Long popular in Europe, modular storage took a while to catch on the U.S. Festool, Bosch, and DeWalt have offered it for years, and now Milwaukee is entering the category with its soon-to-be-released Packout Modular Storage system.
Like other modular systems, Packout offers contractors the ability to stack and connect components—making them easier to store and transport. Its most unique and significant feature is the ability to integrate soft-sided totes with hard plastic boxes and parts organizers, which will be a boon to the many tradespeople who carry frequently-used hand tools in open top bags. No one has offered this feature before.
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Packout relies on short interlocking channels molded into the tops and bottoms of boxes and bags. Milwaukee refers to this connection system as Mod-Lock. Connecting a Mod-Lock component is a matter of placing it on top of another and sliding it towards the hinges. To prevent them from sliding apart a spring-loaded dog pops into a slot on the box below. Detaching a component is a matter of pulling up on the dog and sliding away from the hinges.
The boxes and organizers are plastic with extruded aluminum corner protectors. The handle pivots, screws, hinge pin, and latch bales are steel. The corner protectors can be used as tie-down points and for grasping units and dragging them out of a vehicle.
Like DeWalt ToughSystem and Ridgid Pro Series tool boxes, Milwaukee’s are strong enough to stand on and can be transported in the rain without excessive leakage. As nice as they are, you would not want to try that with Festool Systainers, Bosch L-Boxxes, or DeWalt TStak.
Packout boxes and organizers have gasketed lids and are rated IP65—meaning they have undergone testing and proven to be protected against the ingress of dust and the ingress of water when subject to low-pressure jets (a test akin to the box being transported in the bed of a pickup truck in the rain). IP65 is two steps short of being watertight when temporarily immersed.
The ballistic fabric totes have plastic bottoms with the same interlocking channels as boxes and organizers. Fabric tool bags see a lot of wear so plastic bottoms are good—even when they are not part of an interlocking system. Veto Pro Pak, a maker of high-end tool bags, has used plastic bottoms for many years and competing brands have emulated that feature.
The Packout system is made in Israel—probably by Keter, which produces storage products under its own label for Husky, Ridgid, Craftsman, and others.
Scheduled for release in September of this year, the system will initially include 3 tool boxes, 2 parts organizers, and 3 soft-sided totes. The largest tool box has wheels and a telescoping handle, which allows it to function as a dolly for the other components in the system.
Source: core77