Modular Tool Belt: A Way Forward and a Look Back.

Modular Tool Belts and How We Got Here-

I’d hate to start an article by trying to explain the virtues of Modular Tool Belts. Instead, I’ll tell you about my journey from a young boy learning to frame houses with my uncles under the blistering California sun.

Like all good boys, I started my career in building as a gofer. Go for this and go for that. I think they had me stacking and restacking lumber for cruelty alone. I was told moving 2x10s would build character and muscle. Us building resentment was not mentioned.

The next summer I was promoted to TECO technician which meant my soft adolescent hands were ready for a hammer and a handful of nails. This was before the modern convenience of a TECO nailer. Nail guns were for bosses I was told, a 32-ounce Vaughn hammer and hand-driven nails were for the rest of us.

I spent that summer putting Simpson ties on every piece of wood that the state demanded as if nails and shear walls didn't exist.

If I learned anything that summer it was that large hammers are ridiculous and Simpson hardware had great lobbyists in Washington.

The First Step and the First Problem-

When my third summer of framing rolled around my senior year of high school I finally had my own toolbelt. Some old hand me down from my dad with leather pockets designated for nothing in particular and a hammer clip that hung my extra-large hammer low enough to slap the inside of my knees and make a full-grown bull elk jealous.

This approach to hammer holders seemed neither tactical nor secure. It certainly was not comfortable. From that day I vowed to find a solution to hammer slap. As the years rolled on I would try pretty much every tool belt on the market.

For my money, I’ve found Occidental leather to still make the most usable rags, but I'm just not interested in tool bags that are made to carry all my tools at once. I’m a minimalist, so YouTube videos of carpenters walking around with whole skill saws on their belts do not impress me.

To summarize, I want tools to tactically store away without sacrificing security and access. I want balance and something modular that I can change out very quickly. I want an easy load and unload. 

In short, I want everything perfect.

Never Turning Back-

I’ve come a long way since being a runner or a clean-up specialist. My crews now do framing, siding, decking, logs, timbers, metal finish trim and flooring.

I have to have a modular tool belt system that puts tools in my hand perfectly when I need them and securely stores them when I’m walking, crawling, or climbing. I need tools that work with me and don’t drag or slow me down.

I’m a carpenter, not a dairy cow.

Swatclips allows me to carry my tools like a boss, they securely stay balanced on my body like I demand. They seamlessly work with my toolbelt or without. Swatclips allows me to do the work in front of me without carrying the tools I don’t need.

No more lugging around tools I rarely use. My tool belt works for me now. Leave the hammer slap for your uncle.