Craftsman Backpack

[AveragePhil]

I had been thinking about purchasing a tool backpack for sometime now. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of choices out there, but I found this one at Sears for $44.99 that seemed to be pretty solid(even though made in China).

There was one at Lowe's, not sure what brand, but the reviews said it had really shallow pockets. I'm not real big on ordering stuff that I havent seen either.

I am a firefighter full time, and on my days off I work on boats a couple days a week. We do a lot of work on the road in people's storage barns, and we have a shop. At the shop, I am constantly in and out of boats, and I roam the yard repairing the simple fixes. I was using a normal open tool bag. It wasnt too bad, but it was akward to carry up and down and my tools were always disorganized.

Being part-time I didn't mind buying some lower grade tools since they won't have daily abuse. I have some good quality tools, but I made a tool sweep in Harbor Freight. I bought all this for $52.

This was my old setup, minus my old Craftsman screwdrivers.

Here's everything in my old bag and the new stuff in the backpack.

Big pocket: By the way, the box is a Blue Point, 100 piece 1/4 socket set.

Front Pocket:

Side Pockets:

I cut the socket rails in half so they would fit.

I don't have any field use review for y'all yet. As far all my tools fitting and the pouches having good size, I give it a pass. It's missing a few things, but for the most part it has everything that I normally need. It also stands on its own pretty well with the pockets open. The bottom is really thick so I don't think anything will puncture through.

 

[ryan t]

I kept this CLC Tool Backpack in the pack of my Supra and then my Corvette the entire time I was in college. It made many a trip to autocrosses and track days as well as "scenic drives" through the countryside. All the tools actually filled about 3 drawers in my new box. I passed it on to a new college student when I graduated in '07 but I could not have asked for more.

 

[AveragePhil]

That looks like it has quiet a bit more space than the Craftsman. I did see that one online but the site didn't have very good pictures of it.

 

[ryan t]

All loaded down it weighed close to 80lbs. but it never broke through or gave me any problems.

 

[matty d]

I was lucky to stumble across this backpack at a local auction and swiped it for only $11. I think it was a store return. Anyway, Iim thinking of giving this to my brother for Xmas. AveragePhil: After your original post (almost 1 year ago), how is it holding up? Are you still using it?

 

[55bigblockcid]

I have that exact same CLC backpack.

I do havac work and am always climbing ship ladders to get to the roof.

I`ve had the same one for going on 3 years now and never had a bit of problem with it.

It will hold more than I want to carry.LOL

I cut most of the flaps for the pockets off as the one I had before that I carried for about 7 years did`nt have them and you can get longer tools in them without the flaps being in the way.

I won`t carry a tool bag ever again.

 

[Agentwho]

I have one of the cman tool backpacks. The only time I ever use it is for junkyard runs. Any other time I need to take tools with me somewhere I usually opt for my husky tool bag.

 

[chriscritchett]

No mention of the original ToolPak? Had one for at least 15 years now and love it. Fully packed I find it too heavy to use as a backpack, but it holds a fairly comprehensive set of tools and they STAY organized, which is big bonus.

 

[homesale]

Is the CM tool backpack guaranteed for life?

 

[O RLY]

Nice. I've been happy with the Makita bag I got for free with my cordless drill/impact. Hopefully that will change to a Milwaukee bag after Christmas haha.

 

[homesale]

Is the CM tool backpack made of 1000D nylon?

 

[Coolguy83]

i just picked up a veto backpack last week.

 

[nicksnothereman]

I had been thinking about purchasing a tool backpack for sometime now. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of choices out there, but I found this one at Sears for $44.99 that seemed to be pretty solid(even though made in China).


There was one at Lowe's, not sure what brand, but the reviews said it had really shallow pockets. I'm not real big on ordering stuff that I havent seen either.

I am a firefighter full time, and on my days off I work on boats a couple days a week. We do a lot of work on the road in people's storage barns, and we have a shop. At the shop, I am constantly in and out of boats, and I roam the yard repairing the simple fixes. I was using a normal open tool bag. It wasnt too bad, but it was akward to carry up and down and my tools were always disorganized.

Being part-time I didn't mind buying some lower grade tools since they won't have daily abuse. I have some good quality tools, but I made a tool sweep in Harbor Freight. I bought all this for $52.



This was my old setup, minus my old Craftsman screwdrivers.


Here's everything in my old bag and the new stuff in the backpack.



I cut the socket rails in half so they would fit.

I don't have any field use review for y'all yet. As far all my tools fitting and the pouches having good size, I give it a pass. It's missing a few things, but for the most part it has everything that I normally need. It also stands on its own pretty well with the pockets open. The bottom is really thick so I don't think anything will puncture through.

That's a pretty good setup as far as access. I'd say you did good.

 

[matty d]

I just got real lucky and purchased this Craftsman backpack at a Sears Returns auction for only $12. Brand new. I will use it for work and outings AND tools if needed- I more or less have an office job but I love this bag because of the functionality. I'll have more vertical pockets than I will ever need, however.

Positives:
-I think its large; just see the original poster's pics. You can put all your necessary tools in and a few small tool cases (for my purposes…lunch)

-the top of the pack has a handle

-It stands up on its own; doesn't fall over like many backpacks due to the wide base of support that the rubber/plastic bottom provides. My last backpack was getting pretty slubby and starting to flop over all the time.

-the hard rubber/plastic bottom is a great idea and very functional

-Looks cool, if you like the Craftsman logo. Craftsman logos even on the zipper pulls.

-Endless vertical pockets for your tools

-lots of gear straps on the outside for pens, small tools with clips, caribeaners, keys...


Some negatives:

Compared to my last backpack, the shoulder straps are a little skinny and don't have as much padding. If you are using this as a true tool backpack (the OP's was filled to 80 lbs) this may be an issue for your shoulder region. The waist belt is nice, though.

The stitching on the I.D window is coming off. Unless I repair it soon, The I.D. window will fall off eventually. A nice touch, but not necessary for my needs.

Not really a negative, but the side pockets have single zippers. It would be a nice touch to have double zippers on the sides.

Not really a negative, but the zippers are OK but not the most heavy duty#10 YKK self-repairing zippers which is what I always look for in a gear bag. The zippers seem to catch, but maybe I have to break in the backpack a little to make them work smoothly.

The nylon is OK, but not heavy duty ballistic nylon, like my last backpack.

Good find, for only $12. Im not expecting it to last almost 15 years like my last backpack (Brenthaven - $120), but happy to haul this thing to work on a daily basis, and its my first experience with a tool backpack...