Customer Reviews

VETO PRO PAC Model XL Tool Bag

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am always looking for the perfect tool bag and own several styles. I bought this bag for 3 reasons: 1 Spill proof, 2 zipper thief and rain protection, 3 lots of pockets. I wrote this lengthy comment for guys just like me, ,,looking for a good bag.

I already own lower priced excellent bags for my tools as a general building maintenance mechanic. I've used the bag for one week on the job now. If I wait any longer to rate it, I will forget.
First let me say that this VETO PRO PAC XL has two identical designed pockets on both sides of the bag. Not to be confused with the other bag designs, whatever.


Spill proof--- Yeah, no problem there. This bag fills that requirement in ace's!

Zippered thief and splash/rain protection ---- Yep, good there too. Don't have to own it to see the benefits there!

Lots of pockets---- Almost fills this need satisfactorily HOWEVER I carry; nut driver bits, flip n' drill, hex bit extension for bits, center markers, self centering hinge bit, nail sets, 6" phillips hex bit, and and a lot more tiny things like paint can opener, scribe, marker, inspection mirror, magnetic pick up, led pencil light, 6" rule, etc. So, it turns out that my older generic lower priced bag carrys twice as many of these small pencil sized items, mostly because they sewed a plain nylon strap outside and onto the pencil sized pockets. (Ideal for a paint lid opener, etc) That simple strap allowed (up to) twice as many tiny items to be stowed. Since these items do not add to weight, they are a must have for me. Even so, this bag has a total of 24 pencil sized pice, (12 per side),, roughtly half what I have with my old bag. So far, I make do with it.

The large pockets seem to be ideal, with lots of room, no smashing, no tight fits, some deep, some not so deep. I even stowed my 1 1/2 dead blow hammer in a pocket! And my small pipe wrench in another pocket? And there is room for a multimeter as well !! And channel locks, vise grips, etc. Large pocket design is very good.

Weight---This bag is heavy when empty and at first that disturbed me. However, the weight is extremely justified by the solid thick bottom of the bag. Sit this bag in on a wet floor or in a flooded basement and your tools are safe! Well worth the added weight, no doubt about it. This means it won't wear a hole in the bottom like nylon bottoms will do sooner or later.

Plastic parts boxes: This bag will not hold boxes well, unless the boxes are small thin, narrow screw boxes for screw assortments, say maybe 4" x 1" x 6". You can work a few boxes in the pockets and I have one DeWatt Bit box, about 8" x 2"x 5". It barely fits in the lower section only if I leave one large nylon pocket completely empty. So I have to say, that is more good, than bad, since I absolutely need my DeWatt box, and since it is all about choice's and sizes.


Personally I would have preferred to pay even more money for a leather skinned version. But that is only my choice. I believe leather looks better after rought treatment, stains and dirt. I may tote a tool bag, but I certainly don't want to look like I tote a dirty old slob of a bag. Appearance is a factor.

I also wish it had a 'expandable' section ( like luggage has) so I could carry a drop light or 100 feet of rope without having to use the carabiner clips (which are very handy on this bag, by the way)

Is this the bag to end all bags? No, not yet, no way. But it's a start. Will I replace it with a different bag someday?? Who knows.




Email me questions about this bag if you want.
mnchapman@comcast.net (...)Just honest answers, no hype, ,, keep emails short and simple please.

