Makita Launched a New 18V Cordless Woodworking Tool Kit

Makita issued a press release announcing the launch of a new 18V 10-tool cordless power tool combo kit, XT1001SM, aimed at woodworking applications.

Makita USA’s product manager said this about the new combo kit in the official announcement:

The new 18-Volt LXT 10-Piece Woodworking Combo Kit meets the needs of pro users that are focusing on the woodworking space.

Here’s what you get:

• Hammer drill (brushless, (XPH12Z)
• Impact driver (brushless, XDT13Z)
• 6-1/2″ circular saw (XSS02Z)
• Reciprocating saw (XRJ04Z)
• Jig saw (XVJ03Z)
• Oscillating multi-tool (XMT03Z)
• ROS Sander (XOB01Z)
• Router (brushless, XTR01Z)
• 3-1/4″ planer (XPK01Z)
• Bluetooth radio and charger (XRM10)
• 2x 4Ah batteries
• Rolling tool bag

The new 10pc combo kit is priced at $1,199 at authorized dealers.

Discussion

For contrast, Makita’s 18V 8pc cordless power tool combo kit, XT801X1, recently retailed for $399 over the holiday shopping season.

I feel that the pricing of the new 10pc combo kit is a bit high, or at least it has the potential to be flexible, but it seems fair for what you get.

Many of the tools in the 10pc kit are commonly found across Makita’s money-saving cordless combo kits, such as the brushless drill and impact driver, and brushed saws.

The 10pc kit comes with a router and planer, which aren’t inexpensive add-ons, and you get 4Ah batteries. 5Ah batteries would have been better, 3Ah would have been worse.

There’s no flashlight in the 10-tool kit. Every tool is a woodworking-focused tool, except for the jobsite radio/charger.

Here’s the charger you get with the 10pc kit.

Looking at the image and combing through the product details and specs, this is the charger you get.

While perhaps not ideal as an everyday charger, I like this idea, and how Makita gives you a jobsite radio and charger instead of a basic charger.

Makita has fast chargers, and typically bundles their cordless power tool combo kits with a slower “standard” charger.

You don’t get anything for free when you buy a cordless combo kit. Personally, it always stings me just a little when I buy a kit, combo kit, or promo bundle offer, and it comes with a charger I’ll never need or use.

A rapid charger would have been welcome, but I think this is an appealing alternative.

Tool users that buy into a system are likely to buy more tools or kits in the future. If this is your first Makita purchase, there will be plenty of opportunities to get a faster charger in the future.

If one buys more batteries and maybe a dual port charger in the future, such an add-on charger might render a basic combo charger practically useless whereas a radio will still have purpose.

A new 10-tool combo kit at regular (as opposed to promotional) pricing isn’t newsworthy. But the jobsite radio/charger in lieu of a standard charger makes things so much more interesting.

Most of the tools included in this kit launched at least 5-6 years ago, but Makita USA putting a new spin on things seems like a good thing. They could potentially do the same for drywall and metalworking tools.

Let’s hope they can put together a similar kit for their line of higher performing XGT brushless power tools.