Makita sent over a set of their new MakTrak tool boxes for review consideration, and I’ve been testing them in different ways.
To start off, you should know where I’m coming from. I have been buying, using, and reviewing modular tool boxes and storage products for over 15 years, for both personal and business purposes.
I continue to work towards optimized tool and parts storage and organization, and at this point I am very familiar with my tool and part storage needs and wants.
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With that experience and awareness, I can say that MakTrak is not the perfect fit for my needs.
Because of that, I will soon be parting with these samples. But before I pass them along to local workers for use, testing, and feedback, I have much to say about what I’ve learned about Makita MakTrak thus far.
At this point you might be a little confused. In the title, I say that Makita Maktrak is the perfect fit, but just above I said the complete opposite of that.
We’ll talk more about my MakTrak likes and dislikes – there will be plenty to go over – but in this post I only want to talk about the physical fit.
I enjoyed several conversation with people that had a hand in designing and developing the Makita MakTrak tool box and storage system, and we got into very fine details about all of the parts of the whole. After examining and testing the system myself, I can say that I am impressed with what they’ve done.
It might sound incongruent, but I like the decisions that were made here, despite MakTrak not being well suited for my needs. Basically, I like the parts but not the sum. although I’m not sure I can say that either.
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There’s a chance I might buy back into the MakTrak system in the future. A few months ago I bought a Pelican case to fit some gear, and it’s not a fun setup. I have a mix of related gear in several other types of storage products, and it’s very inefficient. MakTrak might have worked out better, and I only realized this after talking with some of the designers. I don’t travel with that gear often, but if that changes I think MakTrak will eliminate some headaches for me.
MakTrak’s was designed for easier loading and unloading out of a pickup truck, and to be easier to work out of.
Last night I tried to put my [purchased at retail] Makita XGT cordless reciprocating saw away in a different brand’s extra large-sized modular tool box drawer. It should have fit, but it didn’t.
I have been testing that other brand’s large-format modular tool box drawer system, and for the most part it’s been an okay experience. But to get my recip saw to fit into the drawer, I would have had to remove dividers, and that would have made a mess of things.
My options are to move things around or find a different place for my recip saw. I left the saw on top of the worktop – finding a new place to stash it will be a problem for future me.
Earlier today, as I continued to work on cleaning out my workshop, I bumped into my MakTrak sample. I had one standing up vertically and the other nearby. I have other components and the organizers in other areas as I test them out too.
The idea came to mind to check out how the recip saw fit into the flagship rolling tool box and the large tool box that can be connected directly on top.
It fit the large tool box with plenty of room to spare. This surprised me a bit, even though I knew the box was spacious.
I knew that the MakTrak tool box can fit nailers and other tools that aren’t easily accommodated by other modular tool boxes.
I probably should have also known that my recip saw would easily fit in here too. But, it wasn’t until yesterday’s “why doesn’t it fit in this other brand’s box the way I want it to?!” moment that stowing away my saw became a problem.
I have fit saws in other tool boxes before, and so that wasn’t really the problem. The problem was that I couldn’t fit the saw into the other tool box the way I wanted to. With the MakTrak tool box, I could.
It even fit in vertically – I checked that I could still close the lid – thanks to how the bottom is contoured to fit the connection system.
The deeper rolling tool box fit the recip saw as well, which wasn’t surprising.
The rolling box is plenty spacious.
In working with the box a little bit, I appreciate the size that Makita went with. It’s deep enough to be useful, but shallow enough to where gear doesn’t get lost.
None of this is going to persuade me to keep either box. But, I’m not going to keep the other brand’s either.
Whenever a new 3pc tool box combo lands at my door, I try to test it out as quickly as possible. The goal is to learn what I need to and reclaim workshop space as quickly as possible.
These Makita MakTrak tool boxes lasted longer than most, and at a time when I’m trying to unburden myself of as much unneeded gear as possible.
It feels really weird to have conflicting sentiments. I find a lot of the design elements to be innovative, practical, and even appealing, and yet this is a product I wouldn’t buy for my own tool storage needs.
I am not the target audience. It was not designed to alleviate my pain points.
I loaded the boxes with different tools during testing, but last night’s “why won’t my recip saw fit this other XL drawer system front to back” moment opened my eyes the rest of the way. The other eye-opening moment was when one of the designers showed me slides of how early Makita MakTrak tool boxes were tested during the design and development phase.
My work won’t benefit from these new tool boxes, but I’ve come to believe that they are still something special.
There are some compromises to the design, but I’m not seeing any flaws.
