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[Edge]

Happened to stop buy my local "Woodcraft" store today here in Hawaii for some supplies...Lo and behold the New 20V Max tools and hand tools were on display, also present was a Dewalt rep, which was kinda weird as I knew more about the new tools then him, thanks to D.O.G!!. Gotta tell Ya,First Impressions,They look GOOD! VERY well made, but they feel / balance even better! They feel a little lighter too, especially the new Hammer when compared with my DCD 970 Pod Lithium. also think tool for tool weight spec's is dead on with Makita now. The Impact's are super compact, even shorter than my 12V Max Impact. But the tool that really blew me away was the 20V Max SDS Rotary Hammer, that thing is just killer center balanced,drills like buttah! with one hand, perfect for overhead task. Hand Hammer was pretty cool, really light and well made, 25' tape rule is exactly like the Bostich just with Dewalt badging.

All in all Dewalt really did there homework with these 20V Max line and hand tools and if you know tools, you can really tell they did. I came away very impressed. NOW Just gotta wait till late Sept. to get some of these Baby's!!!

[kjones]

The Impact's are super compact, even shorter than my 12V Max Impact. But the tool that really blew me away was the 20V Max SDS Rotary Hammer, that thing is just killer center balanced,drills like buttah! with one hand, perfect for overhead task.

The impact driver is KILLER!!!  It drives your typical screws so fast, you won't believe it!  I got my demo kit a couple of weeks back, and while helping some friends hang french doors, I put in my first 3.5in screw with the impact, turned around, and lit up like a little school boy on Christmas break!  The sds hammer is pretty awesome as well! 

These should be pretty fun when they come out!

[Madtec]

Darn right, but the hammer drill is a monster with the 3.0Ah battery.  Now let's see what all the haters has to say when it comes out.

[Bucko]

I see Amazon has a few these up for pre-order. They have a few reviews as well. Mostly positive although someone actually complained that the drill was "too much drill for me".  This sounds like a good problem to have, much better than not enough to get the job done. I love my 18v stuff, but man do I want these!

[CTDiesel]

I wish they'd hurry the heck up and get it on the market here!

[kjones]

I wish they'd hurry the heck up and get it on the market here!

They are slated to ship to stores no later than Sep. 6th.  Things can always happen to slow that down, but it is looking like they will ship on time or even a little early.

[toolnut]

Darn right, but the hammer drill is a monster with the 3.0Ah battery.  Now let's see what all the haters has to say when it comes out.

My first thought would be about time. It looks like Dewalt is just now catching up to the competition.

[kjones]

Darn right, but the hammer drill is a monster with the 3.0Ah battery.  Now let's see what all the haters has to say when it comes out.

My first thought would be about time. It looks like Dewalt is just now catching up to the competition.

No, DeWALT was already the market leader (by a huge amount, FYI) with the current 18v line.  The 20v line is just going to take their little bit of the cordless "pie"

[Steven]

Thats cool Dewalt actually has cordless models labeled as "20v".  But as far as I am concerned, their 18v line beats the other guys' 20v.  If you take a high quality 18v drill versus a lower quality 20v one, the higher quality drill wins every time.  For example, my friend & I were building a shed.  His popular Craftsman C3 19.2v drill didnt last as long as my Dewalt 18v DCD760 compact drill (using non-compact yellow top Li-Ion batteries).  The same guy has a Craftsman Professional 20v drill for 'heavy duty' work, which didnt last as long as my DCD970 either.  Craftsman hand tools are good, but their power tools are....  well of course I didnt expect much from a drill made by Ryobi anyways.

[kjones]

The 20v is a 20volt MAX, which means that it has a nominal charge of 20v, but once you pull the trigger on the tool, it drops to 18v.  The reason it is called 20v is to diferentiate between the current 18v line and the new 20v line. 

You are right, the current 18v line is still far superior to most other compititors on the market.

