BEWARE This SUPER SNEAKY Tool Scam!

So here's what happened, guys. I'm walking through Home Depot, just like you were, or shopping online, and I saw a beautiful set of DeWalt tools. And we all kind of do the rubberneck, you know, the double-take. And I was like, oh, that's cool. Well, yeah, we need a couple of those. We're already gonna buy them anyway. Oh, look at that. There's a couple other tools I probably wouldn't buy, but if they were in a kit, I'd buy them. And it was on sale. Got me on that one again. And it's in a toolbox. You got me again. And I'm like, yeah, let's do it. Six months ago, that happened. And it wasn't until I got the kit home and I started looking at it more carefully, and I realized this kit isn't at all what I thought. I was gonna take it back. But I thought, you know what? Let's open it instead. ♪♪ I don't think I need to go into detail about DeWalt. We all know what we're looking at. But DeWalt is sneaky. So let me first confess how they got me. I'm not particularly gullible, but you and I, we kind of know tool branding and we kind of know how the different companies market themselves, right? So the first thing I looked at on this package was the drill. And I saw a very, very tiny little emblem or insignia on this drill that says XR. And it just happened to be because I was looking for a drill at the time, and I saw XR. And if you know anything about DeWalt, you know that that's their brushless product. Things that don't have XR are not brushless. And I happened to also be at the same time looking for the oscillating tool. And I saw on the oscillating tool, the insignia XR, which told me it's brushless. And if you look really carefully on this battery, it says XR. And on this battery, XR. And on these batteries, XR. So you can kind of understand why I thought this kit was a kit full of brushless tools. In fact, online, this kit is referred to as a XR toolkit. I'm not the only one who thought this was a brushless toolkit. Online, this is actually marketed as an XR tool combo, which would lead any savvy consumer to believe that it's a brushless tool combo kit. But the reviews and feedback on many of the major websites like Home Depot and Amazon Lowe's, there are reviews that all say, gosh, I swear when I got this that it was full of brushless tools. And when I got home, I realized that's not true. Let's back up for just a second in case you're not super tool savvy and talk about the difference between a brushed tool and a brushless tool. So a brushed tool is kind of yesterday's technology. A lot of advancement has been made in power tools in the last, say, 20 years. And a lot of that technology is actually in the battery, but a lot of it also is in the tool itself. So brushed tools tend to consume more battery power. Therefore, for the same amount of work, you're going to have to charge your batteries more often. Even a better battery isn't going to make up for an inferior tool. Brushed tools also have a shorter lifespan just because of how the motor works. So a brushed tool is going to last less time than a brushless tool. A brushed tool is actually going to require more effort from the operator. Therefore, over time, a brushed tool is actually going to fatigue the operator more than a brushless tool. So in contrast, a brushless tool is very much new technology and because of the technology in the controller that runs the motor, they actually are more efficient. And they're able to do more work with less battery. So that means less work for the operator and less charging the battery. Because of the technology in the motor, there's less wear parts and therefore they actually last longer too. So why does all that stuff matter? If you're a weekend warrior and you're kind of just doing little DIY projects around the house or in the backyard, a brushed tool in the modern era is going to be a fantastic tool. It's not going to be a big deal. But if you're in the trades and you're using these tools all day, every day, which are a lot of people who buy DeWalt, brushless is the only way to go. The last thing to mention, and I think it's really important because this may be one of the most important driving decisions behind a purchase like this is cost. Because the brushless technology is kind of old technology, a lot of the tools that you'll find that are brushless are kind of old designs and therefore they're available at a lower cost. The brushless technology is both in higher demand and it's newer technology so you'd expect to pay more. I want to make it clear that this video is not saying that one or the other is what a person should or shouldn't buy. We all have different budgets and I think that brushed tools can be a good purchase for the right person. This video is more about spending money thinking you're getting something specific and that's not at all what you got. So as it turns out, I thought I was buying a toolkit full of brushless tools and that's not at all what's