MakTrak was designed from the ground up to meet a lot of workers’ unmet needs. There’s a lot of ingenuity built into these boxes, and I’ve grown hopeful that Makita will innovate in ways that eliminate some of my storage and organizational pain points as well.
The foundation Makita has laid out is perfect, and they’re solving problems rather than chasing trends.
When it comes to modular tool boxes, why buy Brand X over Brand Y?
I am heavily invested in another brand’s system, but I won’t hesitate to buy into MakTrak as well should I need certain equipment to be mobile and more conveniently accessible. At present, there are few other solutions for the gear I ultimately had to purchase a very large Pelican case for.
I don’t like MakTrak for myself, mainly because I don’t haul my tools or gear to jobsites in a pickup truck, and I really hoped I could find a way for it to fit.
There’s huge potential for customization, thanks to the numerous mounting holes in the lid, the MOLLE panels, and the other divider slot.
It’s not a good fit for me, but I think Makita came up with the perfect solution for a lot of people.
There’s a chance that Makita took the only direction they could; given the oversaturated state of the modular tool box industry right now, differentiation is necessary.
However, from the hours of discussion I’ve had about the design and development of Makita MakTrak, and seeing that its features and elements are very well though out and implemented, I am convinced that they took the problem-solving approach.
It is very much the goal of every tool brand to convince me of their innovativeness and noble intentions. But, the pride that Makita has for what they’ve built here seems genuine.
In playing around with the reciprocating saw today, I finally “get” it. I can see a lot of folks working out of the one rolling tool box, or maybe a combination of boxes.
And, just like how a lot of tool users might have different brands’ cordless power tools in their kit, this might complement other modular storage solutions they might be using, even if products don’t click together across brands,
To be clear, I think that Makita made a genuine attempt to solve specific problems, rather than to come up with just another modular tool box system that they can sell.
I think it’s a perfect fit for a lot of people. From what I’m seeing here, and everything we talked about, I am also very optimistic about what will come next.
Maybe what they’re working on next will be a better fit for my particular demands.
It might surprise you, as it definitely surprised me, but I am impressed with Makita MakTrak.
I have more to cover in later posts – please let me know if you have any questions!
See Also: Makita MakTrak Tool Box System – First Look
Here’s the line so far, with each product made in the USA with global materials:
Rolling Tool Box (T-90009)
Large Tool Box (T-90015)
Extra Large Extension Tool Box (T-90021)
Medium Tool Box (T-90037)
Deep Medium Organizer (T-90043)
Low-Profile Medium Organizer (T-90059)
Deep Compact Organizer (T-90065)
Thank you Makita USA for providing the test samples with no expectations, conditions, or strings attached.
Aram
I don’t actually have a question, but instead a remark: I really appreciate your ability to say “yeah, this isn’t for me” while at the same time saying it is still a good thing.
…I am really [expletive] tired of online reviewers more or less saying “this didn’t work for my very specific usage, so therefore it sucks and I hate it, and anyone that likes it is a stupidhead!”
It’s just so tiring to have everything lazily split between AMAZING or HORRIBLE!
Things can be just fine for someone that isn’t me, and that’s OK dangit.
Stuart
The first call with one of the designers helped me understand the approach.
The test samples helped me get a sense for the features, quality (I love the latches), and compromises.
The second and third calls filled in some more of the blanks.
Everything finally clicked together when I was seriously frustrated by the other brand’s drawer configuration. It took me longer than expected to fully understand the system.
“It’s not for me but I think they did a great job” is a lot harder than “love it” or “hate it.” It wasn’t easy to arrive at that, or to find the words to discuss it in what I hope is a clear manner. But also, for a reviewer or influencer, “love it” or “hate it” can be more rewarding short-term.
MM
Agreed, the tendency of internet commentary to head towards one of two extremes is frustrating. It’s even gotten to the point where people expect that products must be one or the other. I’ve seen countless posts in other forums in which people ask questions like:
>hey, I just saw this [thing], is it awesome or is it crap?
…and when asking this question they never bother to mention their application, needs, or concerns. For some reason they’ve already decided that there can be no middle ground, and what’s good for one person must be good for everyone else. I’ve seen this kind of thing with regard to tools, cars, camera equipment, firearms, kitchen appliances, you name it.
A product review needs to take into account the application and circumstances. There is no such thing as a tool that’s good for every job or person, and the features that make a tool great for one situation often make it necessarily bad for others. The best reviews describe the product & discuss its functions, advantages/disadvantages, and then conclude with a discussion of what/whom it’s good for and what it’s not good for.
