Why Makita? Why?

[onocoffee]

Everytime I see those Makita first generation Systainers, I wonder "Why?"

Why are they using those old school Systainers in modern times?

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

I don't know the specifics of why Makita opted to license the "Classic" configuration from Tanos, since plenty of other manufacturers use T-Loc and Gen3 Systainers (Mafell, Mirka, Fein, etc...).

That being said, one under appreciated feature of the Classic Systainers is that you can leave them unlocked and still close a SYS-AZ drawer, not possible with T-Loc or Gen3 with closely packed SYS-AZ drawers.

To Makita's credit, I am intrigued by their new BCC001 and BCC002 XGT chargers, which are integrated into a Systainer:

[attachimg=1]

I have no clue as to when we'll see these in North America, but I could see these being handy for on-site work.

Full brochure here: Makita Thailand flyer fort BCC001 and BCC002 chargers

 

[woodbutcherbower]

The first-gen Systainer was licensed to Makita as a basis for their 'Makpac' tool storage offering. It prematurely ground to a halt after just 4 cases sizes and nothing more. Maybe they didn't feel that competing with their OEM was the best use of their resources - or maybe they chose to focus on developing better tools. In that respect, they've 100% succeeded as my last few purchases have confirmed. Every time I've needed to replace an older tool, I've researched the market throughly, and it's consistently been a Makita which has provided the best possible price/performance ratio for my needs. Every Makita tool I've ever bought has been superb.

Meanwhile, Makpac has stayed exactly as it always was - quickly surpassed by the 2nd and 3rd-gen Tanos offerings, and also latterly by competing stackable storage such as Milwaukee's Packout and DeWalt's TStak. They're clearly not interested in throwing investment into yet another tool storage system when the 4 old-school case sizes can already house every tool they make. I can totally see their point.

FWIW, the only Makita tool I own in a 'Size 3' Makpac case is a 9903 4" belt sander. It integrates perfectly well with the 40-something Gen2 T-Locs which siot in my van racks. My other bits of Makita kit (quarter-inch router, biscuit jointer, 23ga pinner, edge trimmer) are housed in appropriate-height T-Locs filled with foam.

I hated the Makpac, too.

 

[Coen]

$$$

Most people probably don't care about the box, so that's why. Makita figured they grab the market share that don't care with a lower price, while Festool duped the market share that does care with a 3rd gen box with non-functional height system..

 

[Crazyraceguy]

None of the Makita tools I have came in Systainers, but it wouldn't necessarily bother me. They are after all, compatible with the T-Loc and Sys3 that I already own. It would be preferrable, but definitely not a deal breaker.
My corded compact router has the full set of optional bases, and comes in a canvas bag, as do the drills/drivers. The miter saw is obviously too big for one.

Why would anyone need to charge 12 batteries at once?

 

[PaulMarcel]

I bought one of their Systainers for my Makita grinder. It was dirt cheap and going on a tray drawer. Has the benefit of the Makita name on it so I know what's in the box. Now, if I could somehow rearrange the drawers where it's at, I'd love to get a discontinued Sys-Combi II so the Arbortech attachments could go in the drawer. This time, though, I look to be 1" shy.

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

Why would anyone need to charge 12 batteries at once?

(Snip)

The charger doesn't charge all of the batteries at the same time. As best as I can tell, it will charge a bank of 4 batteries, then shift to the next bank, and so on.

[attachimg=1]

I imagine the target market here is crews, where they might have a dozen or more batteries going at any one time, and rather than waiting in line for an open charger, you just toss your battery into one of the open slots, and grab one of the charged batteries.

My HVAC contractor runs exclusively Makita LXT tools for their crews, and since they're all "company" tools the workers aren't precious about what battery they're using, as it's all ultimately from the same pool.

For the time being, I really enjoy using the Makita dual port chargers since they take up fewer electrical sockets (which can be a limited commodity on site).

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

Every time I've needed to replace an older tool, I've researched the market throughly, and it's consistently been a Makita which has provided the best possible price/performance ratio for my needs. Every Makita tool I've ever bought has been superb.

(Snip)

I wholeheartedly concur! For any given tool there is often a quantitatively "better" or more capable machine, but when you incorporate value into the equation I just haven't found a better blend than Makita for my specific working needs. Particularly with their 40V XGT line, many of the tools are outperforming my existing corded equivalents, so there's really no downside. With the introduction of their tab-less batteries (already available in the 4Ah "F"), performance will only continue to improve.

 

[Packard]

According to Google’s A.I., Makita’s Systainer is made by MakPak in Japan.

Perhaps Makita bought or leases the tooling from the makers of the Systainer.  They advertise that the two systems are compatible.
https://www.makitatools.com/products/makpac

 

[MikeGE]

This time, though, I look to be 1" shy.

 

[hdv]

Even though I do like Makita gear, I hate their boxes. The plastic deteriorates after about 7 years. At least in my experience it does. I have had multiple of their boxes crack at the hinges when opening them. It always was with boxes that were around 7 years old. No idea why. They are not exposed to UV and they are not "forced" open or closed. Nor are the boxes loaded too heavily. They just crack after a while. Never had happen to me with systainers.

 

[Mini Me]

$$$

Most people probably don't care about the box, so that's why.

