Rubbermaid's RMA-3XST is a 250-pound Type I three-step aluminum stool built around an oversized magnetized project tray. Real Simple named it Best Lightweight Ladder and The Spruce featured it in its step-stool roundup; both are Dotdash Meredith titles and appear to describe the same six-month home test. Both say it never felt wobbly and both found the paper-towel bar flimsy. Bob Vila's hands-on step-stool test gave it 4/5 overall, praising the stable top step but noting it can tip if you lean sideways. The independent evidence is fairly thin, and the current price of about $180 is steep.
Full review
What This Stool Is
The Rubbermaid RMA-3XST is a three-step folding aluminum step stool built and sold under licence by Tricam Industries. It sits in the space between a kitchen step stool and a full stepladder: Tricam lists a 33.5-inch platform height, a 9-foot-3-inch reach height, and an ANSI Type I rating of 250 pounds, which is a heavier duty class than many household stools carry. The top step is an oversized 13.2 by 10.4-inch platform. Above it sits a large project tray with a removable storage box, and Amazon lists one-handed folding to a slim 20.87 by 4.72 by 59.84 inches. Listed weight varies by source, from 10.5 pounds (Amazon's feature bullets and The Spruce) to 11 pounds (Real Simple) and 11.2 pounds (Tricam). Three editorial outlets have used it hands-on: Real Simple, The Spruce, and Bob Vila. The first two are both Dotdash Meredith brands and appear to share one long-term test.
A Note on Model Confusion
Rubbermaid sells at least two three-step aluminum stools with a project tray, and reviewers don't always keep them apart. The other one, the RM-SLA3-T, is a lighter 8-pound Type II stool rated for 225 pounds, with a fold-down tray behind the handrail. The Spruce's best-ladders guide and Bob Vila's best-ladders guide both covered that model, not this one. This page uses only coverage that clearly points to the RMA-3XST. Real Simple's and The Spruce's step-stool roundups both link to its Amazon listing and describe its magnetized tray, screw box, and paper-towel bar. Bob Vila's 2026 step-stool roundup is murkier. It links the RMA-3XST listing and shows its product photo, but its spec box gives a 29-inch top step and a 225-pound limit, which are the RM-SLA3-T's numbers. We count Bob Vila's hands-on notes as coverage of this model, but its spec figures shouldn't be taken as this stool's specifications.
Stability in Testing
Stability is where the three outlets agree most. Real Simple, which named it the Best Lightweight Ladder in its ladder guide, wrote that the ladder "felt sturdy and wobble-free, due in part to the ladder's wide steps and non-slip, non-marring feet that stayed firmly in place during use." The Spruce's step-stool roundup, written up from the same tester's six-plus months of use, says the stool "has never felt wobbly or unsteady" and that it "never wobbles, even on the highest step." Bob Vila's testers pushed harder. They describe standing, jumping, and turning around on the top step "confidently," and say it was especially useful for overhead painting. They also found its limit: the stool "tended to tip if we leaned too far to either side." Bob Vila doesn't hold that against it much, since no stepladder should be used while leaning, but it is a useful reminder that a narrow, light frame rewards climbing down to move it instead of overreaching. Bob Vila gave it 4 out of 5 for stability on its scoring rubric.
The Oversized Project Tray
The tray is this stool's main selling point, and it is the feature reviewers write about most. Real Simple says the stool "earned a perfect score for its features," pointing to a magnetized project tray for tools, paint cans, and brushes, plus a box for screws and nails and a bar that holds a roll of paper towels. The Spruce describes the same parts in more detail: an "oversized, magnetized tray" that holds a paint can, holes for brushes and other tools, and a dedicated screw spot. Its tester found it most useful while installing outdoor solar lights on the side of a garage, because she didn't have to climb down to fetch hardware. Bob Vila's take is plainer. It calls the tray "handy" for renovation and DIY projects and lists it among the stool's main strengths. Its "Best With Tray" label shows how much the tray drove the pick. Nobody reported the tray getting in the way when climbing or folding the stool.
Portability and Storage
At roughly 10.5 to 11.2 pounds, this stool is heavier than the lightest three-step aluminum stools, but reviewers still found it easy to move around. Real Simple called it "extremely portable" and said its testers reached for it more often than their smaller step stool during six months of chores. Those chores included watering hard-to-reach plants, hanging curtains, and installing solar lights. The Spruce adds that its tester carried it up and down stairs often, using it "almost daily" during a second-floor room remodel, and found it "very easy to open and close." For storage, The Spruce notes that it "folds nearly flat for easy upright storage in a closet or garage." Tricam lists folded dimensions of 60 by 20.7 by 4.7 inches, so plan on a tall, five-foot slot rather than a gap beside the fridge. Bob Vila scored portability 4 out of 5, matching its other sub-scores.
