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South Africa, Pretoria
1 Level
682 Review
23 Karma

Review on πŸ“¦ AB Designs 9101ABD Super Satchel Slim: Stackable Silver Storage Container with Removable Dividers for Home Organization by Jonathan Roloff

Revainrating 3 out of 5

Great for light use, looks rather flimsy

This jar is, in my opinion, the epitome of mediocrity at a price where there are better options. It works well, but it seems pretty flimsy to me, especially considering the price. The high price is the main reason why I give this three stars. The material looks like pure polypropylene, so that's a plus. However, the plastic seems rather thin and without much rigidity. The case flexes very easily and I would feel uncomfortable carrying anything remotely heavy in it. I would worry about the lid buckling, the hinge failing, or the plastic snapping. The latches are also thin plastic and all hinges are 100% plastic. Many longer-lasting products use metal pivot pins for added strength. The lid opens fully without resting on the hinge (in some cases the lid stopper is in a vertical position - this is personal preference as to whether you prefer a 180 degree opening lid or not). They securely stack with AB Designs bins although they do not snap together so you cannot carry multiple bins as one unit. I would also get tired of putting something small in the compartments. The compartments are not very well insulated from each other - the lid bulges a little, especially with heavier objects, and allows small items to get into other compartments. The inner baffles strengthen the case shell a bit, but do nothing for the flimsy lid. In addition, the compartment dividers are not as strong and are slightly bent ex works. They don't stay in place very well. Another AB Designs container I received had a label on the bottom for Flambeau Inc. So I believe Flambeau is an OEM - I'm not sure if AB Designs only buys them in bulk and as theirs own, or whether they hire Flambeau as their manufacturer. I've received other AB Designs boxes with some excess coating from the injection molding process, but this box seemed fine. This indicates to me that there is quite a lot of batch variability in their quality control department. Also in this container were the plastic dividers as strips with plastic tabs holding all the dividers together. I had to go through and cut off two plastic tabs on each separator and there are quite a few separators. It's not a big deal, but it did cost me a few extra minutes, and to be honest it's an added annoyance I didn't expect at this price point - it's a task easily automated on a factory machine . It's a bit disappointing that they don't have enough dividers for each compartment. They contained enough dividers for about half the compartments. Injection molded parts become very cheap once the tooling is made - adding enough dividers for all the compartments only costs them pennies more per case! Considering the price of this case they really should have spent pennies and included enough dividers for all compartments. as small items like band-aids are contained in a plastic bag otherwise a poorly fitting lid will cause them to jump over all the compartments) etc. I wouldn't trust this for anything heavier. For the price they charge, you can just go to your local hardware store and buy any number of Milwaukee or Dewalt organizers, which are MUCH more durable (although they don't look as attractive for most home uses). Another alternative would be tanks from Akro Mils if you can find the right tank for your application in their catalog - they make excellent quality storage tanks. A third alternative would be to purchase several organizers from Sortimo. They also make great stuff despite being a bit more expensive than those AB Designs products that are sold in retail stores.

Pros
  • New
Cons
  • Upgradeable