Car-Boot Box Review

Designed by photographer, Peter Sturt,  the Car-Boot Box is a neat solution for keeping your camera neatly stored and safe when you’re travelling in your car. And while we wouldn’t recommend leaving expensive items in an unattended car, it means that everything is hidden away if you don’t carry all your kit with you on a location shoot. It’s all safely stashed side a robust box that is hard to access through a smashed window.

The Car-Boot Box is hand-made from birch plywood in the UK using computer-aided design to minimise waste. Each unit is bespoke to the car and there are detailed measuring instructions on the company’s website to ensure that any raised boot sills, wheel arches and slopes are taken into account in the build.

There are two versions of the Car-Boot Box available ‘off-the-peg’ (but still made to measure), one with a single drawer and the other with two drawers. However, the designers are willing to make other versions, for example stacking two sets of drawers and creating bespoke layouts.

The Car-Boot Box is a simple idea but its beauty is in the attention to detail. For example, the drawers are raised so that they don’t catch on the edge of the boot if it has a lip or sill. Similarly, the frame is constructed to correct for any slope in the boot so that you don’t have to pull the drawers uphill.

No runners are used in the construction of the drawers, so there’s no rattling and no need to lock the drawers in position, but they slide out and back smoothly.

Also, although the unit feels very solid, the casing has an air-frame design with sections cut out to make it lighter. This means that once the drawers and lid have been removed, it’s easy to lift the frame out of the boot if you need to.

It’s also easy to fit and there are a couple of metal rings that enable it to be strapped to the cargo rings in a car boot if you want.

As shown above, robust metal clamps fix the top on to the draw unit.

One of Peter’s inspirations for the Car-Boot Box was to enable his dog to see out of the car window when travelling. Without the view, the poor dog was sick on every journey.

With this in mind, the top of the Car-Boot Box has a textured rubber-like covering to provide grip. It’s perfect for keeping a dog bed still during a journey.

Christmas aside, the normal lead time for a Car-Boot Box is 2 to 3 weeks.

I haven’t had a Car-Boot Box fitted, but after checking one out, I’m very tempted.

Landscape photographer Joe Cornish had one made, he says, ‘I was worried. How would such a bulky, hard edged-object survive trial-by-courier? I needn’t have worried. The brilliant packaging ensured it arrived in perfect condition.

The Car-Boot Box itself is beautifully designed and finished, very smooth surfaces everywhere and the right utilitarian finish with its grippy rubber mat top.

I have found that although it fits my car boot as intended it can also be removed easily for use in the camper van. There it provides a handy low work surface, as well as secure storage. Am now looking to design a nest of them so they can be a flexible storage solution, a base for a bed, or a working height table as and when needed.’

Meanwhile landscape pro, Jeremy Walker says of his Car-Boot Box, ‘security has always been a major concern when I’m working as a location photographer. You might be leaving expensive camera kit in the boot of the car when you are doing a recce or just not need all of your camera kit for a particular shot, but you are well out of earshot and eyesight of the vehicle. I have had things stolen from my car in the past and have been with friends when the back window of their car has been smashed, the parcel shelf lifted up and handbags and camera bags stolen from the boot. The Car-Boot box adds an impressive layer of security and peace of mind. It’s solidly built (in the UK), extremely high quality and very practical; both to use and remove from the boot if necessary.

I would recommend them to any location photographer or even just anyone who carries valuables in the boot of their car.’