Storage crates have f—all to do with weapon tiers.

Good question. Why not?

You clearly are still overthinking the issue.

It’s a crate. A wooden box you can put a bunch of stuff in. That’s it. That is the be all and end all of it’s function. If you want secure storage, you use something else. If you want something that looks prettier, you use something else. If you just want a box to put a bunch of stuff in, you can either use something else or you can use a wooden crate. This isn’t rocket science.