When you’re carrying a lot of heavy tools, having a good backpack can make work a lot easier.
The best electricians backpack should be comfortable, have lots of pockets and storage space, have padded straps, and a strong impact-resistant base.
In our quest to find the ideal electricians backpack – we review the Top 10 Electricians Tool Backpacks of 2024. Let’s jump straight into the reviews.
- 39 pockets for tons of tool storage
- Molded, waterproof underside
- Front zipper pocket for small parts
- A huge number of pockets (48 in total)
- Fully padded back and handles
- Heavy duty impact-resistant base
- Lighted tool backpack (LED light)
- Padded & adjustable shoulder straps
- Excellent value for the money
Contents
Best Electricians Backpack
Klein Tools Backpack – Best Overall
Our top pick for a heavy-duty tool backpack is the Klein model. It boasts an impressive 39 pockets, designed to snugly fit a variety of tool shapes, ensuring your gear stays organized and easily accessible.
There is even a molded hard pocket on the face of the bag that is designed to protect your safety glasses from being crushed (although a good set of electricians safety glasses should be able to take a beating).
Made out of 1680d ballistic weave, this tool backpack is one of the most durable options on the market.
While it may be a little more expensive than some of the most affordable models, this backpack isn’t as pricey as its high-end competitors, yet it retains comparable build quality.
The shoulder straps on this bag feature additional padding to help keep it comfortable over the course of a long day. There are also integrated carry handles that make this bag easier to move around when it’s off your back.
The molded base of this model is also resistant to water, letting you place it nearly anywhere.
Despite its excellent capacity, this electricians’ backpack is more compact than some of its larger competitors. This bag is designed to be taller than it is wide, which will make it more comfortable on your back and will allow you to store longer screwdrivers without placing them diagonally.
Check Price- A lot of interior space
- Taller than it is wide
- Molded, waterproof underside
- Made of durable ballistic weave
- No bells and whistles like LED lights
Milwaukee Tool Backpack – Premium Choice
For those willing to invest slightly more for premium quality, the Milwaukee backpack offers exceptional value. It’s modestly priced above our top pick but stands out for its enhanced features and durability.
For your money, you’ll get a few extra features and more internal capacity, bringing the total number of pockets up to 48.
Two of these pockets are external, and they feature hardshell protection to ensure that sensitive electronics and other things don’t get damaged in transit. This backpack is also better-prepared for heavy loads, as it doesn’t only have straps, but a load-bearing harness that distributes the weight more evenly.
This harness is even breathable, which helps prevent them from getting too hot while the bag is on your back, leading to discomfort.
The base of this backpack is designed to resist impacts, so you won’t have to be too careful when you plop it down, even when it’s loaded full of tools and equipment.
Just like our previous backpack, this one from Milwaukee is made out of 1680d ballistic fabric, leading to superior durability.
Even though it can fit so many tools, this backpack is still reasonably portable, so you won’t have any trouble fitting through doorways or maneuvering yourself through a job site.
Check Price- A total of 48 pockets
- Load-bearing harness
- Fully padded
- Impact-resistant base
- Slightly higher price than alternatives (but worth it)!
Dewalt Tool Backpack – Great Value
The Dewalt backpack strikes the perfect balance between cost and quality, delivering outstanding value. It’s priced competitively, yet it packs a punch with features that outshine its price tag. For a similar price to our best overall model, you’ll get a backpack with features like a directable LED light with three levels of brightness.
This tool backpack also features the most pockets yet, with 48 internal pockets and 9 on the exterior making for a total of 57 places to store your tools.
The multi-use pockets are designed for a wide variety of tools, so you can avoid the headaches associated with more specialized storage spaces.
The base of this backpack even features feet that can help reduce the amount of wear that you’ll have to deal with when putting it on the ground, extending the bag’s lifespan.
Dewalt has also made sure that this backpack is fully padded to help keep you comfortable over the course of long days.
