Battle of the Boxes: AluBox vs Zarges

[Dave]

The average Overland style trip requires considerable planning and organization due to the tyrannies of time and distance involved. Too much or too little gear and provisions can negatively impact the success of any trip, and your load plan will be tested by rough terrain, inclement weather, and critters. And with our limited time off from work being so valuable, what’s the absolute best way to stay organized, avoid loss, and prevent the trip of a lifetime from being derailed?

We believe that hard cases provide a superior level of organization and accountability. Weather resistant and capable of being stacked and tied down, they ensure peace of mind when exposure to the elements is a risk factor and are a top choice for storage of gear and provisions inside or outside of any vehicle. Useful for long term storage with easy portability to and from camp or job site makes...

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[Greg]

Zarges does offer the K440 medium-duty case and K420 light-duty cases as alternatives to the heavy-duty K470.

All boxes 22.91 × 15.55 × 9.25 - 2,584 cu in / 42L - stainless steel hardware

Light-duty K420 40861 - $158 - No corner reinforcements - not stackable - 2 individual hinges rather than a piano hinge.​

Medium-duty K440 40701 - $179 - Impact resistant plastic corner reinforcements - 2 individual hinges rather than a piano hinge.​

Heavy-duty K470 40568 - $293 - Grizzly bear resistant as described by Dave.​

I went with medium-duty K440s when reorganizing my loadout and replaced my pelican cases back in August. They simply pack better. They're not as bulky as Pelican cases. The ratio of internal volume vs external volume with aluminum cases is superior. They're lighter and handle better when loading/unloading, Do I expect the K440s to be as tough as the K470 or the AluBox? Not by a long shot but they do offer most of the benefits. Just keep them away from grizzly bears.

 

[Road]

Great review and great images, Dave.

I've had three Zarges K470s (one 40678, two 40810; all IGBC cert'd) and one Zarges K420 (380033) for several years and have written about them several places on adventure forums, with many of these same points. I grew up adventuring with family in Germany, so naturally gravitated towards the cases I'd seen there among both civilians and military.

I've purchased most of my gear knowing my kid and her kid will both be able to use it when I'm gone. I like knowing that, and that there may be times when things are said like "See this sticker? That dent? Your great-grandpa Road had stories for every scratch on these rugged old cases. He was always out adventuring somewhere."

Cool to see a direct comparison between the two lines. I didn't know they interacted so well in stacking, and will keep my eyes open for available used Alubox that fit my Zarges.
Anytime I find gear that stacks to similar heights, as seen in the images below, it satisfies the organizational/packing nerd in me and makes things more efficient and wastes less space.

I love my Zarges, use them hard, and depend on them all. You just can't beat good hardshell cases like these. One of my back-burner projects is to make some top plates. Though I have not missed having plates, I'm sure I'll appreciate them once I have some.

Every year I adjust the contents of my Zarges and how I use them in my vehicle and around camp. Of all the cases and containers I have, my Zarges always go with me.

I'm wicked envious you're getting some cool gear from the likes of FPG and Zarges to use and review.

...

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[WashingtonTaco]

If I go aluminum cases I will go Zarges. In my night job, aviation maintenance, we receive parts in Zarges cases and in 28+ years of commercial aviation maintenance I have never had a damaged part arrive in a Zarge case.

 

[Dave]

I've edited the article to reflect the following facts:

The AluBox 60 L and the Zarges K-470 #40678 are both advertised as weighing in at 5kg/11 lbs on their websites.

Despite the differences in advertised material wall thickness (1mm vs 1.5mm), in my opinion the heft and construction appears identical with each box weighing in at 11 lbs.

 

[Dave]

I find it odd that one box advertised as 1mm thick walls, and one with 1.5mm thick walls, could weigh the same. But they do. They are literally identical.

 

[Herbie]

I find it odd that one box advertised as 1mm thick walls, and one with 1.5mm thick walls, could weigh the same. But they do. They are literally identical.

I imagine the bulk of the weight is in the corner brackets and other hardware. It also looks like the formed rib around the waistline of the Alubox adds a little material w/o adding height to the box. (i.e. you start with a 13" piece of aluminum that gets formed into a 12" high box after stamping.)

I checked the relative density of 5005 vs 5754 aluminum and that's the same to a couple of decimal points, so wherever the difference, it's in the construction, not the material itself.

 

[Dave]

I imagine the bulk of the weight is in the corner brackets and other hardware. It also looks like the formed rib around the waistline of the Alubox adds a little material w/o adding height to the box. (i.e. you start with a 13" piece of aluminum that gets formed into a 12" high box after stamping.)

I checked the relative density of 5005 vs 5754 aluminum and that's the same to a couple of decimal points, so wherever the difference, it's in the construction, not the material itself.

Yeah it just doesn't add up to me. Corners, hardware, all pretty comparable.

One brand advertises 1/3 more material used in construction... where is the added weight?

I call shenanigans.

