I have the 850 and like it. I'm retired now and don't use it every day. If I was still working I wood be looking at the fastest model. I think I will get the new powerpack battery. I use the 1.7ah powerstacks and 6ah flex batteries. Waiting for Dewalt to come out with a new flexvolt.
I only recently discovered your channel, and i have to say that you should be proud of it. Good honest and well thought out work. Doubt, I'll rush to buy the 860, since i mainly do finish carpentry. Maybe if a killer xmas deal pops up and i just want something more manly than my 850.
@@OrcForge its what i grew up with man. Something about knowing how far i can push the “lesser” tools and still get the job done is interesting and fun to me
I was still using my 18v impact driver. I wanted a new one for the pipe cutter attachments and I hesitated because of the vast selection. I think there was a lot of confusion and disappointment with the early testing of the 860, because the 8Ah Powerpack wasn’t out yet and it seems the 860 was designed around the new battery with tabless cells. I couldn’t justify the expense and power of the 860 and settled on an 850 that was on clearance at HD. I was a little disappointed with today’s results, but I don’t build decks for a living, so it should serve me well none the less. I have 5Ah PowerStacks and 9Ah FlexVolts and for the price, I’m happy.
Good way to look at it. As for the 860 I haven’t been disappointed but I have mostly been running it on their more premium batteries like the 5ah Powerstack. It’s runs great on that battery.
Yes but if I am not mistaken the Hikoki isn’t sold as a Metabo HPT model and while many have made one none have taken as much of a foothold as the Surge The majority of the other hydraulic drivers have been larger than the surge too. I am hoping that the DEWALT finally improves upon that even if for no other reason than to keep Milwaukee innovating.
The 850 is a mighty mouse. Came in a kit with the 999, both power stack batteries, 20v flex 7 inch circ saw and a 6amp flex volt battery. The 850 fits everywhere and still powerful enough to remove lugnuts from most vehicles. It is my go to unless I need the power of the 999.
I think the reason they are rebranding PowerStack to PowerStack XR is because they agree with you about what should be paired with it. They want to pair XR batteries with XR tools… and people conditioned to spend more for XR were inadvertently spending less on the inferior DCB205 5AH XR when what they wanted was a DCBP520 5AH PowerStack (Now 5AH PowerStack XR). They’ve dropped “XR” from all 18650 and 21700 cell batteries except for the new tab-less 8AH PowerPack XR, leaving it the only XR battery to kit it with until the rebadged PowerStacks arrive. I wonder what the next PowerPack will be… maybe something smaller with a single row of cells. In the past the lower capacity 30T cells in the 6AH XR (DCB206) were higher current than the 40T cells in the 8AH XR (DCB208). Tab-less tech in the new 8AH PowerPack sounds like there will be current to spare with either formulation in which case the difference may not seem so dramatic between 6AH and 8AH. With half the cells, a 3AH version won’t come close to the 8AH PowerPack in current or capacity but it should hit harder than smaller XR batteries from before, justifying the XR PowerPack label. If anything, they’ll probably use the same cells tab-less cells in a 4AH version first.
Yes, the announced that they were doing an internal rebranding of sorts. I think that it's a good move and help clear up the Drill line up a bit too... but unfortunately there is still work to be done to make the impacts less confusing. As for the future of Powerpack, I think you are likely to see something larger too, perhaps in the Flexvolt backs.
@@ericnichols9275 Yeah, a FlexVolt made with the same 5AH PowerStack cells would be much smaller than the current 15AH FlexVolt made with 30x18650 cells. It would be an absolute MONSTER in both current and capacity. I’m sure they will want to flesh out the line for a couple years before dishing that one out! I expect to see tab-less cells for FlexVolt batteries first.
I do HVAC installing and had the DCF887 when I started which I now use for around the house projects. Now I have the DCF850 for work and love how small it is but I usually recommend the new guys get the DCF840 because for 1/4 zip screws which is mostly what we do you’ll never notice the power difference. Really intrigued by the DCF860 so eventually will probably get one.
There are lots of good impacts to choose from. I am continually impressed with the value of something like the DCF840. As for the 860 it will be the primary impact that to use for the next few months just to get a good feel for it. So far i am really enjoying it.
@@TinkerWithTools might go ahead and grab one because one thing I can say I don’t like about my 850 is the thing gets super hot when I’m zipping a lot of screws, the bigger body of the 860 I’m hopeful will dissipate that heat better.
