Can we talk tool chests?

[Kevin B.]

Wife wants to know what I want for Christmas. I'm looking at this Kobalt 42" combo: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-42-in-13-Drawer-Tool-Chest-and-Cabinet-Set/1002604766. Looks like way more storage for the money than anything else out there, comparable Husky/Craftsman/Harbor Freight chests are all several hundred more.

I've stood in front of all of them and pushed them around the floor and opened and closed all the drawers and I'm not seeing a huge difference, but I haven't loaded any of them down with hundreds of pounds of tools and then abused them for a year either. Anybody with a Kobalt chest or one of the others in the sub-$800 range want to chime in?

 

[jeeper]

Drawer count is where any cost difference comes from in the box store boxes. I have a Husky that I have been happy with. I think any of the boxes will be good enough. I do have power strips in the top that have turned out to be more usable than I anticipated.

 

[jeeper]

This one has a little more area, and 1 more drawer for the same price.

Husky 46 in. 14-Drawer Tool Chest and Cabinet Combo in Black-H46CH6TR8 - The Home Depot

Upgrade your garage or workspace with the Husky 46 in. 14-Drawer Tool Chest and Cabinet Combo. This premium duty tool storage unit provides 26,067 cu. in. of storage space within the 14-drawers and top

www.homedepot.com

 

[mbryson]

I've got a couple Husky boxes that leave a little to be desired. They still work but some of the drawers seem to have popped a spot weld or two over the years. I think I've had the Husky box in question for about 7-8 years?

 

[Gravy]

2 years ago I bought the 52-in husky soft close combo and I'm glad. I really like Kobalt stuff but the Husky felt nicer. I got mine open box off the showroom floor for a little bit of a deal.

The difference between the standard and heavy duty is the slides are 20% higher weight rated, slightly thicker guage steel and 22" deep drawers.

I will say I have all Kobalt hand and 24v battery tools and like them much better than Husky though.

Husky Heavy-Duty 52 in. W 15-Drawer, Deep Combination Tool Chest and Rolling Cabinet Set in Matte Black H52CH6TR9HD - The Home Depot

For the perfect storage solution for your garage tool kit, look no further than this Heavy-Duty 52 in. W 15-Drawer, Deep Combo Tool Chest and Rolling Cabinet Set. Each black tool chest and cabinet set

www.homedepot.com

 

[Kevin B.]

This one has a little more area, and 1 more drawer for the same price.

Husky 46 in. 14-Drawer Tool Chest and Cabinet Combo in Black-H46CH6TR8 - The Home Depot

Upgrade your garage or workspace with the Husky 46 in. 14-Drawer Tool Chest and Cabinet Combo. This premium duty tool storage unit provides 26,067 cu. in. of storage space within the 14-drawers and top

www.homedepot.com

Nice, not sure how I missed that.

edit - How did you find that? It's not in Home Depot's search.

 

[jeeper]

2 years ago I bought the 52-in husky soft close combo and I'm glad. I really like Kobalt stuff but the Husky felt nicer. I got mine open box off the showroom floor for a little bit of a deal.

I will say I have all Kobalt hand and 24v battery tools and like them much better than Husky though.

Husky Heavy-Duty 52 in. W 15-Drawer, Deep Combination Tool Chest and Rolling Cabinet Set in Matte Black H52CH6TR9HD - The Home Depot

For the perfect storage solution for your garage tool kit, look no further than this Heavy-Duty 52 in. W 15-Drawer, Deep Combo Tool Chest and Rolling Cabinet Set. Each black tool chest and cabinet set

www.homedepot.com

I have the same, got mine with a bent lid for 25% off, and a quick smack of a mallet had it fixed.

 

[Gravy]

@jeeper I remembered you have the same one as me!
I think I paid $750 or $799 because it was a showroom model and had a missing key (that they mailed me).
Do you still like it? The deeper drawers and higher rated sliders make the experience just a little nicer than the standard version.

 

[Gravy]

@Kevin B. that Kobalt one has 18" deep drawers and the Husky @jeeper linked only has 15" deep ones or maybe I'm reading that wrong? I'd go in with a tape measure... It's hard to read the actual drawer dimensions on the Kobalt.
Either way the standard duty ones are 21 guage. Vs 18 guage on the hds

 

[Kevin B.]

