We had a service call from a new electrician today, and here’s a look at his tool bag.
I spy… quite a few Milwaukee tools.
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We talked a bit about tools (of course), and I was especially interested in what led the electrician to move to Milwaukee’s Packout tool storage system.
Here, they only had a Milwaukee Packout tote bag, but they also have a full stack of Packout tool boxes that gets brought out on bigger jobs such as those involving backup generator installations.
They actually first bought into the Dewalt ToughSystem tool box lineup, but after a couple of broken side latches in just a few months, they were done with Dewalt. Coincidentally, a coworker had been showing off their new Packout tool box purchase, and that pretty much won them over.
From a glance, I recognize Klein long nose pliers (or something very similar), a Milwaukee tape measure, Milwaukee screwdrivers, a Klein multi-tap tool driver, Husky ratchet (you can see the logo on the quick release button), Klein non-contact voltage detector, something else by Klein (maybe a wire stripper or diagonal cutters), and of course the Milwaukee Packout tool bag.
I’m not familiar with UEi, but that’s a UEi DL99 clamp-on multimeter.
Oh, let’s not forget the Channellock pliers tucked into a side pocket – that’s actually the first thing I noticed, despite the sea of red. There also looks to be a Milwaukee wire stripping electrical pliers in the opposite corner.
There are likely a couple of more items at the bottom of this electrician’s tool bag, but I try not to eyeball others’ tools too much, and I certainly don’t put my hands on them.
It seems that a lot of electricians have been migrating over to “team red,” and although it shouldn’t surprise me, it often does. Klein Tools used to dominate the pro electrical tool industry, and they are still extremely popular, but Milwaukee Tool is also making big waves.
Related, Milwaukee will soon be coming out with USA-made hand tools aimed at professional electricians and utility linemen. It seems that Milwaukee knows they’ve gained traction and are taking things to a new level.
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Milwaukee takes pride in their “disruptive innovation,” and they certainly appear to be disrupting electrical hand tool traditions and trends.
Most of the tools in this kit make sense, and frankly I’d make most of the same tool and brand choices.
As for the tool bag, I should have asked the electrician if they considered adding on a half-size Packout organizer to the bottom of the Packout tote for keeping commonly-needed parts and small components close at-hand. So far, they’re still using Milwaukee’s non-Packout organizers in the truck.
For all you electricians out there, what brands of hand tools are favoring these days?