Tekton says that theirs are the most robust rolling tool cabinets, made in North America, and I’m pretty convinced they’re 100% right about this.
Tekton sent over a review sample, and I have been working with it for a few months. In no uncertain terms, Tekton’s rolling tool cabinets are definitely incredible.
Who should buy one? Who shouldn’t? These are hard questions, and frankly I’m still sorting it out. Tekton’s are expensive tool storage solutions, and I want to ensure I steer you the right way.
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While I continue to work on that, there’s still plenty to say.
As the title says, I think that Tekton raised the bar with their rolling tool cabinets, but it’s not just about the product.
To start off, this is the first drawer carriage-based tool box I’ve brought into my workshop.
It’s very different from traditional ball bearing tool chests and roller cabinets. Here, each drawer slides on a roller carriage system.
The load capacity is 400 lbs, per drawer. 400 pounds.
I haven’t torture-tested the box yet, and probably won’t, but I did load the heaviest tools I had available, plus heavy equipment such as vises and lathe chucks. The drawers glide smoothly.
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The drawers don’t have a soft-close mechanism, which took some getting used to.
These tool boxes are made for Tekton, but I don’t have the feeling that they’re just putting their name on it. Tekton also offers a very user-friendly and highly customized shopping experience, unlike anything I’ve seen from other brands.
Tekton obviously wants to sell you on the tool box, but they don’t try too hard. Their effort seems to be intended to educate customers.
I could learn as much as I need to about Tekton’s roller cabinet from their website, with no quotes, calls, or digging around looking at catalog pages or buried spec sheets.
I requested the 11-drawer 48″ cabinet with 40/60 split design.
What’s the size of the frame? 48″ wide x 27″ deep. What clearance do you need? 51″ for the width including the side handle. Front to back, it measures 27.7″. The height is 41.5″.
It’s as if Tekton’s team asked “what do we want to know when buying a tool cabinet?” and set out to answer all of their questions. They don’t give you much to wonder about.
The installation guide is clear and well written – here’s the PDF. Do you want a video instead? Here’s the video.
This is by far the best mobile tool storage cabinet I have ever tested or reviewed. It’s excellent in nearly every regard.
The anti-tilt latches are perfect, the finish is spectacular, and the wood top is solid and sturdy, enough though one of my screws went in crooked.
It’s NOT my favorite tool cabinet, however. That part is why the review is taking so long.
You can buy the 48″ cabinet in 3 different drawer configurations and 2 colors (red and black). There are three other sizes – 36″, 60″, and a deeper 60″.
You can have full-width drawers, two banks of the same width, or two banks in a 40/60 configuration.
There are more options if you look at what Tekton’s OEM offers, which I did. I also requested quotes so that I can gauge whether Tekton’s pricing is fair (it is), and it was remarkable how different the research and purchasing experience is.
You can pick from three different add-on worktops, if you choose (wood, stainless steel, steel with a lip and rubber mat).
I’m sorry, I really didn’t intend to say so much about the actual product, but I have Tekton’s webpage up on the next screen, and couldn’t help myself.
Even the delivery was impressive. That’s the part I truly hate about tool storage products – the stress involved with their arrival, unpacking, and setup.
Tekton ships their roller cabinets fully crated, meaning there’s protective plywood on all sides.
Is the product itself a game-changer? Not exactly, but it is a truly excellent storage product.
Tekton is a game-changer. I cannot shake the feeling that true care and attention went into how they sell these. They raised the bar.
I looked at another brand’s product page for their top of the line professional roller cabinet, and while they had some features depicted in the product images, they don’t convey anywhere close to the same level of details.
The other brand had a single huge 473-word paragraph as their product overview, and then a few bullet points.
For that other brand, I looked at their user manual, I looked at their specs tab, and I checked every image and video. How deep are their drawers? *shrug*
Tekton, on the other hand, gives you the exact dimensions of every single drawer.
Don’t get me wrong, the tool box is exemplary and impressive. But I think I have been even more impressed with Tekton as a brand.
If I had the space, I would outfit my workshop with more of them in a heartbeat.
