Are Husky Build-Out Tool Boxes Waterproof?

If you're a workplace professional, odds are you've accumulated a vast array of gear over the years. And if that's the case, you've no doubt learned how difficult it can be to lug it all to and from a work site day in and day out. There are many different ways to accomplish that task, including simple options like stacking your tool boxes on a hand truck.

Many of the major tool makers have gotten wise to that concept and now make "build-out tool kits," modular tool boxes designed to be stacked and connected for easy transportation. Some even include boxes with wheels and handles built in to make it easier to move gear from one location to the next. One of the bigger names in the tool game that's currently making build-out kits is Husky, which has long been in the business of building tough tool chests for most storage needs.

Husky's heavy-duty Build-Out options should be equally capable of securing and protecting your work site gear from any bump or drop it might endure on the job or on the way to work. The boxes may also provide significant protection from other tool-damaging elements like dust and moisture. You should know, however, that most of Husky's Build-Out boxes are not fully waterproof. As such, you'll want to be careful about the level of moisture they're exposed to.  

No, this is not a case of bait and switch styled false advertising on the part of Husky. The company makes no claims that the tool boxes in its Build-Out lineup are waterproof,  but notes only that most boxes are resistant to dust and water. As noted on the product page of its 22" Rolling Tool Box and other Build-Out options, the gear is rated IP65 waterproof. If you're not familiar with such ratings, IP stands for Ingress Protection, a level of measurement of an object's resistance against exterior elements like water.

The first number in that IP rating (in this case, 6) measures resistance to dust, while the second (5) marks resistance to water. IP water ratings cap out at 9, so Husky's Build-Out Tool Boxes are middle of the road in their waterproofing. An IP65 rating means the boxes should fare just fine when subjected to light rain or water spray, but may be more susceptible to heavier rains, and are likely to be inundated with water should they become submerged.

Among the other IP65 water-resistant tool boxes you'll find in Husky's Build-Out collection are the large 22" box, the 22" tool case, the 22" deep organizer, and even the handheld 14" tote bag. Those options should more than suffice in securing and protecting most of your Husky gear, including the tools you'll find in some of the brand's better tool kits.

To add an extra layer of water protection to your Build-Out setup, Husky has devised a clever box within a box approach, with the lineup's 12" storage bin designed to be tucked safely inside one of the larger modular containers. Unfortunately, this storage bin's size does indeed relegate what you can actually protect inside, with its 12" width and 2.05" height proving too small for some of your larger tools. Complicating matters is that the 12" storage bin comes pre-fit with either 6 or 9 individual small compartments inside, making it better suited to hold items like nuts, bolds, screws, and washers, among other things.

The good news is that the dividers inside the storage bin are removable, so you may be able to store some slightly larger tool box essentials inside. The things you keep in the 12" storage bin do stand a better chance of staying dry when exposed to water, due in part to it being constructed of industrial-grade polymer with over-center latches. Husky's design team also built the bin with a silicone O-ring seal that bolsters both its durability and its resistance to water. In fact, this Husky Build-Out compatible bin actually claims to be watertight.

Even still, the specs as listed on the bin's Home Depot product page state that it is rated at IP65 for waterproofing, which is the same as the other Build-Out tool boxes. So even if it claims to be watertight, you might want to think twice before you let it get submerged in water.