Twelve Toolboxes Tested

August 2009

You don’t have to tackle many DIY jobs on your vehicle before you’ve built up a decent collection of tools. They cost far too much to leave rattling around the boot of your car in a carrier bag or cardboard box, and you’ve probably already discovered the case some of them were sold in is not particularly robust.

So the best way to protect your kit, and make it easy to select when you need it, is to invest in a toolbox.

These storage solutions come in all shapes and sizes, and there are designs to suit all types of budgets and tool kits. But which one should you go for? We filled 12 of the best with all manner of kit to see which is the one for you.

The key here is keeping tools apart – that way, you can store drivers, sockets etc together for easy selection. So we wanted to see plenty of large sections for spanners, screwdrivers, pliers and hex keys, plus bigger ones for long tools such as hacksaws, a torque wrench and hammer.

Smaller areas for connectors, fasteners, fuses and the like are another desirable feature, as is a solid finish and lightweight construction – tools are heavy enough on their own without adding a hefty box to your load! Price was our final consideration.

Verdict

For less than a tenner, you can have our champion from Homebase. The 22-inch cantilever cleverly gives plenty of easily accessible storage with decent-sized compartments to keep all your kit apart.

Tool giant Clarke is second, with the spacious, well organised CTB700, while the cleverly thought-out Halfords cantilever takes our final podium place.

1. Homebase 22-inch Cantilever Box
2. Clarke CTB700
3. Halfords Cantilever Box

Top 3

1. Homebase 22-inch Cantilever Box
2. Clarke CTB700
3. Halfords Professional Cantilever Tool Box

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