Milwaukee has been expanding their tool storage portfolio, which includes a bunch of stationary tool storage products, 2 sizes of portable tool boxes, a tool backpack, an organizer, and zippered pouches.
Their newest offering is the 48-22-8210 jobsite technician tool bag, which Milwaukee says was designed from the ground-up to address the needs of professionals who need a secure place to store and transport their tools, as well as their technology, while on the jobsite.
I agree with what’s said in Milwaukee’s press release, about how a lot of service techs, MRO professionals, tradesmen, and other users now travel with laptops and/or tablets. I’ve seen more than one service tech with a laptop poking out from a tool backpack, or from a secondary bag that’s carried alongside a tool bag or box.
Milwaukee’s tool backpack has a laptop pouch, as do other brands’ backpacks and tech bags. Not everyone will utilize this feature, but many users will see this as an essential feature.
To start, the new Milwaukee jobsite tech bag has a large central compartment with plenty of pockets. How many? 53. That’s a lot of organization potential!
Features
- Made from 1680D ballistic material (heavy duty ballistic nylon)
- Heavy duty zippers
- Hard molded base for greater durability
- Protected separate tech storage pocket for your laptop, tablet, or other similar tech
- Integrated rain flap which wraps over the laptop pocket and main tool compartment
- Fold-down front compartment
- Dedicated puncture-resistant pocket for sharp tools (such as jab saws)
- Padded, breathable shoulder strap
All these features sound great on paper, and the new tech bag images look good too.
There are a couple of outside compartments, and what looks to be expandable water bottle compartments on both sides.
Price: $99
ETA: May 2016
First Thoughts
To be frank, I’m struggling to find a downside to Milwaukee’s new jobsite tech tool bag.
I think that a lot of users will love the laptop/tech pocket, but there will be plenty of other users who use this as just a shoulder tool bag. Maybe they can slap a tool palette into the laptop pouch for a little extra organization and small hand tool storage.
I’m fairly certain that Milwaukee intends this to be a tech tool bag, as in a tool bag that also holds your tech, but I also believe that service techs in particular will gravitate to the design. Maybe they meant it to have both meanings.
I like that the main compartment looks spacious and is lined with hand tool pouches, and that there’s enough room for a compact power tool or two. A fully loaded bag might be a bit too heavy to carry with the shoulder strap, but there are also the built-in and strong-looking handles.
What do you think – is this a winner? Is the laptop pouch a definite benefit, or a feature you don’t really care about?