included in this kit. And that in and of itself would be enough to return the kit like a lot of people have said they've done and said, you know what, I feel deceived, I'm taking this back. I'm just gonna buy the tool that I thought I was gonna buy in the first place and I don't need all this other stuff. But the more I researched, the more I realized that there's actually more going on here than just the brushless deception. And I think the only way to convey that is to go tool by tool and kind of show you how unique each one of these tools is and how it's not quite what you think it is even if you thought it was the brushed tool. So I think one of the tools that a lot of people would probably buy this kit for is the drill. So let's pick on the drill first. So at first I thought hammer drill, we need that tool. It's two speeds, that's perfect. What I didn't realize is that this is not the same brushless hammer drill that you would buy if you bought the tool separately. A couple of key differences. One, the power rating of this tool is approximately half the output of the other brushless tool that you would buy if you bought it standalone. Now, DeWalt has several standalone tools but the standalone equivalent to this tool which is included in the kit is definitely more powerful as a tool overall. The other major feature that's missing on this tool is the chuck where the clutch is cannot mount a handle or it doesn't seem like you can. And if you can, there's not a handle included. So a lot of hammer drills include a side handle to give you additional leverage or to resist torquing. And the brushless tool that DeWalt sells standalone has a little bit narrower collar around the chuck and that's where their handle actually mounts. So as it turns out, what is included in the kit is not what you and I might think of when we think of a hammer drill. This is actually DeWalt's compact hammer drill. And though it is brushless, it's probably not gonna have the power output that you might expect. So the first time you try to drill a really difficult hole, I'm not sure this tool would be up to the task. I'm not saying it's a bad tool, it's just not what I expected. And this will kind of irritate you. The cost difference between this tool and the tool you think you're getting is about 20 bucks. So this isn't a major disappointment on the drill, it's just not what I thought it was and I think that's the point of this whole video. Maybe the second most likely tool that someone would buy a kit like this for is the impact driver. The difference between the brushed impact driver from DeWalt and brushless is a pretty big difference. Let's talk a little bit about kind of power first or work because one of the comparisons we made between brushless and brushed tools is the amount of fatigue on the operator. So the brushed tool has a rating of 117 pound feet of torque which is respectable. I think we should do a test later and compare the two because we happen to own the brushless version of this tool whereas the brushless version is actually rated at 152 pound feet of torque. Same tool, about 30% more power and that doesn't take into consideration the extended battery runtime. DeWalt says on their website that their brushless tools will get as much as 57% more runtime by being brushless. So if you add 30% more power and 57% more runtime you can kind of understand why this tool, little bit of a disappointment. As far as features, there's not a really big difference between features. The only major one is that this is a single speed impact driver and the brushless model is a three speed model. Do we use all three speeds on the brushless model all the time? No, but it's kind of nice to have them. Of course, the trigger is a variable trigger but the speeds are definitely handy to have. So what would it cost you to upgrade from this brushed model to this brushless model? Are you ready? $10. That's it. That was pretty close. That was so close. I think we should do a fair test. I actually switched the batteries because I realized that the battery that was in the brushless might be a little bit off of full. Let's try that one more time. That's funny, that wasn't even close at all which is kind of what I was expecting originally. So I guess I can't be completely fair because this battery is completely full. This one's just a little off of full. Guess make your own judgment call. All right, the two big fish are kind of out of the way. Which one of these should we pick on next? Let's go reciprocating saw. It's gonna take a while to talk about this tool. I can't believe the number of ways that this tool has been not cheapened but the number of features that have been removed from a pretty critical tool. I mean, this is probably the most basic reciprocating saw you could even make. Let's kind of take a look at some of the things that are either different or missing from this tool that you would get if you had purchased the brushless or