This tool carrier is one extremely well made and thoughtfully designed piece of hardware. Like most reviewers have stated, I've used my share of 'other brands' of bags. As a Residential Home Inspector, I typically have three or four bags I take with me carrying everything from combustible gas meters, multimeters, flashlights, and numerous other odds and ends that always seem to result in there never being enough bags and stuff 'floats' around in my trunk. Until now, that is! This bag absolutely swallowed up the contents of three other (albeit smaller) bags and has room to spare. I won't go into what others have reviewed, saving my comments from stuff left out of prior reviews and my own experience in using the XL bag:

Pros
>Holds far more than you'd ever realize by pictures. Pictures don't do this bag any justice at all, period. It will hold more than you'll ever comfortably carry.
>Intelligent layout. Has an external tape holder, which is SO nice; metal too! Lots of thought went into the layout of the pockets, so suffice to say, the easiest way to visualize it without the bag in front of you is: first row (tallest and against the plastic divider) is for screwdrivers, nutdrivers, etc. which are tall and narrow. Then the pockets get progressively 'fatter' until at the bottom you have short, wide pockets which will easily hold multimeters, etc.
>Mirror image sides. The two sides of the bag are mirror images of the other side in every way: pockets, zippers, keychain ring, the works.
>Waterproof bottom: one of the nicest features, especially if you spend time in crawl spaces, as I do.
>More capacity with the sides 'rolled'. Nobody really mentioned this, but when you unzip the 'flap', it has several snaps which allow it to 'roll', ala a tent flap, and stay that way without the excess flap material being in the way. What a nice touch.
>More capacity AFTER loading: another point not mentioned. Say you've loaded the bag as you'd like it and you're happy with the layout of your tools. Well, there's more room, in FRONT of your tools for even more. What I do here is halfway zip up the flap, then place my digital camera in the extra space between the tools and the flap and it stays there, nicely. A neat way of getting those odd size things that won't fit into the pockets!
>One of the best carrying straps made...you'd honestly have to see it because, descriptively, I cannot convey how well it's made...it's that good.

CONS
>As almost every reviewer has stated, if you load it to max capacity, you'd better realize you're creating one heavy load...easily 40 pounds if you're not careful.
>I'm ultra-picky, so I look for Talon or YKK zippers on products I buy. These zippers appear absolutely first rate and work as well as they look. BUT, they aren't marked Talon or YKK, so in a concension to economy, VETO may not have used those brands, but that's just my guessing. For a $100+ bag, I'd have expected to see those brands.
>Handle. Oh, I've got no beef with the handle at all, save that I can tell, with a hard life, being plastic, sooner or later, you may need to replace it. Like everything on this bag, it's riveted. That's not bad, per se, but I'd have liked to have seen huckbolt or normal bolts on the handle so that you could 'field replace' this handle. I'm sure if it breaks, you could drill them out and 'maybe' buy a replacement from VETO and re-rivet yourself (or just send back and let them do it), but face it: those of us in the field KNOW stuff breaks and it's darned convenient to keep a spare of something in the event it does and be able to field replace it.

All in all, one incredible piece of engineering. Yes, it's at the top of the mountain, price-wise, for a tool bag, but I'll bet it'll be the last bag you buy.

I bought my husband one of the VETO PRO PAC tool bags for Christmas last year. He loves it and so do all his friends, so much so three of them have gone out and bought their own! Since getting one for Christmas my husband has given two or three Veto Pro Pacs away as gifts and they have never disappointed.This tool bag is head and shoulders above the bucket boss and gatemouth bags. Thank you VETO PRO PAC for finally making a tool bag that works.

As a remodeling contractor, I've also tried many different tool boxes/bags and none of them have been satisfactory...until now. This tool bag is very well designed and well made. Some might consider it alittle spendy, but like any quality tool, you get what you pay for. My old $50 bag was nothing but a dust catcher. You don't have to worry about being disappointed with this bag...there's nothing out there like it.

I am constantly looking for the right bag to haul my tools to and from the site. When I saw the quality of the veto pro-pak I had to have it. The quality is superior to any of the competition. It has more storage than necessary and I now wish I had chosen the smaller version (which would be much more suitable for any mechanical trades basic set of hand tools). This bag is HEAVY and LARGE. The latter which meant for me adding more tools than I need to fill up the cavernous interior. Naturally making it even more hefty. If you are a plumber or electrician and work for someone who supplies the big tools opt for the smaller version, I believe it will suit you just fine (hammer and hacksaw fit the xl but I'm not sure about small version). Once again Veto tool bags are the highest quality in my opinion and I wouldn't settle for less (only when it comes to weight).

