BLACKZERO toolbox review — Handy hand tools

“What in the world do I need with a toolbox?” I asked my wife. She’s the mechanically inclined one in our family, so our tool purchases are absolutely her choice, not mine. When I looked at the Blackzero tool set I thought to myself that I just wouldn’t get much use out of it, and it’d end up in my wife’s workshop like all of the other ones do. After a week of using this toolset trio, I can promise you this – its home is in my office.

Yes, we are primarily a gaming site, but don’t let that fool you – we do a lot of crafting, building, 3D printing, etching, Arcade cabinet construction, cosplay fabrication, and much more. I also build PCs on a fairly regular basis, both for myself and for others, and all of these activities have me reaching for a variety of tools. The 3-in-1 Power Drill box would have everything I need for any of these activities, and much more, so I was eager to see just how much of it I would use on a regular basis. I kept a notebook nearby to figure that out.

The first thing you’ll inevitably notice, once you get all three items out of their respective boxes, is just how unique the toolset box is. Each of the three are their own individual flatpack style boxes, and all of them have a handle to carry them. Setting them on top of one another, you’ll find that they rest nicely in this position. A small latch system allows you to then tether them together and then pick up one, two, or all three at the same time. These latches also serve to secure the box shut. A small push button on the front is the secondary security to keep the box closed – you’ll need both unlatched to open the box ensuring you don’t accidentally open the container and dump the contents – something I’ve done with my other tool boxes, my wife shaking her head the entire time as I pick up the sockets and re-slot them.

You can buy this toolset as a single device, a pair, or a trio. We’ll be looking at the trio as it’s the most comprehensive. The first box we’ll peek inside is the accessories kit. Inside are 525 pieces of various items you might need for home repairs, wood working, hanging a picture, and some light electronics work. Here’s the specific list:

#6 white plastic expansion screws;
#7 yellow plastic expansion screws;
#8 green plastic expansion screws;
Red cold pressed round terminals (AwG 22-16);
Blue cold pressed round terminals (AwG 16-14);
Yellow cold pressed round terminals (AwG 12-10);
Nylon Ties;
Socket head cap screws and barrel nuts;
Heat shrink tubins;
#8 Nylon spiral expansion screws and self-tapping screws;
Cross countersunk head woodworking screws;
And Picture frame hooks.

This is the official list, but I’m here to tell you that it’s actually quite a few of these items – 525 of them, as I mentioned. For example, the picture hooks come in three sizes and there are quite a few of them. The parts are on par with what you’d pick up at the local hardware store, so you essentially have a whole DIY kit ready to go here. The best part is, the box is really yours to use as you see fit – you can reconfigure the grid as you like, allowing you to use any bits or bobs you might want to keep handy. If you are a 3D printing enthusiast and want to keep various nozzles, carriage wheels, and other parts for your Ender or Prusa, you can do that.

Closing up this box, it was time to look at the DIY Hand Tool Set box. Inside this case are the primary tools for getting work done – a hammer, two screwdriver handles, a 20-piece bit set, an art knife, an adjustable wrench, needle nose pliers, and a 10 foot measuring tape. Like the accessories kit, it’s clearly labeled on the front so you know exactly what box you’re grabbing. One of the things I appreciate is that the team clearly uses tools – there are design choices here that make that clear. For example, there is a rubberized grip surface on the tools that need it, including the hammer and both screwdriver handles. Additionally, the needle nose pliers have an integrated set of wire strippers and cutters in the teeth, and are spring-actuated open, as you would expect. Similarly, the adjustable wrench (8” maximum opening width) has an etched measuring line on it so you know how far open they are – useful should you want to grab a socket wrench of the same size, or adjust to the same aperture later. The hammer (8oz 50-56HRC hardness) has a magnetic nail holder with two notches, allowing you to hold longer or shorter nails in position to make them easier to drive. The front of the throat is curved to allow you to more easily pry nails with the claw. There’s even a rubber cap included for times when you need to strike something, but can’t risk damaging the surface. The measuring tape is good for ten feet and has a button to lock and release it. All of these tools have a specific space inside the case, and have a locking mechanism to hold them in place for transport. There’s also a neoprene cover over the top to help hold everything secure.

The third box, the 16.8V Cordless Brushless Drill kit, has a number of items inside the case. A USB-C to USB-C cable has a small recessed location to hold it – it’s used to charge the drill. Below it is a set of nine drill bits, ranging from 5/64 to 5/16. The manual indicates they are suitable for most use cases including wood, metal, plastic, and brick, but are not suitable for concrete or stone – this makes sense as you’d need a concrete bit for that. These are housed in a hinged holder that stays in the case, ensuring (or at least encouraging) they go back in the case when work is done.

Next to the drill bits is a rotary drill bit holder that I ended up using more than I expected. Pulling back the slip sleeve shank allows the head to pivot. The magnetic bit holder then allows the head to be deflected up to 20 degrees for use in narrow corners or hard-to-reach spaces. A step drill bit lies next to the rotary drill bit holder. I didn’t get any use out of this particular tool, but I can see the purpose.

Opposite the drill lies two sets of drill bits – identical, save one difference – one set is short, the other has a longer shaft. Three sizes of each bit are in each set, with a pair of magnetized Phillips-head varieties included. I cannot overstate how useful those two are, especially during case assemblies. In the middle of both is a pair of magnetic 1/4″ extension bits that you can stack together if needed. There are also six nut drivers in the most common sizes from 7/32 to 1/2″.