Nearly 10 years ago, I spoke to a Tekton manager, who told me they were changing the direction of the brand.
See Also: So I Spoke With a TEKTON Tools Manager Today…
At the time, I said:
My current impression is that Tekton is a decent value brand.
Since then, Tekton launched a broad range of USA-made hand tools, they revamped their website, and they started offering products like this.
They’re manufacturing and putting their name on high quality tools and accessories, and showing me what I need and want to know in order to make a purchasing decision.
This is how shopping for tools should be.
Would I buy one of these tool cabinets? I’m strongly considering the 36″ with full-width drawers, but I don’t yet have the clearance space. So I guess that’s a conditional yes.
Would I hesitate to buy a Tekton tool cabinet in a general sense? No, not at all. The product is great, and the shipping process was quick. I didn’t have to spend days worrying, and the packaging was impeccable.
You get free shipping with these cabinets. While it’s undoubtedly baked into the price, I prefer this a lot better than freight quotes with separate premiums for a lift gate or for delivery past the curb and up or down a driveway.
Can you tell that I’m impressed with the entire experience?
I just noticed something else that raised the bar even further – Tekton offers a 90-day trial.
Add a Tekton Tool Cabinet to your garage risk-free—if you decide the cabinet isn’t for you within 90 days, you can send it back to us at no cost.
Note that if you return a cabinet as a part of the 90-Day Trial, we will ask you to ship it back to us in its original wood crate. For this reason, it’s important that you keep the wood crate in which the Tool Cabinet arrives to qualify for this offer.
That seems pretty sweet.
Part of the fun of being a tool reviewer is that I can try different tools, accessories, or storage products with little to no risk. If you’re not quite convinced as to whether a Tekton cabinet is right for you, maybe their 90-day trial will help put you at ease.
This has been a very illuminating experience for me. A year or two from now, I’ll probably have donated the roller cabinet to make space for the next long-term metal storage review sample.
But my impression of Tekton has been elevated, and there’s no going back.
I’ve been looking at other brands’ and retailers’ metal tool chest and roller cabinet product pages, and nothing compares.
This could be the first damage-free metal tool storage product I’ve ever received. There’s usually always an issue, but not with this one. It was well protected.
It wasn’t drop-shipped either; I had also requested a couple of hand tool samples, and they were included on top of the crake, shrink-wrapped with added protection and a “no stacking” cone on top.
This has been an amazing experience, but it also kind of ruins other brands for me. If Tekton can put so much care into a product page, why don’t other brands?
Oh, and the cabinet is made in Canada, the casters in Germany, and the drawer liners in China. Good luck getting most other roller cabinet brands or retailers to give you that type of break down.
These rolling tool cabinets aren’t for everyone. Even if that’s the case for you, check out Tekton’s product page, and tell me whether you think I’m right or wrong about their presentation and the level of information they provide.
Pick a random tool category and look at another product page. You see what I mean, right?
And none of it is hype or sparkle, just information and useful details. That’s what impresses me so much. Tekton has gotten to the point where their tools are of such quality they sell themselves.
I think that other tool brands can learn from Tekton’s example.
I have purchased a couple of Tekton tools and sets over the years. They will be getting more of my business.
Tekton provided the test sample discussed in this review, plus a small sampling of hand tools, without any conditions or requirements.
Wayne R.
Okay, you like this product, a lot. I get it. “It’s NOT my favorite tool cabinet, however.”
There’s a little gap there, I think.
Stuart
It’s superb in just about every way.
But if you ask me “great, should I get one?”, there are a lot of qualifications and I feel there would have to be a discussion rather than a resounding YES.
In a completely contradictory sense, I’d outfit my workshop with these without much hesitation, and I would absolutely want to get them from Tekton.
The 48″ box cannot hold everything, and I’ve changed its loadout several times to try and find the ideal configuration. That’s also taken me some time, to find a setup I’m happy with.
I moved from a 20-drawer 72″ workbench to a 11-drawer 48″ plus a 7-drawer 27″ box, but it’s not the same as 20 vs 18 drawers.