Michael F
I am very serious about getting into MakTrak…but not for holding my tools. I already have custom fitouts in my Systainers for that. I’m actually planning on buying into MakTrak to use it for what it was designed for – carrying gear in my truck bed. Since I don’t travel with my tools, I’m going to use MakTrak for the gear I do travel with: over landing, recovery, camping, and the like. They solved a problem so particular to truck beds that I believe the system is superior to anything else on the market, regardless of what you’re putting in the boxes. The MOLLE support makes it particularly well suited to camping, airsoft, etc.
Thanks for the review!
TonyT
So maybe Makita should make it in olive green to match their outdoor adventure series? https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/makita-outdoor-adventure-tools/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Michael F
If they made MakTrak in the OA color way I’d be extremely interested.
Stuart
Thanks! Let me know if you have any questions – I’m still working on a features and compromises review.
MM
I’m looking forward to hearing the details. Right now the main takeaway from the article is that they’re unusually large, big enough to hold larger size tools in a variety of orientations.
The interesting thing will be to hear why it’s not for you, and more importantly, what you discussed with the product designers.
Stuart
It’s not just that they’re large, but well proportioned, and you can do a lot to customize the internal space for efficient access.
The latches especially impressed me. They’re large, I can open them bare handed or with gloved hands, and I can open and close with one finger. But I have yet to have a latch open accidentally.
The “rolling tower of drawers” approach works best for my present and foreseeable needs. I use my boxes for smaller power tools, hand tools, and parts, and move them up and down stairs and short distances. Past their delivery, most never see the inside of a vehicle. That wasn’t always the case. Except for organizers, I started moving away from lidded tool boxes a few years ago.
fred
I can appreciate your use case. But things change. When I moved into my current primary residence tools first needed to be moved around the house for renovation work. Then I moved on to building and equipping a home shop with most projects being done in the shop or supplied from the shop. When garden projects started taking a bigger chunk of time – out-buildings were added to both supply storage space and electricity at spots on the property that were more remote from the house. All this was still within walking distance – so transport was relatively simple. Then came a desire to have a summer place – so toolboxes to throw in the back of a station wagon – then a truck garnered some appeal. Then the kids seemed to grow up – with needs for dad to come with tools to apartments – then houses to help with renovations and additions. Then it was how best to pack tools along with clothing and household items to ship with the truck down to Florida for our extended winter stays. Then the next generation arrived – grew up – and had their own needs. Now I’m slowing down again so I’m back to not often needing to transport tools much beyond my shop. There was probably a period there where I would have liked the Mak Trak for the back of my pickup.
Rx9
I love the way that huge set of rear wheels looks on these Makita boxes.
It’s reminding me of the M577 APC from Aliens.
Irving
I’ve scorned all the “interlocking tool storage” stuff from everyone because none of it fits my needs. Maybe I’m just so far out of the target demographic that nothingfrom Milwaukee, DeWalt, Ryobi, Rigid, or Fred and Larry’s Excellent Tool Storage Company can fit my needs.
But this Makita stuff – I’ll have to take a look at it. I hope Makita will take TylerT’s comment (above) to heart – I don’t carry “tools” but I do carry “gear” for a number of different activities. If I can go camping with the family and just grab boxes 1,2,4 and 6, or boxes 5 and 8 for a Saturday where I’m teaching a class I would be seriously interested, especially if it’s in the “right” color. I get that color is a huge brand identification thing, but the people in my circle are fully literate and can read the manufacturer’s name
on a product badge, and offerings in different colors would open up doors to more markets than “just tool users.” Look at Pelican – I have several Pelican cases, and they’re available in the usual black, plus yellow, orange, gray, tan, red, and they just added blue, and I seriously doubt anyone would mistake a Pelican for another brand, even at a quick glance.
I would dearly love to rid myself of the hodge-podge of different boxes, cases and packaging and get one internally-compatible – aka “stacking and interlocking” storage system that works fo reverything, or at least, comes closer than anythign now available.
Oh, and security is an issue – tools, and gear, in the back of a vehicle or in a storage unit is an attractive target, and grabbing just one box can constitute high value, so some means of easily securing it, say with a steel plastic coated cable, would be nice.
Michael F
This is essentially what I would like to use MakTrak for. As a replacement for various Husky totes and other bins that I use to carry non-tool gear. It seems MakTrak is drawing quite a few people in on this use case. It makes me think it won’t be long before Pelican gets in on the whole “interlocking” thing.