How the Scores Add Up
Only Bob Vila prints a number. Its step-stool comparison table gives the Rubbermaid an overall rating of 4/5, and its sub-scores for stability, portability, durability, and value are all 4/5. That puts it in the middle of the ten stools Bob Vila tested: solid, but not a standout on any one measure. Neither Dotdash outlet publishes an overall score, so the ratings recorded here for Real Simple and The Spruce are our inferences from what they wrote, at 4.5 out of 5 each. Both name the stool as a category pick, praise its stability and tray, and list one minor complaint. Keep in mind that the two write-ups describe the same tester, the same six-month period, and the same projects, and in places use nearly the same wording. In practice that is one long-term hands-on test published twice, plus a shorter, independent hands-on test from Bob Vila.
Where It Falls Short
Every complaint is small, but they come up repeatedly. The paper-towel bar is the most consistent one: Real Simple found it "a bit flimsy" and put "the bar could be sturdier" as its only listed drawback, and The Spruce's only con is a "flimsy paper towel rack." Bob Vila's concerns are about safety margins instead. It flags a tendency to tip when you lean sideways, and lists "Not suitable for leaning" as a con. It also calls the weight capacity "somewhat limited at 225 pounds." That figure seems to come from the sibling model, because Tricam and Amazon both rate this stool at 250 pounds (Type I). Still, 250 pounds has to cover the user plus whatever is in the tray, so heavier users should check that margin. Price is the other caveat. Amazon listed it at $179.91 when checked, with low stock, while Real Simple's and The Spruce's buy boxes had shown a Target price near $100. That listing has since gone dead. At about $180 it costs far more than most three-step stools.
Who It's Best For
This stool fits homeowners who do a lot of small projects at moderate height and want their supplies within reach. Painting trim, hanging curtains and blinds, swapping light fixtures, mounting outdoor lights, and watering high plants are the kinds of jobs the reviewers actually used it for. The magnetized tray, screw box, and paint-can space save trips up and down, and the large platform top step gives you room to stand with both feet and turn, which Bob Vila confirmed by jumping on it. It suits people with standard or slightly higher ceilings. Bob Vila's write-up says it would suit homes with ceilings above the traditional 8 feet, and Tricam lists a 9-foot-3-inch reach. It is less suited to anyone close to the 250-pound limit once tools are counted. It is also a poor fit for anyone who mainly needs to grab something off a shelf, since a plainer, cheaper stool does that just as well. And for people storing it in a tight apartment closet, its five-foot folded height can be awkward.
Strengths
- +Felt sturdy and wobble-free in Real Simple's six-month test, helped by wide steps and non-slip, non-marring feet that stayed put
- +Large magnetized project tray holds a paint can, with brush/tool holes, a removable screw box, and a paper-towel bar; Real Simple gave it a perfect features score
- +Big platform top step: Bob Vila's testers stood, jumped, and turned around on it confidently, useful for overhead painting
- +Easy to open, close, and carry, even up and down stairs almost daily during a remodel (The Spruce); folds nearly flat for upright storage
- +ANSI Type I 250 lb rating with about a 9 ft 3 in reach (Tricam), higher than many household step stools
Watch-outs
- −The paper-towel bar is flimsy (Real Simple and The Spruce both flag it)
- −Tends to tip if you lean too far to either side (Bob Vila)
- −At $179.91 on Amazon when checked, it costs far more than most 3-step stools; the roughly $100 Target listing reviewers cited is gone
- −Folds to about 60 in tall, so it needs a tall closet or garage slot
How it compares
A three-step stool rather than a full 6-ft ladder: at about 11 lb it is the lightest pick and the only one with an oversized magnetized paint tray, but its 33.5-in platform sits below the 3 ft 9 in top standing level of the Gorilla GLX-5B and Little Giant Flip-N-Lite, and its 250-lb Type I rating is the lowest here. At its current price it costs more than the Gorilla GLX-5B, which reaches higher.
Rating sources
“This ladder also felt sturdy and wobble-free, due in part to the ladder’s wide steps and non-slip, non-marring feet that stayed firmly in place during use.”
Not in the average — we derived this score from the review's words, and a publisher printed a score for this product, so the printed number counts instead.
“Even after six months of use, the Rubbermaid Step Stool has never felt wobbly or unsteady.”
Not in the average — we derived this score from the review's words, and a publisher printed a score for this product, so the printed number counts instead.
Counts as 3.68/5 in our score — this publisher's 42 scores on the site average 4.53, so its scores are adjusted down to compare fairly with other publishers.
“The top step on this tall step stool sits at 29 inches, and we were able to stand, jump, and turn around on it confidently, which made it especially useful for tasks like painting overhead.”
Our 3.7 score is the average of 1 of the scored reviews above, each adjusted for how strictly its publisher scores. 2 derived scores above are not in the average because a publisher printed a score for this product. Ratings marked * were derived from the reviewer’s written analysis or video transcript — the publisher didn’t print an explicit numeric score, so we inferred one from their own words. Click through to verify. More about methodology.