On the front of this bag, you’ll find a zippered pocket that is easy to access. This is designed for the tools that you use most frequently, and it gives you access to them without having to root around in your bag. As an added bonus, the batteries for the flip-up LED come included.
Check Price- Lighted tool backpack (LED light)
- Padded handles and adjustable shoulder straps
- 57 pockets
- Feet on the base
- Excellent value for the money
- Zippers get caught
CLC Tool Backpack
The CLC tool backpack is a more affordable alternative to the Dewalt model that we just covered, and they feature many of the same capabilities. For example, this one comes equipped with an LED light in nearly the same spot, and it only features four fewer pockets for a total of 54.
Out of these pockets, 28 of them are designed to hold tools, 14 are meant for accessories, and 11 of them are multi-use.
If you need to fit large tools in this bag, there are also two straps installed in it. This backpack also comes with an enlarged base pad to prevent abrasion from wearing the bottom away.
Comfort is a necessity in any backpack tool kit, and this model is no different. It comes with padded shoulders and a sternum strap that can help keep it in place when it’s fully loaded.
The dual compartment design of this tool bag also allows you to reach all of your tools without having to close the other side.
While this backpack scores high on affordability, it slightly lags in durability. The pocket design and construction quality don’t quite match up to our top choices, but it remains a solid option for those on a budget.
While it’s more affordable than the Dewalt bag, this one doesn’t feature as many multi-use pockets, making it less versatile.
- Reasonable price
- Straps for large tools
- Equipped with an LED
- Durability
Veto Tool Backpack
The Veto Tool Backpack is a great option for buyers who want something a little more compact and are willing to pay more for superior quality.
This bag is about three times more expensive than anything we’ve seen up until this point, but there are a few unique features that promise to make it worth it.
This tool backpack with laptop compartment is designed to be as rugged as possible while still minimizing weight.
The Tech Pac LT is designed around its center panel, which provides structural rigidity as well as a place to store your tools, and the two-sided design gives you some additional storage room.
You can fit a laptop up to 15 inches large in this bag, and the base is injection-molded to make it waterproof.
Overall, the build quality is the main reason to pick up this tool backpack, as this model is built to last for years to come.
However, a few things hold this bag back from greatness, and the main issue is the price. We wouldn’t have hesitated to rate this as our best overall model if it were about half as pricey.
The final nail in the coffin is that this bag only features 27 storage pockets, which pales in comparison to the competition.
- Excellent build quality
- Room for laptops up to 15”
- Waterproof base
- Compact
- Too expensive
- Not enough pockets
Fluke Tool Backpack
The Pack30 from Fluke is another relatively pricey choice, though it has a few features that help justify the cost. This bag is designed around superior organization, and it is split into six storage compartments that help make it easy to find what you’re looking for.
These compartments are further divided into 30 tool pockets, and this makes it easier to keep a mental map of where you have everything.
While this won’t be much help months down the line, the logical layout can help you memorize where you’ve placed things when you’re still getting used to the bag.
This bag is also meant to be durable, and it comes equipped with molded EVA sections along the face and top, shielding the contents of your bag. As with other heavy-duty bags, this one has an injection molded base that will prevent water from infiltrating through the bottom.
If you need to bring some electronics with you, this bag features a 12-inch pocket for tablets and small laptops.
As for the downsides, we were disappointed by how this bag wouldn’t stand up on its own when both halves were opened. We also found that the price was a little excessive when we compared it to some of the other choices.
Check Price- Tablet compartment
- EVA tool shields
- Easy to remember tool placement
- Too pricey for its capabilities
- Won’t stand when open
Carhartt Legacy Tool Backpack
For customers that need a stylish work backpack, this model from Carhartt is the right choice.
Available in black, brown, or grey, this work backpack combines form and function into a single, well-priced package. Another advantage is that this bag is far more compact than many of its competitors.
If you often bring electronics with you to the work site, then you’ll appreciate the inclusion of a 15-inch laptop compartment in this bag.
