Several different styles of hammer hooks have hung off my belt over the last 30 years.  Over that time there have been a few newfangled hammer hanging devices but nothing that appealed to me.  One hammer-hanger that recently did pass the sniff test is the FastCap Hammer Holster.  It’s a heavy-duty nylon sleeve with a wide belt loop.  The sleeve angles back at 15 degrees, which is different than the straight-drop hook style I’m used to.  But after a month my hand has become used to extracting my hammer slightly forward rather than just straight up. 

There’re a couple of advantages to the fully enclosed handle sleeve and the backsweeping angle of the Hammer Holster.  The hammer is much less likely to hang up or pop out when I’m shimmying between roof trusses, climbing through floor joists or crawling around an attic.  The angled-back orientation and fabric construction naturally folds upwards when squatting or sitting whereas an ordinary exposed handle would jamb into my leg or pop out of a hook.  And the nylon is a lot easier on walls and woodwork than hard wire when working finish jobs.

The Hammer Holster has a smaller outer sleeve that’s perfect for a nail puller or small flatbar.  I’ve found that feature alone is worth the $9.95 price tag.

The inside face of the belt loop is covered with a Velcro hook surface – I suppose to mount on a specialty tool belt system (there’s no mention of the function on the FastCap site or packaging).  Since I use a regular leather belt, the Velcro faces my torso and are irritating when wearing just a T shirt.  I resorted to unstitching the Velcro strip; a 10 minute fix.

Unfortunately FastCap leaves leftys out in the cold.  Unlike conventional hammer hooks that are reversible, the Hammer Holster only works on the right side due to the backsweep angle.

Street Price:  $9.95

www.fastcap.com

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