My approach to plastic cases and systainers is get rid of them and I can't see a tradie being any different. The only systainer I kept was the one holding all the dominos. To me they give poor space return and I am not mobile so why bother. I had a plumber here today and he uses a plastic bucket to hold his cordless tools and to me that is practical. I understand that others here don't hold the same view on systainers and I am the contrary one and that is fair enough and I wouldn't criticise others for their view on the subject.

 

[live4ever]

For the record, Makita appears to be moving on from the classic systainer, having announced Maktrak earlier this year.  Looks to be similar to Packout and possibly manufactured by the same folks (Keter).  Unclear if compatible.

 

[woodferret]

I think it might also stem from the fact that classic tanos is good enough for a Kei van (and one has apprentices to load/unload).  One's not going to be stacking high.  I think times have change, and the large truck/van market has let people strap large systainer roll carts ready to go.  That and Makita is more globally competing now.

 

[onocoffee]

My approach to plastic cases and systainers is get rid of them and I can't see a tradie being any different. The only systainer I kept was the one holding all the dominos. To me they give poor space return and I am not mobile so why bother. I had a plumber here today and he uses a plastic bucket to hold his cordless tools and to me that is practical. I understand that others here don't hold the same view on systainers and I am the contrary one and that is fair enough and I wouldn't criticise others for their view on the subject.

I don't disagree with this. When I need to go out and do some work, I'd rather toss the tools in a bucket and go. It can be much easier. But when I'm done and the tools need to go away, I like to put them away and not be cluttered.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Why would anyone need to charge 12 batteries at once?

(Snip)

The charger doesn't charge all of the batteries at the same time. As best as I can tell, it will charge a bank of 4 batteries, then shift to the next bank, and so on.

[attachimg=1]

I imagine the target market here is crews, where they might have a dozen or more batteries going at any one time, and rather than waiting in line for an open charger, you just toss your battery into one of the open slots, and grab one of the charged batteries.

My HVAC contractor runs exclusively Makita LXT tools for their crews, and since they're all "company" tools the workers aren't precious about what battery they're using, as it's all ultimately from the same pool.

For the time being, I really enjoy using the Makita dual port chargers since they take up fewer electrical sockets (which can be a limited commodity on site).

I suppose they are out there, but I have never seen a contractor who does this. Every one I have ever dealt with, the employees own their own stuff, at least as far as the main gear. There might be a common "gang box" for some shared equipment, but that is not the things that everybody might need at the same time.

I do particularly like the double chargers. Since getting the miter saw, I have 2 of them. One is at work, the other at home, since I have a string trimmer and reciprocating saw there.

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

Why would anyone need to charge 12 batteries at once?

(Snip)

The charger doesn't charge all of the batteries at the same time. As best as I can tell, it will charge a bank of 4 batteries, then shift to the next bank, and so on.

[attachimg=1]

I imagine the target market here is crews, where they might have a dozen or more batteries going at any one time, and rather than waiting in line for an open charger, you just toss your battery into one of the open slots, and grab one of the charged batteries.

My HVAC contractor runs exclusively Makita LXT tools for their crews, and since they're all "company" tools the workers aren't precious about what battery they're using, as it's all ultimately from the same pool.

For the time being, I really enjoy using the Makita dual port chargers since they take up fewer electrical sockets (which can be a limited commodity on site).

I suppose they are out there, but I have never seen a contractor who does this. Every one I have ever dealt with, the employees own their own stuff, at least as far as the main gear. There might be a common "gang box" for some shared equipment, but that is not the things that everybody might need at the same time.

I do particularly like the double chargers. Since getting the miter saw, I have 2 of them. One is at work, the other at home, since I have a string trimmer and reciprocating saw there.

Yeah, my HVAC company has a pool of Makita LXT tools for the crews. My electrician does the same, I think at the moment they're using DeWalt, they seem to turn over their entire tool pool every few years. They must figure it's more economical to supply their employees with tools than it is to roll the dice on employees trying to stretch some more life out of an aging tool or constantly charging worn-out batteries, particularly for higher $$ labor like HVAC and electrical where the cost of tools is negligible compared to labor cost.

To your point, most general contractors/carpentry companies I worked for had the employees supply their own tools, so in that context yes it's a broad mix. And, like I alluded to above, I saw the whole spectrum, everything from workers fully kitted-out with the latest-and-greatest, and workers still clinging to their old Ni-Cad tools, complaining about the cost of new batteries.

Yeah the dual chargers are awesome. I keep a LXT dual charger and a XGT dual charger in the van, and the same setup in the Shop. I have a third LXT dual charger and some XGT single chargers kept in reserve. It's funny, there are some weeks when I'll only need to charge a couple batteries, other times I'll have all of the chargers running.

 

[Cheese]

Well, there's a market for charging multiple batteries at the same time somewhere.  [smile]

Here's the BottTainer powered by Stihl.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

 

[woodferret]

I was originally thinking it'd be useful for hookup to a PV system for charging, to minimize the number of reconnects, but now I think it's mostly for generator systems given the Bott ad.

 

[Coen]

Well, there's a market for charging multiple batteries at the same time somewhere.  [smile]

Here's the BottTainer powered by Stihl.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

What is that? A quarter cubic metre to charge 8 batteries?