The Golden Age of Cordless Power Tools

Also have some Ryobi stuff. Got a surprisingly affordable (under $150) package deal with a drill, impact driver, oscillating tool, reciprocating saw, flashlight, and small circular saw. Came with a charger and two battery packs.

None of these are incredible tools, but none of them have failed on me. The only thing that's died is one of the battery packs and I replaced it with a larger one since the included ones were pretty small. Pretty sure I killed it by using it with a more demanding tool not included in the package.

In retrospect, I'm thinking the cheapo deal was a way to get people like me - just bought a fixer upper house and looking to do some light-to-moderate DIY work - invested in their ecosystem. Well, it's worked. When I need other cordless tools, I get more Ryobi since they work with the same battery packs. Grinder, hand vacuum, etc. have been the same brand.

That said, I've needed higher quality tools as well, and when I got a better circular saw and a big hammer drill, I went corded and had the benefit of not worrying about battery brands. Probably should've gone corded for the grinder as well (it kills battery packs quickly).

I bought a tiny 12v Bosch driver when I fitted my kitchen 5 years ago, and I've used since for things like assembling flat pack furniture.

I've not charged it once since my kitchen project.

Obviously tightening knockdown fittings isn't very taxing work, but I'm still impressed every time I get it out.

One HUGE difference is that the "crappy walmart tools" (replace with equivalent store brand like Ryobi, Craftsman, etc) are actually quite decent.

Ten+ years ago I would be quite adamant about people getting "professional" brands, now unless you really need to "buy into the red army" anything is basically fine.

It's true of quite a few products now that I think of it. There used to be "good TVs and really shit TVs" - now even the bargain crap is pretty good.

The batteries used have come a long way! They can deliver high peak current which corresponds to high torque. Lifetime is also better.

That combined with better brushless motors and controllers means that these tools are way better overall.

    operating these things while wired in is just a huge 
    pain in the ass. Meanwhile my neighbors who have battery 
    powered equivalents are doing just fine. My mower (which 
    came with the house) is battery powered and works great.

Yeah, sometimes "worse is better." I went from a gas-powered leaf blower to a 40V Ryobi leaf blower and I use it probably 25X as often because of the convenience. It's quiet enough to use late at night for cleanup in the garage without worrying about waking the neighbors (also I won't die from using a gas-powered device in an enclosed space...)

The 40V leaf blower is obviously less powerful, but it's powerful enough and has more than enough power and runtime to clean up a 1/4 acre suburban yard or maybe even twice that.

    But [batteries] are definitively an additional 
    point of failure and complexity. 

Well, theoretically yes! But in practice it certainly seems the answer is no, they're not really a failure point. This is the height of unscientific anecdota, obviously, but on forums and comment sections and such I just don't see people having battery issues with these major brands.

I think Li-Ion batteries are pretty mature technology at this point. There's a little bit of complexity in the battery itself because it keeps track of its charge level. Then the tools themselves seem to be pretty much braindead simple w.r.t battery technology. They are simply expecting some DC input from the battery. And the battery shuts itself off when the level is too low.

Worst comes to worst, a battery fails, you get a new one for a fairly reasonable cost. Once you buy into a tool system you will probably have at least two batteries so you're not dead in the water in the meantime.

I'm in the US and have used Makita for almost 20 years and been totally satisfied. You wouldn't know they were a distant third place or worse based on availability, breadth of offerings, price, or quality. My concerns are quality and durability, unlike the author who seems more interested in subjective things like 'unwavering commitment to end users' - I don't even know what that really means. Same for his others apparent beefs.

> EDIT: and of course, Parkside, aka the greatest value for money of all time

Well, Lidl's Parkside Performance range at least. The regular Parkside stuff can be hit-or-miss (but always cheap).

Your analysis seems like a very Europe-centric analysis. Can you please add your opinions on the best tools for sale in Japan? And then Australia next.

This may surprise you, but some people are from regions of the world where only a subset of worldwide products are available to them. Those people will then only write about the things generally available in their country.

Every professional i know in the (french) movie industry mainly use Festool when filming/building on location, outside of studios.

Apparently there's blue and green Bosch tools and one is the pro line, as I only recently learned.

Not sure if Würth is still around for tools, but we had Hilti and Würth for the most part. But I also inherited an old Oerlikon drill that is probably older than I am...

Just my personal experience. Had corded tools for years and I think from a power perspective they have battery beat. But I was gifted a cordless drill and impact driver and they last forever. Battery management hasn’t been an issue. I use them almost every weekend (hanging drywall for example, which involves a lot of screws) or in my pocket hole jig. I charge the batteries every few months over night.

The title of the article is specific to -cordless- tools. Of course there are downsides around battery management and corded tools can have more torque but thats not what the article is about.

