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Ridgid's Tubular Tool Storage, Yea or Nay?
Is this a design improvement, or different for the sake of being different?
By Rain Noe - July 29, 2015
Tons of tool companies have jumped onto the Systainer bandwagon, derivatively creating stacking, rectangular tool storage systems of their own. And while Home Depot's in-house Ridgid brand has followed suit, I was interested to see they've also come up with something quite different: A toolbox shaped like a tube.
Enter a caption (optional)I gave it a second look because the form factor is not an obvious choice—so what is the thinking behind it? Ridgid has not released a demo video explaining the design, but I found this video review of the Pro Tube Tool Box, from the guy behind Tool Craze, that at least provides a closer look at the product. (Note that we've set the video embed to skip the first half, in which he covers Ridgid's aforementioned stackable rectangle system.)
As far as I can tell, one potential benefit of the tubular design is that when fully opened, you've got two semicircular-bottomed bins that arguably might be easier to fish around for tools in than if it were rectangular. But does that justify the wasted space? Meaning that the toolbox would occupy a certain volume in your truck, but not all of that space is usable storage.
Enter a caption (optional)The second potential advantage I see is that you could certainly store larger tools in this thing, particularly with the tray removed, than you could in a rectangular box.
The third advantage is a Home Depot staple: the price. At less than $30, it seems this thing ought to fly off of the shelves, assuming buyers can make sense of the form factor.
So what do you think, particularly the tool users among you: Does this design represent an improvement over what everyone else is doing, or is it just different for the sake of being different?
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Rain Noe
I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.
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Ridgid's Tubular Tool Storage, Yea or Nay?
Nay. It's gimmicky and overpriced. Nice rectangular toolboxes are available for less and in nearly every size one could need to store and transport tools.
Rigid could make this a stackable tool box by simply using the same end caps that are currently on the bottom half also on the lid half. If the lid and base were the same, either could serve as the lid. When more tools have been transferred to the lid during work, simply close the base over the lid and you're good to go.
They could also make the lid separate so the two halves could be used independently.
Finally, wouldn't it be cool if there were modular tool holders that could be added to match each tool the user needs to carry? It would make organizing so much better, and would avoid the excessive rummaging around to find items.
Ridgid isn't Home Depot's "in house brand". It's part of Emerson's Commercial and Residential Solutions division (http://www.emersontoolcompany.com/en-US/Pages/Default.aspx). HD just happens to be a huge distributor/retailer.
A cylindrical base ensures that eg loose screws will accumulate along the bottom -as will the usual toolbox dust and grime. Having no corners is a marginal benefit though. It may be that this was developed for situations where eg throwing the box onto a truck was frequently found to crack open rectangular designs: the cylinder being potentially stronger.
Meh! I have a lot of Ridgid tools but I'm hesitant with the tool tube The first thing that I noticed about the tool tube is the attachment points of the handle and shoulder strap . The handle and and shoulder strap connect to the top half of the tool kit, rather than the bottom. This burdens the latches with the weight and jarring when being carried. If those latches where to break (and usually they do) the tool box become pretty useless... it becomes a stationary tool chest. If they were connected to the bottom half , the latches could break but the handle and shoulder strap are still functional. The video mentions the latches are metal but its metal connected to plastic.. it is as strong as its weakest point.
I see no advantage in this design. As suggested in the article and stated by other commenters, the form factor offers less usable space for the space it occupies, isn't stackable, and looks uncomfortable when used with the shoulder strap (a feature I never use with hard cases.) Additionally, most smaller tool cases that you might want to keep in your tool box (ex. drill indexes) are typically boxy. I'm not averse to a rethinking of tool storage, but I don't see any advantages in this design.
I think it looks cool and the price point is great, but I think the form factor could have been better thought out. The internal storage space will have less room than a cubic shape and it does not appear to have the "stackable" advantage of others. In addition, there is a very small contact patch pressure point against the side of the body taking all of the lateral weight. This could make it uncomfortable to carry with the shoulder strap. Seems to me that a cubic shape with an indentation on the side that could accommodate the a person's hip would have been more ergonomic. While sacrificing some internal storage, it would not have been as much sacrifice as moving to a cylindrical shape while still retaining the ability to stack more that one. Or, a hard backpack case would have been interesting. Freeing both of the user's hands while transporting.