There are a lot of different little variants like that one. I think there is an 888 as well. I mainly focused on the ones that are still being sold currently.
@@TinkerWithTools809… Black Friday 2022 drill/driver special. :/ At least the batteries were 1.5AH instead of the advertised 1.3AH. These days I have huge DeWALT batteries out the wazoo. :)
I have 887, 850, and the 840, and im just wondering why everyone that tests these uses the 5 ah XR. You should use the 6 ah XR. it's by far the better battery, i use it on pretty much all my tools, far superior over the 5ah XR
Most of these tests were run on the 1.7ah Powerstack. I used the 5ah when comparing to some of the more premium batteries that that offer. As for why you dont see the 6ah XR it’s simply because I don’t currently own it. I have a 6ah Flexvolt but not the XR.
@@TinkerWithToolsI’m with you. I converted to PowerStack 1.7Ah batteries over the last two years as they were offering really good deals. I used to pair my hand tools with the compact 2Ah battery because I just use them for DIY stuff. I found the 1.7Ah PowerStack to be equal in power to my 5Ah batteries. I now have 15 of the 1.7Ah batteries and 8 of the 5Ah PowerStacks. I just sold off the last of my used 5Ah batteries. I’m waiting for them to release a FlexVolt version of PowerStack or PowerPack and then I’ll convert to those as well. I really wish Dewalt would have given these a longer warranty since they tout the increased number of charge cycles.
Have a question on the power pack 8ah. For a long time the 9ah flex bolt has shown to be the most powerful battery on more demanding tasks (drills/saws/ect.). Do you think this new power pack is better than the 9 ah flexvolt for those applications?
So a few thoughts on this. 1) the impact driver is not where I would expect you would see a big difference on the batteries, that’s part of the reason why I didn’t test either of the flexvolt batteries that I own. 2)the drills video will either come out this weekend or next week and I suspect you will see a bigger difference there. I have tested the new drill on both the flexvolt and Powerpack batteries. I have edited to see the results but it’s coming. My guess is that it will be up there but more importantly it’s lighter than the 9ah so even if the power is similar it’s a bit of a win in my book.
@@TinkerWithTools sounds good looking forward to the testing with the drill! Haven’t seen many people compare the two but pricing right now is very similar.
The 895 isn't currently being sold and second hand models in any good condition are currently running $300 plus on ebay. So while I have heard good things about it, the price and availability leaves it out of a video like this.
Nearly gave it away luckily for me I couldn’t find it I love the quick release before flex did it Why dewalt never stuck with it on flagship models 🤷♂️
@@TinkerWithTools thank you for your speedy reply plz keep up the great work ,from a man in the uk I’m hoping they sell the 8ah tabless over hear as they never sold the previous 8ah model or q0ah come to think of it even the 6ah 20v only flex volt 😭
To me the smallest and lightest impact driver you can get your hands on is the best. I use an M12 fuel, it's absurdly tiny and with a 2.5ah battery it does literally everything I need an impact driver to do. My 18v brushless ryobi, which is notably more powerful, sits on a shelf never used because it weighs more and has the battery that sticks out, something the m12 doesn't. The brand of 18v is irrelevant they all have the same battery problem. I also really like my m12 drill, it does all my regular drilling needs fine. 450ft-lbs is simply sufficient. It won't drill as fast or as deep as a top of the line 18 or 36v, but I do have the bigger tool if needed. When it comes to tools, for me at least, weight and ergonomics triumph over all, I'd rather it take .4 seconds more to drill a hole and my hand doesn't hurt at the end of the day
I clearly don’t have an issue having multiple tools for the same thing and largely I agree with you as well. 12v tools are highly capable. With DEWALT specifically though their 20v stuff on a 1.7ah Powerstack is almost compact and lightweight.
I have a m12 fuel with the HO 2.5 battery as well as the DCF850 with the power stack in my work van. The DCF850 gets used daily and the m12 usually is just a backup for helpers if they don’t have an impact driver. The positioning of the belt clip on the m12 is what kills it for me because it falls off all the time and the Dewalt really is about the same weight.
