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So I've got a player running a monk/ranger character who is wanting to buy several skill boost items and tools, most of which aren't explicitly listed in the equipment lists. Just wanting to get some ideas how much these things should cost, should only masterwork quality items confer skill bonuses, and so on.
Specifically,
Scouts garb - +2 bonus to Stealth
Scouts goggles = +2 bonus to Perception
Masterwork Almanac = +2 bonus to Knowledge (Nature), Knowledge (Geography) and Survival
Masterwork Chaps and Spurs = +2 bonus to Ride
Would it be unfair to require the Masterwork Almanac to cost 3 times the normal masterwork price if it is going to confer the bonus to 3 skills, and probably weigh a lot more, due to the amount of comprehensive information it would have to contain to confer all three bonuses?
Tool, Masterwork: This well-made item is the perfect tool for the job. It grants a +2 circumstance bonus on a related skill check (if any). Bonuses provided by multiple masterwork items do not stack.
Tool, masterwork 50 gp 1 lb.
You can buy masterwork items for virtually any skill check. If you wanted to have one that granted a bonus to three skills like that it'd be a house rule, but it seems pretty reasonable to just combine them for a 150gp almanac that weighs 3 lbs.
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I don't really like the Masterwork Tool entry. All the other pre-made tools always have limits on where you can use them. There are already tools for knowledge checks. They are called Pathfinder Chronicles and they take 1d4 full round actions to consult.
Basically, any tool should have a reasonable cost to use. After all, a flat +2 competence bonus is worth 400gp and a magic item slot.
So to take your examples:
Scouts garb = +2 bonus to Stealth In a single natural terrain type. It should weigh about as much as an explorer's outfit.
Scouts goggles = +2 bonus to Perception when visibility is reduced due to rain
Masterwork Almanac = +2 bonus to Knowledge (Nature), Knowledge (Geography) and Survival Takes 1d4 full rounds to gain the benefit
Masterwork Chaps and Spurs = There is already a military saddle, and that only gives you a bonus to stay in the saddle. I'd let masterwork spurs give you a +2 bonus to controlling an untrained mount in battle
Ultimately, I think a character should only have a few tools to help those tasks that are really important to them. Otherwise you have characters with 35 masterwork tools and a +2 bonus to all skills :S I think that is against the spirit of the rules.
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If any of my PCs were willing to spend 1,750gp and carry around 35 lbs. of miscellaneous gear I think they'd deserve their circumstance bonuses.
The only thing I'd change is that you obviously can't use a book to improve your knowledge check as a free action; you'd need to spend some time to consult it, as with the chronicles.
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I never had any problem with masterwork tools. +2 feels like a lot more than it actually is. The typical skill monkey can have as high as a +9 to half his skills at first level without any bonus to them from race, class, or inventory.
Mostly, masterwork tools are just cool to have. They're one of the very few things that allow true customization in Pathfinder Society and the like. A player can say that his character is wearing Masterwork Badass Goggles, and will likely be the only person with that item, since he designed it. Albeit, "design" basically just entails naming it and picking a skill, but my point remains. You get to make something.
Note that Ultimate Equipment has a longer section on masterwork tools, on p. 78. It basically agrees with a lot of what Knight Magenta wrote -- tools should either have a limited number uses (a la the healing kit) or apply only to some aspects of a skill.
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I doubt that passage will have a place in PFS. When players start adding broad, undefined mechanical features to the game in an organized play environment (in this case, penalties to masterwork tools), it's chaos. One GM thinks it's a reasonable drawback, the next GM thinks it's too lenient, and so on.