Brad
Stuart, you make it sound quite impressive, including calling it “by far the best mobile tool storage cabinet I have ever tested or reviewed.” But you also say “It’s NOT my favorite tool cabinet, however,” which is a bit confusing. What is your favorite tool cabinet, and why do you prefer it to the best one you’ve ever tested? What could have pushed the Tekton over the line to be your favorite?
Stuart
Here’s how I see it. Right now I have 3 premium storage products in my possession. An older Proto 550S, the Tekton, and a new Proto Velocity.
I also have several samples of lower tier products.
I recently donated a Milwaukee 30″ and a Husky Pro 72″.
Of the pro/industrial tier products, and I had to donate all of them, would this be the last for me to give up?
I’d hold onto the Proto 550S last.
I really don’t want to part with this Tekton, it’s extremely functional and its quality is through the roof.
And if I needed to order a new tool box today, it would be Tekton due to theirs being the lowest stress I’ve ever experienced with metal tool storage delivery.
So I think Tekton would be the first I’d buy today, but not the last I’d give up.
Giving up the Husky Pro left a mark – I was a bit personally attached to it. Giving up this one will hurt, but I don’t think it’ll hurt as much. But it’s the first I’d buy again.
For a drawer loaded with say 20 pounds of tools, the carriage style drawers require a bit more attentive use than drawers with traditional ball bearing slides. For much heavier loads, slight drag makes them more controllable, but you can’t just shove a drawer closed and walk away, you have to close it with a deliberate motion like a civilized person.
Let’s say I bring my kids to a party at a gymnastics facility. They have have to put their shoes in a cubby before they can go on the equipment. Every single time, “don’t run, walk, walk, WALK!” It’s kind of like that. If there were no benches around, and the floor was made from rubber, I’d be able to just let them go for it.
The drawers are a bit like that. When almost every drawer has a soft-close mechanism, using ones that don’t – even with superior load capacity and fluidic motion – is different to operate.
Based on the drawer configuration, I’m really enjoying using the box more for different types of tools than I had expected. Layout tools, such as markers and squares, kind of waste the real estate in a 3″ drawer.
Rousseau Metal allows for customized drawer layouts, but 3″ is still the minimum. Tekton’s ordering process is so much more streamlined, I’d still go with them without hesitation.
I thought the 48″ would provide the best testing experience and fairly represent what can be expected from the entire line. Finding a setup where it was ideal for my storage needs hasn’t been easy. I think I’m nearly there.
If you were to ask “here’s what I need, should I buy one?” I feel that I’m close to being able to answer that.
I had the idea to separate what I wanted to say about the tool box, and what I wanted to say about Tekton.
Would I buy another 48″ split bank tool box? Maybe? Would I buy a Tekton tool box maybe in a different configuration? Definitely.
Objectively, if it were my favorite, it’d be the review sample I hold onto the hardest and longest. Maybe that will end up the case. But right now it’s not.
Given how much praise I’ve been giving it and Tekton, I thought the post needed that disclosure.
Chris I
Well damn. Color me curious and interested at 48″ x 27″ depth. That’s a really really nice in-between size now that strictly toolbox prices have nearly doubled. I like the color options of HF, but that size dimension seems spot-on
Stuart
I bought two Harbor Freight US General 26″ x 22″ roller cabinets last year.
With some help, I could pull out the lowest drawer of the Tekton, place one of the HF cabinets inside, place the second HF cabinet on top of it, and still not exceed the weight capacity of the drawer.
Jim
We are certainly on the same page here Stuart. I was actually reading the tool box section of Tekton’s catalog recently while sitting in an airport. I was impressed.
I couldn’t get over how much detail there was with their dimensions.
Other companies need to take notes!
I own a KRA series Snap-on roller cabinet that was used (hard) for most of the last 15 years of my career. I’m not a Snap-on fan boy but I know their boxes will hold up.
Mine was moved every day around a medium sized garage and rolled across blacktop parking lots several times a week. I’ve even strapped it to the mast of fork lift a couple times a year and transported it over a 1/2 mile to an offsite garage. My Snap-on box took all of this use/abuse in stride.
