Some of you might be familiar with the Dewalt 8V Gyroscopic cordless screwdriver, which is powered by a miniscule battery pack. Well, way before it came out, the same parent company had another 7V nominal (8V Max) cordless system – Black & Decker VPX.
VPX was a neat system that launched a bit before Stanley Works and Black & Decker merged.
I wrote about its launch in October 2007, for a different site that I contributed to before ToolGuyd. It didn’t last very long before being discontinued – as you can see above.
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There was a small selection of tool that were tailored towards the interests of DIYers, including a drill, screwdriver, flashlight, hand vacuum, compact saw, and even an inflator.
The Black & Decker VPX cordless power tool system worked with a 7V Li-ion battery pack.
The VPX system followed in the wake of the Black & Decker VersaPak system, which was centered around different battery technologies and form factors.
The VPX drill was especially interesting, and it was powered by 2x battery packs for 14.4V nominal voltage.
Makita’s 18V X2 and other dual battery tools share the same principle, where two batteries can power a higher voltage tool for greater performance.
I ran into frustrations with Black & Decker’s customer support, who was unable to provide me with torque specs for the drill, and also the first time I caught the attention of B&D’s marketing team, who said I should have relied on press materials I never had access to.
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The VPX tools were very sharply designed.
The Dewalt 8V Max cordless power tool battery wasn’t designed to be doubled-up, but maybe it could have been.
At the least, there’s a world of different tools that could have been powered by the same battery.
If the platform had taken off, maybe we’d have a USB-C charged version of the same battery by now.
There are parallels between the Craftsman V4 cordless power tool system and Black & Decker’s VPX. See also: The Mystery of Sears’ Craftsman V4 Cordless System.
The Craftsman V4 platform lasted less than 2 months on the holiday season sales floor in 2011, while the VPX system was on clearance by February 2008, 4 months after it was announced.
Lastly, it looks like Amazon has brought back the Dewalt 8V Max Gyroscopic cordless screwdriver – perhaps for Prime Big Day Deals – with a mid-October ETA.
I’d keep an eye on the pricing and availability, but this seems like good news for tool users who have been searching everywhere to find it over the past year to no avail.
Dewalt hasn’t added to the line in over 11 years, but unlike the VPX system, Dewalt 8V Max is still here, even if its availability has been cyclic.
Jamie Lee Davis
I had these tools from Walmart in 07! The batteries still worked well earlier this year when I donated the tools.
EBT
Back in the day, had used Panasonic Driver EY6220N, a 2.4V (with 3.6 and 7.2V options now). Worked great taking apart Dell and Lenovo laptops. Removable packs. These VPX look modern, almost futuristic.
Jared
What a neat-looking system – especially for the era!
I know people love to hate on tools with built-in batteries, but personally – I think it makes way more sense for tools of this size.
I can’t imagine buying into a 4v or 8v battery platform – like how many of those tools am I actually likely to need? I also dont want a separate charger when a USB cable will do (that’ what I like about small tools like my Dremel screwdriver), nor would I want to pay for extra batteries and chargers.
Maybe we could have a sort of hybrid one day: like a tool that charges via USB, but allows the (presumably proprietary) cell to be easily swapped of it wears out.
Frank D.
Oh yes, VersaPack !!! There should still be some small drill & saw, in a forgotten drawer in the garage at the other house.
VPX looked cool too. Both disappeared too soon.
Stopped looking at B&D as a platform at that time. Too much launch and abandon.
Dennis
I bought a bunch of the Craftsman V4 at Sears on clearance (when that was a place where people could buy tools). They worked great for small tasks around the house. They were just OEMs of Ryobi 4v. The sad part is Ryobi carried on the line and made the batteries USB rechargeable. But they changed the form factor of the batteries, so they are not backwards compatible. It’s always a bummer when manufacturers force obsolescence.
Stuart
Ryobi discontinued their Tek4 line of cordless power tools and gadgets sometime in the early 2010’s, and then launched a brand new USB Lithium line in 2022. https://toolguyd.com/ryobi-usb-lithium-cordless-power-tools/
You are correct, Ryobi USB Lithium and their former Tek4 tools and batteries are NOT compatible.
Between Tek4 and USB Lithium, Ryobi launched a line of smartphone-connected tools with built-in batteries, “Phone Works” – https://toolguyd.com/ryobi-phone-works/ .
Progress typically involves obsolescence.
Mike
That was the best small driver out there at the time. I think we still have it in the kids’ tool drawer. I can’t get behind the DeWalt Gyro, have one and my brain just doesn’t like it.
Jason
Fully hoping for a Jobmax or Matrix article tomorrow. 24v Ridgid?
In all seriousness the 8V gyro was awesome