@@TinkerWithTools if I was a dewalt user, I would use the compact 20v tools with the 1.7ps and skip the 12v. It's honestly understandable why dewalt doesn't really do much with their 12v. Milwaukee refuses to make a small high output m18 to not canibalize the extensive m12 platform they've made. Makita also went compact 18v for their newer innovated compact tools, their 12v platform has seen better days, ridgid did the same thing with the sub compact line, genuinely abandoning their 12v platform all together. But I still use the compact tool 99% of the time to the point I usually only buy the big tool when I actually hit a wall with the compact it simply can not pass. saves a lot of money not buying the biggest flashiest tool they offer
@@TinkerWithTools their marketing approach appears to be just different. They don’t seem concerned with a clear, tiered hierarchy from best to worst. It seems like there’s a driver for every usecase or preference. They should take a similar approach to circular saws and make me a 7.25” sidewinder. Lazy b@stards! J/k
I have the 850 and like it. I'm retired now and don't use it every day. If I was still working I wood be looking at the fastest model. I think I will get the new powerpack battery. I use the 1.7ah powerstacks and 6ah flex batteries. Waiting for Dewalt to come out with a new flexvolt.
It's an impressive battery, but I won't be running it regularly on these tools, saving it instead for the drills or bigger saws.
I only recently discovered your channel, and i have to say that you should be proud of it. Good honest and well thought out work. Doubt, I'll rush to buy the 860, since i mainly do finish carpentry. Maybe if a killer xmas deal pops up and i just want something more manly than my 850.
Thanks! I am sure you will start to see deals eventually on it.
I love the 885. I also love the dcd771 its commonly sold with. I love brushed motors though, and they’re relatively compact and powerful tools
Yeah I love being able to light my cigarette while dropping in lags
@@OrcForge its what i grew up with man. Something about knowing how far i can push the “lesser” tools and still get the job done is interesting and fun to me
I was still using my 18v impact driver. I wanted a new one for the pipe cutter attachments and I hesitated because of the vast selection. I think there was a lot of confusion and disappointment with the early testing of the 860, because the 8Ah Powerpack wasn’t out yet and it seems the 860 was designed around the new battery with tabless cells. I couldn’t justify the expense and power of the 860 and settled on an 850 that was on clearance at HD. I was a little disappointed with today’s results, but I don’t build decks for a living, so it should serve me well none the less. I have 5Ah PowerStacks and 9Ah FlexVolts and for the price, I’m happy.
Good way to look at it. As for the 860 I haven’t been disappointed but I have mostly been running it on their more premium batteries like the 5ah Powerstack. It’s runs great on that battery.
It will be interesting to see how the new DCF870 oil impact driver compares to all of these
I am anxiously awaiting that one. It will be the first Hydraulic since the Surge, and I want to see what someone will do with the that type of impact.
@@TinkerWithToolsare you aware that Hikoki have, for a few years had an oil impulse driver as well?
Yes but if I am not mistaken the Hikoki isn’t sold as a Metabo HPT model and while many have made one none have taken as much of a foothold as the Surge The majority of the other hydraulic drivers have been larger than the surge too. I am hoping that the DEWALT finally improves upon that even if for no other reason than to keep Milwaukee innovating.
I've gotta say, I love my Surge. It is my most used tool, but I'd be tempted to swap it for a DeWalt DCF870/1.7ah PS combo.@@TinkerWithTools
The 850 is a mighty mouse. Came in a kit with the 999, both power stack batteries, 20v flex 7 inch circ saw and a 6amp flex volt battery.
The 850 fits everywhere and still powerful enough to remove lugnuts from most vehicles. It is my go to unless I need the power of the 999.
That’s a nice kit!
Great review!! Thank you!!
Thanks!
I think the reason they are rebranding PowerStack to PowerStack XR is because they agree with you about what should be paired with it. They want to pair XR batteries with XR tools… and people conditioned to spend more for XR were inadvertently spending less on the inferior DCB205 5AH XR when what they wanted was a DCBP520 5AH PowerStack (Now 5AH PowerStack XR).
They’ve dropped “XR” from all 18650 and 21700 cell batteries except for the new tab-less 8AH PowerPack XR, leaving it the only XR battery to kit it with until the rebadged PowerStacks arrive. I wonder what the next PowerPack will be… maybe something smaller with a single row of cells.
In the past the lower capacity 30T cells in the 6AH XR (DCB206) were higher current than the 40T cells in the 8AH XR (DCB208). Tab-less tech in the new 8AH PowerPack sounds like there will be current to spare with either formulation in which case the difference may not seem so dramatic between 6AH and 8AH.