All this to tell you that if I had to replace my box and wanted the same performance I’d be giving the Tekton a serious look.
Also, the built in ability to add dividers like a Vidmar type cabinet should be standard on all higher end boxes. Over the years I’ve customized a lot of my storage drawers with dividers but having this feature standard is huge IMO.
Love the two full width, different depth top drawers. In my dreams, my new tool box would have this feature.
fred
I’m guessing that Rousseau might be the OEM – with some differences in size (and perhaps other features) than standard Rousseau offerings. The prices seem good compared to what I see for selling prices on some of the Rousseau boxes. If I were in the market – I’d take a look – but my old Kennedy stuff seems to keep soldiering on and will outlast me.
Ben
Believe you’re right regarding Rousseau.
I’ve been a Tekton fanboy for a while – I have a decent kit of their wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, and sockets – and really wanted to buy one of these cabs. But at those price points, for what I’m using it for, I couldn’t justify it. Would I love one? Probably. Just out of reach for now. Ended up with a Husky 46″ rolling workbench that has served me well.
Stuart
Yes.
Rousseau dealers are not well set up for selling single tool boxes to individual end users.
It took a Rousseau dealer longer 3 days to get me a freight shipping quote, which if I recall correctly was about the same time or a day longer than for Tekton to ship and deliver the cabinet to my door.
If I was outfitting an industrial workspace and could task someone else to help with the setup, then I’d maybe deal with a Rousseau dealer.
But as an individual shopping for personal use or my own business, Tekton’s experience is better.
For most purchases, I want to be as fully informed on my own as possible. If I need to call up for sales assistance, so be it, but I don’t want to have to be escorted or supported throughout the entire process. If I were prepared to spend $20K on tool boxes, maybe then I’d look at Rousseau instead.
While not exact, I requested a quote for a 36″ x 24″ Rousseau with 8 drawers and a wood top, and it came out to $2178 plus $485 freight, with a 9-10 week lead time for a single box. Tekton’s 36″ x 27″ box with 7 drawers plus a wood top comes out to $2450 plus $325, for $2775. It’s not apples to apples, as the Tekton is larger and has 1 fewer drawer, but it showed me that the costs are roughly in the same ballpark, except with Tekton ready to ship today.
MSC carries Rousseau products, with some quoted as having a 2 week ETA, but it can vary as they ship direct, and they are priced substantially higher than what you can get from Tekton.
All this is to say that I tried to do my due diligence by comparing prices, and Tekton’s look reasonable, if not better, and the shopping experience is leaps and bounds better.
PW
Tekton has a really good (technical) marketing department. I can peruse their website for any tool, and feel confident I understand exactly what I’m getting. Their photos, diagrams, and descriptions are consistently thorough and excellent. They also do a good job of calling out what they view as the particular unique benefits of a product.
In contrast, I was recently interested in a new release tool from another (USA) manufacturer. I could not find photos, illustrations, or even an accurate description of an entire portion of the tool! I ordered it anyway, and the actual packaging contained an outright false statement! I recently checked back, and they have now improved – there’s a photo of the view that was missing, alongside the same (incorrect) description. Just amazing!
I also really appreciate that Tekton is completely transparent about COO, even giving a breakdown within a product. E.g. “Handle made in USA, bit tube in Taiwan”. Other manufacturers will give a vague statement like “assembled in USA” and leave you guessing.
I often view marketing with skepticism or derision, but Tekton shows how it can be genuine value add in effectively communicating about a product, especially in today’s world where people are ordering off a website and not from an in-person salesman.
Chris
I haven’t had the need to buy anything tool related other than odds & ends over the last several years, but the few Tekton tools I do have are still going strong.
The one thing I really like to boast about Tekton is their customer service. Reminds of another once beloved USA brand that used to enjoy such a quality reputation.
IMO Tekton has replaced Craftsman as the “affordable” USA brand. I know not everything Tekton offers is USA made, but that can be said about any tool manufacturer these days.
Wayne R.
Yes, not just affordable, but easy to know what you’re getting and easy to get. For me, Tekton’s taken the “default place to go” position, like Craftsman used to be.
