Sorry but it's coming from someone that was known for years as the roving toolbox. All my friends went out to
play, I was stuck at home carrying the water..... as it were.
My
call sign on the radio was Rogue I, still is in many ways careerwise in that I'm never a part of a crew. I was most often indipendant party in fixing anything but taking pride in traveling heavy. This back than after the crews did the main part of the work of which my crew most often set records in getting stuff done fastest - that time afterwards when most would be distributing tables or un-loading trucks, I was wandering about fixing deadbolt locks or doing other special projects.
Should some day - if you do become that Rogue tech person status and on the professional
level - by choice than perhaps in needing to be able to do anything perhaps it's time to reconsider. Not something I recommend unless walking around a
park all day at times a half mile from a fresh battery or more drywall screws with a few million people between you and getting into your golf cart to drive back for more supplies. That's why I started traveling heavy as I hated walking back for gear, much less you set a tool down like a screw gun and turn your back and it very likely would be stolen. Most of us traveled fairly heavy those days and we even had
bumper mounted tool boxes for our cushman carts. I just traveled a
bit more heavy than most where they had a crew to carry 5gal. buckets full of batteries and spare parts.
I am of course wrong, in your option for this vest having been a very good idea. I just wanted to caution you against what I became known for. I had been many years the
butt of jokes even if useful. First be useful, than by choice be that
butt of the joke.
Let's see in my day (as it were), I had a black military style tool belt with linesmens pliers holster, ring for 22oz hammer, electrician's pouch for various screw drivers, wrenches and ready access things such as a
utility knife speed square, reinforced Wagner
Power scraper with knife like chisel
edge and torpedo
level, a padded camera
lens pouch for screws, and my military
butt pack which had two extra batteries, stuff like
plumbers tape, spare scenery bolts, tie
wire, cable ties,
duct tape, #10 fender washers, 14.4v battery
system based xenon flash light, mini pry bar, extra saw blade and screw gun tips,
etc. and a shoulder holster for my cordless drill. This in addition to the cordless saw on a shoulder strap.
It was all "well distributed" though the belt itself probably weighed 30# and by the end of the day taking my boots off was a good thing. Though I had military suspenders/harness for it, I never used them.
I was still in shape from the days in the military where I would be using my
butt pack to carry at times a poncho, almost a day's worth or rations (sometimes stuck in long crew chief meetings) socks,
etc. in addition to the normal combat loading of first aid, gun magazines and water. Only major difference was lack of suspenders and body armor, much less the local police probably would not want my shoulder strap mounted K-Bar with
compass case attached as a part of my work gear - though it would be an awsome rope cutter. All in all, a good 12 years of me traveling heavy between the military and next six years in working special events.
Took many years to lighten my load, granted my
road box weighs well over 3/4 ton now thus it sits up on blocks so the casters don't get a
flat spot on them. Normally in the shop I just have the Nextel and a folding
utility knife these days.
Used to be when I started traveling lighter, (as a
stage electrician instead of a carpenter) back than I had a 1"
webbing belt with 16' tape measure, linesemens pliers, camera case (like a chulk case for repelling but it closes and has seperations) for various parts and black Bucket Buddy pouch for the Fluke 1AC
voltage sniffer, electrician's
scissors, silver and black sharpee, aluminum encased pen, Leatherman, Mag Light, 8" Insulated
C-Wrench, and Shop keys. This also a tape
fob.
Than as needed:
Conduit Pliers,
Wire Strippers, Dikes, philips, and two
flat head screw drivers would fit into the pouch. I wear it now only when I'm on a project away from my work table - such as in a semi-trailer in wiring it up for display purposes. Granted most of my work comes to see me or I'll either walk to my work area for tools or use what's laying around.
In any case, traveling light allows me to travel light. While I'm not on shows, traveling light still has it's advantages in if nothing else you don't get as warn down by carying all those tools all day long in a long day.
Hope it helps. I do hate to post about something that would be the best solution, but I also remember the days of traveling heavy both as necessity and out of coolness in me automatically having it but also being the but of most jokes when it came to roaving tool box type jokes.