Milwaukee’s Packout tool storage system was introduced last year, and it seems to have been fairly popular. Yes, the tool boxes are a little pricey, but promos and holiday deals (such as Acme’s) can help with that.
This year, at Milwaukee’s 2018 new tool media event, they introduced new low profile Packout organizers.
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YES!
I remember commenting about the original Milwaukee organizer at a Milwaukee NPS event (2015?) and I might have done the same last year when the Packout tools were showcased.
As much as I like a good quality bulk parts organizer, I tend to have greater needs for smaller compartments. Smaller compartments better allow me to organize smaller parts in bulk quantities, and larger parks in smaller quantities.
For example, a large bin, such as the smallest sized bin in the regular sized organizer, might be fine for holding dozens or even hundreds of wire connections. But what happens when I need to organize parts that take up a fraction of the space?
There are ways to use large bins if that’s all that is available, such as by bundling parts in small baggies or other small sub-containers. But most often, I opt for a different organizer.
I have a couple of Sortimo T-Boxxes, mainly the ones with trays that separate each organizer into 2 levels. I use the ~2″ x 2″ bin size most. That allows me to use 48 standard-depth bins in an organizer, or 92 half-size bins in two-level organizer.
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I outgrew Stanley’s 25 compartment organizers, especially after it seemed they dropped in quality.
So, I really, really like low profile organizers, which has me especially excited about Milwaukee’s Packout organizer expansion.
There will be new low profile-style organizers in full-width and half-width sizes.
See Also: Milwaukee Packout Tool Boxes and Storage System, in Photos
A stack of two slim organizers work out to be the same depth as a single organizer, meaning you can stack a standard Packout organizer next to a stack of two slim organizers, and have another Packout organizer stacked on top of both of them.
Inside, there are new bins, equipped with removable dividers. People were messing around with the bins all day, which is why the dividers are dislodged in some of them.
The full-width organizer has 8 small bins and 2 large ones, and a long central channel between them, for storing other miscellaneous stuff. The half-width organizer has half the number of bins.
One thing to note is that the organizers are structured a little differently than the other Packout organizer and tool boxes. The latches appear to be a little smaller, and the handles are fixed, sticking outwards a little bit.
Model Numbers
- Low-Profile Packout Organizer: 48-22-8431
- Compact Low-Profile Packout Organizer: 48-22-8436
Pricing
The full-width slim Packout organizer will be priced at $33, and the compact one will be $25, at least according to early listings. (Thank you to Mike for the links!)
Buy Now(Low-Profile Packout Organizer via Acme Tools)
Buy Now(Compact Low-Profile Packout Organizer via Acme Tools)
ETA?
The current expectation is that all of the Packout products will launch between September and December 2018.
Packout Sneak Peak
Here’s a look at the original Packout tool storage products, but with one new addition. Can you spot it?
That’s right, there’s a new rolling dolly, with handle and locking casters!
Also, a new Packout tool box case designed to hold a foam insert. The design is a little different, to maximize storage volume.
There’s also a new wall mount, which was shown off attached to a wood stud wall, and the metal interior wall of a standard work van.
More on these new accessories another time.
There are also 2 new Packout tool bags – a 15″ bag (48-22-8321), and a 20″ bag (48-22-8322).
The 15″ Milwaukee Packout tool bag looks to be sized for holding a couple of cordless power tools, and maybe some boxes accessories.
The 20″ Milwaukee Packout tool box has a little more organizational options, with pockets on the inside for holding hand tools.
Both have hard plastic bottoms, top handles, and shoulder straps.
James C
I got the m12 first gen fuel hammer drill with packout case deal a couple weeks back. The case seems well made. It has a thin plastic insert to hold the drill, battery, and charger. Not sure that will be what I ultimately use the case for. Is there any way to buy, for example, the storage inserts separately from the case?
Tony Harris
Acme tools has them for $5
Stuart
Yep!
