7 Best Tool Box Drawer Liners

Ever had one of those days when you needed to grab a tool from your new tool chest and found yourself fishing for several minutes to find that one particular socket while scraping everything around noisily?

Or perhaps you’ve begun to notice some of your tools are beginning to show signs of damage from being jostled about.

Most of us rarely stop to think about getting liners for our tool boxes, but a good liner will reduce jostling and also help reduce the amount of grease and grime settling in the bottom of your tool chest drawers.

The best tool box drawer liners will match your drawer depth, have a cushioned drawer liner material, and be easy to clean. Here’s what we recommend to give your tool chest or cabinet that professional look.

Our 7 Favorite Drawer Liners

	Product	Drawer Depth	Length	Thickness
	Precision Defined	16", 18", or 24"	Up to 24 ft	0.19"
	CASOMAN	16", 18", or 24"	Up to 24 ft	0.10"
	GEARWRENCH Trap Mat	16"	22"	0.75"
	B&C Home Goods	18"	24 ft	0.13"
	ONREVA	16"	18 ft	0.16"
	EPPCO	12", 18", or 24"	Up to 30 ft	0.08"
	Duck Easy Liner	12" or 20"	Up to 24 ft	0.10"

Tool Box Liner Reviews

The following liners are perfect for protecting your tools. There are literally dozens of liners available and to make our cut, these products all had to be usable on other shelves and surfaces, durable, and reduce or prevent movement of tools in most scenarios.

Once you use them, we’re sure you’ll wonder why you didn’t put them in a long time ago.

#1 – Precision Defined PD-504

These heavy-duty rubber foam liners come in three different sizes: 16in x 16ft, 18in x 24ft, and 24in x 10ft. Unlike many other liners, these will lie flat right out of the package.

Straight grid lines make measuring and cutting a breeze using a razor blade. Once cut, the textured grip will help ensure neither your tools nor the mat slide about in transit or when quickly opening or closing the door.

The high-quality foam (about 3/16″ thick) can not only support heavier tools, but will bounce back much like memory foam so you aren’t left with unwanted indentations. Cleaning is also a breeze, requiring only a damp cloth.

As with most foam mats, there have been reports that these mats aren’t exact size. There are also some reports that the grid lines are at a slight angle. Just use a square if this happens and you’ll still be able to get nice, straight cuts.

One really great thing about this brand that we haven’t seen often is their quality guarantee. Even if you’ve already cut into the liner, they’ll either replace or refund if there’s a quality issue.

While a bit more expensive than other liners, the higher quality is immediately noticeable. If you don’t need the extra cushioning, then the CASONMAN liner below is still good and will save you some money.

>> Check current price <<

#2 – CASOMAN CS028

When you want the absolute best heavy duty tool chest liner, CASOMAN should be your first stop. Grid lines make it easy to measure and cut to size, while still being tough enough to prevent tearing.

The thick foam rubber features a textured non-slip grip surface on both sides to ensure tools won’t slide. As the surface is textured but non-adhesive, you can easily reposition it and expect the mat to remain in place if the drawer is jostled. It’s also easy to wipe clean.

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that these mats will hold heavy tools, but said tools will leave an impression in the foam. This could be an issue for some, while others use the indentations to remind them what tools might be missing.

Outside of this one nitpick, these mats are of excellent quality and come with a 1-year quality warranty. Best of all, you can purchase the mat in a variety of sizes to fit your needs.

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#3 – GEARWRENCH 83370 Trap Mat

Don’t let its appearance fool you, this four-pack of 16 x 22-inch foam mats does an excellent job of keeping your tools organized and protected. There’s nothing worse than having high-end tools dinged and scuffed up while in storage. 

Unlike most liners, the Trap Mat system uses a 3/4-inch thick universal cone design. This allows you to orient your tools vertically or horizontally and holds them securely. Most tool shapes are compatible, ensuring they’re right where you placed them after transport.

The mats are easily cut to fit any drawer size while still being tear-resistant. However, due to the cone design, these mats require a drawer height of at least two inches. Therefore you may need to buy normal liners for shallow drawers.

Another issue is that the mats aren’t slide-proof, so while they’ll keep your tools secure, the mat itself may slide during use. But these mats are sized to fit most common drawer sizes so sliding is typically not an issue.

The Trap Mat liners do a great job and are solvent resistant, although the height issue limits their use. Still, for organizing your collection of wrenches and screwdrivers, you can’t beat these mats.

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#4 – B&C Home Goods Drawer Liner

One of the most popular liners out there, this foam mat is easily cut and modified, yet thick enough (at about 1/8″) to support even heavier tools.

Its textured grip is non-adhesive for easy repositioning without causing the liner or tools to slide around. It protects against bacteria and corrosion, is wrinkle-resistant, and can be wiped down quickly when dirty.

Users almost overwhelmingly claim this is the best drawer lining material they’ve owned. They report that this product doesn’t slide in situations where their previous drawer lining material failed.

Its heavier weight has helped prevent tools from moving, even when owners of this product are wheeling their tool chest around the garage. A few have been so impressed with this product, they have chosen to use it in other parts of the home.

Because it comes in a 24-foot roll, you’ll likely have enough leftover to use in your shed, kitchen, pantry, bathroom, or other areas around the house.

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#5 – ONREVA Premium Toolbox Liner

Measuring 5/32 inches thick, this durable foam rubber mat is heat-resistant and chemical resistant. It has a non-slip surface to prevent sliding of the liner or tools when jostling the drawer.

The 16in x 18ft mat has grid lines to make measuring and cutting easy. Once installed, the non-adhesive surface is strong enough to support even heavy tools.

