Iron Dog Tool Gear is a completely modular and customizable tool belt and pouch system designed with the needs of modern day tradesmen and carpenters. With the Iron Dog Tool Gear System, there is no more wasted space or never utilized pockets. The whole idea of being able to customize your tool belt rig is fantastic! We think that most folks will be pleasantly surprised at the quality and value offered with the Iron Dog Tool Gear System.
When we first heard about Iron Dog, we were very excited to give the Tool Gear System a try. To us, it makes sense to only carry and use the pouches that you actually need. Combine this with a very high quality construction and we were pretty sure we would have a winner on our hands. When our box of test product arrived, we were very excited and couldn’t wait to take a closer look at all the different pieces of the system that we received. The particular pouches we took a look at were (the listed prices were from a popular online retailer and we would expect to see similar prices both online and locally):
- 30012 Medium Size Rig Belt 40”-48” ($26.00)
- 50011 Large Divided Pouch ($48.00)
- 50014 Small Pouch ($17.00)
- 60011 Wide Covered Pocket ($23.00)
- 70013 Combo Square Holder ($8.00)
- 70014 Shears Holder ($9.00)
- 70017 Tape Pocket ($11.00)
- 70020 Drill Bit Holder ($17.00)
- 70021 Hammer Hanger ($7.00)
One of the first things that stood out to us was the overall quality of the construction. Everything is at least doubled stitched and there are rivets at all critical stress points. Pretty much they are everywhere because it looks like they don’t want them to ever fall apart! Most all the pouches are made of multiple layers of leather and ballistic nylon. Even all the interior of the pouches are lined with leather. To these guys it is all about the details! The leather that is used is soft and feels very supple. Even when we got our tool belt wet with both perspiration and rain, the leather remained soft and pliable. We do have to warn you that when the tool belt is new, the black dye used in the belt liner will tend to bleed onto your work clothes. We had a few stained t-shirts at first, but even with the stains, we still liked the system. Each and every one of the pouches and accessories are all constructed in a similar way to each other, with what appears to be a primary focus on practicality and functionality. Just as many tools have a specific role in a project, each pouch we got serves a real purpose.
What is great is that with this setup we were able to configure the tool belt exactly the way we wanted to suit the type of work we were doing. For example, our initial job included doing some rough framing. We put the Large Divided Pouch on the Rig Belt along with the Small Pouch, Hammer Hanger and the Tape Pocket. With this combination we were able to hold our nails, hammer, tape, utility knife, speed square and carpenter pencils. We immediately found that we had just enough space for what really mattered and we did not have to haul anything extra (not to mention that everyone on the job site was clearly jealous too.) We also noticed that the Versa Clip System holds the pouches to the tool belt really well; almost too good in fact. When we went to configure the tool belt with other pouches, we found it a little tricky to remove them from the belt. We had to twist, pull and pry with quite a bit of force to remove them. It appears to us that if the webbing on the tool belt was a little more rigid, then the Versa Clip System would work much better. Perhaps in later iterations of the system we will see this.
To further demonstrate the clever pouch and tool holder system, we put the right tools and accessories in the proper pouches. Since there is such a variety of pouches available, Iron Dog Tool Gear pouches and accessories can certainly be found to work with most anything you will want to do. We mean everything too, from electrical work, to finish work, to framing, to “you name it”; they have a pouch for it (and even if they don’t have the exact pouch, we are pretty sure you will find one that is close enough to what you want).
Conclusion
At the end of the day we really liked the concept and execution of the Iron Dog Tool Gear System. The whole idea of being able to completely customize your tool belt rig is fantastic! We think that most trades’ people will be pleasantly surprised at the quality and value offered with the Iron Dog Tool Gear System. If versatility and functionality are at the top of your list, then we are pretty sure these will be a winner in your book. For our performance rating, we gave these tools an 8/10. Had the Versa Clip System worked a little smoother, I think we might have had a perfect score. For our value rating, we gave the system an 8/10 because we feel for the price it is hard to beat the quality and the flexibility. We hear that as the popularity of Iron Dog Tool Gear grows, they will be adding even more new gear and accessories.
