DEWALT 20V MAX Power Tool Combo Kit (DCK423D2)

Received as advertised.
Make sure you snap the battery all the way into the charger otherwise it will not charge

UPDATE: Apologies to DeWALT! As my contractor pointed showed me yesterday, you have to push in the battery on the charger until it “clicks”. Turns out there was nothing wrong with the battery, just a dim witted operator with only 7 years of formal education lol. In my defense, I’ve never had to charge my current 12v DeWALT batteries in five years of occasional use, they’ve been that good. Hoping these new 20s do just as well!

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Recently, I decided it was time to add to/upgrade my existing DeWalt cordless impact driver and corded drill (both of which have served me faithfully for years) and add a couple more tools to the DIY arsenal, so I purchased this combo kit off Amazon. When the kit arrived, I promptly opened up the packaging to make sure everything was as it should be. To my surprise and great disappointment, one of the 20v batteries (DCB203) included would not fully charge (even though the charger indicated–by solid red light–that it, in fact, was fully charged. This battery only showed a single green light and would not budge, despite over an hour of charging. Just to make sure, I checked the other included battery (which showed two green lights–progress!) and plugged it into the charger and–voila–the charger immediately began flashing red continuously for a little under the hour it took to fully charge up. Sure enough, when I removed the 2nd battery from the charger and pressed its indicator, it showed three green lights as it should.

Figuring I just received a bad battery, I contacted Amazon which, instead of simply sending me a replacement battery, oddly sent me an entirely new combo kit, which I received today. Unfortunately, the batteries included in the new combo kit have the same problem (regardless of which charger I use). In fact, these new ones may be worse. Once more, the charger shows a solid red light on both, however, the battery indicator on one shows (again) a single green light, while the other only shows only two green lights.

Rather than go back again to Amazon, I figure four total lights is better than three and that this may be something I’m going to have to live with. am wondering if perhaps there is a bad batch that DeWalt sent out of the plant in Mexico, or if I am just an idiot and doing something wrong? Other than that, everything else seemed to be in order and the combo kit is great and I look very forward to using them for many years to come. It is just more than a little disappointing that such an integral part to the whole set does not appear to be living up to the DeWalt reputation.

there are lots of differents bundle packages on the market, but this one really hits the spot. Very pleased … and it’s DEWALT!

Was looking for the two saws that came with this package

I already had a couple of Dewalt drills so I added these tools to complete the set. It’s a great deal. So far they work great. Battery life seems very reasonable and they do the job. Often times I just have a few cuts to make and these are so convenient. I don’t have to get out the electric tools, worry about extension cords or where I can use them. Just plug in the battery and go. Two spare batteries alone would cost over half as much as the entire set. A great deal.

I didn’t realize how bad I needed a cordless skillsaw until I bought this. The reciprocating saw is great as well. This just seemed to be the best price combo on prime day.

Dewalt Tool Set

I used this to build a retaining wall made from landscape ties and here are my thoughts

Batteries
– This is the weakest part of the set. They are only 2 Amp/Hours and didn’t last very long so I was constantly swapping them. In contrast, the largest battery from dewalt is 9 Amp/Hours, 4.5 X larger. I was working the tools pretty hard but sometimes they’d only last 20-30 mins. This is fine for the odd task around the house but if you are putting in an 8 hour day it’s not going to work. I also found them a bit tricky to get off sometimes. You really need to push down on the lock button hard which is more of a pain when wearing work gloves.

Light
– This is $90 by itself and I wouldn’t pay anything near that. The big benefit is that it uses the same batteries, is bright and is reasonably tough. I wish you could focus the beam down a bit more and it had a protective cover for the business end so it doesn’t get scratched when I throw it in the bag. It’s the least impressive tool in the set in my opinion.

Drill
– I was able to screw in 4 inch screws without pre-drilling. Although, if I hit a big enough knot in the wood I didn’t always have enough torque. When the battery got down to one bar the torque wasn’t enough either. But it’s lightweight and should be good for most jobs. I wish it had a holder for extra bits. And no bits were included but they are a dime a dozen.

Reciprocating Saw
– There are lighter saws but it worked well enough but it went through batteries quickly. Used it to cut 10mm rebar with a carbide blade and cut some of the landscape ties. Note that it doesn’t come with any blades but getting them in and out is easy, not tools required.

Circular Saw
– Used to cut landscape ties. The blades are only 6.5 inches so I needed to do two cuts (more expensive saws have bigger blades). It comes with one blade. Went through like butter when the battery was full, but near the end of its charge it would get jammed part way through. For longer cuts that I need straight I missed having a laser like on my other saw. Made some 45 degree cuts and it was easy enough to do but at one point it pushed the saw guard at a bit of a weird angle and the saw ended up cutting into the guard a little. Design flaw?

Bag
– This was surprisingly sturdy. Not a cheap bonus item like some other kits. There are a few pockets on the sides to keep smaller things organized. The rest is just a big pocket so you throw everything in it and hope the zipper will still shut. For the most part this wasn’t too hard but you need to ensure the circular saw is placed correctly to get it to work.

All of the tools are Dewalts least expensive, entry level, tools. But they are all decent. And keep in mind upgrades to any of the tools can cost more than this set itself and may not come with a battery, so the set is good value.. As long as you don’t have specific needs (ex. Hammer drill) this set should be good for many people unless you are a contractor. But I’d recommend at minimum you get at least another 6 Amp/Hour battery if you plan to do real work.