Awards season is here, and we want in on the fun! So what better way to to end the year than by ranking some of our most popular sellers–Milwaukee PACKOUT! Roll out the red carpet, pop some bubbly, and get ready to see the most loved pieces of the most well-known click-together storage solution. As we all know with awards, not everyone agrees on who should be at the top of the list, so let us know your thoughts if we missed your favorite! For now, though, we’re diving in.
10. Rolling Tool Box
To begin, we’ve got to start from the bottom up. So what better than with the Rolling Tool Box? This piece is the basis for many a PACKOUT stack, and for good reason. The industrial-grade extension handle and rugged 9″ all-terrain wheels allow you to easily traverse across the entirety of the jobsite, and the PACKOUT line’s IP65 rated weather seal helps keep out dust, debris, rain, and other types of contaminants–ensuring your tools stay protected and ready to go as soon as you need them. All-metal encased corners help protect the interior during falls and tumbles, and the 250 pound weight capacity means this tool box can hold, or help hold, nearly everything you could need. Milwaukee also added a hole in part of the lid to connect a padlock to increase security, safety, and peace of mind since this type of tool box typically holds your larger (and pricier) tools. The Rolling Tool Box is also the basis of our famed PACKOUCH in the Trade Pro Outfitters showroom, which you can start building for yourself by picking up the Rolling Tool Box today!
9. PACKOUT Socket Sets
Milwaukee’s socket sets were already a hot commodity, and the 2022 release of Socket PACKOUT Kits and PACKOUT Compatible Socket Trays has only made them even more popular. These new kits and trays come in sizes ranging from 1/2” to 3/8″; both standard or deep; or in SAE, Metric, or Combination varieties! All of the sockets also feature stamped and ink-filled diameter markings, both for easier identification and to increase the longevity of the sockets themselves. Smaller socket sets can now easily fit into the Compact Organizers, while larger socket sets as well as the versions that include ratchets, like the massive 106 piece set, are encased in the Low-Profile Organizers. Featuring the same IP65 rating for dust, debris, and water, and made of the same impact-resistant materials as the rest of the PACKOUT lineup, these socket sets are a perfect addition to any PACKOUT stack.
8. Hard Coolers
Crack open a cold one–it’s time to talk about the coolers! Two options are available to you when it comes to hard coolers: a 16 quart compact cooler, and a much gargantuan 40 quart XL beast. Both come with the same IP65 rating and impact-resistant materials, you know how it goes by now, and they both come with a built-in bottle opener for all those, uh, soda bottles that you’ve got clinking around in there. Here’s where things begin to differ, though; the smaller cooler can keep ice cold for around 30 hours, which is a huge feat in and of itself, but the larger cooler can hold ice for nearly 5 entire days. Think about that for a second! That’s an entire work week! The XL cooler also features a drain plug to filter out the stagnant water when you’re done, as well as an integrated food-safe cutting board and dividers to keep your drinks on one side and the grub on the other. If you’re in the market for a new cooler, we’re happy to report that your search can finally end here!
7. Two and Three Drawer Tool Boxes
These PACKOUT Drawers were released back in early 2021 and absolutely exploded onto the scene when they launched. Popularity for them soared, and it seemed like everyone and their brother absolutely had to have one, and no wonder; the front-loading drawers were a game-changer for PACKOUT collectors. Gone were the days of having to unclip half of your stack just to get to the pair of pliers you left in an organizer near the bottom. From then on, you’d be able to pull the drawer outwards towards you to rummage around for that impact wrench and leave the rest of your stack untouched. The all-metal encased corners of the Rolling Tool Box make a return to improve stability and protection from fall damage, and the inclusion of a security bar to lock the drawers in place during transit means you won’t have to worry about their position on your way to or from the jobsite. Optional Quick-Adjust Dividers give you freedom to customize the interior of each drawer however you see fit, and you’ll of course be getting that same IP65 rating and impact-resistant build quality you know and love from other PACKOUT items.
So number six is a pretty neat one. We all know the open-topped PACKOUT Crate that Milwaukee released a while back, capable of holding up to fifty pounds, but somewhat more recently they put out this neat Tool Tray for smaller items and accessories, with a twenty-five pound weight capacity. This Tool Tray includes the Quick-Adjust Dividers that allow for complete customization of the tray layout, and are able to fit snugly into the larger PACKOUT boxes, like the aforementioned Rolling Tool Box or the XL Tool Box, but it’s also able to snap into the top cleats of the Crate to create a pseudo-box of your own! While neither piece includes the same IP65 rating common in the lidded PACKOUT pieces, they are made of the same impact-resistant materials as the rest of the line, which helps absorb the impacts of drops and tumbles. Granted, most of your smaller pieces in the Tray will likely go flying, but at least the tools in the Crate should be relatively safe!
