane, chisels, Kapex and Hitachi Mitre saws, Heesemann Belt sander, layout and miter crown molding, had a piece of mahogany bind so tight on the saw stop it started smoking (thank god I put the riving knife in!), etc etc etc.   This job is a mix of general carpentry and fine wood working, plus a healthy dose of general making. 

[mat60]

Its cool you dont do the same thing all day and I see the need to take lots of tools with you. That is quite a wide belt sander also.  Enjoy your job and thanks.

[Marmotjr]

Coupe months in and the bag is still a trooper.

Shoulder strap clasp bent out of shape from the weight I was carrying a couple weeks in.  Squeezed it down with some pliers and it's still holding strong.

It looks weird now.  I leave the bag open at work, so the tops and insides of the side flaps get dust on them, but when I zip it up, the sides are clean, but the top is dirty, giving a sharp tan line look to it.

The tape measure holder is a beast.  It will only knock loose if you have a direct lifting motion to the tape, otherwise it stays rock solid there on the outside of the bag. 

I've added even more stuff to the main compartment, and it still works fine.

If the bag is overstuffed, and I try to close it, sometimes one of the zippers might skip a tooth.  It never opens all the way up the wrong way, and I can easily back the zipper up and try again, and it works fine.  

Sized it on a couple of the guys tool boxes, and it will fit nicely on the top of a just a base cabinet. 

Again, a highly recommended product for those needing a beefy bag to haul tools around.  

It will also serve as a home tool box nicely for those needing to store their tools in a compact location and don't have a lot of storage space.  Apartment dwellers and renters, this might be an option for you. 

[Coop]

I missed this when it first came out. Great review. Do the outside flaps zip up and if so, are the zippers plastic or metal and how are they holding up?

[Marmotjr]

Yup, they zip closed, And to be honest, I think they're metal, but I might be wrong.  Either way they're huge and beefy, and while I'm kinda a zipper snob that sneers at anything not YKK, these are performing quite well.