Belt Hooks - Please

[qadsan]

A belt hook is another feature I look for in drills, impact drivers / wrenches and it sure would be nice to have on smaller sub-compact tools including a reciprocating saw when Dewalt decides to enter that market here in the US.

We use the belt hooks on our Hitachi and M18 tools all the time.  They save us extra trips upstairs and they give us a place to temporarily put our tools when were on a ladder and need both hands for other tasks.  While waiting in line at Circuit City during their closeout sale a few weeks back, a company had three of their workers there to hang a large banner sign across the face of the building above the entrance.  The guy on the ladder used a Dewalt hammer drill to drill a hole and would then lower the drill on a rope to the worker on the ground.  The guy on the ground would then raise up a hammer and so the guy on the ladder could tap in the anchor.  The guy on the ladder would then lower the hammer to the guy on the ground and them climb down the ladder ~6 feet to where he was going to make another hole.  Once the guy on the ground tied the drill back onto the rope, the guy on the ladder would raise it back up and the process continued this way (painfully slow) for ~8 holes.  The guy on the ladder was even wearing a belt and I couldn't help but think how much faster that task would have been completed if the guy on the ladder always had his tools within reach (belt hook).

Not everybody needs or likes a belt hook and that's why I like what Milwaukee offers, which is a bolt on solution.  It's available if you want it, but you don't have to install or use it.  I also like the longer adjustable belt hook arm on my Hitachi tools.  If my belt is full and can't easily fit the drill I need on my belt, the adjustability of Hitachi's belt hook sometimes means the difference between being able to put the tool on my belt or not.  Personally, I'd like to see Dewalt have some kind of built in belt hook that folds out or pops out when needed, otherwise it stays locked in place and out of the way when you don't want / need it.  An adjustable belt hook would also be nice, but just having a functional belt hook is a step in the right direction for our needs.