Kompahko
Maktrak has some great ideas, but its compromised in some areas.
The size of the boxes is great. I could fit my tools in a smaller amount of boxes but they would be much heavier.
They didn’t really answer the issue of having to unstack to access your stuff (yes you can open the boxes while stacked but who wants to do that with a 70 lbs or more tool box). But when you’re lookong for stuff, its eadier to just pick and grab a tool instead of having to empty the box to.get what’s at the bottom.
From some reviews I read. It’s also not that grest to navigate in smaller hallways and stairs are an issue for any system which brings me back to the weight.
I really like Maktrak, but I wouldn’t get it for my usage either or maybe just 1 large rolling box only.
Stuart
It’ll fit through residential spaces, but I’d say it’s not ideal for that, although the same can be said about “standard” 3pc tool box stacks.
The MakTrak roller box can hold a lot of stuff. It’s fewer boxes to unlatch and fewer lids to lift open.
The roller box cannot be easily carried – it needs to be rolled. The large box has 3 handles.
If I block out years of opinions about modular tool box systems and how things are should be, the roller tool box is an excellent product with numerous benefits for mobile truck-to-work users, plus some others.
The large box adds a lot of storage volume to it.
There’s also the extension box, smaller box, and organizers.
The rolling tool box is an excellent solution for a lot of users, and it can be expanded upon to better suit their needs.
MakTrak is a solution that right now *can* be built up. But you don’t have to.
The downside is that if the roller box doesn’t work for you, there’s a good chance the entire system won’t work for you. But that’s because the design intent around the roller box was to meet specific needs.
Packout has 4 wheeled options (rolling box, large rolling box, dolly, hand cart), plus 1 more on the way (rolling drawer unit). Dewalt has 3 (rolling tool box, hand cart, DXL). Flex has 2, ToughBuilt has 2, Klein has 2, Ridgid has an interchangeable setup. Makita MakTrak has 1, but that could change, but it stands out as being a box that you don’t have to dig through.
We talked about price and Makita made a great point. How many stacking tool boxes does one need to buy to get the same usable storage volume as just the rolling tool box?
With MakTrak, you’re buying a solution – the rolling tool box – first, and then it can be a system.
Doug N
Can you do a water seal test, by spraying a closed box with a garden hose, for example? The MakTrak boxes appear to have a rubber seal in the lids, and a robust latch. So I’m confused why there is no IP-rating, unlike toughsystem and packout which are IP65.
Stuart
There is a weather seal. I asked the same and was told that these boxes were designed to be weatherproof and that certification is underway.
Robert
Question Stuart, MakTrak has a slot for a hidden security tracker.
Is there any provision to take a lock to lock the lid? Understanding the whole thing can be wheeled away.
Stuart
Yes – there are locking holes on both sides (the lid is bidirectional).
Nathan
So the other system is DeWalt XL thing?
And these are made in the USA. From Makita? Surprising but I’m more interested now
JC
“It fit the large tool box with plenty of rook to spare.”
[room]
Feel free to delete if you adjust.
Stuart
Thank you, *fixed*!
blocky
I regularly travel with Pelican 1560’s. Price is similar so this feels like a lot of case for the money. Unfortunately, current weight restrictions on checked bags are generally 50lbs before excessive fees, and the Maktrak is ~35lbs unloaded (vs 1560 at 17lbs)
On the positive, I’m ready to believe any claim about the robustness of the build. On the downside, it ain’t gonna fly.
TomD
First class gets you two 70lb bags and that’s often cheaper than excess baggage fees.
blocky
That’s a good point. It’s usually cheaper for me to check 2 and keep to the lower limit, but if I had larger gear, that could be the way to go.
Looking for a reason to get one of these.
Jronman
I think many “Pain Points”/”Frustrations” can be solved with different sizing and/or orientation, and it shows with the MakTrak. Makita rotated everything 90 degrees so it would be purpose built to work better in pickup trucks even if it means it might not work as well in a van/trailer. I think some of the solutions Tough Built has come up with in the StackTech system is a nice middle ground between pickup truck and van/trailer setups. You have a cart that is designed to help get the boxes into the truck bed but you still have the orientation that is good for vans/trailers.
Andrew
Totally agree with your assessment. The rolling and large boxes are great for holding all my power tools (saws, grinder, router, drill/driver). With my old storage set, none of the boxes were large enough to hold all my power tools. Maktrak isnt great for storing hand tools, but I’m able to make do with the storage trays that are provided with the medium boxes.