@Kevin B. that Kobalt one has 18" deep drawers and the Husky @jeeper linked only has 15" deep ones or maybe I'm reading that wrong? I'd go in with a tape measure... It's hard to read the actual drawer dimensions on the Kobalt.
Either was the standard duty ones are 21 guage. Vs 18 guage on the hds

Looks like both are about 18" deep and 58" high. The Husky claims 26,067 cu, the Kobalt says 21,402.

 

[Herzog]

This one has a little more area, and 1 more drawer for the same price.

Husky 46 in. 14-Drawer Tool Chest and Cabinet Combo in Black-H46CH6TR8 - The Home Depot

Upgrade your garage or workspace with the Husky 46 in. 14-Drawer Tool Chest and Cabinet Combo. This premium duty tool storage unit provides 26,067 cu. in. of storage space within the 14-drawers and top

www.homedepot.com

I have this one and I love it. Would recommend.

 

[Pike2350]

So many people on Pirate/Irate recommend the US General boxes from Harbor Freight over Husky/Kobalt. They say the specs are better in almost every category. Usually they are talking about the 44 or 56 or 72" models..but thwy all.say the metal is thicker, the slides are heavier duty.m etc.

 

[anderson750]

So many people on Pirate/Irate recommend the US General boxes from Harbor Freight over Husky/Kobalt. They say the specs are better in almost every category. Usually they are talking about the 44 or 56 or 72" models..but thwy all.say the metal is thicker, the slides are heavier duty.m etc.

This is interesting. While I was working with one of the in house marketing people when they opened the Price store we had a good conversation about the image of Harbor Freight being cheap throw away tools. According to her, they have been increasing the quality of their base tools as well as developing professional grade tools. I believe this is the icon line in tools. I have not tried any of them, but after our discussion, I would consider them.......probably a step up from the Craftsman and Husky stuff I have bought the last couple of years.

 

[skippy]

I have a 72" Matco Tool chest and a Harbor Freight 60" Tool Chest, I would buy another HF in a heartbeat in fact I think I am going to sell off my matco box and buy 2 more 72" HF boxes.

 

[Mouse]

I like the HF boxes - not their cheap line, US General

 

[RockChucker]

I was set on getting a HF tool chest after "testing" them all out in the stores. The HF one seemed to be built the best. But I ended up trading an '08 KTM 450 SXF dirtbike I was into $600 for a 53" Snapon chest. #worthit

I remember going through @zmotorsports shop build thread a while back. Seems like he used HF cabinets as drawers under his work bench space. Maybe he can chime in.

 

[jeeper]

This is interesting. While I was working with one of the in house marketing people when they opened the Price store we had a good conversation about the image of Harbor Freight being cheap throw away tools. According to her, they have been increasing the quality of their base tools as well as developing professional grade tools. I believe this is the icon line in tools. I have not tried any of them, but after our discussion, I would consider them.......probably a step up from the Craftsman and Husky stuff I have bought the last couple of years.

This is a catch 22 for me. I have seen that their prices are up significantly, and it appears that quality has as well... but I also still know it's HF.. so I can't seem to buy anything from them lately. My brain and eyes now see overpriced throw away tools

 

[anderson750]

This is a catch 22 for me. I have seen that their prices are up significantly, and it appears that quality has as well... but I also still know it's HF.. so I can't seem to buy anything from them lately. My brain and eyes now see overpriced throw away tools

Kind of like buying Craftsman and Husky. I have a Husky 1/2 drive ratchet I bought for the RZR to change the tires. I have used it a half dozen times and it broke last night. I can't tell you how many Craftsman 1/4" ratchets I have gone through in the last few years working on the bikes. I finally broke down and bought a Snap on for my shop tool box and have a Cornwell in my race toolbox.

 

[Kevin B.]

I like the HF boxes - not their cheap line, US General

I have a US General rolling card that I love, seems like great quality. But the 44 inch combo is more than I'm letting the wife spend on me, so...

 

[Tonkaman]

Something to consider is how you want to organize your tools.

I really wanted all my wrenches to fit In 1 drawer where I could grab them easily. For that I had a full width drawer in mind.

Also another dealbreaker for me was being able to store sockets upright on a rack. To do that you’ll need about 3” tall drawers. Otherwise they will have to store lying flat.

if you buy a bigger box, everything will have a home, and you will stay more organized.