Link
Andrew
Would you be able to post a link or part number? I looked for the storage inserts at Acme Tools but couldn’t find them.
Stuart
Acme Tools Link
SKU: 31-01-0501
Doresoom
You can buy the bins separately as others mentioned, or Kaizen Foam is a great way to customize the case to hold and protect tools or other gear like cameras, etc.
James C
Hey, I just saw your video on that. I have enough small parts bins of that size so I may go the foam route. Thanks!
fred
The look nice and rugged. In the shops we used a combination metal(mostly) and plastic compartment boxes. Both have advantages and disadvantages. These seem like they might be nice in for grab and go if you fit your trucks to accommodate them. Packout onesy pricing seems a bit steep – especially if you were thinking about converting your fleet over from older boxes. We probably had close to 100 Stanley boxes – some “refurbished” with duct tape – in our remodeling business trucks – and our needs were probably met fairly well with the Stanley-sized bins. Our installers – in the cabinet business – did carry smaller bin plastic boxes from folks like Flambeau and US Plastics. I think that some of these had adjustable dividers. None were as rugged as the Packout boxes appear to be – and we’d typically tape them shut for security. Most were also stored inside pails or canvas totes.
satch
FINALLY! This is exactly where I wanted Milwaukee to go with these organisers. Now if they will only actually get them into rpoduction and into stockists shelves. Conversely, I have no issue buying online if they come from somewhat typical rrsources such as Amazon, Acme, etc.
Til now, none of our American container systems came close to Sortimo’s T Boxxes organiser functions. This is now happily, not the case. The compact and slim models both look like they punch at the same weight as the TBoxxes and above their weight in durability. Can’t wait to see one in person. Thanks for posting this up!
alex
Why not a drawer instead of a slim organizer? Big organizers are useful when you are storing heavy stuff but for small quantities why not use drawers instead (like the tstak units)?
Stuart
Cost? Versatility?
The Dewalt Tstak drawer units are okay. But the partitions are fixed. And when you have a tall stack, the units flex.
Festool Sortainers are nice. https://toolguyd.com/festool-sortainer-organizers-review/
The newer ones are even better, but not quite as versatile. https://toolguyd.com/new-festool-sortainer-tool-box/
Organizers can be carried more ergonomically than drawers. Bins are removable.
Ideally, organizers in drawers or slide-out systems are really convenient.
Maybe Milwaukee will have a drawer unit, but it’ll be pricey. With drawers comes greater complexity, cost, and size.
We’ll continue to see more new Packout products, but right now they’re likely focusing on the products they think will be more popular.
charles
every drawer setup I’ve seen wastes 1-3″ of height for the drawer mechanism and enclosing case, plus the organizer boxes don’t capture the little stuff when you turn it upside down.
FishStick
I like the direction they are going with these since the original organizer is very handy but sometimes holds way more than you really need. One thing I’d really like to see from anyone is a pneumatic nail organizer. From what I’ve seen they all come in the same lengths and count so a small finish nail / staple organizer would be awesome.
fred
That’s an interesting idea. Our guys would pull what they needed in full boxes from stock – or if needed buy them locally. But I’d often see bunches of short pieces of strips that would be in the scrap bins. Maybe it was inefficient to store them for future use – but if there had been purpose-built organizers for them – they might not have gotten scrapped. It would have been worth a try and/or discussion with the crews.
FishStick
I’m a little surprised actually. I thought something like this would have had more demand. I’m only a diy type but I hate having those plastic containers all busted up and nails going all over because they got brittle. If I take my nailers somewhere it would be nice to have everything all packed up and organized instead of my tool bag that has them spilling everywhere. What did you do for framing nails? Currently I’m using an el cheapo tiny toolbox that I just fill and take but it’s horribly sized so it’s about 3-4″ too long with a bunch of wasted space.
