Lowe’s quietly launched 3 new CaseStack modular tool storage products – a 2-drawer tool box, a removable bin organizer, and a compact organizer.
The new tool box features 2 deep drawers which Kobalt says can fit “most handheld power tools.”
It’s rated to IP65 dust and water resistance and also features a top handle, metal slides, and a sliding latch that keeps the drawers secure during transport.
Advertisement
They give you enough dividers to compartmentalize one of the two drawers.
Price: $119
Lowe’s also launched a new Kobalt CaseStack organizer.
The organizer features a clear lid, 35 lb weight capacity, and IP65 dust and water resistance.
It comes with 11 removable bins – 9 small and 2 large. The larger bins are divided into 3 compartments each, giving the organizer tool box 15 individual compartments for tools, parts, and accessories.
Price: $45
Advertisement
There is also a new compact organizer.
Lowe’s says that the Kobalt compact organizer has “9 individual compartments to store hardware and accessories,” but I only count 4 bins (3 small, 1 large) with 6 total compartments.
It has a 15 lb weight capacity and IP65 dust and water resistance rating.
The compact organizer is designed to be stacked in pairs on top of any full-size Kobalt CaseStack tool box.
Price: $30
Discussion
The pricing seems a bit high to me – the 2-drawer tool box costs $20 more than Dewalt’s ToughSystem equivalent is selling for right now, and the organizer matches Dewalt ToughSystem pricing and comes close to Milwaukee Packout’s ($45 vs $50).
But, it’s good to see Lowe’s and Kobalt sticking with and expanding the CaseStack modular tool box system.
Lowe’s now has 6 different modular tool box systems – Craftsman VersaStack and TradeStack, Kobalt CaseStack, Flex Stack Pack, Klein ModBox, and ToughBuilt StackTech.
It will be interesting to see if and how CaseStack will be expanded further.
Trevor
Probably too little and too late.
And not going to be available in Canada as Lowes is dead here.
Chris
Kobalt tools are available at Rona
Steven+B
Kewl…generic ToughStack at a higher price, but only available from 1 retailer with a high probability of being discontinued? …oh, and it’s FUGLY!!!…come on Lowes!!!!
JR Ramos
I saw these in store several weeks ago…they had them heavily zip-tied so I couldn’t actually look inside any of them. I really wanted to see the inside of the drawers and divider spacing…hoping that just possibly someone came out with something that can accommodate a 5″ grinding wheel somewhat securely. Poor merchandising. They gave these a lot more visibility than they did the new ToughBuilt boxes.
I haven’t really looked at the Kobalt boxes before but from what I could see these do appear to be pretty well made. Wheels on the roller just average and maybe better for the home garage scenario.
Mark+S
Same here. They had quite a few in the holiday section. All zip tied. My thought was the same….that’s stupid. They should lock by themselves without a zip tie. Does that mean the latches/locks/knobs/whatever don’t measure up to daily travel? They should be able to stand a typical delivery and merchandising transport….tradespeople would be way worse on them. Stupid execution in marketing. Made me keep walking. That and the price is WAY off. 20% too high in my opinion.
Merfman
zip tied closed is from manufacturer. There should be a display that is opened already. May be due to (box stuffing ) hiding products within or some making their own stacks and only paying for 1 barcoded item. This is a everyday occurrence since some will take components snap them together and then leave them attached. The next person doesn’t look at pictures and thinks it’s all sold as 1 unit.
RICK
I agree. I love the zip ties because I know all the dividers and or trays will be included when purchased. I’ve bought 1 Full 3 pc. kit and 1 lower roller only with 3 sets of the drawer units and have been using them on job sites rain and shine and they have not let me down. Ball bearing slides work smoothly and the single quick slide lock to lock both drawers is epic. They are well made by Chervon, the same company that makes Flex Tools.
JR Ramos
That’s a good point about box stuffing and checkout fraud. As common as it is, I still forget about it sometimes. Suppose it’s just tooooo difficult for a department associate to make sure one accessible product is un-zip-tied for convenience and check on that every day, but they should at least attempt to help the product sell, right.
Frank D
I have picked up Milwaukee tool boxes at HD – checking them in the aisle – with missing bins, trays or dividers, which when you want an extra, they’re $10-40 a piece. I was going to buy their big rolling trunk, last year, during hurricane season. They had one left. No tray insert.
At one time I picked up an extra toolbox up in a hurry, that upon inspection at checkout, had an unknown extra tray in it. Ditto with a tool cabinet, that had three right hand gloves in it from some type of a display.