Mxx
They look nice, I did not notice a price in the article, quickly reread it again, and I started thinking well if you have to ask the price you probably can’t afford it. Wow! With Tax that cabinet is over 3500. I identify as a charity, could you donate it to me?
Burdsal
Somehow I missed the $3500 part. If I had seen that I wouldn’t have read any further. If I ran a diesel mechanic shop, maybe, but for a blue collar guy, nowadays especially, nah man. I was really interested in the article as the handful of Tekton tools I own have held up well, but right now I can’t even imagine spending $3500 on one 48″ cabinet.
You could get three entirely separate $1000 cabinets for that and still have $500 left for more tools or fuel.
Chris
I have been around professional automotive technicians all my life, and I can confidently say that 99% of them would not buy an expensive tool truck box today if they had it to do over.
Chris I
You mean 99% of the small handful of techs you’ve been around? Let’s call a spade a spade here.
Small525
Well talking to the tool truck salesman that come to our shop say box sales are down because of the alternatives quality increasing. My two matco boxes with slides have done the job since the late 80’s. My Cornwell cart is still rolling 25 years later. Sure there are guys in the shop with hotdog carts and weekly payments that wonder now why they spent as much as they did on a box vs tools… so as Chris said buying a high priced truck box over an alternative most I bet are going with the alternatives, or they are buying their snap-on et al on Facebook marketplace or Craigslist for quarters on the dollar. It’s a different world out there than it was even just a decade ago. Quality options abound without overspending on a tool truck box or even this one ..
Stuart
A Snap-on 54″ 9-drawer KRL is $7,990, and a 72″ 22-drawer is $14,823.
Automotive techs will buy a shiny new tool box when they get into the business. There’s an increasing trend where techs are no longer willing to take on massive loans for just a tool box to hold all of the new tools they also have to buy.
Tekton’s aren’t lumped into the same pricing group as Snap-on and others; I’d consider it a high quality lower price alternative.
Tekton’s pricing isn’t far off from Harbor Freight, Husky, and that of other such consumer-focused pro tool boxes, but are also in a completely different category of product based on the drawer style and capabilities.
Not everyone will need the features and capabilities of a tool box like this. There is no less expensive alternatives that replicate its functionality. The same cannot be said about Snap-on, where you might not easily find matching quality, but you can certainly find reasonable substitutes with respect to features and functionality.
Some products aren’t about “hmm, how much can I spend,” but “hmm, what exactly do I need?”
Tool truck brand tool storage products meet users’ needs but have a higher price point for different reasons. When sales dip, it’s because techs don’t want to pay the extra premium. They’re skipping out on paying what, 4X the price for maybe USA production and let’s say tighter aesthetics, field-replaceable parts, and long-term durability. It’s the difference between say organic grass-fed prime Angus sirloin steak and select sirloin. You get something for the money, and intangible aspects such as to-your-door service are also built into that. In this analogy, Tekton’s cabinets might be akin to Prime ribeye, where you can’t just lump it in with tool truck brands or consumer products.
Tekton stands out because you’re not going to find like-featured options at lower price points. You guys can argue about tool truck prices and sales trends, but you’re not going to find apples to apples alternatives at lower pricing. Tekton’s boxes also don’t cost anywhere close to what Snap-on charges.
Geinsbelt
I have the 48” with full length drawers. I couldn’t be happier with it.
And thanks to getting laid off from my job and enrolling in a state sponsored worker retraining program I got a 15% student discount!
Chris I
Well hot dawg!!
Have you loaded a drawer up with 400#?
Mark
Vidmars are all made in the US, aren’t they? I suspect they would compete on “most robust rolling tool cabinets,made in North America” though probably at a much higher price.
MM
There is also competition from Lista and at least some of the tool truck brands. I know Snap-On and Cornwell’s tool boxes are both made in the USA. I’m not sure about MAC or Matco. etc. I also think they compete when it comes to service. I’ve bought Listas for my business before and they came crated just like this Tekton. And of course all the tool trucks have lift gates, they will happily roll the box right where you want it. But yes, at much higher prices!
