In August, Stanley Black & Decker invited Stuart and I to their new Craftsman Tools product launch. At the show they introduced a ton of new hand and power tools, but today I’m just going to cover the the new V60 platform tools.
The V60 is a 60V Max platform that is designed for Craftsman’s cordless outdoor power equipment (OPE). Craftsman is also introducing a line of 20V outdoor power equipment, but the V60 is targeted primarily at enthusiasts and users with lager properties that would benefit from more power and longer run times.
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The platform will be launching with:
- String trimmer
- Blower
- Chainsaw
- Hedge trimmer
- Self-propelled and push mowers
There’s no cordless snow blower yet, but we’re hoping it’s on their roadmap.
Craftsman V60 Batteries
The V60 battery packs will come in three sizes 2.5Ah, 5Ah, and 7.5Ah, each of which contains 15, 30, and 45 Li-ion battery cells respectively. A max voltage of 4V per cell times 15 cells gives you 60V. It could and has been argued that it should really be called 54V, but that’s not going to be addressed any further in this post.
Related: Dewalt 20V Max = 18V Nominally
Currently, they are using 2.5Ah, 18650-sized cells in the packs. This means a 2.5Ah pack will have 1 bank of 15 cells, a 5.0Ah pack will have 2 banks, and a 7.5Ah pack will have 3 banks. They did mention the possibility of using larger cells, and the battery compartments of the mowers have room for larger packs.
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I did not see the V60 chargers or chargers of get a feel for the amount of time it’ll take to charge the different sized batteries.
Craftsman V60 Tools
Shown here is the new V60 blower. I played with it for a short time and noticed it had a bit of a kickback when you pulled the trigger, similar to my EGO LB530 blower when you hit the turbo button.
The above photo is actually rotated sideways. The blower is hanging on a VersaTrack rail with its built in hanger — many of the new Craftsman cordless power tools, including chargers and drills, have hooks that are VersaTrack-compatible.
VersaTrack is Craftsman’s slatwall-like panel system, for organizing tools and accessories on a variety of hooks and attachments. With built-in VersaTrack adapters, you can store compatible tools on a rail or panel section without the need for any extra hooks.
I was able to test the V60 16″ chainsaw on a 6″ or 7″ log of indeterminate species they had sitting in a sawbuck. I made a few cuts and found it easily cut through the log without bogging, but you wouldn’t expect log this size to be a problem for a 60V chainsaw.
You’ll notice that the chain tensioner is similar in design to the one on Dewalt’s 20V Max cordless chainsaw, reviewed here.
On the top of the chainsaw there is a bubble vial. At first I was a little confused — why do you need to cut your firewood with the ends square? Then I remembered that chainsaws can be used in construction, such as for cutting off the ends of timbers, or trimming fence posts and stiles.
I did not get very good photos of either the V60 hedge trimmer or the string trimmer, but you can see them both hanging up on the wall. They did not talk about them, nor did I have time to ask, but you can also see what looks to be a pole saw and an edging attachment. I’m not sure if they belong to the V60 string trimmer or the gas trimmer hanging farther over, out of the photo.
The string trimmer has a high/low switch and variable speed throttle. It also features a dual string bump feed system. They also mentioned that you’d be able to rewind the string without taking the spool apart.
Finally, we come to the two steel-decked cordless mowers. They’ll offer both a self-propelled and a push version. The 3-in-1 mowers — named as such for their bagging, mulching, and side discharge options — have 21″ decks. The actual blade diameter is 20.5″.
You’ll notice they look very similar to the Dewalt 2x20V and 40V mowers. They have a similar height adjustment mechanism, but with 6 heights instead of Dewalt’s 5.
See Also: Dewalt 2x20V Cordless Mower Review
The handle folds down for upright storage and it also folds down in the middle to make the mower more compact.
I did not get a release date for any of the V60 products, but I would hope they would be out for Spring 2019.
Brian A
Are these SBD Craftsman or bankrupt Sears Craftsman?
Jalopy
SBD craftsman. Looks like much better stuff than the junky V20 line. The versatrack is also way cool. I’ve been buying lots of it lately from it from Sears and not SBD. It’s dirt cheap at Sears using their shop your way program.
Benjamen
SBD Craftsman. With all the confusion Sears has been creating, I should have been more specific.
Stuart
In the case we neglect to specifically mention it (sorry!), whenever we write about Craftsman tools, “Craftsman” refers to the brand under Stanley Black & Decker ownership, and “Sears Craftsman” refers to any Sears’ licensed Craftsman brand products or context.
Tom
It is probably worth noting that Sears Craftsman also rolled out a line of 60V tools. They have a blower, lawn mower, chainsaw and string trimmer.
Note that Sears Craftsman is billed as “60V MAX” and Stanley Craftsman is called “V60”.
Eric
Awesome! Hoping to see the bigger self-propelled mower, power head, and hedge trimmer in Flexvolt flavor soon. I already have the 20v hedge trimmer and will be happy with it until it dies, but a nicer mower and power head would virtually kill off small engines for me.
