As you probably already read, I attended a recent Dewalt media event where I witnessed the truth in their built in the USA marketing campaign, caught a peek at the latest and upcoming 20V Max cordless tools, and checked out the newest mechanics tools and hand tool offerings.
There’s more coverage still in the works (there are only so many hours in a day), but I wanted to address a question that I know a lot of you have been wondering about.
When will Dewalt come out with more brushless tools?
Before I share the answer I received, let’s consider the types of tools Dewalt has built with brushless motors. There are 4 drills, 2 impact drivers, 3 cordless nailers, an impact wrench with different anvil options, a screwgun, a rotary hammer, an oscillating multi-tool, some lawn & garden tools, and I believe their new band saw is also brushless.
The new deep cutting band saw has the iconic brushless tool grip styling, not to mention the word brushless on the handle. Maybe it was a prototype, as I don’t remember explicit mention of it being brushless, or maybe not.
So we’re basically talking about drills, drivers, and other fastening tools, plus a couple of others.
The official word from Dewalt, or at least the product manager I spoke to, is that they’re focusing on the types of tools where readers will see the most benefits. So why not a brushless circular saw, or a brushless reciprocating saw? Because there wouldn’t be enough measurable benefits for end users. Yet?
The product manager also mentioned how a lot of Dewalt’s premium brushed motor tools are now shipping with 5.0Ah battery packs, something the competition is not yet doing.
Okay, so I rationalized it like this: Dewalt is probably not seeing as much power benefits as they would like for the premium it would cost, and the runtime benefits might not be as high as if a user upgraded to a 5.0Ah battery instead. Or something like that.
Not enough product managers and engineer were at the even to be able to gather more information. Who knows what the “real” reason is why Dewalt isn’t matching Milwaukee’s brushless offerings tool-for-tool. Maybe their sales numbers show that they don’t have to – that’s a very realistic possibility.
Long story short, Dewalt will come out with new brushless tools when they’re ready too. I’m sure they have a bunch of brushless tools designs on the roadmap, but it doesn’t look like there are many tools slated for near-future release.
But, you know what? I’ve noticed a trend. Except for their brushless drills and impact drivers, many of Dewalt’s brushless innovations aren’t just upgrades of brushed motor tools, they’re completely new designs. To be honest, I think I would rather see that trend – new brushless tools that expand Dewalt’s tool selection, rather than brushless versions of existing tools.
Long story short… When will Dewalt come out with more brushless tools? I guess the best answer would be to say “when they’re ready to,” which is as far from a real answer one can get.
I had hoped to bring you better news, that major brushless releases were imminent, but there’s nothing else coming out that I hadn’t already discussed in my Dewalt cordless tools preview post.
If you could convince Dewalt to accelerate development of a new brushless tool or two, what would it be? I’d want to see brushless 12V Max-class drills and drivers, and a 12V Max brushless circular saw similar to Milwaukee’s M12 Fuel 6-1/2″ saw.