This is Kobalt’s new 3000 series 45″ steel chest and cabinet tool storage combo. I haven’t seen it in person yet, having only first spotted it in their 2017 Black Friday adscan tool deals pages.
Let’s start by talking about the top chest, which sports several non-traditional features.
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There’s no top lid. The top is just… flat, with no top storage compartment.
Next, there’s a pull-out vertical socket storage drawer, equipped with magnetic socket rails that hold your sockets in an upright position. You can pull the rails to take them with you, or retrieve a socket at a time.
I suppose one side is for inch sockets, and the other for metric, with 3 rails each for 1/4″, 3/8″, and 1/2″ drive sockets. There’s one empty section at the top, where one might attach another socket rail or other kind of magnetic holder to store some adapters or accessories.
There’s an “open till work area” on the right, with the drawer front flipping down for access. The LED lighting, turned on via push button, looks to be a nice touch.
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There are spots for 2 drills (or similarly sized tools), and a place to put spare batteries, chargers, or anything else you wish to keep in the quick-access storage bay.
The chest also features recessed side grip handles, 5 drawers with 99 lb capacity soft-closing drawer slides, fitted drawer liners, keyed locks, and a magnetic power supply with built-in USB charging ports.
The bottom tool cabinet looks to be a little more traditional, except for the large shelves section that’s accessed via cabinet door.
The images show there being 2 magnetic latches for the cabinet door, which to me suggests that the designers and engineers took extra steps to ensure user satisfaction.
My Milwaukee and Husky mobile workbench test units have shorter cabinet doors, and they’re a nuisance because the single magnetic latch isn’t strong enough for my liking. I’ll have to retrofit something when I have a chance. It’s little touches that can make a great tool cabinet truly excellent. I suppose the same can be said about tools and all kinds of products in general.
Kobalt’s 3000-series tool storage products don’t come cheap. The top chest is currently on sale for $469, and the bottom cabinet $569. It doesn’t actually look like you can buy them yet, but since they’re mentioned in Lowes’ Black Friday 2017 sales flyer, I’d conclude that they’re still on the way to stores or distribution warehouses.
I am happy to see Kobalt breathe new energy into their tool storage lineup. With Sears and their independent Craftsman activities – allowed as part of their sale of the brand to Stanley Black & Decker – in increasing financial trouble, there’s a huge amount of tool storage market share up for grabs.
That said, I’m not sure how I feel about the tool cabinet, either the top or bottom. I like for my tool storage products to be highly efficient, and that usually means high drawer density. Cabinets can be a waste of space.
I don’t know if I could make good use of the new and very nontraditional design of the top chest. What if I have more sockets than can fit on those rails? Is that the most efficient way to store sockets?
I can fit most of mine in a 26″ x 16″ (chest size, not drawer size) 3″ height drawer, and then some. See my Westling socket rail review for more.
What are your thought? I can see benefits in both the chest and cabinet, despite my preferences leaning me in a completely different direction.
Would you make good use of the top chest, bottom cabinet, or cabinet?
Pricing: $469 for the chest, $569 for the rolling cabinet, $1038 for both
Buy Now(Chest via Lowes)
Buy Now(Cabinet via Lowes)
P.S. Does the vertical alignment, or lack thereof, bother anyone else? I’ll have to see it in person to be sure, but from my computer screen, it’s an eyesore.
Tom
It’s fun to see a different design. It would seem like a good idea if Lowes were to sell a specific set of tools to fit this box…. just enough sockets for the organizers, a drill and impact for that holder and some batteries for the shelves.
fred
I think Sears used to do that. Sell you a “complete” mechanics tool set with a box/cabinet that it was fitted in. A $2000 bundle of Kobalt tools that includes this cabinet combo might sell.
The yeti
Wow is it ever “interesting”
Hang Fire
Innovative, and it recognizes that modern tools involve not just wrenches, sockets and ratchets. And Stuart nailed it, it is absolutely time for someone to move aggressively into Sears’ space, not just in tool storage.