I bought this bag at a local hardware store. I paid $110 for it and I thought it was the bee's knee's!
It is made well. Not sure where it is made though because no where here nor on the manufactures website is anything listed about where it is made. I would suspect forign made though or it would be proudly posted if made in USA.
If you have a lot of hand tools like screwdrivers and pliers, it would do well for you. BUT if you carry a cordless drill and other things like that, FORGET IT! I had to return it because there is very limited space for items like that.
I also checked out the XXL! That bag is huge length wize, but it lacks room heigth wize. My large screwdrivers and pump pliers would not fit in the pockets.
If they make the XXL as tall as the XL, I would buy it. Until then, I bought the BucketBoss 06500 Extreme Gear 06500 ToolBoss Vertical Tool Organizer with GateMouth. It has all the room I need! Lots of tool pockets and a large tool storage area. Now I just need someone to carry it around!

I decided to spring for a Veto, and I spent part of this evening moving all my hand tools into the new bag -- the model XL, for a $120.

I cleaned everything from a Husky bag (the $35 one from HD), and still had room to spare, even though it is way more compact than the Husky.

For that kind of money, you'd expect the thing to be well made -- and it is. Head and shoulders above anything else I've seen -- CLC, Bucket Boss stuff, the HD Husky bags, etc. Only time will tell how it holds up, but it looks like something you would end up handing down to your kid.

But what impressed me most was the careful thought that went into its design. There is a nice combination of smaller pockets for specific tools -- torpedo, channelock, etc -- and wider pockets that will hold two or three pliers, for instance. Each side is identically configured with pockets. There's a 2-3" kind of tray at the bottom of the bag on each side, which is just long enough to comfortably fit a hammer, Wonder bar.

At first, I didn't see the logic of the zippered cover on each side. The bag has a slightly triangular shape (when looking at it from the end), and when the flaps are zippered up, it is really easy to carry -- no tools hitting the side of your leg, doorways. the handle is big and substantial, and they also provide a heavy duty shoulder strap.

You really have to load this thing up with your tools to appreciate it.


EDIT: I bought this bag last November and have been using it hard for about four months now. It has held up extremely well -- nary a sign of the wear and tear it has been through.

Functionally, I would say it has worked out even better than I expected it would. After you use it for awhile, you start to remember which tool goes in which pocket -- and from that point on, it is very quick and easy to find particular tools. No rummaging around in a tool box.

I still very highly recommend this tool bag.

this bag is well worth the price. it holds a boat load of hand tools and they all stay put! it wont hold small power tools like some of the other bags, but who shows up to work with one bag? they need to speed up the process of making the two other size bags so i can buy them as well! a top notch "over built" product! -ian

Most of the other reviewers are critical of the bulk and weight of this bag. They are correct, but realistically, any bag that can hold a large amount of tools would have to be this hefty. Think about why you want to buy this thing. If you want a tool tote, think again. Loaded down, this thing is almost uncarryable. It's role for me is more of a portable organizer, something I leave in the truck and access as needed. And at that role, this bag is the best I have seen.
My only criticism is that it lacks a large compartment that could accomodate a small socket set or similarly sized blowmolded case

I've only had this bag for two months and so far I can say Im very happy with it. As an electrician for twenty years, I wish I would have found this item sooner. After years of using cheap bags that offer minimal tool organization, this bag is excellent if you appreciate being able to find the tool you need without having to rummage through everything to find it, I also enjoy the fact that with a quick lookover, I know if I have all of my tools before leaving a project. The XL might be slightly larger than I would've needed, but the added space does come in handy. Even with all of my hand tools in place, there is room to toss in a drill, heat gun, etc. on top. The overall construction seems to be very durable. The bag is heavy, but I think its worth the price for something that works very well.