Not only are these mats easy to work with, but the brighter red coloration makes it a lot easier to spot your tools in a rush. While the mat doesn’t have a lot of slip, some customers have noted that certain low-friction surfaces may require a bit of double-sided tape to ensure there’s no movement.

ONREVA provides a 365 day satisfaction guarantee for this liner. However, we have yet to hear of anyone needing (or even wanting to) return their liner. Several larger sizes are also available for those who need a bigger liner, although most sizes are only available in black.

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#6 – EPPCO Enterprises 1864

This simple, high quality tool drawer liner is made of high-quality, non-slip materials to help keep your tools in place. The .08″ thick liner is the thinnest on our list but still plenty thick to protect your tools and drawers.

It’s resistant to dirt and dust, and you can quickly wipe it clean as needed. Not only will this product help keep your tools in place, but it holds up well during extended use without being difficult to cut when fitting it to your drawer.

Available in three depths (12″, 18″, and 24″), it will fit most tool chest drawers after cutting to the correct width. This can be done with ordinary house scissors or a good utility knife.

The rubbery foam material is tacky but not sticky. Many reports have shown the liner to be holding up after one or two years of use with little or no signs of wear. The 24″ inch liner is wider than anything out there making it the best liner for very deep drawers.

Oddly enough, this liner works well on metal surfaces, but those who have used it on wooden surfaces complain that it moves around a bit too easily.

While most have not experienced any issues with this liner, a handful of reported product flaws ranged from arriving stretched or torn to the surface being uneven when placed.

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#7 – Duck Easy Liner Select Grip

This popular simple non-slip drawer liner has grip bottom cushions to help prevent sliding. It’s machine washable and easy to cut and reposition. The smooth, non-slip surface is completely PVC-free and very lightweight.

Because the Easy Liner line was designed for any type of shelf, it’s available in various colors, allowing you to pick a liner that matches your tool chest’s paint scheme or use your favorite color to make things more personal.

This liner works really well in a wide variety of environments. While it might not be as durable in a commercial or industrial setting, owners who use this in their home garage have reported excellent results.

They have also noted the surface doesn’t feel tacky or sticky at all, unlike similar liners. The surface has very small breathing holes, so moisture will seep through instead of remaining in contact with your tools.

The biggest issue consumers have had with this liner is the grid pattern. The grid is often uneven, and the roll itself is sometimes cut unevenly as a result.

When cutting this product to size, it’s best to use a T-square or other straight-edge measuring tool to ensure properly squared corners.

All in all, this is probably the best cheap drawer liner you’ll find but if your budget allows, go with one of the more heavier duty options above.

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Other Drawer Liner Ideas

Of course, there are many ways to line a drawer or shelf in your garage or home. The following include some classic ideas, as well as a few less common solutions.

Commercial Carpet

A good cheap option, you can buy exactly how much you need at the carpet department at your local big box home and garden store or even find some leftovers at construction sites. You want low pile carpet so you don’t sacrifice additional drawer height space.

Simply cut to fit each drawer and all your tools will be protected. Obviously you won’t have any of the tackiness associated with rubber or foam liners so that may be either good or bad.

Foam Fill

Foam fill is a bit more labor intensive but for a cheap DIY tool drawer organization method, it can’t be beat. You’re essentially creating exact sized molds in your tool drawers for specific tools.

You’ll quickly know where each tool goes and there’s no chance of any movement. The obvious downside is that you can’t change your mind about where you want to store a particular tool without creating a new drawer mold from the foam fill. MachinistBlog.com has a good “How-To”.

Foam Sheets

Similar to foam fill in that each tool has a spot, foam sheets such as Kaizen Foam are used to create cut-outs for each tool shape within a drawer.

Since you are manually cutting out each tool spot, you’ll need a bit of patience. But if you take your time, the end result is (in my opinion) the “cleanest” tool drawer organization method out there.

Some love this tool insert system but others say it’s not as efficient since it takes just a bit of extra effort to retrieve tools from their custom sized spots.

Neoprene

The same material that wetsuits are made of, neoprene is actually one of the best materials to use as a drawer liner. It’ll outlast most foam liners as it’s much denser and has just the right amount of tackiness. There’s nothing better to put under finer tools such as calipers and micrometers.

Organizers

Why bother with a liner when you can simply organize your tools into their own compartments? You can get organizer boxes anywhere from a dollar store to a large chain such as Target or WalMart.

My personal favorite is the 6-drawer organizer from Harbor Freight. It’s inexpensive and shallow enough to fit into any tool chest drawer.

The best part about using an organizer in your tool chest is that you can remove the only containers you’ll need when packing a portable tool box.

Vinyl Utility Runner/Flooring

Typically sold in bulk at your local Lowes or Home Depot, this material is a good option when you have a lot of drawers or shelves to line. It’s easy to cut and install, durable, and will prevent your tools from sliding around.

Other Shelf Liner Ideas

Linoleum or Laminate Tiles

You can often find scraps of these left over from remodeling projects, and they’re relatively inexpensive to buy new.

The benefits of using these are easy cleaning and reduced sliding (although they won’t prevent sliding completely). The surfaces will scratch over time under heavy use, at which point they can be simply replaced as needed.

Reusable Shelf Liners

These are cheap rubbery plastic rolls you can pick up at most dollar stores. They’re designed in a grid pattern which allows water and other liquids to drain.

The surfaces are naturally tacky, giving them an excellent non-slip quality that’s usually good enough to stand your fine china on.

Wallpaper or Wrapping Paper

This is the traditional answer to lining drawers, as anyone who’s lived in an older home will know from experience. Some modern homes use leftover wrapping paper instead.

Both of these make for an attractive drawer, and wallpaper is easy to wipe (although wrapping paper will be damaged by water).

Note that these won’t prevent sliding, and wrapping paper can be fragile, making it a poor choice when using in a toolbox.