There is an old adage - give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, give him a fishing rod and he’ll learn to eat for the rest of his life (or something like that). When my parents handed me Usag Tools “Rally Driver’s Tool Kit” in the early 1990’s the fish or rod wisdom was surely foremost in their minds - give our Land Rover travelling son a quality set of tools and he’ll probably get wherever he is headed in life. I have added a few Land Rover specific tools over the years, but the core set has been on every trip and worked through all of the repairs and maintentance on my trucks since.
The tool set does fit into the Usag tool roll. I found it cumbersome to use and split it into the roll and plastic containers shown in the photo. The result was better organized but took up additional space and required the retrieval of multiple containers to complete simple repairs. After seeing the quality construction of Adventure Trail Gear's Tool Bag at Toronto, Canada's Red Bear Outdoors - I ordered one in my Land Rover's blue and high-contrast neon green for that 1980’s vibe when laying open on the side of a road beside our 1984 Land Rover 110.
I have had a chance to pack it and use it and have found the following:
Overall - the Adventure Trail Gear's Tool Bag is priced right, thoughtfully designed and constructed here in Canada, and is a solid solution to my tool organization and storage issues.
A final thought, tools do the work but fasteners and parts complete the repairs. My spares list is due its own article, but next time you undo a fastener while replacing a water pump, or remove a hub bolt, or even change your lubricants - order some new bolts or plugs and pack the old ones. Bolts break, drain plugs or lug nuts get misplaced and having a spare is an easy way to not be the shearpin of your travelling family, to earn some karma with other travellers or just get home.
Oh, and don’t forget your precision measuring instruments - like the one my daughter made me back in her backward “3” era.
