Drawer slides best for the buck

[DogwoodTales]

I'm sure this has been asked a million times in these forums, but opinions and experiences change so with that said -

If I go with undermount slides I maximize the drawer width but lose up to 1" in height and if I go with side mount slide I lose 1" in width, but maximize the drawer height up to 1".
I have about 30 drawers and pull out shelves in my kitchen plans, so obviously, as always, I'm looking to get the best bang for the buck.

I've gone cheap on side mount slides before and wasn't happy with certain things like having to pull too hard to open a drawer and self closing mechanisms wearing out. 
I've also paid a little more for better slides a few times and was happy with those.
Unfortunately I don't remember with certainty which brands those were. It was like 7 years ago anyway.
But I also don't want to break the bank over top-priced drawer slides that I suspect are not going to add 2-3x the value for 2-3x the price.

I'll need 22" full extension with soft close and a few 24". Overtravel is nice, but not necessary. 

I'm expecting that the recommendations for undermount will be all in favor of Blum Undermount, but if you have another recommendation I'd like to hear it.
But as for side mount drawer slides, what would you recommend today? again, best quality for a mid-priced slide.
Also, where best do I go for bulk pricing. I'm not sure if 30 pairs (maybe a few more) qualifies for bulk pricing, but in case it does ...

thanks!

[iublue]

I used (as you expected) Blum in the cabinets I am making now.
NICE slides, adjustable all different ways but not cheap.

It will be interesting what others say about a mid-priced slide.

[Cabinet Monkey]

Much depends on your drawer size(s) and what you’ll store in them.  

Side mount ball bearing slides carry more weight and it ain’t even close.  So, if you’re storing heavy tools, fasteners , 1.5l liquor bottles  - then side mount is the way to go.  Double em up for more weight capacity like the tool carts from SnapOn and Vidmar. 

If you’re just storing t-shirts or boxes of cereal , undermounts are more than fine. And even if you’re storing lots of canned goods in a pantry , undermounts can be ordered with 150lb. rating to handle those few drawers/trays. 

It really boils down to looks and ease of fabrication.  Most guys find that undermounts are easier to install after the initial design is dialed in.  They are definitely easier and more convenient for removing and re-installing a drawer. If you’re the sort that never removes a drawer, then this won’t make one bit of difference.  

You can’t really go wrong with Blum tandems - quality Euro manuf.,  large U.S. operation, plenty of support & installation aids, fair pricing,  and widespread availability.

[DogwoodTales]

thanks
Well either style will work for my kitchen. I haven't made the cabinets or drawers yet, so I can go either way with them still.
The rated weight bearing I've seen on undermount vs side mount won't make a difference for all/most of my kitchen drawers/shelves, but I'll keep that consideration in the forefront of mind.

If I'm going to spend top dollar on side mounts, I might as well get the Blum undermounts.
If I decide to go with side mount it will have to be something mid-range in price to avoid the cheap made stuff.

So my question is which brands in a mid-priced range will provide the best quality for the money?

[Cabinet Monkey]

thanks
Well either style will work for my kitchen. I haven't made the cabinets or drawers yet, so I can go either way with them still.
The rated weight bearing I've seen on undermount vs side mount won't make a difference for all/most of my kitchen drawers/shelves, but I'll keep that consideration in the forefront of mind.

So my question is which brands in a mid-priced range will provide the best quality for the money?

I’d stick to Accuride for ball bearing side mounts.

[R Clark]

I have used Promark slides from Amazon for a number of projects; I guess if there's a "Go-to" for drawer slides for me, these are it.

I have not used any slides with the soft close feature, so I can't speak for that.

I see that Promark has 24" drawer slides with soft close, 10 pair for $110.  They have other sizes --BUT-- I did not see an offering for 22" soft close slides. 

I have used the sidemount Promark slides for heavy shop drawers and on furniture projects.  Of the 40 or 50 pairs that I have installed, I've only had one slide go bad, and that was right out of the box.  Fortunately, I found the bad slide during installation while fitting the drawers and it was easily replaced.

[DogwoodTales]

I'm kinda considering not getting soft/self close as the pessimist in me says it's just something to break. The drawer slide should still work after that point.
It's a balance between the added expense of soft/self close knowing it may very well break sooner or later ... and my wife's annoying habit of not closing drawers all the way lol

[BillN]

I've used Fulterer full extension epoxy slides. they're heavy duty - 125lb, I used them to install pull out shelves in our old base cabinets. I've never used any of the high end slides.

[museumguy]

I did a home office full of file drawers. I used all Blum undermount. Two years later and the customer is very happy. I bought everything from Woodworkers Express. Their inventory is there for each product, no need to worry if something is in stock. Shipping is incredibly fast.

My kitchen has all undermount and we couldn't be happier.

[Roly]

I did a home office full of file drawers. I used all Blum undermount. Two years later and the customer is very happy. I bought everything from Woodworkers Express. Their inventory is there for each product, no need to worry if something is in stock. Shipping is incredibly fast.

  My kitchen has all undermount and we couldn't be happier.

I did my kitchen 14 years ago.  All the drawers used daily are the Blum undermounts and to save money a different section of cabinets just used for storage I used a off brand undermount both from Woodworkers express.  After 4 years the off brand started failing on the soft close part, when the second one failed. I replaced all the after market ones with the Blums.  No Blums have failed and all including the ones used daily are working fine.   So the cheap ones wound up costing more.   Roly