A handy little thing, or let's talk about storage systems

Pretty much every electronics hobbyist—and not just hobbyists—gradually accumulates a lot of different components, fasteners, and all sorts of other small bits. And all this stuff needs to be stored somewhere, preferably not in one big pile.
People use either whatever they have on hand, like matchboxes assembled into large trays, or purpose-made storage boxes.
Today I want to tell you about one such box.

The title lists the price as $6.8, but before New Year's Banggood had a promotion where you could “scrounge up” a certain number of points, and I took advantage of it.
I exchanged the points for a $5 off $10 coupon, added another small item to my order, and placed it. All told, the box cost me about $3–4.

I was interested in this box as soon as I saw it. I have a lot of components, and this box is one step toward getting them organized (I'm not dreaming of perfect order just yet).

But are all boxes equally useful? Not at all. That's exactly what I want to show in this review.
But since there's not much to say about it, this will be more of a “look what arrived” kind of review.

What arrived was a large box, and the nice thing is that shipping was free.
It was packed in an extra clear bag and arrived undamaged.


The box is made of polyethylene, or at least it looks that way, since you can bend it without worrying about breaking it.


I ordered the largest box. Its dimensions are 270 × 175 × 45 mm.


Now let's look at what to pay attention to when choosing a box.
First, the latches. The design here is quite simple: they're molded as one piece with the lid.
They hold pretty well, but I wouldn't call them very convenient, since they're small. Overall, though, I'd give them 4 out of 5.


The hinges, on the other hand, deserve special attention. Very often, cheap boxes (and sometimes expensive ones too) have molded hinges, meaning the top and bottom parts are one piece.
That's a very poor design because these “hinges” break quickly, especially if you use the box in freezing weather.
This box gets it right. Well, almost: it has two latches, one on each side. Some boxes have three, which is more secure, but it doesn't really matter for home use.


I also noticed this little “ear.” I don't see what it's for here; I'll probably cut it off so it doesn't get in the way. Maybe the idea was to hang the box somewhere, but I don't think you'd be happy if it ever fell and scattered all your precious components or screws.


The store offered 4 versions, with 10, 15, 24, or 36 compartments. I chose the largest one. Although if you're using the box to store resistors, the 24-compartment version is more convenient, according to the E24 series. Though you'd need about 7 boxes with 24 compartments each for that.
Another advantage of connecting the top and bottom with hinges is that you can open the box all the way without worrying about the latches snapping, or the lid trying to close and getting in the way.


All the compartments are the same size: 43 × 28 mm and 41 mm deep.


An example of the compartment size compared with a matchbox. The compartment is about as deep as the matchbox is wide, by the way.


It's also worth noting that the compartments can be reconfigured. In this case, you can remove some dividers to make the compartments larger. That's handy when storing items of different sizes. If you plan to store items that are all the same size, you can look for a box without this feature; it'll be a little cheaper.
The slots that hold the dividers are made quite well; they grip securely.


Now let's take a look at what I've bought locally, and compare the main features to look for in a decent box.
First, a couple of fairly good options from Curver. I bought them at the supermarket next door for about $5 and $4.
I have about 10 of them in use, and so far they've all held up fine.
Of these two, I like the box with adjustable compartments best. The lid has recesses for the feet of another identical box, so when you stack them, there's less chance of one slipping off (another sign of a decent box).


You can't adjust the compartment sizes here, but it was cheaper.


The top box has one more distinguishing feature: feet for standing it upright. It stands more securely that way, which is a plus.
But both boxes have one drawback in common: their hinges are molded as part of the box, so they'll eventually break :(


Here's an example of a box with practically no drawbacks.
It has:
Adjustable compartment sizes
Convenient latches
Proper hinges—and three of them.
Feet for standing it upright.

This box is better suited to larger components and fasteners, but overall, it gets 5 out of 5.


The latches are wide, sturdy, and not molded as part of the box.


The hinges and feet.


A side-by-side comparison of all four boxes.
Actually, I have a fifth one too—I remembered later. It's shown in this review.




As I said above, I have a lot of parts, but I'm embarrassed to show you the mess, so I put just a small selection on the table. I also tried to see what fits where.


Regular resistors, unfortunately, don't fit very well: they have to go in sideways, or you need to bend the leads. Although I originally bought the box for them, so I'll probably bend one of the leads.
The LEDs fit perfectly, as do the capacitors.


So, what should you look for when buying one?
1. Suitable box and compartment sizes.
2. Adjustable compartment size.
3. Hinges. It's better to choose a box without molded hinges, where the top and bottom are one piece.
4. Latches. It's best to try them yourself, but if that's not possible, then for large and heavy components the latches should be big and sturdy; for small parts, it doesn't matter.
5. Feet for vertical storage. Useful, but not always essential.
6. Recesses in the lid for the feet of the box above. A very useful feature that can come in handy sometimes. The box I'm reviewing doesn't have these, or feet for that matter.
7. A transparent lid can sometimes be useful when you have a lot of boxes.
8. Number of compartments—well, to each their own :)

And to sum up:
Pros
Decent hinges—at least it has them
Lots of compartments
Adjustable compartment size.

Cons
Price
Molded latches

Overall, I liked the box, which is why I decided to write this short review.
I plan to buy a few more of these boxes so they'll all match; that makes them much easier to store and use.

I hope this information was useful. I'd be glad to hear about other options in the comments.