Does it work for me? Well, the big, wide, top-of-bottom-chest drawer is the de facto standard for most-used tool storage. This set missed the boat on that one. (Other new introductions do as well, but the industry is catching on). I would have gladly given up the several inches of the lower-left cabinet space to have that big/wide/deep drawer at non-bending, non-reaching height.
That aside, I have kinda-sorta seen something like this. If you put a side cabinet on a 26/27″ wide bottom drawer, you end up with something like the bottom end. Elements on the top can be seen here and there in other systems. Pulling it all together, yes, I agree it’s unique (for the moment).
I applaud the effort. Too bad they missed the boat on that all-important, chest-wide, deep, waist-high, most-used tool drawer.
JMG
I think it is great that there is no top lid on the box. My tool chests always seem to be a catch all on top, requiring I move a bunch of somethings in order to access the compartment under the lid. Not particularly a fan of the door and shelves on the bottom unit though.
firefly
Whoa that’s very interesting. I like it! With that said it’s something that I need to feel it out in person to see if it’ll work for me.
ShawnB
Definitely some interesting ideas here — hopefully some of the better ones will be picked up by other brands. I have always struggled storing sockets efficiently, there always seems to be a ton of wasted space. And I don’t know that I would miss the top lid, mine always seems to end up with sometime on top of it when it’s closed. So at least it is encouraging that someone is thinking about real-world usage…
Rooller
Does innovative finally mean that cab spaces are actually designed for specific tools? Amazing, smh. After all these years, and ill fitting compartments, very little actually designed for specific trades, it just blows my mind.
All this effort by engineers to ergonomically design tools……then nowhere to put them?! SMH.
As an aside, why didn’t makita allow for their LXT chargers to be hung on walls?
928'er
Just looked at one of these at Lowes yesterday. Haven’t seen one in “action,” so I could be completely wrong, but the vertical socket storage seems like a very inefficient use of space. Kinda like storing tools in their blow molded cases….
A W
My Lowe’s had this near the plumbing section for the sale price. It seemed nice in person, but personally I’d rather have the Milwaukee with a raised top for clamping and I also prefer wider drawers.
Doresoom
I saw this in person the other day at my local Lowes. It seemed to have a lot of wasted space in it, especially the vertical socket drawer. I think they were going for innovative, but just a standard drawer with socket rails in it would have been much more compact.
The shelves are something I’d do without as well – it will be harder to access, and making that area drawers instead wouldn’t have claimed that much extra space. It seems like a cost-cutting measure on Kobalt’s part.
I do like that it doesn’t have a top lid though, since my toolboxes usually collect quite a bit of stuff on top of them and it makes it a pain to access the inside. The flip down work area should take care of any larger/tall items I’d usually store in the upper lid area anyway.
Overall, definitely not for me, but I suppose Kobalt can’t market to everyone. Maybe they’re looking for something that distinguishes them from standard toolboxes. Although there’s a reason most other toolboxes have the same general layout – because it works!
rob
I like it, i could see it as something great if you have a small garage or live in a rental, where you don’t want to mount something to a wall but store more than traditional mechanics tools.
One other thought, would be great if you were a car detailer, easy to store your polishers in the top area and put larger items on the bottom (gallons, soaps etc)
RobbyG
I actually saw this in store the other day. I’m not a fan of bottom boxes with “Locker” style doors, as I think they are a waste of space for how I store my tools.
The top box however was really cool! If I was a home gamer or only worked on cars I could put it to good use. I wish there was enough room to slide the drills in 2 deep. The LED light is battery powered and there appears to be only a couple little LED’s providing the light but actually looked to be plenty (at least in the store).
I actually use the same socket rails you do. I could see myself putting the more common ones up top.
Overall build quality was very good. I’d put it a notch above the Harbor Freight and cheaper Husky Boxes.
I would personally consider this top box if it was 150-200 cheaper.