the other version. This little feature here is called a shoe and it's what rides on the surface that you're cutting. A more premium model, whatever you wanna call it, actually has an adjustable shoe which allows you to change the depth of the blade that you're cutting with. Maybe you wanna cut a more shallow cut but your blade is this long. You can extend the shoe out which changes the depth of the blade in the cut. This shoe is a fixed depth. Another feature about the shoe that kind of stands out to me is that it's kind of just stamped steel. That's not a criticism. I think it just kind of exhibits how this tool is a cheaper tool overall. Another feature that's missing from this saw is what's called a four-way blade clamp. So this small slot right here is where you would slide the blade in and clamp it down. The more premium reciprocating saws allow you to insert the blade in four different orientations so that you can cut this direction, this direction, this direction, and this direction. This model, however, limits you to only two directions, this way or that way. It's not a big deal but I will say from having worked with other tools that this blade clamp seems lower quality. I can't tell you exactly why I feel that way. A lot of the ones that I've used are actually spring-loaded so you simply need to pull this back, slide the blade in, let go, and the clamp actuates. This one actually requires you to push down. I've not used it so that's a prejudicial statement with no experience but it doesn't feel as good. The ones that are spring-loaded take a little bit of pressure to pull them back but once the blade is inserted, you let go and you know it's gonna stay closed. I feel like maybe this one could actually wiggle loose. Maybe that's just speculation. Another small feature is that there's no LED light. In the modern era of cordless tools, it's pretty rare to find tools that don't have an LED light because they get used in dark spaces a lot. Another small thing, we're picking on little stuff here. The stroke on this saw is actually an eighth of an inch shorter than its brother and ironically, something that might trick you is the model number. This little guy has a model number 381. You would think that would be a newer model than 380, right? It turns out that 380 is actually a more feature-rich reciprocating saw than 381. So again, the question comes down to what would you have paid if you had to purchase the tool you thought you were buying? The cost difference between this guy and the tool I thought I was buying, it's about $20 for the brushless compact reciprocating saw. Interestingly, the 380, which is not a brushless tool, but actually has a lot of the features that you would think you would get in this tool, like the adjustable shoe, the four-way blade clamp, et cetera, 10 bucks. That's the cost difference, but you can't add those features after the fact. One more teeny tiny little complaint. In the kit, they include a blade for the circular saw, the grinder, and the multi-tool, the oscillating tool, but nothing for the reciprocating saw. You're on your own. There's not a lot that's missing from this tool that I thought would have been included, although there are definitely some features that I wish it had. So I guess this isn't really a deceptive thing on DeWalt's part. It's more a misunderstanding on my part. A lot of grinders like this actually have a brake mechanism so that when you let go of the trigger, the wheel stops very quickly, and it doesn't appear that this tool has that feature. It seems like it spins down. It doesn't spin down slow, but it definitely doesn't stop really quickly, which can be a nice feature. Another small feature that I think is just, I'll call it a nit or a gripe, is that this tool is a single speed. A lot of tools like this are variable speeds. Sometimes you want a slower motion, and sometimes you want extremely high speed depending on what you're doing. The tool that is brushless in this kit, again, I wasn't expecting that, but this tool, unlike the brushless one, has a single speed. The variable speed of the brushless tool, I'm sure would be very nice depending on the type of work that you're doing. So that's just one little thing about this tool that I think if I were to own it for a long period of time, I'd probably get annoyed. Remember the conversation we had earlier about battery and runtime? This is one of those tools where that is gonna be a big problem. In fact, the number one complaint about this tool, and I guess in the defense of all cordless tools, grinders are a stretch in any direction, but the fact that this tool is not brushless is really a negative. It's gonna run through batteries lightning fast, and I think probably the worst problem there is that it's gonna heat the batteries up quite a bit because of the amount of load, and therefore you can't just do the hot swap battery thing that you might be used to because these modern batteries