HF Icon Toolbox

[muddy]

I agree the toolbox market is regional. Around here you can get a good used truck brand for the price of a new icon.

I've been keeping my eye out for a top chest ( *cough* Phil *cough* ). I like the US general ones but I find myself wanting thinner draws then they offer.

I can vouch for the older USG carts as I've put mine through hell. I also have a USG end cabinet on my box at work. The end cabinet has been dropped (full of tools) twice in it's lifetime the top drawer likes to walk out on it's own every now and then but it's been holding up full-time for the last 6 or so years.

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[skfarmer]

i question some people's thought on whether the us general or icon will hold up under professional use. there are guys that have made a whole career out of medium duty cman friction slides. why, because they take care of them. i have also seen snap-n boxes beat to piss in short order by a neanderthal who can break anvils with a 18 oz. ball pein.

things that are taken care of can last under heavy use. those that aren't don't.

[J.A.F.E.]

I think the USG is a decent value especially with a coupon. It is actually a nice box. The Icon box I see much differently - even if the finish issues were resolved to me it's still overpriced for what it is. I believe the marketing ignores what it actually is and compares it to something that commands a much higher price and is aimed at a different market than the average HF shopper. Plus when you buy a Snap-on box the financing is included in the price - paying cash for one would yield a price less than list the Icon is a cash price and the average buyer likely puts it on a credit card and ends up paying off the balance over time and incurring additional interest. So just purchasing is different. The Snap-on box is delivered to the user and a decent dealer would at least install the casters, handle and accessories. The HF boxes have to be unboxed and final assembly by the user and as well has to find a way to schlep the thing home and off load it.

Someone pointed out the finish doesn't affect the function of the box and in many/most cases the boxes will end up scratched, dented and dirty and that is correct the box still does what it was designed to do. But those are two separate issues that have nothing to do with one another. Finish reflects the pride and care a manufacturer has in their product. HF does not manufacture the boxes themselves they are contract production so the actual OEM is hidden to the user but the standards they employ is very visible. If the user cares for their property or abuses it the user makes that decision and it's their decision to make. SK is correct some people could have anything and use it 40 years and it looks like the day it was bought. Another might have it a week and it looks like Hannibals elephants dragged it across the Alps to attack Rome and then dragged it back again.

The real irony to me is the fit and finish on the USG boxes is pretty nice. The badges look good, the paint is nice but I have no idea if the two are made by the same vendor.

[fatfillup]

i question some people's thought on whether the us general or icon will hold up under professional use. there are guys that have made a whole career out of medium duty cman friction slides. why, because they take care of them. i have also seen snap-n boxes beat to piss in short order by a neanderthal who can break anvils with a 18 oz. ball pein.

things that are taken care of can last under heavy use. those that aren't don't.

Valid points SK but there are some differences.  These are directed at US general, not the icon. 

The boxes of yesteryear were not as deep (front to back) as today's boxes, so the amount of tools in each drawer were less, thus the weight would be less in each drawer.  Less weight = less stress on the drawers. 

The friction slices of old boxes were normally fairly stout, can't say the same about some of the BB slides used in cheaper boxes. 

The gauge of metal in some of the old Cman stacks was pretty thick.  Combine that with smaller drawers and less weight, they would last longer. 

As to your point of folks taking care of their boxes, you are absolutely correct.  If cared for, a US general should hold up decently, even for a pro for a while.  But a busy mechanic will be opening and closing the drawers a lot more then a DIYer, and from what I have seen in boxes, the top of the line truck brands will take a lot more use and abuse then US general or other similar boxes.

Note, I said top of the line.  All the truck brands have sold inferior quality boxes that are no better then other run of the mill boxes out there

[bonneyman]

Your point is well taken, Steve.

The finish is the final step, and what the end customer sees when he buys a product. The best constructed box in the world with a crap paint job probably won't sell well, yet a shabby thin box with a class A finish will probably sail out the door. I think it's sad that products are made this way but it is what it is. I'd hate to be on the assembly crew who strives to make a superior product only to have the powers that be tell the finishers to cut corners. First impressions are lasting impressions.

[skfarmer]

agreed phil. i never meant that they were better or as good. just saying that the differences may not be as great as they once were and given good care they should last for a significant amount of use.


my 72 inch us general is a beast. there is some steel in it and the casters are heavy. it is a bitch to move loaded up. will the slides hold up for 20 years. that i don't know yet.