When we first learned about the new Dewalt Atomic cordless power tools, I was a little confused about how the new tools would be placed within the Dewalt 20V Max cordless power tool lineup.
We’ve learned more about the tools, but there are still some things that aren’t perfectly clear to me. The new Dewalt Atomic drill and impact driver look to be entry-priced brushless motor models, perhaps iterative versions of their DCD777 and DCF787 tools, which are attractively priced especially around holiday seasons.
There’s also the new Dewalt Atomic cordless circular saw, which seems to be more fitting of the “compact” theme behind the Atomic branding.
We don’t have imagery of the reciprocating saw yet. I have seen an image of the Dewalt Atomic series oscillating multi-tool, and from what was visible, it’s identical to their existing cordless multi-tool, but without the XR branding.
Last Fall, Dewalt had a $99 Black Friday and holiday season special buy, which was unusual because Dewalt’s XR brushless cordless power tools are typically bundled with their higher capacity battery packs.
But, back to the point, the introductory pricing on the Dewalt Atomic cordless power tools seemed off.
Home Depot’s introductory pricing:
- DCD708B bare tool Atomic drill: $119
- DCD708C2 Atomic drill 2-battery kit: $159
- DCF809B bare tool Atomic impact driver: $119
- DCF809C1 Atomic impact driver 1-battery kit : $149
- DCF809C2 Atomic impact driver 2-battery kit: $159
- DCK278C2 Atomic drill and impact driver combo kit: $229
In my first post about the tools, I wrote:
Dewalt’s entry-level brushless drill and impact driver kits tend to have a cyclic pattern. At holiday seasons, such as in Q4 and for Father’s Day, we might see the 2-battery drill kit sell for $99, and the 1-battery impact driver kit sell for $99.
If I had to make an educated guess, I would think that this is what we’ll see come May and June – $99 kit pricing on the drill and impact driver kits, and maybe $149 kit pricing on the 2-tool combo. That’d be fine.
I was checking something at Acme Tools’ website today, and saw a banner announcing their listings for the new Dewalt Atomic series cordless power tools. Here are their prices:
- DCD708C2 Atomic drill 2-battery kit:
$159$99 - DCF809C1 Atomic impact driver 1-battery kit :
$149$99 - DCF809C2 Atomic impact driver 2-battery kit:
$159$129 - DCK278C2 Atomic drill and impact driver combo kit:
$229$179
Buy Now(via Acme Tools)
Acme Tools expects for the Dewalt Atomic cordless tool kits to start shipping around May 10th, 2019.
I love being right. I was off-base on the combo kit pricing, but it turns out I was right about the drill kit and impact driver kits hitting that magical $99 price point.
I felt the need to quote “dropped in price” in the title. Is it really a price drop if it was predictable?
Additionally, Home Depot had described the new Dewalt Atomic power tools as their “exclusive,” but it seems that this exclusivity might have only been for a very limited time.
Stanley Black & Decker also recently introduced the Atomic tool lineup to investors, describing it as “a range of tools that combines performance and durability in a compact format.”
They also describe the Atomic series as an augmentation to their existing line of 20V Max cordless power tools, which was said to be “the largest professional cordless power tool system in the world, with well over 200 products.”
To me, it seems that the Dewalt Atomic series of cordless power tools will be two different things. Some tools are looking to be affordably entry into the Dewalt 20V Max cordless power tool platform. Others look more to be compact tools that offer complementary capabilities to larger full-size offerings. Maybe the tools could be both, but official marketing materials do not play the value card at all.
At the moment, the Dewalt Atomic series still seems to lack strong congruity between the tools, but I expect that this will change if the compact cordless power tool continues to be expanded upon. I think we will likely see greater cohesion, at least once a couple of more tools are added to the new cordless power tool family, which as a reminder is a part of the 20V Max system.
For me, it’s partly the context of other Dewalt tools, such as the DCD777 cordless drill/driver, that are throwing me off. But, it’s also that context that led me to predict the $99 pricing for the drill and impact driver kits.
Dewalt Atomic power tool developments will be very interesting to follow, speaking both as a user and from an editorial standpoint.