David
I’ve been waiting for something like this from Milwaukee, as I really like the full depth organizers. I’d love to see some testing that places small parts into the divided cups and then checks to see if they can migrate into other compartments or the other side of the cup when shaken or flipped. That’s one of the big advantages of Sortimo T-boxxes for small parts.
The other big Sortimo advantage is the configurability. These don’t seem to have quite the flexibility of a T-boxx, but at the price, they may be good enough in a lot of cases if the registration and separation of the boxes is good enough to prevent small part leakage.
I also hope they release the cups for separate sale. When I want to reconfigure one of the full depth units with only smaller cups, I don’t have a way to do so without buying another unit and ending up with one with all large cups. Unfortunately, people have done this at Home Depot, and I’ve found some that people swapped cups around in, leaving some poor unsuspecting purchaser with a far less useful box!
Stuart
If you look at the design of the bin dividers and top lid, it *should* keep parts and supplies in their respective storage spaces.
If you need more regular Packout organizer bins, 31-01-0501 includes (4) small bins and (1) larger one, for $5.
David
Thanks! That’s so new that it’s a pre-order, but definitely solves my desire for more smaller bins.
Diplomatic Immunity
No just make them all black like the ones in Europe and I’ll be sold.
Diplomatic Immunity
*Now just make them all black like the ones in Europe and I’ll be sold.
Blythe
Looks like a good idea, but they will have to get more aggressive with their pricing to lure me in. They at least could offer more bundle sets at a discount.
Oh and FYI: “Smaller compartments better allow me to organizer smaller parts in bulk quantities”
Stuart
Thanks, fixed!
Travis
Agreed. More aggressive with the pricing, and also get some of these products into stores. I have yet to put my hands on any of their pack out products
ktash
This deep 10-compartment Milwaukee organizer has some of the same features and looks like Packout, but doesn’t lock with the Packout organizers. I have six of them, upgraded from Stanley/Harbor Freight for the larger heavier fasteners. They are on pull-out shelves in a small cabinet made of scrap ply and melamine. I don’t carry them out of my shop much. They are $20, so in the same price range as the stanleys, but much better and they do lock together. Wish they made the slimmer version in the same price range. So much better than the Stanleys. Hope they continue to make them.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-10-Compartment-Red-Deep-Pro-Small-Parts-Organizer-225046/205847797
Frank D
If the packouts only carried a small surcharge over those regular milwaukee ones … I would easily order a bunch, to start replacing my dozens of stanleys … and offer my stanleys up for sale … just that ~$45 for a milwaukee vs ~$16 for a stanley … the economics are not there.
Framer joe
The HF small parts at $6 are not very good, the SBD clear lid parts organizer is a great value at $11…much better then HF but twice the cost….not compatible in any system…
Sortimo is great but crazy expensive…but it’s part of a system. ..an amazing system.
…packout is way over priced for the value you get . Maybe the system grows even more,but you’ll be heavily invested in it to get everything you need.
To me .tough system is still the best value and price, expansive system, new drawer units,van and wall mounts lighter,totes,bags..and you can use SBD small bins to fill the gaps..
Frank D
Shame on Milwaukee and Hone Depot dor bot having these in stores yet.
I am in Home Depot and Lowes at least weekly, have yet to see ANYTHING packout yet at Home Depot … but walk into our Lowes and you’d trip over all the Craftsman stuff.
Seriously … wth is keeping MIlwaukee and Home Depot from having this in stores for how many months now???
I might be tempted to switch my elecrical kit to PackOut … as long as my wife never knows about the well above and beyond pricing … but not if it is not in store for evaluation!!!
Frank D
And PS … I started fitting my second “sortimo” rack with Stanley cases … the extra cost for slotting cases together should not cost triple.
Whiskey and Wood
My store gets them in and they are out of stock same day, so it may not be that they don’t get them in, also, you can order some for delivery to the store, check them out in person and if you don’t like them return them, that’s part of why they offer that service, so people don’t bash them when they offer you a way to get them in store for free.
