I remember when a tool set like this used to cost several hundred dollars

I'm a dude, therefore I like tools.

The fact you can get the 228-piece tool set seen above for cheap or the 158-piece version for even less is incredible - especially considering every piece meets or exceeds ANSI standards (meaning the tools will actually last), and it all fits in one case.

I have a tool bag, because of course I do. In that bag is a big ol' pile of tools that are absolutely not organized at all. Every time I need a tool to do something, I have to dig through the bag to find whatever thing I need to do the thing I need to get done. Yes, it's annoying.

How come I don't have a proper tool set case? The tools I have are a collection of them I've bought over the years. If I needed a certain tool, I would just get that tool only. Or, if I were forced to buy a set, I'd get the smallest set possible.

The end result of this is the pile of unorganized stuff in the bag that can never be organized since nothing goes with anything else.

Bear in mind this does not include the crap I have outside the bag. I have electronics tools, guitar tools, car tools, a special torx set just for working on older Garmin GPSes, a socket set (which thankfully does have a case) and so on.

I even have tools where I know what they do but I don't know what they're called. An example of that is this thing to remove larger plastic rivets. My car has these rivets, and I need to remove a few whenever a tail light change is required. What's the tool called? No idea. I've seen it labeled as a clip puller, auto clip fastener remover, and it has other names. What's the proper name? WHO KNOWS? But I know what it does, I have one, and also know there is no way at all to store it properly because of its odd shape, so in the tool bag it goes.

If I got the tool kit above - as in the 228-piece one specifically - I'm certain that would replace a lot of loose tools I have. I should really get one.

Published 2022 Sep 20