What would be AWESOME to see is a top box designed just like this but in the 56-66″ class and deep enough for 2 power tools (4 total). With longer drawers, and little more depth I don’t think I would lose any sleep spending 600 on it. I just think it may be a little too compact a box to have all that open space.
J., Homeowner
This chest combo does appear to have some positive attributes among it’s innovations.
However, one thing it seems the designers did not consider is that the fold-down door of the chest appears as if it will obstruct access to the drawers below it. A pair of doors with hinges mounted vertically would have been a better design, albeit at the cost of the lost horizontal workspace.
Randy
Socket storage is always a kludge of some sort because none of us have identical socket assortments. In my case I’ve got regular sockets in shallow and deep in all drive sizes from 1/4 to 3/4, inch and metric, plus most of the same in impact. Not all of them get used frequently, but all of them do get used, and those that don’t see frequent use always seem to be in the way of those that do, not to mention all those sockets, in holders or not, require quite a bit of space.
I’ve thought that – for me, at least – a better (there is no such thing as an “ideal” arrangement) layout might be horizontal trays in a couple drawers, one for SAE, one for metric, the trays being a run of appropriately-sized semi-circular “troughs” for the sockets, each tray adjustable for number of troughs.
I suspect until we can create a “socket storage designer” akin to an interior designer, who are also skilled in use of 3-D printing to design and make what each of us wants, we’re doomed to dealing with “almost good enough” solutions.
Nate818
This needs someone to do a toolbox tours video on YouTube.
teicher
I like it a lot, glad to see a company doing something a bit different for situations where the usual box layout isn’t as good a fit. This one is perfect if you need to combine tool storage with general purpose storage that might’ve been a shelf or cabinet, but you don’t have the space for both. Wonder if there are any plans for a narrower 26 or 30″ version in the future.
Toolfreak
It’s a work of art!
If you painted a few of the door and drawer fronts red, yellow and white, it’d be a Piet Mondrian style tool chest!
Given Lowe’s Kobalt power and hand tool offerings, I do think this sort of goes along with their target market. I can see this being primary hand/power tool storage for a DIYer that’ doesn’t have/need/want a large amount of tools.
The density could be improved a lot, especially with the socket racks – you really could get a whole lot of sockets in a small vertical area with enough racks and places for them to be, but I suppose the empty space is what makes stuff easier to find and look somewhat organized.
Nathan
I like that it’s different. I’d want to see that drill and battery setup thing to show it holds say a milwaukee or dewalt set. I see no real reason why it wouldn’t but still.
If that one shelf has some movement to it I’d put the charger on the shelf not the bottom. – there are grommet holes for the cord regardless which is nice.
I kinda like the socket idea – it might be a bit too big but if that has rails on each side I absolutely would rig that with my metric 1/4, and 3/8 and 1/2 on one side and my SAE stuff on the other with a rail dedicated to the odd stuffs. What are those big holes in the rails for? Meanwhile unless there is something missing – looks like you’d have 4 or 5 rails on each side. I think that would work for me.
The cabinet door vs deep drawer issue – I agree I like the drawer better as it comes out where you can see it in. I’d have to squat down to see stuff in the bottom piece. ON the top piece – I sort of like the idea of the cabinet door.
Dan
I could care less about the socket storage. Besides my complete sets of 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 sockets, I have some duplicates… I have normal, I have deep well, I have impact. Drawers work best for me.
I like it though. Everyone’s needs are different and this may be perfect for someone. Would work as a secondary chest for my needs.
Phil
I just bought this setup. I really love it. I like the fact that I have storage space for my power saws and other large tools. I would have liked more socket bars in 3/8th size but I really like that the socket draw is vertical. Maybe I will be able to buy more socket holders.
Howell
Picked this set up on clearance and another discount for display model. All in just over $500 and I love it so far. I double stacked the socket rails on one side for my most commonly used sizes and will be adding additional magnetic rails to the other side.
So far it’s working out great for my home garage.