 

[itsky]

Would love to see folks organization of such boxes. I think I prefer boxes, but went with drawers in LC 200 as I need to use every square inch. I roll with a family of four, camp and mountain biking gear. It would be sweet if someone made a drawer or slider or contraption that could hold a couple of these for easy access with a full cargo area.

 

[Herbie]

Would love to see folks organization of such boxes. I think I prefer boxes, but went with drawers in LC 200 as I need to use every square inch. I roll with a family of four, camp and mountain biking gear. It would be sweet if someone made a drawer or slider or contraption that could hold a couple of these for easy access with a full cargo area.

I don't have the fancy boxes, but I long ago began coveting Dave's organizational prowess. I like using corrugated plastic (the stuff they use for yard signs during elections, etc.) to make reconfigurable dividers. Using spray glue and lining these with craft foam is optional, but I use that where I don't want stuff to get scratched (kitchen tools) or otherwise impacted (camera case).

 

[Greg]

Medium duty Zarges K440 40702. Plastic corners (rivets also countersunk), two hinges, 9 lbs. With no specs I would say the wall thickness is less than a millimeter. I will also have to agree with @Herbie that the weight probably comes from the hardware. A good chunk of it coming from the corners with the next item on the scale being the stainless piano hinge.

By the way the front runner flat pack will fit.

 

[Greg]

Using this seam on all my cases got me a measurement of slightly over 1 mm near the pinch weld for the K440 case wall thickness. With that info I would say it's a 1 mm wall.

You could see the seam in full in the first pic of my last post

 

[Dave]

Want to put together a shower in a box? Check it out HERE

 

[mep1811]

I have both boxes and both are great. Rather than spending a fortune on designer dividers I just used coroplast and Drip Irrigation Micro Stakes. The savings is almost the cost of a box.
Rather than a Goose Gear lid cover I just made one of 1/4 inch plywood and some rubber tread strips from Harbor Freight. A major price savings.
Another trick is to either line the box with tool box liner or spray the interior with bed liner. This eliminates the aluminum "dust" that occurs from the items rubbing the inside of the box.

 

[Herbie]

Well, I bit the bullet and picked up an Alubox of my own.

In my case, the change was driven by a shift in my overall kitchen setup - the previous box which held stove/pots/utensils/etc. required that I have a flat surface to set it on - this necessitated bringing a camp kitchen or table of some sort, which I didn't always want to bring. Switching to the Alubox means I can set the kit on the ground (if need be), and access the contents from the top, rather than opening a case flat. So, while the Alubox of similar volume is slightly heavier (~2lbs) than the previous ABS tool case, this method lets me eliminate the 13lb Coleman folding prep station I'd been bringing.

I've previously posted about how I'm a big fan of the corrugated-plastic-divider method, and I'd planned to go that route again, but I made a discovery while playing around with how to organize the new box, and I thought I should share:
The internal length/width of the 42L/60L/73L Aluboxes (and probably the Zarges too) are such that they're very close to the size of a standard industrial food-service steam-tray pan. (Also known as a "hotel pan" - these are sold in various divisions of a "full size" pan. In this case, two "1/2 size" hotel pans fit perfectly side-by-side in the box.) I don't have a "full" pan to test, but I'd bet that would fit too, if you needed something that big.

Here are two 1/2-size by 4" deep pans stacked underneath my butane stove (washing supplies stored within):

(The "wasted" volume around that pan holds a couple of small items, so it's better utilized than it looks there.)


I've also added a 1/2-size by 2-1/2" deep steam pan a which currently just holds my tools. These sit just low enough that I can store a cutting board over the top and still close the lid.

The utensils pan floats on a couple of angle brackets, leaving about 6" clearance underneath for all my remaining kit (fuel bottle, windscreen, spices, more pots/pans).

I've literally only just got everything in the last couple of days, so I'm still experimenting with how to use the new kit, but there is a LOT more utility here, despite having a very similar exterior volume to my old case. I had originally planned just to use the steam pans for washing up (replacing the collapsible sink I'd been using, but didn't love), but realized I can just as easily use them for cooking, too. I may eliminate the "camping" pans entirely and just use the hotel pans exclusively. This would free up so much volume I wouldn't even know what to put in that space!

 

[Dave]

Saw this ad on FB today. These are verified FAKE, pure Chinesium per my contact at Equipt (AluBox).

 

[WashingtonTaco]

Attention Walmart shoppers!

 

[Dave]

Atlantic British is one of those companies that was once a pretty cool niche vendor who appears to have gone in a different direction.

 

[Steve & Deb]

I have an old MG, and when searching for parts, Atlantic British was usually only used as a last resort. Some stuff was the real thing, or good repops, but others just plain junk. And that was nearly 20 years ago. I had barely heard of them since.

 

[Greg]

The Atlantic British cases have a wall thickness of 1 mm which is the equivalent of the Zarges K440 case. The are priced within $10 of each other for comparable size cases.

Zarges has larger selection of cases and accessories. You can also get them off Amazon with free shipping.