I think the point of the article is cordless is good and after some major advances away from nicad and brushed motors, things have pretty much plateaued.

GO TEAM RED!!!

In the past few years, I've gradually come to realize how much batteries (in anything) can actually cost me in things other than just upfront monetary price.

For example, even if a corded $THING costs as much as its cordless counterpart, with the cordless one, I have to think about things like:

- Charging schedule

- Whether the device is draining battery when I'm not using it

- How long before the battery needs replacing

- How much a replacement battery costs

- How to dispose of the battery when it needs replacing

- Whether I'm even able to replace the battery

- How well the device functions without a battery or with a dead/dying one

Without going down that particular rabbit hole, things like right to repair attempt to help with some of those things. However, the corded version avoids all of them categorically.

So it's not that I'll never buy a battery-powered $THING again. Just that I really try to consider all of those "hidden costs" before choosing instead of just rather-blindly going with the battery-powered version (like I did before). In other words, having a battery installed in a device really needs to provide a consistent and realistic value for my personal use case before I'd choose it over a corded version.

If we ever create a battery with effectively infinite recharge cycles, then my stance might change, but I'm not holding my breath on that ever happening. For several reasons.

And even with one manufacturer: I have gardening tools 18V from Bosch and home tools with 18V from Bosch. Batteries don't fit each other. I was stunned.

"Golden Age" is a stretch for sure. More like "power parity with corded". That said, I upgraded a bunch of tools recently and went cordless for everything I could.

> Extension cords are cheap.

And cumbersome. I can't be the only one who's borked a cut with a circular saw because the extension cord got hung up on something. I want to focus on what's in front of the saw, not what's behind it.

Take a look at what the pros are using. Most of the tools they are using are going to be cordless these days.

As a DIYer, I have my cordless tools and rarely need to charge them. For the most part they go many months between charges as I don't use my tools very often. I do have multiple batteries so it isn't a problem for me when a battery dies, I just put it on the charger and grab another battery.

I chose Makita for the same reason and I've loved the stuff. The tools are solid and well thought-out, the batteries have lasted for years, and I've been able to get away with far fewer batteries than I have tools which saves a bunch of money.

This is true for contractors, where you have a bunch of batteries, some (human based) system to charge them and keep them charged, so when you need to do something, there's always a battery ready. I have a corded drill, and that thing always works... i need an extension cord, sure, but I plug it in and it works, 1 minute, 1 hour, 10 hours,... it just works. I have a battery powered angle grinder, and the battery is always empty. Need to cut something? Empty... take out the old electric one, do whatever I needed to cut, charge the battery ~half way (storage charge), put it away. Two years later, I need it again.. battery empty. Charge it, but since it went too low (overdischarge, undervoltage), the capacity is reduced now. Work, charge, work, charge, then back to the case for the next two years, and two more years when the battery is empty and practically dead with maybe 5 hours of actual use. In the meantime, I have a circular saw from 1980s that still works.

tldr: if you need power tools once per year or less, corded might be a better choice.

There are now various adapters that you can buy for the batteries so you aren't vendor locked by it.

A standard battery interface doesn't change the sad reality that third-party batteries are all, without exception, bullshit wastes of money due to being practically DOA.

I've always needed to buy first-party batteries to replace worn out ones, and if I'm doing that it doesn't make any difference to me if their interface is proprietary or standard.

Sell me batteries worth a damn, then we can talk about standards.

The batteries are a selling point for Ryobi too, they’ve maintained compatibility with one 18v design since like 1990 so you don’t wonder “are they going to replace this battery design with an incompatible one next year?”

I think the companies that wouldn’t like the proprietary are ones trying to make a new entry into the market, since you have to convince someone your tool is worth adding a new battery/charger to the garage while knowing there’s not a full system of everything that could use it.

If there were a standard battery it’d be easier to say “we’re a company that only makes a circular saw.”

Bosch professional tools ("blue") are in a giant battery-sharing alliance with dozens of manufacturers nobody has heard of [1] because pro.

Obviously Bosch DIY tools ("green") are in another alliance [2]. Much sharing, big convincing.

[1]: https://www.ampshare.com/

[2]: https://www.powerforall-alliance.com/en/#technology

i have good luck with these: https://powuse.com/collections/cordless-power-tool-battery-a...

The company was responsive to support before ordering to ensure compatibility.

The interfaces can be adapted... it's just voltage and all you have to do is step up or down.

A lot of companies would end up competing against themselves.

https://www.protoolreviews.com/power-tool-manufacturers-who-... <--these include all power tools, not just cordless. Kind of interesting to see who's actually related to who.

I have video lights with battery adapters for at least three or four different battery systems. Surely power tools could do something similar?

Protip: there are adapter shims you can buy.

That adapter sounds amazing. I love the Kreg rails, but never thought of the potential for using it with a router. Are you using it with a trim router?