The format of the batteries (up to 45 cells) will allow for some really high-drain EGo-type tools, which will be nice on another platform that will likely be supported for awhile.
The Craftsman/Sears Craftsman stuff is a mess, and likely going to lead to a lot of angry people.
Evadman
The bubble level on the chainsaw is an awesome idea. It saves having to try to follow a vertical line that is covered by the guard.
mizzourob
If that trimmer takes trimmer plus attachments, then I’m all in for this v60 lineup. I have too many trimmer plus attachments to justify the switch to Ego.
JC
Any idea on pricing and kit configurations for the mowers?
The yeti
Pretty sure this will all but end any hope for dewalt 40v. Better buy a few more tools before they are gone.
Wish i had waited. I would have bought Craftsman v60
Stuart
What makes you think that a pro landscaper line will be cannibalized by a home brand?
Matt
I’m not sure the DeWalt name carries much weight in the world of yard care. Not like it would on a construction site. I honestly think Craftsman carries more weight here. SBD would be wise IMO to really to focus on this with Craftsman. Two main lawn care/snow removal companies I know of actually use Craftsman push mowers and trimmers. Exmark riders seem to be the standard around here anyway.
The yeti
Ya i only bought the Dewalt because it was early out the door with a string trimmer that ran on a big battery. Plan to buy the blower yet. Maybe even a saw.
This red set looks at least as good. Appears to have the backing of its parent.
Maybe its just the 40V stuff is rare to see around here now.
dave9
Heh, pro landscaper. No pro landscaper is going to accept the terribly short runtime of cordless lawn equipment, unless “pro” means “I think I’ll try this for a while with Dad’s tools then quit if it requires 10 minutes of real work”.
Landscapers need continuous runtime, which with cordless tools would require multi-hundred dollars worth of batteries for each tool to keep going for a single 8 hour work day.
I take that back, they might get by with a cordless sawzall if they only ever do light pruning.
firefly
I do think this is a great line up. This is the first release from SBD Craftman that got me excited. Craftmans still have pretty good name recognition along with strong retail support I think this will sale. Perhaps this could give Ego some serious competition which is a good thing.
Beside the crazy name mess with Craftmans Sear I think this line up have a bright future.
Big Richard
The chainsaw is a top handle like the Dewalt 20v DCCS620, but with a 16″ bar and 60v motor like the Dewalt FLEXVOLT DCCS670. Interesting. I own both of the aforementioned, but I like how this offers the comfort and flexability of a top handle with a bit more power and capacity.
Altan
If Craftsman has 60V 5Ah or 7.5Ah battery, why not DeWALT? They are basically kids of same company.
dave9
True, in the past the choice was more about whether occasional or pro use, where the significantly higher price of Dewalt could be justified, but with these high voltage cordless tools, the battery is such a large % of total cost that ultimately the battery cost could make the Craftsman line irrelevant if they don’t start releasing them at better price points. Currently a 5Ah battery goes for $200 which is just too big an investment to someone who has occasional uses, thus would accept the Craftsman brand.
Egopower
Who manufactures these tools? Is it the same company that makes EGO?
the batteries is exactly the same as EGO
Benjamen
SB&D bought into MTD, they are probably manufacturing them.
No, they are not like the Ego batteries. For one Ego batteries use a phase change material wrapped around the cells to keep them from overheating. Ego batteries are also a different voltage and have different number of cells.
dave9
Now that I’ve suffered through a fall with the V60 blower, more and more I am disgusted by the price points of the V60 batteries and their short runtime:dollar ratio.
They cost at least 70% more than they should for a 2nd tier brand. I can get 10 cells OEM packs for other 2nd tier brandss for $50 each or less, so I don’t think it is unreasonable for a 15 cell pack to be $75 or less. I can also get CMan V20 batteries, 2 packs with 20 cells total which includes a 2nd casing assembly and control board for less money.
Treat your customers right, SB&D!
dave9
I’m become more dissatisfied with my V60 cordless blower. Used it maybe 5 minutes before mowing to get leaves where I could mulch them, mowed for 15 while I topped the charge off, used blower for 10 minutes, went to charge it again and charger shows it is too hot to charge.
So, SB&D’s batteries are not only expensive but also have insufficient thermals to keep going, and this was a couple days ago, mild fall weather not hot summer.
I do realize batteries get hot in use, but 15 minutes should have been enough to cool down from 5 minutes prior use, to where the 10 minutes didn’t matter as formerly I always got 10 minutes w/o issue recharging immediately after.
If this is what’s going to happen they need to include a 2nd battery or make them much less expensive so a new battery doesn’t cost more than the tool itself.
Roscoe May
I have a 60 volt Craftsman lawn mower model cmcmw260 with 60V 5.0AH battery having a hard time locating battery charger any suggestions?
Stuart
Craftsman customer service might be able to help you. Unfortunately they discontinued the V60 line and I haven’t seen any replacement batteries or accessories in stores.