5 Grainger Tools To Complete Your Travel Toolbox

When you're ready to hit the road, it helps to be prepared. Chances are you're already equipped with many of the essentials to keep you and your loved ones safe while driving, such as spare tires, lug wrenches, and extra fluids. Even then, it can be easy to overlook little tools that can be a big help while traveling. Whether solving a problem big or small, there are few companies trusted to handle the task as Grainger. 

For nearly 100 years, Grainger has been a leading name in innovative supply distribution. There's hardly an industry that hasn't benefited from Grainger's varied and durable products, with a seemingly endless array of tools available for home mechanics, electricians, plumbers, mailroom services, and more. But even for the average Joe looking to boost their handyman capabilities, the company has no shortage of items that you're bound to find useful. For those who want to get it done while out and about, we rounded up some of Grainger's best tools that will make your safe travels even safer. 

Pliers are great household items, but they're equally efficient while on the road. Whether checking fuses, tightening clamps, cutting pieces, or handling something hot or messy, a good plier set can certainly come in handy. There are a good few brands to choose from when looking at Grainger, but few make as good travel companions as Knipex's selection. 

Sold in either two or three plier kits, Knipex sells a solid assortment of tools suited for a variety of jobs, including water pumps, chain noses, and high-leverage diagonal cutting. Some also come equipped with a belt tool pouch. The pouches are surprisingly roomy, so if you prefer having larger pliers on hand, you can easily fit them into the pouch and take out Kniex's smaller pliers. Additionally, the pouch has a velcro strap side that can be used to carry additional tools such as screwdrivers. Whichever kit you choose, you'll be hard-pressed to find a more travel-friendly plier set anywhere else. 

Whether at home, on a hiking or camping trip, or taking a ride, a Swiss army knife is hard to go wrong with in any situation. If a certain tool isn't readily available or is hard to locate at the moment, these multi-purpose devices can be absolute life savers. Grainger has a number of these handy tools available, with the most prolific of these brands easily being the always-trusty Victorinox. 

Having been in the game since the late 1800s, Victorinox has built an enduring reputation as the world's leading Swiss army knife creator. The company's selection ranges in complexity from simple three-tool sets to decked-out 16-tool varieties, with its most varied product being the Workchamp line. While its array of tools depends on the knife, they normally all come equipped with blades, files, scissors, tweezers, screwdrivers, bottle openers, and wire strippers. Victorinox Swiss Army knives come in full, pocket, and keychain-sized varieties as well as a wide assortment of colors, making them the perfect handy gadget to take along on any excursion. 

As important as it is to have a flashlight on hand while traveling, they aren't always the most practical. If you need to check under your hood or below your car while also using other tools, having to either hold or awkwardly position a flashlight can quickly become an annoyance. Having a headlamp can alleviate many of these concerns, and having a Streamlight Bandit Pro Rechargeable Headlamp will make you forget all about them.

Streamlight carries a number of high-performance headlamps under Grainger, but the Bandit Pro series edges them out thanks to its long lifespan and versatility. A good charge can have this tool last for upwards of four and a half hours on a maximum brightness of 180 lumens. Additionally, it offers three simple modes: high brightness, low brightness, and flashing. It also possesses an IPX4 weather-resistant rating, although it isn't fully waterproof. Nevertheless, the combined simplicity and skill present in this model should be more than enough to suit your travel needs. 

It can be easy to overlook your tires before going for a drive. Regularly checking that your tire pressure is in proper order will not only save you some awkward hours standing on the side of the road, but it can quite literally be life-saving. That's why devices such as the Bosch TPA 300 TPMS Programming Tool are a must-have for the common traveler. 

Equipped with a power charger, carrying case, and USB cable, the TPA 300 makes for a versatile piece of technology. It supports all OE and aftermarket programmable sensors for average vehicles. Additionally, it sports a full-color interface that makes it a breeze to use the device and service any sensors. They make for efficient tools, with the ability to reset your electric control unit within two minutes when used alongside a Bosch diagnostic scan tool. With so much offered in such a portable package, having a Bosch TPA 300 TPMS Programming Tool on your next ride is a no-brainer. 

Having a travel toolbox is pretty pointless if you aren't able to travel. A dead or dying car battery is the last thing we want to experience while preparing to hit the road, which is not an uncommon occurrence for cars exposed to extreme temperatures or that mostly get used for frequent short trips. Whether or not you think it's needed, a NOCO Genius Battery Charger can make all the difference for people on the move.

While there are plenty of stellar car battery chargers on the market to choose from, such as Westward and Schumacher Electric, NOCO is unmatched in its combination of power and portability. These high-performing devices currently come in four models, Genius1, Genius2, Genius5, and Genius10, with each version larger than the last. Even then, the Genius10 only comes in at 3.3 pounds, making for an item that's easy to both handle and travel with. On top of this, every model from Genius2 and up is water- and dust-proof. They can handle a variety of battery types, including wet cells, gel cells, enhanced flood, lead acid, and calcium-based batteries. They are compatible with lithium-ion batteries as well, although it's important to ensure you're using a battery management system.