The bag itself is made out of 1200d polyester that has been coated in Rain Defender Plus water repellent to help keep your tools and devices safe.
There is also an exterior organizer pocket that can help you keep bits and other accessories in order while they remain easy to access. The padded shoulder straps feature a contoured fit, and the back panel features a mesh with air channels to keep you comfortable during the summer or in hot work environments.
While everything up until this point has been positive, this bag has a single major disadvantage. The Carhartt bag is designed as a basic work backpack, so it won’t feature any of the specialized tool pockets that you’d expect to see in an electricians’ bag. This means that you’ll have to keep things organized yourself.
Check Price- Waterproof coating
- Device storage pockets
- Stylish
- No tool pockets
- Main pocket doesn’t zip all the way down
Rugged Tools Backpack
The Rugged Tools backpack lives up to its name by being one of the most durable options on this list.
Made out of 1680d polyester, this backpack is meant for busy jobsites where your bag may have to put up with some additional wear and tear.
The shell design of this backpack is semi-hard to provide additional structural rigidity and protection for your tools. There is also a hard bottom that keeps the bag from being damaged when it’s on the floor.
The molded bottom plays the secondary role of ensuring that the bag stays upright when it’s open.
Keep in mind that this bag is about more than just durability, and we’d argue that its second-greatest strength is comfort. Both the back and the straps on this bag are fully padded. The back panel is also designed to enhance lumbar support, making it healthier for your spine in the long run.
To ensure that the weight is distributed properly, this bag even has a sternum strap. So what kept this bag from making it to the top three? The zippers. This bag features horrendous zippers that will sometimes slip their tracks, so you’ll have one half of the zipper that’s further down the track than the other half.
- Very durable
- Fully padded
- Extra lumbar support
- Poorly made zippers
- A little bulky
Craftsman Tool Backpack
Honestly, the Craftsman backpack would be a decent pick if it were significantly cheaper. Given its current price, which is on par with our best overall choice, its value proposition falls short, making it hard to recommend.
At first, this seems like any other tool bag, with a molded base, padded straps, and everything else that you need, but that’s until you get your hands on it.
From the moment that you pull this bag out of the box, you can feel that it’s cheaply made, with zippers that rattle on their tracks and don’t run half the time, poorly-stitched panels, and worse.
Within a few minutes of starting our review, we’d already had one strap begin to rip and a zipper out of alignment.
As we mentioned, these oversights would be acceptable in a product that’s 25% of the price, but this bag isn’t even in the budget price range.
We’ve struggled to find a single positive aspect in this product. So far, the only thing we can come up with is the padding.
However, you’ll be lucky if you ever get to feel the padding before one of the straps breaks, leaving you with what is essentially an inconvenient case for your tools.
Check Price- Padding is pretty good
- Build quality
- Price
- Zippers won’t stay aligned
- Straps are prone to damage
Greenlee Tool Backpack
Finally, we’ll cover the Greenlee Tool Backpack, which has a few unique features that help set it apart from the competition.
One of the most notable differences is that this bag features a customizable nameplate. When you buy this bag, you can provide Greenlee with your name, and they’ll embroider it right onto the bag.
When it comes to performance, this bag is designed to be durable, and it’s made out of a mix of polyester and ripstop nylon.
The base of this bag is made of impact-resistant plastic that is also waterproof. All of this comes together to make for a bag that will keep your tools safe and dry.
There is also reflective piping around the exterior of this bag that will help make it easy to find when you’re working in darker areas. The thermoformed pocket on this bag is meant for safety glasses and other delicate items that may get crushed or otherwise damaged when in transit.
To help keep the wearer comfortable, this bag is equipped with S-strap shoulder straps that are designed with ergonomics in mind. The only thing that has held this bag back from the top three is its price. This bag would be worth it at about 25% off when you compare it to its more affordable competitors.
- Embroidered nameplate
- Easy to see in the dark
- Durable
- Too pricey