10 best tool boxes with all the kit you need for home DIY
Choosing a toolkit can seem like an impossible task. Will it have everything you need? Will it have space to carry every DIY essential? But luckily, we’re here to help.
For most users, a generic hand toolset is the best-suited type of toolkit for use around the home. These sets typically include hammers, screwdrivers, tape measures, pliers, and other tools used commonly for basic home maintenance.
Then there are those made with specialists in mind. For instance, an electrician’s toolkit contains specialised gear like electrical tape and voltage testers. While mechanical sets tend to contain items like socket sets, ratchets and spanners – ideal for working on cars and bikes.
Both of these will still include the more commonplace tools we mentioned above, but if you have the right training and you expect to focus on a specific type of work, a specialist toolset might be more beneficial.
Of course, some people have all sorts of work to do, from tightening up nuts and bolts to putting up shelves. If you want to cater for the widest possible range of tasks, your best bet is probably to buy a very comprehensive generic toolkit.
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How we tested
We did hands-on testing to come up with this list, which includes tool kits that vary widely in both price and the range of tools provided, so there should hopefully be something here that suits your needs.
The best tool boxes for 2021 are:
Best overall – VonHaus 256pc premium tool and socket set: £89.99, Vonhaus.com
Best for basic household upkeep – Guild 45-piece home tool kit: £30, Argos.co.uk
Best starter set – Clarke PRO394 professional 90-piece tool kit with cantilever toolbox: £119.70, Machinemart.co.uk
Best to upgrade your tool collection – Teng SCPS01 6-piece general tool set: £82.99, Machinemart.co.uk
Best electrical kit – Mannesman VDE screwdriver and pliers set: £46.39, Amazon.co.uk
Best for basic woodworking and light renovation – Magnusson 40-piece tool set: £34.99, Screwfix.com
Best for a robust carry case – Makita 90352 P-90532 home repair kit: £94, Amazon.co.uk
Best for a range of screwdrivers – Stanley 062142 screwdriver set in rack: £31.40, Amazon.co.uk
Best for smartphone and laptop repairs – B&Q 41-piece tool set: £22, Diy.com
Best for durability – Clarke CHT641 199-Piece DIY tool kit with cantilever tool box: £95.98, Machinemart.co.uk
VonHaus 256pc premium tool and socket set
Best: Overall
Type: General/DIY/mechanical
Case/bag: Hard plastic case
Pieces: 256
This hulking kit from VonHaus covers a huge variety of commonplace DIY tasks, with a great combination of DIY and mechanical maintenance tools. We rate VonHaus’s 256-piece set as one of the best-value toolkits you can buy. Despite the kit’s affordable price, the quality of the tools is solid enough to withstand moderate use – although we wouldn’t necessarily recommend these tools for heavy, destructive work. One of the best assets of this toolkit is its hard, plastic case, which keeps the tools safe and orderly between uses.
Buy now £89.99, VonHaus.com
Guild 45-piece home tool kit
Best: For basic household upkeep
Type: General
Case/bag: Hard plastic case
Pieces: 45
Guild’s cheap-as-chips 45-piece home tool kit is the ideal solution for users who need tools mainly for basic household upkeep – especially tightening or loosening fixtures.
As you might expect, there’s nothing particularly fancy about these tools. However, they did a perfectly good job of the DIY tasks we used them for during testing, which included pulling out old wall plugs with the pliers, and assembling flatpack furniture using the Allen keys. It may not last a lifetime, but we believe this set will see users through a very good amount of lighter-duty DIY work.
Buy now £30.00, Argos.co.uk
Clarke PRO394 professional 90-piece tool kit with cantilever toolbox
Best: Starter set
Type: Mechanical
Case/bag: Cantilever toolbox
Pieces: 90
This superbly presented toolkit from British brand Clarke is the perfect starter set for newcomers to mechanical maintenance. Like the Clarke CHT641, this set comes in a lovely, red cantilever toolbox that’ll take pride of place in your shed, cupboard or wherever else you keep your tools for years to come. The mechanical focus of this set is reflected in its contents, which include a comprehensive range of spanners, ratchet handles and sockets.
Buy now £119.70, Machinemart.co.uk
Teng SCPS01 6-piece general tool set
Best: To upgrade your tool collection
Type: General/DIY
Case/bag: Plastic tray
Pieces: Six
Teng’s simple set of exceptionally well-made tools covers many of the household tasks you’re likely to do most often. All six items – 3m measuring tape, 12” hacksaw, craft knife, 10” pliers, 8” adjustable wrench and 16oz ball-pein hammer – are superbly crafted, and we suspect they’d be right at home in many a craftsperson’s workshop.
