Dewalt just introduced their new Toughcase and we were lucky enough to try one out to see if the hype is all they say.
Tool Review: Dewalt Toughcase
Pros: | Sturdy, Good Space for accessories, Magnet, Latch, Hinge assembly |
Cons: | none |
Specifications of the Dewalt Toughcase | |
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The Nuts & Bolts |
Just about every manufacturer offers some sort of case with some kind of power tool accessory. Sometimes the cases are pretty good, but most of the times, they tend to be cheap. Now we are not knocking some of the cheap cases because they do make great storage containers for accessories, but it is always nice to have at least one case you can throw your good bits in or have something durable enough to take some sort of beating. Well we are not the only ones who think a case can be just as important as the accessory, Dewalt listened to a lot of different contractors out there and developed their Toughcase.
The first item we noticed was the thickness of the case. This is not some cheap plastic that will crack under heavy conditions. As we noted it is the same material used in the XRP cordless drill. The next two biggest items that are important in case, which some manufacturers miss is the latch and the hinges. Dewalt uses a metal latch system that is installed on the bottom half of the case and latches the top half down. Once you latch the case in place, the latch itself is nice and solid and locks the two halves completely without any movements separating the top half from the bottom half. The next item is the hinge. Again some manufacturers just use a plastic hinge that after a while, just ends up breaking. Dewalt again thought about long term uses and heavy conditions. They have a metal rod that joins the hinges together for added durability. This type of hinge system lets the user open and close the case without compromising the durability, even in colder weather environments.
After taking a closer look at the case we can see the case was actually built with the thought of job site use, so we wanted to test the magnets and the hinges. As you can see by the video below, the magnets are pretty good and held 1.25 lbs to the aluimium stud with no problems. We did have a problem with the magnets holding 2.5 lbs, but again for this size case, we don’t even think you could get 2.5lbs. of accessories in it.
The hooks on the back are plenty deep to make any type of hook system to hold this case in place. We just attached it to the same stud using the back hooks. As you can see we had 5 lbs. resting on the case and the hinges didn’t have a problem supporting this type of weight.
Personally I like this case because I keep my most common bits, a pencil and a couple of other items in it and in the center console of my truck for easy access. This case was very nice to have and I could just grab it for certain jobs and go.
If you need a good case, we recommend the Dewalt Toughcase. Very sturdy and well built. We like the two options of accessories they offer with this case, so it gives the user some variety to choose from.
I wouldn’t have much use for this case, but could see how it could be useful.
Nice but too bad the lid won’t open 180 degrees to accomodate sorting drills etc. Mine does and works great. All in all a good tool accessory.