will not charge if they're too hot. Back in the day, you could try to charge a hot battery, which wasn't good for them, and now the battery will just shut down. So this is definitely one of those tools where brushless is gonna make or break the tool completely. I will say that we've all been there where you have just this tiny little grinding task that you wanna do, and versus having to get your corded grinder out, head out to the trailer, or whatever you're trying to work on, this tool will definitely get the job done. So is it superior to a corded tool for tiny projects? Absolutely. And of course, the big question, how much to go from this guy up to the brushless tool? It's about $20. All right, we're almost done picking on DeWalt, guys. Let's tackle the circular saw. I wanna iterate that this is not a comparison video, but really goes to what I thought I was buying. And probably the first thing that jumps out to me about this saw is that it has a steel shoe. Is that a bad thing? No, but for some reason, when I looked at the DeWalt tools, every single one I could find actually had a magnesium shoe, which is lighter, a little bit stronger, and I would say ultimately more desirable. It's not going to rust. You're not gonna get any corrosion. This guy, not so. The other thing that really stood out to me about this saw is this plastic lower guard. I don't know why, but there's something about a plastic lower guard on a circular saw that just doesn't scream, I feel safe. And on top of being plastic, it doesn't really have that kind of like high quality, strong, gonna keep me from cutting my leg feel. This was really just poor research on my part, but had this been the brushless tool, it would have actually been a seven and 1 1⁄4 inch blade. And instead the non-brushless or the brushed tool is a 6 1⁄2 inch. So why does 6 1⁄2 versus 7 1⁄4 matter? Well, the total depth of cut on this saw is 2 1⁄4 inches, which isn't terrible. These 7 1⁄4 inch saws will cut a little over a quarter of an inch deeper than this will. Why does the depth of cut matter? 2 1⁄4 inches, that's plenty, right? It matters when you bevel the saw to an angle, like 45 degrees, then your depth of cut actually goes way down. This guy will cut an inch and 5⁄8 at 45 degrees, which means you're pretty much limited to two by material, which if you're just doing DIY projects is just fine. But if you wanna start doing bigger timber, four by material, et cetera, you're gonna find yourself struggling with this tool, which is why I wanted the 7 1⁄4, which is the tool I thought I was buying. One feature on these saws that I feel like is a deal breaker if it's missing is an electric brake. When you let go of the trigger, if the saw is still spinning down, it presents a major safety hazard if it touches your leg or bites a piece of wood or something like that. And I was a little worried because this saw I found on the DeWalt website actually didn't appear to have a brake. And they actually include this little warning tag, which is kind of clearly an afterthought. You know, it's got the little white tag on it that basically says the exact same thing. During the spin down of the blade, it's extremely dangerous, so make sure that the plastic guard is in place. But I'm happy to report, I think DeWalt came to their senses and realized this little tag wasn't gonna do it. Good move, DeWalt. This is another one of those tools where runtime is gonna be a problem. We actually own a couple of brushless circular saws, and even with big batteries, it's amazing how much juice they require. And a common complaint about this particular saw is that the runtime isn't that great. And that's really where the brushless shines. I didn't even realize, but you can't even buy this saw alone as a bare tool from DeWalt. It seems to be kind of like a black sheep. It's almost like a tool that they built just to fit in these multi-tool kits. It has features that are not on other models. In fact, the model that you can buy standalone from DeWalt has all the features that we just mentioned, and why they didn't include that in the kit is beyond me. So the question is, to go from this tool to the tool I thought I was buying, what's the cost difference? $20. Do you guys see a pattern? So this is not a fair comparison, but I do have experience with it, so it gives me some clue about what we should be able to expect from the DeWalt. This is Makita's rear handle brushless circular saw, seven and a quarter inch. I know from working on the house that we could cut for 36 straight feet at full depth with two five amp hour batteries. That's about 10 amp hours, right? This saw has a little bit smaller blade and it doesn't cut quite as deep, but I think it's only fair that we put this against the Milwaukee with the same size battery. The Milwaukee though is brushless. This piece of wood is four feet. I think we'll get five cuts. Let's see what happens with five. Four. I don't think we're gonna