Many businesses have clothing that bears their names or logos. Employees wear it or the company may sell it or give it to loyal customers and important prospects.

Many tradesmen and women are proud to wear the brand of products they use and trust. Wearables are an effective method of adding visibility to brand names.

Tool makers have expanded accessory lines to include many products, which brings brand names to new markets. Examples include wet/dry vacuums, compact battery­-powered lights, ice chests, fans, space heaters, chain saws, lawn equipment and even work-site coffee pots.

Milwaukee Tool, Brookfield, Wis., offers a line of work clothing made of durable, breathable fabrics to provide all-day protection from the elements. Milwaukee Workwear is specifically designed for all job-site conditions, with the ability to layer base, mid and outer jackets/shells or wear separately.

“We recently expanded our Bolt head protection and accessories system,” said Zach Richman, director of product marketing for personal protective equipment (PPE). “These earmuffs are designed to be adjustable and provide comfort while reducing harmful noises on the job site. Bolt is the only complete head protection and accessories lineup. This is the first system that allows electricians to secure accessories simultaneously for a complete head protection solution.”

The Bolt system contains a lineup of safety helmets and hard hats, clear/tinted eye visors, face shields and headlamps. Bolt helmets and hard hats come with universal accessory slots on each side and mounting points, which enable users to use multiple accessories. If job requirements change, accessories can quickly be swapped out for protection and efficiency on a variety of jobs.

Richman said Milwaukee Tool’s ANSI/ISEA rated Type 1 and Type 2 safety helmets offer top and side impact protection and padded suspension with moisture-wicking liners for more comfort and an adjustable swinging rear ratchet to fit multiple head sizes.

“Our hard hats are all designed for improved comfort while featuring a ratcheting suspension that the user can quickly adjust,” he said. “All our hard hats are Type 1 and offered in both Class C and Class E, as well as two different brim styles.”

Accessories

Not all tool makers have wearable programs, but most offer accessories that complement their tool lines or are useful for electrical and other types of construction work.

Wayne Bunce, managing sales director for North American operations at Jonard Tools, Elmsford, N.Y., said recently added products include the Molded 5-pocket tool pouch, H-50; the Molded 7-pocket tool pouch, H-85; and Molded 7-pocket tool pouch, H-75.

“These three specific pouches are favorites for electricians and technicians in the field,” he said. “They’re lightweight and durable and allow electricians to securely carry their essential tools whether on the ground, up on a ladder or working in tight spaces.”

Bunce added that in addition to molded pouches, Jonard has a line of wearable products, including leather pocket tool pouches, roll-up pouches that can hold more than two dozen tools, rugged carrying cases that can go from a shoulder to securely fastened to a ladder or cherry picker, and the very popular technician’s tool bag backpack.

“Our most popular item with electricians is our H-75 Molded 7-pocket tool pouch,” Bunce said. “The H-75 is made of a rugged PVC material that makes it tough enough to take into any job site, and it fits comfortably on tool belts.”

Ed Selz, business unit manager for Hilti North America, Plano, Texas, said Hilti’s recently launched EXO-S is a wearable shoulder exoskeleton that helps to relieve shoulder and neck fatigue when working above shoulder level on demanding electrical applications such as overhead drilling and cable fixation.

“The EXO-S exoskeleton helps to alleviate upper-body fatigue and pain resulting from repetitive overhead tasks in the electrical trade,” Selz said. “This helps delay muscle fatigue so workers can stay productive and comfortable on the job. The exoskeleton helps protect the workforce at a time when the construction industry is challenged with skilled labor shortages.”

Selz said the system slips on like a backpack while offering more freedom of movement and is easy to adjust to provide a full range of motion for a wide range of body types. As with all of Hilti’s solutions, the EXO-S comes with implementation, training and support services on the job site, which helps to ensure users have the right fit and are able to take advantage of all the benefits of the technology.

Hilti tethers are also useful when working at heights, Selz said.

“When using cordless tools, these shock-absorbing tethers helps reduce potential damage to the tool, injury to workers, and slowdowns on the job,” he said. “Hilti tool tethers are designed for use with Hilti tools and are backed by testing that goes beyond current industry standards.”

Sivan Sasi Shitrit, product manager at DeWalt, Towson, Md., said the spring introduction of DeWalt’s line of the ToughSystem 2.0 offers soft and hard storage solutions. The soft storage features 1,680 denier fabric, dirt-repellent tarpaulin and water-resistant compartments. These professional tool bags are built with enhanced hybrid technology to withstand rough job-site conditions.

“The ToughSystem 2.0 storage lineup is well suited for electricians because it is built to go from shop to van to job site, and anywhere else tools are needed,“ she said. “Its portable, customizable and durable design is ideal for electricians to transport everything from small accessories to large tools.”

The system’s deep compact toolbox is built for maximum durability with metal front latches and an IP65 rating for dust and water resistance to help protect tools. The toolbox offers abundant storage with a volume capacity of 5.3 gallons and up to a 77-pound load capacity. It has a lidded organizer and four removable dividers for holding small tools and accessories. Additional tools can be hung from an integrated tool belt hook on the box’s built-in side handles.

Patented auto-connect side latches and the double-sided adapter plate provide users the option to attach additional storage boxes or over 40 products across various storage lines. The customizable content plate can also be labeled for quick identification of the toolbox’s contents.

Shitrit said two products ideal for electricians are the electrician leather tool pouch and the 11-inch Pro electrician tote. The leather pouch has eight unique pockets, two hammer loops, a tape chain and sleeves for small tools, pencils and more. The tote has 34 pockets for maximum organization and an IP54 water-resistant compartment.

David Mobarak, director of product marketing at Milwaukee Tool, said the company’s expanded line of battery-powered wet/dry vacuums is one of its most useful and popular accessory products.

Those products are the M18 Fuel 6-gallon wet/dry vacuum, M18 Fuel 9-gallon dual-battery wet/dry vacuum and the M18 Fuel 12-gallon dual-battery wet/dry vacuum.

“After working alongside professionals using medium- to large-capacity wet/dry vacuums, we found that users needed cordless solutions that did not sacrifice performance in their demanding applications,” Mobarak said. “The introduction of these solutions to our cordless wet/dry vacuum lineup solved those common user frustrations.

“The flexible and durable vacuum hose prevents tears and kinks that lead to downtime, delivering up to two times the hose life. This vacuum is part of the most versatile wet/dry vacuum system, featuring interchangeable tanks for different holding capacities, power ratings to vary performance and carts for versatile job-site transportation.”

Another useful accessory tool is the Air-Tip conduit line puller kit designed for electricians to seal multiple conduit sizes for strong line-pulling suction. Compatible with the M18 Fuel 6-gallon wet/dry vacuum, this conduit pull line kit includes three different tools to aid users in line-pulling applications, a flexible design tip for use on ½-inch to 1-inch diameter conduit, a flexible design tip for use on 1¼- to 1½-inch conduit, and a 2– to 4-inch conduit tip. The flexible design allows for tight-area fit inside panels or boxes, while the rubber cone seal ensures strong fitment to pipes. And there is a wide selection of tool bags and carrying products in multiple sizes with various configurations to hold and secure tools and small items such as screws.

The Milwaukee Packout modular storage system is a rolling system of stackable containers that can be moved from shop to job site or wherever it’s needed. Container wall plates for quick alignment tabs are on all sides, making installing rows and columns of multiple containers fast and easy. Packout toolboxes, organizers, totes and bags of different sizes come in numerous configurations that provide the best solution for a variety of storage needs.

Header image: Milwaukee Workwear, www.milwaukeetool.com