With half the cells, a 3AH version won’t come close to the 8AH PowerPack in current or capacity but it should hit harder than smaller XR batteries from before, justifying the XR PowerPack label. If anything, they’ll probably use the same cells tab-less cells in a 4AH version first.
Yes, the announced that they were doing an internal rebranding of sorts. I think that it's a good move and help clear up the Drill line up a bit too... but unfortunately there is still work to be done to make the impacts less confusing. As for the future of Powerpack, I think you are likely to see something larger too, perhaps in the Flexvolt backs.
@@TinkerWithToolsyes I want a 10 amp POWER PACK in FLEX VOLT that Battery would really SHINE on the 60 VOLT TOOLS
@@ericnichols9275 Yeah, a FlexVolt made with the same 5AH PowerStack cells would be much smaller than the current 15AH FlexVolt made with 30x18650 cells. It would be an absolute MONSTER in both current and capacity. I’m sure they will want to flesh out the line for a couple years before dishing that one out! I expect to see tab-less cells for FlexVolt batteries first.
Thanks for the video, for me if i consider price speed weight and size its going to be the dcf840.
Good choice!
Excellent, clear analysis.
Thanks!
For me, 850. But 845 is also cool!
860 is too heavy 😢
I do HVAC installing and had the DCF887 when I started which I now use for around the house projects. Now I have the DCF850 for work and love how small it is but I usually recommend the new guys get the DCF840 because for 1/4 zip screws which is mostly what we do you’ll never notice the power difference. Really intrigued by the DCF860 so eventually will probably get one.
There are lots of good impacts to choose from. I am continually impressed with the value of something like the DCF840. As for the 860 it will be the primary impact that to use for the next few months just to get a good feel for it. So far i am really enjoying it.
@@TinkerWithTools might go ahead and grab one because one thing I can say I don’t like about my 850 is the thing gets super hot when I’m zipping a lot of screws, the bigger body of the 860 I’m hopeful will dissipate that heat better.
It gets hot when you push it but on light duty screws I imagine it would be better.
I'm using the old 887. It's a real beast. I can take the lugs off my truck with it
I have the 886. It was my first impact driver. I believe it’s pretty much like the 887 but without modes.
There are a lot of different little variants like that one. I think there is an 888 as well. I mainly focused on the ones that are still being sold currently.
@@TinkerWithTools yes there was a DCF888 with Built in Tool Connect and Digital speed selector. I owned that one along a DCD997 with the same feature.
My friend has been borrowing my Atomic impact driver for months. I almost don’t want to ask for it back so I can excuse getting one of these. :)
Do you have the 809 or the 850 Atomic?
@@TinkerWithTools809… Black Friday 2022 drill/driver special. :/ At least the batteries were 1.5AH instead of the advertised 1.3AH. These days I have huge DeWALT batteries out the wazoo. :)
I have 887, 850, and the 840, and im just wondering why everyone that tests these uses the 5 ah XR. You should use the 6 ah XR. it's by far the better battery, i use it on pretty much all my tools, far superior over the 5ah XR
Most of these tests were run on the 1.7ah Powerstack. I used the 5ah when comparing to some of the more premium batteries that that offer. As for why you dont see the 6ah XR it’s simply because I don’t currently own it. I have a 6ah Flexvolt but not the XR.
@@TinkerWithToolsI’m with you. I converted to PowerStack 1.7Ah batteries over the last two years as they were offering really good deals. I used to pair my hand tools with the compact 2Ah battery because I just use them for DIY stuff. I found the 1.7Ah PowerStack to be equal in power to my 5Ah batteries. I now have 15 of the 1.7Ah batteries and 8 of the 5Ah PowerStacks. I just sold off the last of my used 5Ah batteries. I’m waiting for them to release a FlexVolt version of PowerStack or PowerPack and then I’ll convert to those as well. I really wish Dewalt would have given these a longer warranty since they tout the increased number of charge cycles.
First here and great video❤from Canada
Thanks!
@@TinkerWithTools i don't think I'll ever give up my 887 yet though lol
Luckily they still sell them if you ever want a second.