Chris
Mac, and Matco still produce their boxes in the US. Mac in NY, and Matco in Penn
CountyCork
How can you go wrong with Tekton and their warranty. They know how to take care of their customers!
mikedt
Given the title, I was expecting LED lights inside the drawers.
BobM
Curious that they don’t seem to offer any upper cabinets.
Chris I
……,yet
Chris
I have no real knowledge about why Tekton does not offer uppers. However, I can tell you over the last several years many automotive brands have steered their dealers towards a more uniform or “designed” look in the service department, and this includes technician boxes. Dealers are now providing the exact same box for each bay, and I have never seen that include an upper box.
Charles
I can get a used Krl for that price or a little less in my area. Vidmar specs in a real toolbox setup is nice. I know I wouldn’t be happy without the logo. Been wanting a snapon bottom for 35 years.
S
On the gear wrench tool box post, I asked “what does this do differently from other tool boxes to justify consideration?”
On mobile now, but definitely going to be deep-diving into tekton tool boxes later in front of a computer. They offer an answer!
s
after further reviewing tektons site, i gotta say, i really like their informational layout. there’s almost no questions to what is being sold. everything is clearly pictured, indicated, and dimensioned almost better than McMaster Carr.
the 90-day trial is a massive positive to me. i don’t believe any other brand that has tool boxes offers that. and on top of all the information on the product page, there’s almost no question to what is being purchased.
i know SnapOn offers a similar drawer divider system, as i’ve seen one of their mobile tool carts with it. but their site is the polar opposite of useful. for something that costs more and is supposedly superior, they offer 1 picture of each toolbox.
.
in my opinion, it’s absolutely unacceptable, borderline criminal, for any company making anything to list an item with a pricing that has a comma in it, and have 1 picture of the item.
back to tekton! depending on which brand one compares, the pricing is about right for other pro-grade heavy-duty tool box offerings from most of what is available at tool stores.
the video demo is spectacular– no try at sloppy music, or attempt at narration, just straight to the point of showcasing the product and it’s features. it’s odd in today’s over-processed world, but greatly appreciated.
the roller/slider system is the highlight of the offerings. while i see that they appear to be built by rousseau, interestingly, rousseau doesn’t offer any branding, marketing, or otherwise any indication of the same slide system. i can definitely see the draw of such a mechanism.
the latch system i feel mixed about. i can see it’s a high quality mechanism, but looks to be more of an upscale version of menards house-brand “masterforce” tool box latches. honestly, i just don’t like moving parts on my drawers. snap-on and harbor freights ‘slide to unlock’ pieces included. it just requires too many motions for me. frankly, i don’t understand the need on a mostly-stationary, majority-flat-surface tool box to have such a robust individual drawer locking system.
the drawer lockout feature makes a ton of sense given the slide weight rating, though would require a dramatic change in my workflow to adjust for that also doesn’t appeal to me. i tend to leave the upper drawer partly open as a working surface while also grabbing tools from lower drawers.
the 2 color options, while understandable, is a little of a letdown. most $1,000+ tool boxes come in at least 3 colors.
something i think they’ve entirely missed out on despite all the details they offer, is the modularity of their drawer system–shown further down the product pages with a single picture and the heading “cabinet max load 12,000 pounds”.
while i can understand them attempting to avoid offering custom drawer heights as rousseau does for both inventory and complexity reasons, in my opinion, an amazing selling point could be to be able to relocate all the drawer sizes within the stack for different work flows. it’s one of the things that irritates me about my husky boxes. certain tools, despite their size, get used more than others, and i don’t like having to stoop all the way to the lower drawers for them because they won’t fit in higher up drawers.
one of the surprising things these boxes lack are any electrical options. again, i’m left with extremely mixed feelings about this. at this price, this is a serious tool box–regardless of if it’s for work or home use, the person buying this takes tools seriously. and anyone that takes tools seriously is going to have at least a few power tools that will either have cords, or batteries that will eventually need charging. the point of a tool box to me is to centralize tools to a singular location, but the lack of a power center would inherently de-centralize that process. that’s not so bad in a home garage with a work bench/cabinets with power outlets, but depending on the professional environment, could be deal-breaking to have to pay $2k+, but still be self-tapping screws into the side for a power strip to keep tools close.
i’m hoping this is more of an initial offering for tekton. 60″ is a little small for my needs (would really prefer a 72″ box), and i generally prefer something with a top cabinet as well. i feel different color options, and user-adjustable drawer offerings would further distance them from others in the field.
but overall, these represent a significant build difference in tool box offerings than the standard status-quo available from other companies for similar pricing that is worth considering .