5. Wall Plates, Cups, et al.
We technically could’ve set these items apart from each other, but the numbers were honestly so close that we just decided to lump them all into one and talk about everything together! The PACKOUT Wall Plates were another massive hit when they first dropped, allowing everyone to display their PACKOUT collection like never before. The Large Wall Plate, for example, features a one hundred and fifty pound weight limit when mounted on the wall (seventy-five when mounted in a vehicle), as well as Quick-Alignment Tabs on either side, which make installing more Wall Plates a breeze. Small Wall Plates are about a third of the size of their larger counterparts, offering a fifty pound weight limit on the wall or twenty-five pounds in a vehicle, though they also feature the Quick-Alignment Tabs for easier installation. The PACKOUT cups (or Tumblers, as they’re technically known) are another incredible piece of PACKOUT technology; featuring the temperature retention to keep drinks hot or cold all day long that you can expect from any reusable water bottle worth its salt, these cups are also designed with gloved hands in mind; a twist-lock lid can be opened or closed with the push of a finger, and features a seal designed to keep dust and debris out. You’re also able to snap these right into the top of any PACKOUT box including the coolers, giving you more room inside for your food when you’re out on the jobsite. Milwaukee knows how much we like options, and it’s no different here; your choice of twenty or thirty ounce cups, both of which are dishwasher safe. Even if you aren’t a PACKOUT person and are in the market for a good reusable water bottle, you may want to look into these guys here.
Another piece that people had been clamoring for when it was first released, the M18 Vacuum is a phenomenal addition to any PACKOUT stack. Able to work in wet or dry conditions, this vacuum features Milwaukee’s powerful brushless motor which allows for up to 60% more suction than the competition. The vacuum is able to function on or off a PACKOUT stack, meaning you can drag this around by itself or with everything else to save time on snapping everything back together at the end of the day. At only 87 decibels, the M18 Vacuum is also two times quieter than traditional jobsite vacuums, coming in right around the noise level of a typical conversation in a restaurant. Milwaukee have included one HEPA filter in the box to help filter out dust and other microparticles, as well as a crevice tool and utility nozzle to help you keep your tools properly cleaned and maintained, extending their life cycle so you can keep using them for as long as possible.
Alright, here we go! Top three! We spoke a while back about how the PACKOUT ratchet and socket sets come pre-installed in one of the various PACKOUT organizers that Milwaukee offers, and the Shockwave Bit Set has a similar setup. The Low-Profile Compact Organizer houses the five individual hard plastic cups to store bits in. Two of those cups have pre-built dividers inside to help keep the different bits organized. You’ll of course be getting the IP65 rating, you get the idea with that, and each of the bits inside this hundred-piece set are made with a custom Alloy76 steel which is engineered specifically to extend the life of each bit as long as possible. The Wear Guard tips and optimized Shockzones in the bit help to absorb torque and prevent breaking, giving the Shockwave bits nearly fifty times longer life than the competition.
2. Cabinet
The penultimate spot in our list goes to one of the newer PACKOUT items, from which we’ve already seen some pretty great setups and ideas. The PACKOUT Cabinet has quickly become one of the most sought-after items in the PACKOUT line, in no small part due to its versatility. With cleats on the top, bottom, and back of the box, this cabinet can sit in your PACKOUT stack or on the wall with the help of the aforementioned Wall Plates. A fifty pound weight limit means you can store nearly anything you could possibly need, and the Quick-Access Door provides, well, quick access to its contents. Similar to a garage door, the Quick-Access Door lifts up and slots into the top of the box, meaning you can slot this anywhere you’d like in your stack. The door latches when closed, and Milwaukee has also included space for a padlock if one so desires, providing an additional layer of safety and security on and off the jobsite.
1. Ammo Box
While you could technically call this the Compact Tool Box like Milwaukee does, “Ammo Box” sounds much more badass, and is also pretty accurate if you take a look at the box itself. It just happens to be red and made of impact-resistant polymers with snap-together cleats on the top and bottom instead of a sort of sage green and made of metal. You’ll of course be getting the same IP65 rating that you’ve come to expect from any PACKOUT product with a lid, and the ammo box also features Quick-Adjust Dividers to help keep you organised on the jobsite, as well as a removable interior storage tray. With reinforced hinges, a metal-reinforced locking point, and a weight capacity of a whopping seventy-five pounds, this box is capable of storing much more than appearances would lead you to believe. The ammo box also features a built-in mounting location for Milwaukee’s One-Key TICK tracker, which can pair with their One-Key technology for tool tracking should anything befall your PACKOUT stack.
And there you have it! We had surprises, upsets, tears, drama, and my word, did you see what happened between those two celebrities after that Cadet Kelly joke? Thank you all for joining us for this historic night of the Top Ten PACKOUT Accessories; let us know if your favorite PACKOUT piece made the cut, and be sure to grab your goodie bag and follow us on the various social media platforms on your way out. We’ll see you next time!