Have a question on the power pack 8ah. For a long time the 9ah flex bolt has shown to be the most powerful battery on more demanding tasks (drills/saws/ect.). Do you think this new power pack is better than the 9 ah flexvolt for those applications?
So a few thoughts on this. 1) the impact driver is not where I would expect you would see a big difference on the batteries, that’s part of the reason why I didn’t test either of the flexvolt batteries that I own. 2)the drills video will either come out this weekend or next week and I suspect you will see a bigger difference there. I have tested the new drill on both the flexvolt and Powerpack batteries. I have edited to see the results but it’s coming. My guess is that it will be up there but more importantly it’s lighter than the 9ah so even if the power is similar it’s a bit of a win in my book.
@@TinkerWithTools sounds good looking forward to the testing with the drill! Haven’t seen many people compare the two but pricing right now is very similar.
U missed the og of brushless dewalt impacts the dcf 886 man lol
The main focus was on impacts that are still relatively simple to buy. I know you can still get the 887 and 885 but I haven’t seen the 886 for sale.
The DCF895 says it wants its OG DeWalt Brushless impact driver title back
@@engineer_alv true I was gonna say that one but I literally forgot I’m a Milwaukee fanboy but I also rock with dewalt 👍
Where’s the dcf895
The 895 isn't currently being sold and second hand models in any good condition are currently running $300 plus on ebay. So while I have heard good things about it, the price and availability leaves it out of a video like this.
Me Looking Forward to the New DCF 870 Should be Very QUIET
@@TinkerWithTools holy sh*t I’m rich 😂 never hardly used it 😂
Nearly gave it away luckily for me I couldn’t find it
I love the quick release before flex did it
Why dewalt never stuck with it on flagship models 🤷♂️
@@TinkerWithTools thank you for your speedy reply plz keep up the great work ,from a man in the uk
I’m hoping they sell the 8ah tabless over hear as they never sold the previous 8ah model or q0ah come to think of it even the 6ah 20v only flex volt 😭
I am finding my Dewalt is too powerful most of the time so I prefer my Milwaukee 12v Surge
which Dewalt do you have?
To me the smallest and lightest impact driver you can get your hands on is the best. I use an M12 fuel, it's absurdly tiny and with a 2.5ah battery it does literally everything I need an impact driver to do. My 18v brushless ryobi, which is notably more powerful, sits on a shelf never used because it weighs more and has the battery that sticks out, something the m12 doesn't. The brand of 18v is irrelevant they all have the same battery problem.
I also really like my m12 drill, it does all my regular drilling needs fine. 450ft-lbs is simply sufficient. It won't drill as fast or as deep as a top of the line 18 or 36v, but I do have the bigger tool if needed.
When it comes to tools, for me at least, weight and ergonomics triumph over all, I'd rather it take .4 seconds more to drill a hole and my hand doesn't hurt at the end of the day
I clearly don’t have an issue having multiple tools for the same thing and largely I agree with you as well. 12v tools are highly capable. With DEWALT specifically though their 20v stuff on a 1.7ah Powerstack is almost compact and lightweight.
I have a m12 fuel with the HO 2.5 battery as well as the DCF850 with the power stack in my work van. The DCF850 gets used daily and the m12 usually is just a backup for helpers if they don’t have an impact driver. The positioning of the belt clip on the m12 is what kills it for me because it falls off all the time and the Dewalt really is about the same weight.
@@TinkerWithTools if I was a dewalt user, I would use the compact 20v tools with the 1.7ps and skip the 12v. It's honestly understandable why dewalt doesn't really do much with their 12v. Milwaukee refuses to make a small high output m18 to not canibalize the extensive m12 platform they've made. Makita also went compact 18v for their newer innovated compact tools, their 12v platform has seen better days, ridgid did the same thing with the sub compact line, genuinely abandoning their 12v platform all together.
But I still use the compact tool 99% of the time to the point I usually only buy the big tool when I actually hit a wall with the compact it simply can not pass. saves a lot of money not buying the biggest flashiest tool they offer
That’s a ridiculous collection of impact drivers and it’s only one brand.
Yeah they could eliminate two pretty easily while still offering all the different tiers.
@@TinkerWithTools their marketing approach appears to be just different. They don’t seem concerned with a clear, tiered hierarchy from best to worst. It seems like there’s a driver for every usecase or preference. They should take a similar approach to circular saws and make me a 7.25” sidewinder. Lazy b@stards! J/k