get five. I think it's gonna quit before five. It quit at four. Oh, the battery's too hot. That's a first. Oh yeah, she's warm. It's saying no moss. Okay, four. So that's 16 straight feet, full depth, continuous with the Milwaukee, brushless. Can the DeWalt brushed beat the Milwaukee? Woo, it's flying through it. There's five, six. Having a hard time finding wood to cut. Six and a half. Not too shabby. Okay, in the name of not fair comparisons, this blade on the Milwaukee is far from new and this one, brand new. And that battery, yeah, that's not new either. I'm not even sure it was completely charged. Anyway, but overall, not bad, DeWalt, not bad. Brand new battery, brand new saw, six and a half inch, seven and a quarter inch used blade, used battery. Still did about, what, 50% more cuts? So truth be told, we just realized or just discovered that really what stopped both of these saws is the batteries are overheating. And that could be, in the case of the DeWalt, a function of the brushed motor, even though in this terrible case study, it outperformed the Milwaukee. So even if you try to put these batteries on the charger, they're actually not dead, but they won't charge anyway. And this is definitely a struggle with this tool, as we mentioned earlier, and the grinder. So I think whether you go with brushless or brushed, you're still gonna be up against the battery gremlins because this is just a power-hungry tool. And of course, I don't know if you guys are like us, but who just cuts for 20, 30 straight feet at full depth? I mean, besides us. So if you're not gonna be doing that, this may not be a fair comparison to your use case. Maybe you're just gonna be cross-cutting two by lumber or something like that. So this saw, it's not what I was expecting. But after this test, I'm actually impressed. Not too shabby. So what makes me wonder if this tool's pretty good, how good is the brushless one? The oscillating multi-tool that's included in the kit, it's exactly what I expected. It's their brushless tool. And after holding and looking at the other companies that make a similar tool, I was really impressed by DeWalt's tool. So much that we actually bought this tool standalone and have used it a ton. If you haven't, give it a look. The ergonomics and the overall design are spot on. And this, this is what we call a consolation gift from DeWalt. It's like, all right, we wanna sell a six-piece kit, but six pieces sounds terrible, so let's just give them this little LED flashlight. You guys want an LED flashlight? Let me show you a great cordless LED flashlight. This, I keep this little guy in my pocket, and whenever I don't have it, I always seem to be grabbing for it. It runs off of one tiny little battery, and it kind of makes this DeWalt seem kind of a wussy tool. I guess if you needed something to aim on the ground and had a big battery and you wanted to recharge it, I could see the value in it. But if you're looking for a really compact flashlight, I love this thing. So I would say that looking at these tools, touching them, and going through the features was enlightening. But I think the message of this video is not that these tools are junk. It's really easy to misunderstand. I think the message here is, I guess I wish DeWalt would just be honest with us. And I suppose there's an element of personal responsibility here. Was this an impulse buy? Okay, maybe a little bit. But I think that DeWalt, you have such a good product, and people are already drawn to you anyway. You have a great reputation. If we want something cheap, we're not looking to DeWalt anyway. So I think if we could ask for anything, I think just be honest with us. If you have a maybe lower end line, or a more budget line of products, be clear about that. So that when we buy it, we feel good about what we bought. But using these kind of sneaky little marketing tactics, whether it's intentional or not, kind of leaves people with a bad taste. And that's certainly not something that we would expect from a company like DeWalt. It starts to make us think about the colors red, and kind of teal blue, if you know what I mean. This toolkit can be had for between $400 and $600, depending on when you buy it. If you buy it during the holiday season, a lot of times you'll find this kit on sale at its lowest possible price. The good news is, DeWalt does have this kit in brushless. You're just not gonna find it on an end cap, probably, at your favorite hardware store. You're gonna have to go looking for it. So if you're looking for a brushless kit, DeWalt does have one. We'll try to link to that below this video if you're looking for a toolkit like that. But do keep in mind, if you're kind of a DIYer or a weekend warrior, these toolkits are also awesome. Guys, I just, I have to do a fair comparison. I've topped up both of these batteries, and I just wanna know, is the brushless really better? I mean, don't you wanna know? I think it's pretty obvious.