Platt-forms Series3 Tuff Box
I first saw one of the Platt-forms boxes early in 2006 when Dave Collier purchased a Series4 and I have to say that I was totally impressed, so much so that I said at the time that if I ever replaced my Boss 6 drawer one of these would definitely be in the running and here it is, my new box………
Moving onto the centre section, underneath the seat is a compartment for pole rigs that’s around 1½” deep including the recess into the seat and there is a moulded plastic liner dividing the tray in two which has a ridge in the moulding allowing you to pop up the winders allowing easy removal. There is space for around 25-30 rigs to be stored dependant on the size of winders used (No winders are supplied with the box) I’ve also added two trays of the Fox orange winders on top that allow me to store another 28 rigs, which has the added bonus of holding the rigs in place when the lid is lifted. The locking pin for the drawers is also located in this compartment.
Underneath this first compartment are the 3 cross drawers running the full width of the box and these can be opened from either side. The top drawer is 1½” deep while the two lower ones are both ¾” deep. All the drawer contain moulded plastic liners dividing them into two separate sections. All drawers are opened with high quality knurled aluminium knobs. the total height of this unit is 6″
All of this is retained on the box section mid frame with two lift off hinges and two side mounted toggle catches allowing access to the base unit. Yet again there is a rubber seal fitted to the base of the centre section to prevent any water leaking into the base.
The mid-frame unit housing the legs has a width of 23″ and all welds appear to be 1st class. This utilises standard size square legs that are 18″ long and are finished off with good quality screw-in mud feet ( a word of warning however, as I know that Dave Collier had some problems with these coming unscrewed and dropping off when his box was new, though a bit of muck and dirt seems to have cured this now.) The legs are secured by what appear to be good quality hand wheels that are very similar to the Penrose ones.
These fittings however are not of the non-marking variety which may be considered a minus point by some, though it’s not a concern for me.
Below this is the 6″ deep base section, which again has with a one piece moulded liner which probably knocks ½” off the internal dimensions. The base can simply be removed by undoing the two side mounted toggle catches if needs be. Needless to say there is yet another rubber seal between the base and mid-frame unit to keep water out.
The footplate supplied is a 4 bar square section one, again all welds appear to be 1st class. The legs are identical to those used with the box.
Nowadays there is a trend for a non slip coating to be fitted to footplates but this one doesn’t have it, which may again be a minus point to some. The footplate isn’t a hinged folding design but locates into a 90° bracket which is adjustable on the box legs, This provides a totally stable footplate allowing you to stand up on it without fear of it folding up. To store the footplate it can be slid under the base unit, however if the base is set lower so that isn’t possible the legs can be slid into the brackets to store it as shown in the photo………
So there it is, I’ve used it once and it feels absolutely bombproof. The overall build quality is IMO the equal of any box that I’ve seen in recent years. My initial thoughts having spent 6 hours sitting on it are that it is probably the most comfortable pole seat I’ve used.
I’ve pointed out in the review what I feel may be considered minus points by some and there are another couple I feel may be an improvement. Firstly the moulded plastic liners in the drawers may not be to everyone's taste, but they are very securely fixed in place, if these were easily removable it would make the available storage space a bit more versatile. Secondly, it would be nice if the legs were extendable, similar to the new Preston legs as it would make the box easier to level on uneven surfaces. It’s fine for platforms though
Hopefully this will be of help to others and I’ll revisit this when I’ve used it a bit more.
UPDATE: Sunday, January 4th 2009.Well this box has now seen just over a year of use.
I did address one of my initial concerns with the box however shortly after writing my initial revue, and have changed the legs for the extending Preston legs, allowing the whole set up to be levelled more easily without affecting the footplate position, and as I originally stated, this is the one area that I feel Platt-Forms should address on the box.
How has it performed? Perfectly, nothing has fallen off, worked loose or broken. The seat is still the most comfortable of any seatbox I’ve ever owned.
There is no signs of any corrosion to be seen and the paint finish is unmarked.
The box does exactly what it’s designed to do, with not a single problem, hard to ask more from a box. I would recommend it to anyone.
UPDATE: Sunday, June 7th, 2009.Well it’s 18 months on from my initial purchase now, and the box is still performing perfectly, Just to give you some idea of how everything is laid out on the box I’ll post the following photo……….
(The photo is a little bit of a cheat as it is two stitched together to show what’s kept in both sides of the 3 cross draws)
The under seat area stores 55 rigs, 27 on the bottom and 28 in the trays on top (These are Fox orange 14 x 180mm slide winders and are a perfect fit for the box)At the bottom of the photo you can see the contents of 2 organiser boxes that are kept in the base unit and still leaves a bit of room for a few other odds and ends if need be.
NB: I feel at this point I should make something clear.
A number of people have seen the photo above and have tried to replicate how the winders appear to be fitted and have had trouble stopping them falling out. The winders in the recess under the seat were only placed there to show how many are stored in the box. The trays are not fixed to the recess under the seat.
The reality is that the 2 winder trays are stuck onto a piece of thin Perspex to form a single large tray (you could use thin plywood or something similar) and normally sit on top of the other winders.
I can only apologise to those that may have taken the photo at face value, and experienced trouble trying to make them fit as it appears in the picture.
UPDATE: Tuesday, January 12th, 2010.
It’s still going strong. There isn’t a single sign of rust or corrosion to be seen. Absolutely nothing has worked loose, dropped off or broken. The seat has no rips or tears and remains supremely comfortable.
I would heartily recommend that anyone looking for a seatbox considers one of these. They may not be the flashiest, but they’re 100% British built and near as damn it bombproof.
UPDATE: Thursday, May 26th, 2011.
3½ years of use with no problems. It’s hard to ask for any more from a quality seatbox like this.
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