Scott K
I remember some of the earlier posts about Tekton’s efforts to change the brand’s course. Nice to see they are still moving in this direction. I would love to swap out my current storage situation (or lack there of) for a cabinet like this, but I don’t expect to ever be able to justify this.
fred
The Amash Family story is a modern-day tale of an immigrant arriving in the USA under difficult circumstances and then working hard to make good. Based in Grand Rapids – they started as purveyors of mostly lower-end imported tools sold under names like G.R.I.P. (Grand Rapids Industrial Products), Mechanics2000, MIT, and Pit Bull Tools. Many of these items found their way onto clearance shelves or bargain bins at auto parts stores or home centers. The family may still operate Charles Amash Imports – selling items under some of these brand names. But
reinventing their flagship brand as Tekton and taking it upscale seems to have been very successful.
Harry
I bought the first generation Tekton cart 48 wide x 24 deep shortly after they first came out a few years ago. I really like it. It’s made by Rosseau in Canada, says so on right edge of the top drawer. The carriage tray system is the bomb. My top drawer is overloaded with sockets, impact wrenches and all manner of drive tools. Regardless of how much weight is in a drawer, the drawer latch system releases effortlessly with a single finger anywhere across the drawer’s face. none of that slide left to open crap. What I really like about the cart, are the German made casters. They are the smoothest rolling casters I’ve experienced. Nice locks too. I bought mine on sale. I also got 10% back in rewards points that spent like cash from Tekton.com and free delivery. It was a no brainer for me to get it. It’s probably the last box I’ll buy and to say I’m happy with it, is an understatement.
Julian Tracy
Boats, atv’s, truck caps, scroll saws and toolboxes – all better choices bought used.
High end truck brand tool boxes are easily found in mint condition for 25-30% of their current cost or less.
xrh07
vs the closest** equivalent KRL 54″ for ~$2500? not really…. (**volumetrically, Tekton is deeper and taller, SnapOn is wider. This is as apples to apples as it gets unless you want to move down to a classic series which is definitely definitely not going to compete with this Tekton in capability)
$600-$700 less for a still pretty well inferior used box isn’t going to amount to much of a deal in reality.
The KRL still has 8 drawers with substantially lower weight ratings and 1 with 50 lbs higher, a lower empty box weight (nearly 100 lbs), lower rated casters, no drawer divider system, 2 fewer drawers and a much worse drawer latch mechanism.
I’m all for buying used. I primarily buy used all the time. But with toolboxes, if you do your homework, the truck boxes are hardly ever worth actual consideration. Maybe if they were consistently 15-20% of their overinflated MSRPs and Facebook marketplace wasn’t such an awful place to do business. But that’s not the reality we live in.
LENNY
I have a 68 inch Epic Snap-on toolbox I like to see how this compares to the Epic series Snap-on boxes because it’s a modular box system you could literally add anything you want and just keep adding pieces
TJ Martin
I am not a professional mechanic by any means but early last year I switched over to Tekton tools exclusively. I was tired of tools from HF that did not have all the sockets in their sets and I was trying to build a mechanic style tool box setup for the work I do on my own vehicles. Craftsman and Snap-on tools are way over priced for what they are with the exceptionof specialized tools of course. I did buy a large rolling Craftsman toolbox with upper and lower to house all my new tools. If I could have afforded the Tekton cabinet I would have in a heart beat. Even the new Craftsman tool box is flimsy compared to how they were built years ago. This is only my opinion from a guy that is not in the mechanic line of work.