Should I wait to buy the CXS 18 Drill kit? (new tabless batteries)

[mino]

I have lots of tools and don't have a need to hold a balanced, pretty drill and would be upset if I bought previous gen batteries when I find out 2 months from now the kits all get updated with latest gen batteries. I guess what's what I was wanting to know from insiders. Do you think the kits will get updated with new batteries, and when, or will they just keep selling current SKU's with current batteries to use them up. Also, I notice that the set includes the 90 degree AN-XS but there's a AN-UNI that fits other drills. I wonder if I should get the AN-UNI separately and the Basic.

Get the bigger AN-UNI along with the EX-UNI and the DC UNI FF for the occasional drywalling and decking.

The AN-UNI supports the full torque range so you can use it with the TPC down the line - trust me, you want that drill and its 3600 rpm mode.

Ah, and then the MB 40. Heh.

The best 'initial' set were I based in US with no access to the 3.0 light packs:
CXS 18 Basic
SCA 16
4.0 HP pack
AN-UNI
EX-UNI

EDIT:
Were I the buyer here, I would go with the CXS 12 with the same accessories and augment with T18+3 or a TPC .. but I am not you ..

 

[Frnk]

Do you think the kits will get updated with new batteries,

Based on Festool’s press release, which unequivocally states that the TBX types are replacing the current 4/8 Ah types in the lineup, I believe the current types will be phased out completely. The tabless batteries are priced the same as, or even slightly cheaper than, the tabbed versions. I don’t see how this is reasonable if Festool plans to keep them around for a bit. So yes, TBX batteries will be sold in “Set” packages at some point.

Since you don’t mind waiting, that’s what you should do. Either the kit then becomes available with TBX batteries, or not. And you can make the decision at that point not to buy the kit and instead purchase the tool and the new batteries you want separately. That seems to be the logical conclusion here.

 

[onocoffee]

I have lots of tools and don't have a need to hold a balanced, pretty drill and would be upset if I bought previous gen batteries when I find out 2 months from now the kits all get updated with latest gen batteries. I guess what's what I was wanting to know from insiders. Do you think the kits will get updated with new batteries, and when, or will they just keep selling current SKU's with current batteries to use them up. Also, I notice that the set includes the 90 degree AN-XS but there's a AN-UNI that fits other drills. I wonder if I should get the AN-UNI separately and the Basic.

Obviously, the potential of tabless batteries being included in the kit is important to you. The difficult truth is: none of us know. We can speculate. We can craft opinions based on previous releases, but no one really knows - in a big part because FTUSA is very coy about telling us anything. Even the notion of the tabless batteries being released here is currently an unknown. Festool.com, Festool.de and Festool.co.uk - all say the TBX8 is releasing in April. FTUSA? Nothing. As far as we're concerned, it doesn't exist. This is how FT typically works. It doesn't exist (despite it being released elsewhere) - and then, one day: it does.

The feedback you're getting here stems from that. We just don't know. FTUSA says nothing. We just have to wait. If it's like the BS75 or SwordSaw, we will wait until we're dead. There's speculation that "perhaps" FTUSA will release the TBX batteries in June, but that's speculation. It could very well be 2028.

One thing is for sure - if you're in North America and you want to have the TBX batteries in April, you'll have to source them directly in Europe. TBH, it actually sounds like a good reason to visit Germany, have a beer at Brauhaus Vetter in Heidelberg, eat cheap Schweinhaxe at Globus Baumarkt and see about getting a tour of Festool HQ. That way, you can load up and bring home a bunch of TBX batteries in your hand carry!

 

[onocoffee]

unless you’re hammering monster screws into oak like an idiot on Youtube.

Just a moment, are you telling me that you're NOT using 12" Simpson Strong Tie SDWS Timber Screws to assemble your black walnut MCM coffee table???

This place no longer seems like it's serious about woodworking anymore...

 

[Frnk]

eat cheap Schweinhaxe at Globus Baumarkt

I am not too keen on the Schweinshaxe there, but I do like to watch the lunch crowd—a homey mix of seniors and tradespeople in workwear enjoying their break.