Avora Outdoor Storage Chest Pro

In everyday use

It's just under 50 inches long and 27.5 inches tall, which is bench height and bench length. Seat cushions, throw pillows, garden tools and the folded things you never want to carry indoors all go in together. The lid rises on two gas struts and stays up on its own, so you can load it with both hands full. Two molded handles, one at each end, mean it can be walked to a new corner of the deck by two people rather than dragged. It arrives flat and bolts together.

What sets it apart

Struts that hold the lid open
A gas piston on each side takes the weight of the lid and holds it upright while you load, so nothing is balanced on your shoulder.

A lid that takes a padlock
Two aligned hasp plates join the lid to the body, so a padlock of your own closes it properly.

Sloped lid
The lid is pitched rather than flat, so rain runs off instead of pooling in the middle.

Ribbed steel panels
The body is pressed into deep vertical ribs across every face, which is where a flat panel of this size gets its stiffness.

Handles on both ends
A molded grip is set into each short side at carrying height for repositioning it on the deck.

Room for the whole set
At 120 gallons it takes a full patio set's cushions rather than asking you to choose which ones stay out.

Why we chose it

Outdoor storage usually announces itself. It's the resin box in the corner that everyone has agreed not to look at. We chose this one because at bench proportions and in a single flat dark gray it reads as part of the deck rather than an apology on it — the ribbed panels do the visual work that a smooth molded box can't. The struts and the padlock plates are the parts you notice in the second week: the lid that stays where you put it, and a chest you can leave closed and loaded through a weekend away.

Specifications

Built for the outdoors. Designed for life.