sortainer and systainer durablilty

[billybokay]

    I am a Semi professional , mostly in the shop stuff.  I had to do a job for a friend at a beach club and walk my tools a long distance from the truck.
Took a large selection of tools to a jobsite in all my systainers and sortainers.

    Well, those damn latches don't work at all when you don't close them. After a long day I
pick up a stack to go down concrete steps, about 6 steps with 2 systainers  and 2 sortainers on wheels.
CRASH, BANG BOOM , #$%@#&* lots of cursing to follow.
All my drawers won't open and latches came off and holy crap, what a mess.

I now wait a day to try to assess the damage to my beloved stack of green and beige plastic. I take everything apart, clear the jams from tools and screws and put the latches back on.
A few scratches but overall everything is back to perfect condition and I am thrilled.
Gotta love these products.

 

[Loren Woirhaye]

Yeah, you have to be attentive to that.

I've had my Festool stuff for about 5 years now.  The tools
seem mostly built to last but I wonder if the Sortainer plastic
will get brittle and crack. 

Only time will tell.  So far, so good.

 

[semenza]

Hi,

  They always seem brittle to me too.  But I have one Systainer that has a bashed corner.  What is different about the bashed corner is just that - it is bashed,  like someone smacked it right on the point with a hammer, but not cracked at all! Just pushed in and crumpled a bit.  I have not had any incidents to test any further, but I suspect that they are more durable than they seem.  This question has come up before (I might even have asked it). It would be great if Festool or a dealer would be willing to have at it with a Systainer on video and also with pictures. I think that would go a long way towards instilling confidence in the Systainers and Sortainers.

Seth

 

[Programmergeek]

I love the systainers except for the latches.  sometimes they are so hard to close and open seems to depend on temp somewhat.  Anyhow so far they work fine just can be a bit tedious at times.  A clip latch that you can put a lock through might be a better option.  The nice thing though is that they are all plastic, no rusting to worry about.

 

[Hoover]

Just be glad it wasn't in cold weather.  I would guess they would all be in sizes no bigger than a domino.  I like them and the concept but I don't bang those around like I would some of the other tool cases that have the flexible plastic.

 

[ericbuggeln]

When I first got my my box van I loaded up about ten systainers and ct22 right on the end of the floor.  The van was parked right up against the garage , so by the time I ended up leaving I didn't notice that the back door was open.  When I went to turn out of driveway al I heard was crash ???.  One broken latch and some scuff marks on ct22 but thats it.  I don't recommend trying for yourself, but impressive impact resistance.  The coolest dude on the net sent me a new latch and I'm back in business.

 

[Les]

I must just be unluckly. I had the catch for the latch break on 2 systainers. Both broke when trying to close. They sent me a new top to replace one and I haven't done anything yet about the other since its the bottom and I probably won't get new decals :'(.

 

[Bob Marino]

  If you use a spray lube (pick yours) it goes a long way in making the latches easier to open and close. One thing I'd like to see in the systainers is a little bit of rubber in the mix. I would think that would make them less susceptible to damage (shipping and other types).

Bob

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

The plastic the Systainers seems really durable. I started buying empty systainers almost two years before I bought a Festool power tool, and I have only one or two systainers that show any damage. One actually came from Woodcraft with a slightly damaged corner, and the other I damaged myself. I was initially wary of how the plastic would hold up to Minnesota winters, since the plastic seemd somewhat brittle. However, after several drops to concrete on a -10 degree F day I am sold on their durability! BTW, the systainers that have damage are Maxi-Systainers, where the corners are designed slightly different than regular systainers, and the damage is purely cosmetic, not affecting the integrity of the case.