So, now I try to always check for extras or missing items.
Nick
Didnt you miss the 7th modular brand? What about Flex Stackpack?
Nick
Nevermind. I think you mixed up the kobalt case stack with the flex stack pack. My bad. Lol. So long as someone launches modular tool storage it seems the name must include either the words stack or pack in with name. I think that’s going to confuse everybody. I’m not a DeWalt fan at all but at least the name of their tough system differentiates them from everybody else and probably not but maybe provides a little bit less confusion
Stuart
Oops!
I was trying so hard to keep all the Stacks in order but I accidentally swapped Flex for Kobalt.
TradeSTACK
VersaSTACK
STACK Pack
CaseSTACK
STACKTech
ModBox
David Z
At least Ryobi went with Link!
Vards Uzvards
In defense of DeWalt: they came up with the TSTAK name first, ahead of all the STACKs.
blocky
Price seems like a pretty big overshot. If they came in at $60-80 with something sturdier than tstak or husky connect, they’d be in the right ballpark.
The soon-to-be Ridgid drawers are at the same $119 price point, which also might be a little steep, but they’re both larger and, I’m willing to bet, better quality.
blocky
Hey Stuart, since so many of these resin box systems are made by Keter, based in Israel, are you observing timeline disruptions of certain product lines?
Stuart
I haven’t observed any noticeable disruptions, but it’s hard to say.
I have been watching online retailers’ inventory numbers and availability, and haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary yet. In some cases, availability and replenishment have been better than I expected.
A lot of these systems are made in China – I believe Flex, Kobalt, ToughBuilt, and Klein boxes. Craftsman’s are made in USA or Israel by Stanley Black & Decker.
Ridgid’s drawers have been delayed, at least compared to their original ETA, but I’m leaning towards believing that could have been a marketing decision by Home Depot.
Saulac
Would be a big bummer if HD in fact delay, or cancel Ridgid drawers.
Stuart
Readers have reported seeing them in stores recently, but I haven’t seen them yet.
David Z
The Ryobi drawers were out of stock a couple of weeks before Christmas, but they are restocked now.
Stuart
I don’t believe they’re made by Keter.
My local stores can’t seem to sell any Ryobi Link drawer tool boxes. I didn’t see them go out of stock.
Jo B
Yet another sub-par modular toolbox system, destined for the garbage bin in short order due to low quality plastic components and design. I have tried the DeWalt®,, Milwaukee® and Makita® brands, and none can handle rough use in the extreme Canadian cold winters. The handles typically broke off within a month plus, wheels after two months and so on. My favourite toolboxes are Pelican® brand cases. I would gladly pay the high prices for them, knowing that I can easily get any parts that I need for them from warranty – lids, latches, hinges, etc. My only complaint aside from their weight is their shape, as they need to have dimensions similar to the extra large DeWalt tool box as an example. If they had these, I would buy them, and never look back, because I have spent more money on all of these crappy toolboxes from Dewalt®, Milwaukee® and Makita®, than I would have ever spent on buying Pelican® cases from the start.|
James
Jo B – what trade are you in? We kick the crap out of our Packout stuff (in extreme Canadian winters) and it keeps on ticking.
So far, we have broken one (1) hinge/lid on a deep organizer and that was due to tightening ratchet straps around it in the trailer at a funny angle and extremely tight.
The organizers are the most fragile of the bunch so we ride them hard but within reason. The toolboxes and crates (we use the crates A LOT) are banged around in -35 C and there hasn’t been an issue thus far.
We do have a few Nanuk (Quebec made Pelican) cases for some specialized equipment and they are definitely excellent.
Sam Toshi
You should stick with Pelican cases then. They are made with modified resin formulations that stay impact-resistant at cold temperatures.
Don’t hate the players. Hate the weather!
Roy
I got it for christmas I like the heavy duty bottom box. You can sit on it. Stand on it, but. I don’t like where the level goes. I don’t like where the cords go. And then you gotta buy a rail for your drill to hang on the side. The upside to this setup is it comes with bins.! The only stack box that comes with storage bins.
Now I need a place on the top to put parts, screws witch this system dose not have so ,it go’s back.
And bad thing When the handle is all the way down if you move it, it will scratch the floor.
Alan
The casestack system might have been worth it if it had adapters to other systems or even its own tool sets were compatible. Atleast with Dewalt, Craftsman, and Milwaukee the tool sets have some compatibility with the storage systems.