Frank D
Valid point, but there has not even been shelf spacing provisioned … where you’d see the empty spot.
KL
I also think the pricing seems ludicrous next to the Ridgid system, and systems like this take up a lot of floor space. I’m not bashing the PackOut system, just saying I can see why a lot of (smaller) Home Depots would be reluctant to carry these on a regular basis. In retail floor space is finite and $$$$
Frank D
I would be happy to pay a bit of a surcharge for the milwaukee gear, to get the large tote and some organizers for my most frequent stuff. But as it is, my ridgid stack largely sits idle … kind of disappointing dumb boxes with a fancy handle. Good for the power tools and a few extras … but they simply have nowhere near the organization of my 15 year old keter stack, that has multiple trays, three section for parts and bits, …
Frank D
And you’re right, most home depot customers will skip it based on pricing … and possibly for the red bullseye. I have been contemplating spraying the orange on my ridgids black to make them more anonymous.
fred
At least with racecars all those advertising logos on the sides, top hood and trunk come with sponsorship dollars. I’m not sure that the value of the advertising that we provide to manufacturers by toting around tools and toolboxes emblazoned with their names is built into the price. I know that some folks are close to fanatical about their brand loyalty and want to show it off. But unless I owned a significant amount of stock shares in TTI (or other tool companies) – I’d be happier with a more modest show of their logos on my tools and toolboxes. To be fair – we did keep our trucks clean to show off our logos and contact info on their sides.
I think that my wife feels the same – likes some designer handbags – but prefers ones that are a bit more subtle than those having LV built into the pattern of the leather.
satch
KL, agreed they are expensive but we now live in the seemingly crap-or-excellent world of tools. Just like with garden tractors years ago there was a definite homeowner-very upscale middle-full on commercial grades.
That middle category was nicely filled with Wheel Horse, Bolens, Simplicity and some others. And they were MUCH better quality than the entry brands. They gave tremendous value, durability, and were repairable. This is long gone. All those brands exist as parts of corporate porfolios. Names only for marketing. Including the mighty Cub Cadet.
What does that havvd to do with parts organisers? Plenty. You either buy PackOut, Sortimo, Systainer, Tough system, etc or you buy plastic latched junk from Stanley or other rebadged generic stuff from mass marketers. I never thought I would see the day when I would (have to) seriously consider buying $50 organisers to make sure the latches don’t give way after a month of use. Buy good or buy bottom end, that’s the choice.
BTW, in our small HD, the DeWalt and Milwaukee(non-PO) always sell out within a couple of days of new stock arriving. Even at the older 20 and 25 dollar price points.
fred
To paraphrase Shakespeare: the fault dear Satch is not in the stars but in ourselves.
We (they buying public) are seen to obsess about wanting low prices and shop around (be it Amazon, eBay or HD and Wal-Mart) to get them. So a Wal-Mart or HD (as examples) can dictate to Stanley what price point a toolbox must sell at – and cost at wholesale. Stanley acts accordingly to maximize its profits – maintain some modicum of quality with an acceptable (to Stanley and Wal-Mart or HD) level of complaint and returns and meet the dictated price point. With toolboxes, if an OEM in Israel, China or elswehere is involved – this all translates to doing some “value engineering” to cheapen the product.
satch
Yes Fred. And a darn shame. I am not blaming anyone in particular but more lamenting the loss of real choices. And quite a lot of this started before Amazon(who were book sellers for a good while after hey started up) and even the Walmart thing as the biggest retailer around. But yeah, people really bought into the whole use it, dump it, move on.
This works with electronics, drapery and carpet choices, and even appliances to a certain extent. But razors, tools, vehicles, and some others not so much. I find it rather ironic now that good old fashioned made-in-Iowa Maytag washers and driers have a rather substantial following in repair and restoration with corresponding collector pricing. Most.y people just eant rugged machines that work. Same with old garden tractors. Prices for good examples of the brands I mentioned eadily bring more than they sold for new. Oi.