Any news if Makita is planning on releasing drawers or accessories that mount to the outside of boxes. Would be nice if they released something similar to what Dewalt has with their ToughSystem. Having one drawer the full width of the large box, with internal dividers would be ideal.
Stuart
I didn’t learn any specifics, but I do feel confident about their claim this is just the beginning with much more to come. Everyone I spoke with has a lot of pride in the new system, and they seem to be very committed to solving end user problems.
Harrison
Glad to hear this system is proving to be of some worth. I strongly believe Makita needs this system to be successful if they hope to stay competitive in North America. It also sounds like Makita is working to correct their marketing and communications issues? Positive news for sure!
We use Packet currently for our small building company, and while it gets the job done, the sizing is definitely awkward. We are starting to collect a lot of larger tools, and they are often too long or bulky, so they stay in bags or occupy an entire Packet container. We find the”Large tool box” with the flip-up handle to be the most useful size. We generally just carry them around- the tower configuration doesn’t feel great at our rough, hilly job sites.
The “Rolling tool box” is especially frustrating, as it doesn’t fit in our truck bed, and only holds one large tool with a few small items jammed around it. You can’t access it without unstacking everything, and if you fill it up with small tools, you have to dig to get to the bottom. The wheel treads hold small chunks of dirt, and track it inside. Last week, one of the Packout latches caught the fleshy part of my palm between the wire and ‘sharp’ edge of the lid as I slammed it shut, giving me a nasty blood blister.
Anyways, I’m very much looking forward to checking out MakTrak in person once it is available in Canada. We bought into Packout because we needed something durable and waterproof. It succeeds on those basic levels, but we don’t find it to be indispensable as far as efficiency or organization goes for our line of work.
Mike
These are DOA for the Canadian market.
Add 40% for the exchange rate, 25% for the made in America tariff and 15% sales tax. There will be a mark-up too just for it reaching North of the border but I won’t speculate what that’ll cost.
So, for a large tool box the Makita will cost $285 versus Milwaukee at $135.
Not hating on Makita, I own some of their tools. But I couldn’t give a #$&@ how much extra volume I get when I can buy two boxes for the price of one.
eddiesky
When you first posted the images of this product, I was impressed at the hinge-latch design. I wish all were like that, so that the lid can be accessed from either side. How is the lid held up, via those cables? Do they allow past 90degrees? Or will the lid fall continuously unless you hold it open?
I don’t like that you have basically a handtruck system lying down, because the older you get, and at the end of a work day, you gotta bend to lift that to move it. This is why I like the dolly cart system – push, not lift. Sure, its beneficial for stairs. Just seems like you gotta be low to get to stuff.
Stuart
There are easily removed cables so the lid doesn’t fall backwards, and an easily installed and removed solid support insert that holds the lid open for extended periods.
If you’re working with box open, and have attached things to the lid, you’ll want to add the support to the lid when working out of box. It takes just a second or two.
The lid can be completely removed. It can also be mostly removed with the cables attached, but that doesn’t seem like a great idea to get in the habit of doing.
Mack
I have a bunch of Makita stuff, but unfortunately they were way too slow getting into the game. A lot of people with an interest in modular boxes have already committed to one platform or another. Whatsmore, brands like Rigid have already come out with new iterations of compatible boxes.
Stuart
The “they were too slow/late” argument is a common fallacy. Market entrance timing is typically a short-term challenge towards gaining market share.
Milwaukee Packout followed YEARS after modular tool box systems from Festool (Systainers), Bosch (L-Boxx), Dewalt (ToughSystem and Tstak), Ridgid (Pro Gear) and Makita (MakPac). https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/modular-tool-boxes-timeline/%3C/a%3E What will the modular tool box market look like a few years from now?
Harrison
Certainly up here in Canada, there will be a big public and private push for new home building, with tens of thousands of new carpenters and trades people entering the industry. Those workers need tools, and places to store them.
Milwaukee may be the reigning retail champ, (appealing to the trades in particular) but Makita has been quietly building up a selection of tools that are well suited to the heavy construction and mass timber designs that are growing popular with eco-conscious multifamily housing developments. Their 40v tools are reliable, smooth, and run cool with a continuous duty cycle. 40v may have some size compromises for compact tools, but don’t expect battery tech to stand still.
Milwaukee has had the best marking and been very fashionable, but trends are cyclical. Not everyone wants to buy every single product from the same company. Dispite their fumbles, Makita is still a global company with a ton of resources. I wouldn’t count them out yet.