The drill uses a five-gear system built on a 60 newton meters (Nm) of torque, with 1000 rpm maximum rotation. The gears are ST3-ST3.5, ST4-ST5, ST6-ST8, and Drill Mode at Φ2-10, with the fifth being “auto”. My wife assures me that these are “good” and “surprisingly strong”. The part that I cared about is that it’s spark free and sealed, which means it should be safe for doing assembly on a case. The drill is also brushless, meaning that it uses less power to deliver more torque. The other part that I particularly like about this drill is that it has a magnetized head. It’ll hold onto a screw, fits in a fairly tight space, and won’t inevitably drop said screw behind your motherboard — something I’ve done far too often.

On the back of the device is an LED display — something I didn’t expect. You can clearly see the current mode for the device on the back as it’s clearly illuminated. On the side is a button that’s either green or white — green means go (forward) and white is for…uhm…”wreverse” (out). No matter how you remember it, it’s very easy to see at a glance.

Speaking of “easy to see”, on the front of the screwdriver is a very bright LED. Pulling the trigger part of the way will turn it on — handy for seeing where you’ll be working to align the screwdriver to the screw, or to make sure you’ve hit precisely where you measured (you ARE measuring, aren’t you?!).

A quick check in with the support team revealed that the tools and bits are all made of 55# high carbon steel

The battery on the Blackzero is a 1600mAh Lithium variety. It can charge from empty to full inside of 50 minutes, which is handy if you are doing a lot of work. If you run out of battery, just take a break and you’ll be topped off again fairly quickly. It also, surprisingly, can be used as a power bank as the battery is capable of reverse charge – something I did not expect. I also didn’t expect that, when I plugged in my Pixel 8 Pro, it immediately reported “charging rapidly”.

This is where I consulted my wife as this is her area of expertise. So she says, these are all “high quality” and a “useful collection – things I’d use regularly”, so I’m going to call this a win. She was very impressed with the drill, threatening to confiscate it for “research” more than once. We put these through a number of activities over the course of the past few weeks. You know, the usual things like “hanging a chainsword”, and “mounting dragon heads on the wall”. If you think I’m kidding, no…no I’m not. That means drilling a hole, dropping in a Molly anchor, and tacking up the included picture frame hooks. We also helped mom put up a few shelves for her Mickey Mouse collection.

For my part in all this, I needed to pull apart my VR machine. I need to swap out the processor (thanks Intel!) and I’ve also got a fan that’s failing. Zip zip zip, the entire box was disassembled in seconds and ready for work. The light on the drill was great to see what I was doing, and the variable torque on the drill allowed me to uninstall everything without stripping anything. The lightweight drill was great for the work, and the brushless design ensured a static-free job. I also appreciated the included screwdriver tools, but I appreciate a ratcheting type more in tight spaces I can’t reach with the drill. Still, the light on the front was greatly appreciated, as were the clearly-readable mode functions. I will be swapping out the contents of the 525 parts with the various screws, motherboard holdoffs, and accessories I use for motherboard assembly, but the valuable part is the box, after all. The other bits are consumables.

In my 3D print lab, I did what I suggested above and located a handful of nozzles, my small wrench set, and a pair of tiny tweezers inside the box. There’s almost no additional space for tools, but these are mostly for clearing obstructions and clogs, so I can just fit them inside the box. It’s tight, but I can keep them all in one place if I remove one of the “leaves” in the box. I do appreciate the reconfigurable nature.

In practical use terms, unlike a standard toolbox where you have a fishing box style pullout system, I got used to simply separating the Blackzero whenever I was getting ready to do work. That way I could easily reach any of the tools or parts that I might need easily enough. You won’t be pulling out every single drawer looking for something either – each item has a spot, and it’s clearly labeled on the front of the box.

One of the things I liked most about the Blackzero is that these boxes, even when stacked, are very low profile. They fit nicely underneath a desk or inside a cabinet, nearby enough, but out of the way. When I’m working on a PC build, the last thing I want to do is head out to the garage to grab tools, so having them at hand so I can get to work is a plus. The understated gray box tucks under my desk, unobtrusively out of the way until needed. Since everything has a place, it also ensures you have all of your tools back where they belong at the end of a project.

The price for the Blackzero tools is broken down into multiple options. You can purchase the DIY accessory box for $39.99, the DIY hand tool set for $69.99, and the Cordless Brushless Drill set for $199, all individually. You can also buy two of them together, or all three for combined prices. Generally you’re saving about $20 or $30 dollars by picking two, though obviously it varies based on which item you bundle. Getting all three is $269.99 – a full $40 off the individual price. There are also coupon codes currently available for up to another 15% off, dropping the price all the way down to $229 for the trio.

There are only a few things that stick out as concerns with the Blackzero set. The latches on the boxes are obviously getting a good bit of wear and tear so it would be nice to be able to replace the box should it break. They are very heavy duty, so I wouldn’t expect it’d be something that would happen easily or quickly, but without the ability to swap it out, that portion of the toolbox might become useless. The other item is the battery. Batteries wear out, and without an easily-replaceable battery, the drill becomes useless. At launch, there are no options for either item, so hopefully Blackzero makes these available. Without them, there is a ticking clock on these tools.

I should note that the Blackzero set has a completely unconditional 30 day money back guarantee. A month from the date of purchase, if you’re unhappy, they’ll provide a full refund, no questions asked. They also come with lifetime customer service, though I’m not sure what possible questions I might have to ask, much less a lifetime of them.

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