Chris Fyfe
I’ll deffinatly go with a couple or three of the new slim parts boxes .
Chris
Brian A
On the packout and older organizers, I always felt some of the slots should of had stacked half depth cups. Would be perfect vs having full size and slim orgs.
Frank D
Absolutely half depth stackable cups could be handy inside the bigger model, but most people probably would not want it, because of the visibility would be limited to the top row. We’ll just have to buy more half height ones.
Benjamen
Something like this? https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2976211
I printed a few for a Tough System organizer and was looking into designing something similar for the Packout bins. The problem is the Packout bins don’t have a nice ledge like the Tough System ones.
Brian A
That would work but I was thinking one cup on top of the other versus what looks like you made an insert that fits in the full size cup. But still better than wasting much of the space that I do with my orgs. Visibility to me what’s on the bottom isn’t a big deal, I know where everything is lol.
Frank D
B R I L L I A N T !
Half height cups that fit on top of those ridges … or two narrower cups that split a large cup into two …
Drool
Honey, we’re buying a 3D printer! 😛
Frank D
That literally has my brain in a spin, I have a few dozen stanleys, deep and shallow ones, …
Using that method, with inserts, I could do some consolidation of related parts. Or the two inserts could hold the smaller size with then some bulk for the larger third size …
With me being the only user, I would know where everything is as well.
Oh the options and ideas.
Buy buying extra stanleys, I have some rearranged, like a few shallow stanleys to all tiny bins, deep ones to all medium bins, …
Frank D
You could print a tough system style packout cup with the needed ledges … 😉
Or packout cups that are split three ways, four ways, …
I know I would lose sleep and sork through the night while doing such a thing, if I had a packout and a 3D printer
hangovna
Just don’t leave your newly printed stuff out in the sun, they warp like crazy if it’s not ABS.
TonyT
No, just don’t use PLA or similar low transition temperature materials (looks like T-Glase wouldn’t be a good choice, either); there are plenty of other materials that should be fine such as PETG and nylon.
Note that the thingiverse page specifically says “Don’t use PLA”
TonyT
Yeah, 3D printers are fun for stuff like that. Now try printing using relatively clear filament, and it’s even more fun. (Note: printing many layers in translucent PETG ends up with not very transparent objects. However, it looks like using clearer material, fewer layers, and some post processing can give good results, such as this http://taulman3d.com/t-glase-optics.html )
Frank D
Impressive !!!
Benjamen
I created a nesting cup for the Packout bins:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2996724
Evidently someone else just did too:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2993605
Jimmie
Out of curiosity, how much does it typically cost in materials to print one of these?
TonyT
To give a rough idea, I downloaded the packout nesting cup, and sliced it; my result was ~17m of 1.75mm filament. Assuming $25 for a 1kg (about 320m) spool of PETG, cost would be <$1.50
Frank D
Looks totally professional!!!
( now the cost of a packout system and some 3D printer … )
Frank D
Anyone used a 3D printig service where they maile the printed parts? Maybe there is an outfit that could print cups for a reasonable fee plus shipping?
Frank D
In the slim organizer … seems there would be the option to have a cup split four ways, but they’re only split in half.
Do they have any plans for dividers that split the cups 4 ways? Or “ quad cups”?
It seems the opportunity is there to go for smaller and larger cups to truly make it a versatile and custom storage solution.
Kyle Altendorf
Do we know the interior depth for these low profile boxes? It might be a handy way to mount and carry a circuit board I use for work.
I’ll note that I have a full depth one that came with my M12 Fuel hammer drill and it doesn’t seal. It seems nice and well designed and built but there’s just too much deflection in the lid caused by the seal force that the center of the sides have a gap. You can see it but just in case I confirmed by putting a little water inside and closing it. The water poured right out the visible gap.