Just as good? It's gotten to where the normal cordless are way better than most non-top-tier air.

And if those at home have never used an impact driver "because a drill is the same thing" you need to try one. I love the Surge (because the hydraulics makes it quieter), but any impact driver is a whole new world.

I don't know what it's like in the US, but in the several european countries I've lived in the real "pro market" is all leasing, not buying. just like their vehicles, they'll have a fleet of tools with on-site support contracts

The chainsaws (both the small ones and the bigger ones) are a real example of where you can look at something that has substantially improved and is actually usable now. The M18 chainsaw is perfectly usable and much easier than firing up the big gas one.

I guess those are Stihl models? I think you're overestimating the inconvenience of a small engine. It's possible that I'm underestimating the convenience of a battery... I do have an old-school bias probably. But if I were cutting that much I'd rather stop and refuel once, maybe twice than have to keep swapping batteries. I guess it's heavier too... I think of it as a workout.

Edit: I guess I should disclose my comparison, which is a Stihl MS260 that's probably 20-30 years old. Never a problem starting and I'm guessing easier to repair than an electric one.

I think you hit on one of the great benefits of cordless electric tools, especially those that have recently taken over the lawn&garden market.

For so long if you had even a small yard you had to have a mower, an edger, a hedge trimmer, a weed wacker, maybe a small chainsaw for standard homeowner tasks throughout the year. Each of these had small gas motors in them that required priming, starting, gas, oil, lubricant (for chains and other things), and potential tuneups of the throttle and small components like that. It was honestly a huge pain.

The worst is that you had to have all these small gas cans around the garage that were premixed with different ratios of oil for many of these engines.

For a homeowner you needed these tools to keep your yard looking good. But they don't get an abundant amount of work. You might fill a weedwacker up with fuel 2-3 times all summer. A hedge trimmer once. Then in the winter you need to try to drain the fuel so bad fuel didn't rot in there. Then undo it all in the spring. It was a lot of work and small engines just deteriorate while sitting still.

We have seen electric tools in the form of drills and drivers for a while. But they had never been powerful enough before to operate a huge lawn mower or weed wacker reliably. Now they are and it makes home lawn and garden so much nicer. When you start one of these tools you only have to make sure the battery is charged. It starts with one click. No priming, no mixing oil, no winterizing. Not to mention it is quieter.

I get that professional lawn care might still need the power of gas tools for a while longer, but homeowners can finally kiss that world goodbye. I replaced my mower about 5 years ago. Then the next time I had trouble with the weedwacker I replaced it with an electric one of the same company and batter system. Since then I have bought a leaf blower, a hedge trimmer, and a small garden tiller, and a pole saw, all that use the same battery system. It has been amazing and truly simplified my life.

Same here. I've been very pleased with their cordless yard stuff and tools. Angle grinder, reciprocating saw, drill, driver, impact driver, lawn trimmer, 16" chainsaw, and a corded mitre saw. I will admit I was skeptical at first about battery-based high-torque tools like a chainsaw, but I asked several people and got good recommendations. That chainsaw has been an absolute beast.

Also bought the job site radio which I absolutely love. BT, corded but also acts as a battery charger OR can be powered off battery.

We've got two dual chargers, several singles, and bag full of batteries up to 60V. Were in it to win it, now, with DeWalt, but they have yet to let me down.

For the small driver I recommend the Bosch 12 volt tools. They can be bought on sale for a good price. And the batteries last for a very long time. I rarely charge mine, but I only use them occasionally.

Unplugging the battery is easier as you don't even have to follow the cord or bend over to reach it. The battery is right there.

It can be useful if you've got the saw set up as an island, there's no cord to either dangle from the ceiling, or trip over on the floor. An island setup is super practical for material handling.

If the battery can get you through a useful number of cuts, yeah, it has some real advantages.

> Does one really want a cordless table saw??

A cordless jobsite tablesaw - probably. At least in the US you may be a long ways from a working outlet when doing rough framing, installing subfloor, etc.

Cordless table saw may not make sense for a DIYer. But then again, if you are space constrained, why not give yourself more flexibility on where to use your tool?

The cordless work site is entirely about contractors, who have to haul tools to every job. Once you have a sufficient battery fleet, everything is much easier at a jobsite. No looking for outlets, no running extension cords, and the tools are usually lighter while being sufficient.

Oh, hmm, yes, probably people framing houses.

Maybe explain why you need to buy very expensive tools and everything else is garbage?

Just about every contractor around here (USA based) is using Milwaukee, Dewalt or Makita. These folks make a living with their tools and don't have patience for junk. Even lower tier brands like Ryobi are more than capable for home use. I got a lot done around the house with a basic Hitachi drill and corded Skil saw before treating myself to some fancier stuff.