[toolnut]

The 20v is a 20volt MAX, which means that it has a nominal charge of 20v, but once you pull the trigger on the tool, it drops to 18v.  The reason it is called 20v is to diferentiate between the current 18v line and the new 20v line. 

You are right, the current 18v line is still far superior to most other compititors on the market.

I don't see it that way as they have modified their 18V exstensively over the past 4 years. Seems like something isn't working out correctly. Maybe the battery chemistry is to blame.

[kjones]

The 20v is a 20volt MAX, which means that it has a nominal charge of 20v, but once you pull the trigger on the tool, it drops to 18v.  The reason it is called 20v is to differentiate between the current 18v line and the new 20v line. 

You are right, the current 18v line is still far superior to most other competitors on the market.

I don't see it that way as they have modified their 18V exstensively over the past 4 years. Seems like something isn't working out correctly. Maybe the battery chemistry is to blame.

There is nothing that is not "working out correctly", there is going to be an additional line.  I guess i don't see what you are trying to say.  That is the factual reason for calling the line "20v MAX", and that is the true explanation of 20v (simplified obviously).  And the chemistry used in the current 18v line are widely known as the best on the market.

[toolnut]

The 20v is a 20volt MAX, which means that it has a nominal charge of 20v, but once you pull the trigger on the tool, it drops to 18v.  The reason it is called 20v is to differentiate between the current 18v line and the new 20v line. 

You are right, the current 18v line is still far superior to most other competitors on the market.

I don't see it that way as they have modified their 18V exstensively over the past 4 years. Seems like something isn't working out correctly. Maybe the battery chemistry is to blame.

 

There is nothing that is not "working out correctly", there is going to be an additional line.  I guess i don't see what you are trying to say.  That is the factual reason for calling the line "20v MAX", and that is the true explanation of 20v (simplified obviously).  And the chemistry used in the current 18v line are widely known as the best on the market.

Calling it 20V Max is a bit deceiving since it is only 18V useable, but Dewalt is at least stating this in the interviews I have read.

If the battery chemistry is working well with the A123 batteries then why, from what I have read, are they going to a different brand battery? Typically if something is working to be "the best" then why change it?

[DEWALTDUDE]

You can thank Milwaukee for the whole "max" thing.... pretty sure we beat that one to death on here.

If I had to guess.... and it's only a guess, A123 has a lower Ah rating. I think in general, people would rather have a larger gas tank, than a battery with 2000 cycles. A large majority of professionals out there beat the living crap out of there batteries, and probably never reach the 1000/2000 cycle's anyway's.

That being said, the economy seems to be getting worse, and not better. A123 is costly, and I would see this as a solution to remain profitable, and at the same time offer a larger gas tank. I did notice the battery warranty was increased another year on both batteries. 2years on the compact, and 3years on the full size.

I personally am not thrilled about the change, only time will tell.

[kjones]

The 20v is a 20volt MAX, which means that it has a nominal charge of 20v, but once you pull the trigger on the tool, it drops to 18v.  The reason it is called 20v is to differentiate between the current 18v line and the new 20v line. 

You are right, the current 18v line is still far superior to most other competitors on the market.

I don't see it that way as they have modified their 18V exstensively over the past 4 years. Seems like something isn't working out correctly. Maybe the battery chemistry is to blame.

 

There is nothing that is not "working out correctly", there is going to be an additional line.  I guess i don't see what you are trying to say.  That is the factual reason for calling the line "20v MAX", and that is the true explanation of 20v (simplified obviously).  And the chemistry used in the current 18v line are widely known as the best on the market.

Calling it 20V Max is a bit deceiving since it is only 18V useable, but Dewalt is at least stating this in the interviews I have read.

If the battery chemistry is working well with the A123 batteries then why, from what I have read, are they going to a different brand battery? Typically if something is working to be "the best" then why change it?

DeWALT explains the difference between nominal and running charge on all promotional material, on the box of the tool, in the owners manual, on the website...