we've been testing several of flex's newest 24 volt power tools so we can
give you an idea of what to expect from the brand new lineup we've got
a bunch of these tools but for today we're going to start by looking at
the hammer drill impact driver circular saw reciprocating saw and oscillating
multi-tool 24 volt flex tools are coming to a lows near you and they're preparing
to shake up the cordless tool market bringing power pro features and a five-year tool and
five-year battery warranty their position to take on the top dogs in the industry before we
get too far let's start at the top or bottom with the battery this is a 24 volt max system
like cobalt it's a six cell system instead of five like 18 volt and 20 volt max tools out of the gate
flex has four available batteries it starts with a compact 2.5 amp hour pack and moves to a 5 amp
hour pack for most of your drills impact drivers oscillating tools and other handheld power tools
but for higher draw tools like circular saws and reciprocating saws 8 amp hour and 12 amp
hour batteries take center stage inside each pack flex has what they call thermatek according
to their research it keeps the battery cooler extending its overall life and giving you up to 25
longer run time if there's one tool we've handled the most it has to be the cordless hammer drill
when the flex 24 volt model showed up at the pro tool review shop we jumped right in and got to
work we were immediately impressed with the speed most drills top out at around 2000 or 2100 rpm
flex does something that's unusual though and has a turbo mode that's a performance boost you
engage with a button at the base of the tool in high speed our tachometer showed it taking the
flex from 2000 rpm to 2560 rpm it also works with low gear bumping the speed from 575 rpm
to 725 it's not all speed though there's plenty of muscle to back it up 1400 inch pounds worth
and that makes it one of the strongest hammer drills available now we wouldn't say that unless
we'd actually tested it to do that we wanted to see how that power translated into the real
world work of rough-ins we chucked up a 2 and 9 16 self-feed bit to see what it can do in 2x4 studs
normally you'd do this type of drilling with a bigger right angle drill but check this out not
only did flex chew through these holes without a problem it did it in high gear nearly all cordless
drills we've tested need to do this type of drilling at low speed what's even more impressive
is we were doing that in standard mode and we can make it even faster by bumping up into turbo mode
drilling with bits that big that fast comes with some risk using the side handle helps a lot but
it's the built-in kickback control that we're really excited to see if the tool binds up while
drilling a sensor automatically stops the motor before it does major damage to your wrist or elbow
overall we're seeing pro power pro features and class leading performance in this tool
this is impressive even more so when you figure it's a first generation tool
we love testing impact drivers of pro tool reviews mostly because of how much you can do with these
tools they're fun to test and flex move directly into the top tier of cordless impact drivers with
its premium 24 volt brushless model they also made some pretty innovative moves for example
right below the quarter inch hex collet you see this little button it's the quick eject button
instead of pulling out the collet to install or release your bit you just push the button you
never have to move your hand or set the tool down it's one of the more innovative features we've
seen on an impact driver in a while there's also some eye popping performance built in topping out
at 3 600 rpm you get a monster 2500 inch pounds of torque you need some control with that much power
and flex gives it to you with three standard speeds and two self-tapping screw modes a high
torque impact driver like this will snap half inch square adapters on our test rig all day long but
we can see how it translates that power to work by driving a series of 3 8 inch by 8 inch rugged
structural screws into stacked osb check out how confident this tool is driving that big of a screw
with the push of a button you can take that power and turn it into perfect control with the assist
modes designed for use with self-tapping screws you can eliminate over tighten
broken and stripped fasteners one other thing we really like how compact flex made this tool
it's just 4.75 inches from tip to tail and one of the most compact models we've tested
over the last two years as we've tested dozens of cordless circular saws head to head models have
split decisively into two categories standard and advanced based on our early testing flex's first
generation seven and a quarter inch brushless circular saw jumps straight into the advanced
side of the group its cutting performance is excellent and the tool competes with the top saws
we've tested we're gearing up to put this one on our facial test track and right now it's looking
really competitive you can see that flex went with a traditional blade right design that helps this
tool feel very natural for anyone who's used to a corded sidewinder style saw they also shave some
weight with a magnesium blade guard and foot plate with circular saws we look for a clean line of
sight to where we're cutting and flex did a great job of giving you good access to the cut line with
an extra set of notches near the blade the depth of cut is worth noting as well you're able to cut
up to 2 and 5 8 inches deep that's enough to get through 3 by material in one pass for those of you
using it if you're ripping wood that's 5 sheets of half inch plywood or three sheets of three quarter
inch subfloor and it's not just about capacity no matter what material is on your plate for the day
this flex 24 volt circular saw has the power to muscle through it flex also got the ergonomics
right the main handle fits comfortably in your hand and that front handle is just the right
size to give you a secure grip without being too big at this stage of the game flex was going to
have to put together something pretty special to compete with the top cordless reciprocating saws
and they delivered from our first cut with this 24 brushless recep saw we could tell it had less
vibration than most of the other saws in this category that's thanks to what flex calls shock
shield vibration suppression with a long one and a quarter inch stroke length that drives
up to 3 000 strokes per minute it melts through metal cutting at speeds that go toe to toe with
the best we tested switching over to wood cutting it has a major advantage over its competitors by
providing a switch to engage orbital action which adds some aggression to its speed the surprising
revelation is seeing just how compact flex kept this saw considering how well it performs
and how well it controls the vibration it's just 17.5 inches long and that's more in line with what
we expect from standard cordless reciprocating saws not these higher performing models
add in a rafter hook led light pivoting shoe and push button shoe length adjustment and you've
got a professional level demolition tool that doesn't leave you wishing he'd bought something
else we've worked with a lot of multi-tools so a few things immediately jumped out to us about
the flex 24 volt brushless oscillating tool first we love flex's shock shield vibration
suppression it isolates the head from the rest of the tool body and that makes a huge difference in
how much vibration you feel there's very little vibration on the main grip area and almost none
of it reaches the battery next you gotta love that flex went with the starlock accessory interface if
you haven't used this yet it's a big improvement over any of the other tool-free options just flip
the lever on top to release the blade push the tool head down on top of your new one and flip the
lever back in place to secure it there's no need to touch a hot blade and you can swap accessories
much more quickly we also like that you have a pair of led lights on the front these do a
nice job of lighting up your work area compared to single light designs of course we're never
happy until we test the performance for ourselves we tested this tool with cutting and sanding both
of which benefit from the 4 degree oscillating angle and up to 20 000 oscillations per minute
the tool seems to get a phenomenal amount of work done quickly it's fast enough that the
models currently near the top of our test track charts have some serious reasons to feel nervous
about this guy warming up for its time trial flex decided to forego the standard variable speed dial
and opted for five speed electronic controls on the back instead we're totally good with that
call and it's easy to see what speed you're in without having to turn the tool to look at it
the last thing that flex did a really good job on is the ergonomics of this tool it feels very
natural in your hand and the size and shape don't make odd angle cutting as awkward as some designs
so far we think this is an oscillating multi-tool that's with some serious consideration i'm sure
one of the big questions out there is going to be our flex 24-volt cordless tools any good but with
what we've experienced so far they're legitimate contenders against the biggest names in the
business check out lowes.com for more information on combo kits availability and pricing we're gonna
have a lot more information coming as we continue to evaluate these tools but in the meantime if you
have any questions or feedback for us feel free to leave those in the comments below and as always
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