Battle of the Boxes: AluBox vs Zarges

The issue I have with these knock offs - and Atlantic British is CLEARLY knocking off AluBox here - is that they are made in China.

I get spam from companies like Kassico in China who want to make boxes JUST LIKE the Atlantic British ones - AluBox knock offs - for American Adventurist. With our logo stamped right on them and everything.

We could do well when I consider their bulk pricing, and our profit margin per box. It’s steep. I could load a trailer full and roll into any of the big overland field glamping events and undercut everyone else’s pricing and make a killing in a weekend. I could do this with a variety of products from recovery gear to boxes and bags to stoves or RTT’s. Hell, I could even get into AAV branded winches. It’s as easy as taking out a small loan and waiting on a container…

Hell. No. I won’t. Why? Because we value integrity.

Companies like Atlantic British and Swiss Link (just to name two) are examples of THE PROBLEM when it comes to IP theft and the global economy.

We need to STOP feeding the COMMUNIST CHINESE dragon!
 
Flash back posting.

Referencing: NOTE: Both AluBox and Zarges have received Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) certification but tested or not we still wouldn’t leave any of these boxes all alone in bear country while we’re away from camp.

I recently bought a few of those Nite Ize Gear ties that are available at REI and Home Depot. I was going to use them for as intended, but I found that they
work perfectly to secure the latches on my AluBox and Zarges boxes. It might help keep a small bear or feral kid from popping the latch.

For your entertainment.

WIN_20230522_13_26_55_Pro.jpg
 
Greetings. Update on my Zarges and Alu-box system.

I found that Zarges has a removable bamboo top for their cases.
Zarges Bamboo Travel Top - ZARGES USA

I also found that Zarges has locks for their latches. (I tried to see if they would fit the Alu-box, but no luck.)
Lock and Key Set - Case Accessories | ZARGES USA

I also found Zarges had made a sturdy dolly for the cases to make moving and organizing cases very easy. The dolly also works with Alu-boxes.
They were not on the Zarges website, but I found them (W150) on the internet and they were shipped from Zarges.

I still love my Alu-box with the Goose Gear top as my primary camp kitchen box.
WIN_20230614_12_37_47_Pro.jpg


WIN_20230614_12_38_05_Pro.jpg


WIN_20230612_10_26_33_Pro.jpg
 
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Just made the big purchase for the Zarges cases last week. I will be swapping out my Front Runner boxes for them. I wanted the Zarges when I was building out the GX but had to set priorities to get the truck built. I've had plenty of experience with them at the night job and knew if baggage handlers couldn't destroy them or my parts that they pass the test for durability. I also ordered some of organizer items. Looking forward to this winter project!
 
While I did order Zarges foam kits for two of my boxes from Zarges I also ordered two foam divider kits from Front Runner. Similar to the TrekPak that @Dave wrote about in his article, the Front Runner foam dividers are less than half the price. Don't get me wrong I really like the TrekPak I installed in my Truckvault but at less than half the price I thought I'd give them a shot. Currently on Black Friday sale.

https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.com/en/us/storage-box-foam-dividers.html
 
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mep1811 said:
I don't believe this ad claims these are Alu-boxes.
Click to expand...

They choose their words carefully, but one look at these (the corner hardware specifically) and you can see these are basic knock offs. Reverse engineered to look just like an AluBox.
 
I did some comparisons between the Trekpak scraps I had and the the Front Runner dividers. In thickness the FR is about .020" thinner. The pin diameter is a bit smaller and made of plastic. I do like the Trekpac pins better, they weighed in at 9 grams and the FR didn't register any weight. I did not use a calibrated scale though. The Trekpac cutting tool should work for the FR dividers.

trekpac #1.jpg
trekpac #2.jpg
trekpac #3.jpg
trekpac #4.jpg
trekpac #5.jpg
 
Dave said:
That FrontRunner divider kit literally looks just like Trekpak


View attachment 63244
Click to expand...
Hello Dave,

I‘ve just joined after nosy about for weeks. I am putting together a kitchen box. The plan is to use a Zarges 40678 box which is quite a bit higher than the Frontrunner dividers. However I am planning to have the stove on top of the foam - that‘s to say; open the box remove the stove and then pots set would be underneath along with an hang kitchen organizer that packs down (Step22 Chameleon perhaps).

The stove I have is pretty heavy duty (18” Partner Steel) and my question is would the foam be firm enough to bear the 13 pound weight of the stove?

If I were to cut some metal or thin ply wood dividers any idea on how to attach to the side of the Zarges?

I was thinking maybe sandwiching such dividers between the FR foam in the sections needing to bear the stove weight.

Any thoughts suggestions ?
 
david74 said:
Hello Dave,

I‘ve just joined after nosy about for weeks. I am putting together a kitchen box. The plan is to use a Zarges 40678 box which is quite a bit higher than the Frontrunner dividers. However I am planning to have the stove on top of the foam - that‘s to say; open the box remove the stove and then pots set would be underneath along with an hang kitchen organizer that packs down (Step22 Chameleon perhaps).

The stove I have is pretty heavy duty (18” Partner Steel) and my question is would the foam be firm enough to bear the 13 pound weight of the stove?

If I were to cut some metal or thin ply wood dividers any idea on how to attach to the side of the Zarges?

I was thinking maybe sandwiching such dividers between the FR foam in the sections needing to bear the stove weight.

Any thoughts suggestions ?
Click to expand...
I think the Front Runner foam would be sufficient support for the Partner Steel stove. I would put pins in top and bottom though to minimize splay of the dividers.

My mod thread of my Zarges.

americanadventurist.com

Zarges box mods

Not to take away from @Daves Zarges Alubox comparison this thread will focus on Zarges boxes and how I outfitted mine. I have wanted Zarges boxes for my offroad vehicles for many years. Having used them in my aviation career receiving and shipping parts worth more than the average home I knew...
americanadventurist.com americanadventurist.com
 
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