The only downside to this set is that it’s lacking just a few tools that would qualify it as a fully-fledged DIY starter kit. With that said, it would make a wonderful gift for someone who already has a tool set, but who would like to upgrade a few key tools.
Buy now £82.99, Machinemart.co.uk
Mannesman VDE screwdriver and pliers set
Best: Electrical kit
Type: Electrical
Case/bag: Carry case
Pieces: 14
Before we start this review, let us just clarify that you should only consider doing electrical tasks if you are properly trained.
With that said, if you’re going to work on electrics, you’ll need the right kit. This set of safety-assured screwdrivers and pliers fits the bill, with strong, chrome vanadium steel construction and VDE-certified designs. The set comes with a soft carry case to keep the tools safe, plus red and black electrical tape to help tidy up your wiring.
Buy now £46.39, Amazon.co.uk
Magnusson 40-piece tool set
Best: For basic woodworking and light renovation
Type: General/DIY/woodworking
Case/bag: Carry bag
Pieces: 40
Magnusson’s 40-piece toolset is the perfect option for users who are mainly interested in DIY tasks, such as basic woodworking and light renovation work.
We’ve noticed that Magnusson’s tools – especially the claw hammer and file – are often of distinctly higher quality than similarly priced competitors. The tools in this set feel hefty, and they stood up to hours of hard work in our hands-on testing. This set comes in a soft carry case, with handy pockets on the outside for your most-used tools.
Buy now £34.99, Screwfix.com
Makita 90352 P-90532 home repair kit
Best: For a robust carry case
Type: Mechanical
Case/bag: Carry case
Pieces: 227
Makita seldom fails to produce excellent tools, and true to form, the Japanese brand’s 90352 home repair kit is one of the best of its type. Most of this kit’s 227 pieces consists of drill bits, spanners and sockets, which provide the capability to get to grips with pretty much every type of fixture you’re likely to find at home or in the garage.
We were particularly impressed with the home repair kit’s carry case. It feels robust, looks great, and keeps the kit’s myriad components nicely ordered.
Buy now £94.00, Amazon.co.uk
Stanley 062142 screwdriver set in rack
Best: For a range of screwdrivers
Type: Screwdriver set
Case/bag: Rack
Pieces: 26
Some of our favourite toolsets, such as the Teng SCPS01, come without one of the most useful types of tool: screwdrivers. This 26-piece pack from Stanley is the perfect solution to such a shortfall, offering a diverse selection of screwdrivers to suit a kaleidoscopic array of screw heads.
Having a good choice of screwdrivers is important, as using the wrong type or size of screwdriver on a screw can cause damage to the screw head. This set’s assortment of slotted, Philips, TORX and pozi screwdrivers will cover most of the screw types you are likely to encounter.
Buy now £31.40, Amazon.co.uk
B&Q 41-piece tool set
Best: For smartphone and laptop repairs
Type: General
Case/bag: Carry case
Pieces: 41
Here’s another value option that will appeal to shoppers who want a toolset that will simply do a decent job of the basics. Most of the key tools you are likely to need for minor household maintenance are included in this B&Q kit, including pliers, a hammer and a set of allen keys. The quality of the tools isn’t especially high, but this shouldn’t be too much of a problem for casual users.
One of the highlights of this kit is the bundled-in set of precision screwdrivers, which could come in handy for doing minor repairs on electronic devices such as smartphones and laptops.
Buy now £22.00, Diy.com
Clarke CHT641 199-Piece DIY tool kit with cantilever tool box
Best: For durability
Type: General/DIY
Case/bag: Cantilever toolbox
Pieces: 199
This set is everything we could’ve hoped for in a DIY toolkit. Its cantilever toolbox is smart and practical, the tools included cater for a huge variety of uses, and most importantly, all the components are robust and good at their jobs.
Our reviewer has been using this toolkit for several years, and he’s been pleased to note that all of its components have kept working as they should throughout that time. The cantilever toolbox itself is the star of the show, providing excellent storage space for whichever tools you choose to keep in it.
Buy now £95.98, Machinemart.co.uk
The verdict: Tool boxes
For a good all-round tool kit, the best buy award had to go to the VonHaus 256pc premium toolkit. This set is one of the most comprehensive we’ve come across – which is impressive, given the toolkit’s affordable pricing. The tough, space-efficient hard-case is just the cherry on top.
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