Back in September, Black & Decker put out a press release about their new GoPak system. It’s basically a new 12V Max cordless power tool line, with a twist. The Black & Decker GoPak battery pack can also charge USB devices and is recharged using a USB charger.
This new line of tools is targeted towards DIYers. Right now, there are only 4 tools in the GoPak ecosystem: a drill, a jigsaw, a detail sander, and an LED worklight, but Black & Decker is hinting that there will be more tools coming in 2018.
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The drill has an 11-position clutch and LED light on the base to illuminate what you are drilling or screwing.
The jigsaw features a tool-free blade change mechanism and it looks like it has on-board blade storage for at least one blade.
The LED work light has a pivoting head, and looks like it could be placed down standing upright on its base.
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Finally, here’s a close-up of the detail sander.
There’s a 4-level battery status fuel gauge built into the battery pack.
Since this is a 12V Max battery (10.8V nominal), it’s more than likely a 3 cell pack. This flat pack looks like it’s compact enough to keep in your pocket for when you need to charge your mobile devices. It has an on-board charge meter and a USB A connector that can deliver up to 2.4A for charging your devices.
Black & Decker doesn’t mention it anywhere in their information about the GoPak, but from what I can gather, the micro USB port next to the USB A port is for charging the battery.
Right now, there are two GoPak products you can buy: a 4-piece tool kit, and the battery pack by itself. The battery comes with a USB charging cable and the kit includes the four tools, battery, charging cable, drill bit, jigsaw blade, and three sheets of sanding paper.
Even though I saw the battery in store at Lowes, it isn’t listed on their website. It is available though at Amazon, priced at $40 and said to be available for purchase starting November 1st, 2017. The combo kit will also be available at Amazon for $130, but it’s only $100 at Lowes.
Stuart’s Note: I bet we’ll see a “new lower price” at Amazon as part of a holiday deal or as the seasonal price.
Price: $40 for the GoPak battery, $100-130 for the cordless tool kit
Buy Now (Battery via Amazon)
Buy Now (Combo Kit via Lowes)
Compare (Combo Kit via Amazon)
First Thoughts
The reason I’m writing this now, and not sooner, is because I spotted both the battery and the tool kit in a display that was being set up at my local Lowes last weekend. I had seen posts about it as early as June on Instagram, and I had seen press releases in September, but it didn’t hit me that the battery didn’t need a charger until I saw it in person.
As I mentioned above, one thing they don’t address in any of their marketing material is how you charge the battery, but there is clearly a USB micro port next to the USB A port on the battery. Both the tool kit and bare battery only ship with a charging cable so I have to figure that you use the charging cable to plug the battery into a USB charger.
Stuart’s Note: That is also how a lot of USB charging power banks, such as my Anker one, are designed.
This is what intrigues me most about this system — the battery charging via USB. You don’t need a separate charger. You can charge it anywhere you charge your phone: your computer, your desk, even your car. The downside is that it probably takes several hours to recharge the battery and there is no way to fast charge the battery as of yet. Maybe that’s one of the new products they’ll introduce in 2018.
Stuart’s Note: A lot of Black & Decker cordless tools, at least those that hover right at “opening price point” levels, are bundled with “overnight” chargers that take something like 6 hours to recharge. I always assumed it was to keep the charger costs low, but it could also be due to the lower-spec’ed nature of the battery cells that are perfectly suited for entry-level DIYer tools. It’s hard to say.
I agree with Ben, about the interesting nature of the battery pack. It is basically a USB power bank that doubles as a cordless power tool battery pack. Or vice versa. Black & Decker cordless power tools aren’t typically considered heavy regular use tools. They’re the kinds of tools a DIYer or homeowner buys on a budget with maybe a few quick projects in mind.
So why not design the battery pack so as to have added functionality all those days, weeks, and maybe even months when it’s not going to be powering any tools.
Hmm, it looks like the battery pack release mechanism is built into the tool, and not the battery. That’s probably what gives it the clean, compact, and maybe even pocket-friendly shape.
Lastly, no, you’re not the only one who thinks these GoPak tools look like toys.
Nathan
not the worst idea in the world. I have no need for any of those devices other than maybe the light – which might be a good widget to keep in a car.
Anthony
I agree, you can never have too many flashlights. Black and decker may not have the toughest power tools out there, but I’m happy they exist, especially when they try out stuff like this. You could probably fill a dumpster with all the novelty tools they’ve made over the years (vpx, firestorm, etc.), but they are trying out stuff no one else seems to be. And you may need to baby their tools a little, but in a pinch, they get the job done
Koko the Talking Ape
I am all for using universal standards like USB charging, because they avoid proprietary standards that increase cost without increasing utility (Lightning chargers, anyone?) Not needing a specific charger gizmo is great.
But I don’t want to wait six hours to charge a battery. I think the very latest USB standards allow 18 W, but we don’t know if these batteries will accept that, and few people have chargers that can provide that (why would they, if none of their devices can handle that?) I just got a Quickcharge 3.0 charger, just to be up-to-date, but it is bigger and (slightly) more expensive than the old ones.
Stuart
Ignoring the compromise in charging speeds for a moment, consider cost effects.
Even if charging times, voltage step-up efficiency, and added complexity weren’t concerns, there’s going to be a crossover where it becomes more economical to have a standalone charger instead of a bunch of battery packs that can all be recharged via USB.
USB is just fine for smaller tools and devices, and I have no objection to seeing this on Black & Decker products. We’re NEVER going to see something like this on Dewalt products, though.
But for the homeowner who doesn’t remember where they might have left their charger, this is a fantastic idea.
The yeti
I disagree Stuart. I think this is the future . Who wants to bother with multiple chargers . This solves a lot of issues for a lot of folks . Makes more sense than the stupid wireless Bosch system . I’m a Bosch fan. I can say with certainty I would like to see usb charging standard. Also why not have a usb u out port to charge a phone . Already got the batteries . I have about 10 Bosch batteries . If they were built like this black and Decker set . I could charge them all at once with a few 5 dollar usb chargers available anywhere .
This is a huge step in the right direction . Please let this become the standard for tomorrow
The yeti
Heck this could likely power a raspberry pi and a monitor . Could be the power source behind a computer while camping. This is so cutting edge . If I didn’t have all the tools offered in the kit . I’d probably go buy this just to show off the future . There are so many advantages to cheap portable charging . The charge time is minor if u have a large stock of batteries and u can charge several at once.
firefly
I wouldn’t compare something like this to the Bosch charging system. They have totally different target audience.
I do see this as becoming the standard in the very very very far future :). Currently using something as USB charging leave a lot to be desire for high power devices. To say that having multiple battery on hand will solve the slow charging problem is an argument that doesn’t take into account the cost of the battery. In this particular case that might workout for the home user whom will have multiple cheap low power battery that will serve multiple purpose. In that case this might workout nicely.
Overall I think it’s a neat idea. I don’t think this will become the standard anytime soon though I certainly think that this will fill a niche market segment. I don’t know about the sander but a small jigsaw and low torque screwdriver with precises torque control will find it home in many hobbyist that build rc plane and the like toolboxes.
Koko The Talking Ape
“… there’s going to be a crossover where it becomes more economical to have a standalone charger instead of a bunch of battery packs that can all be recharged via USB.”
I don’t follow you. Could you lay out the costs there? FWIW, my USB charger with Quick Charge 3.0 cost $11. Even if that costs more to make than a traditional charging cradle, the cradle is bigger, heavier, and is thus costs more to ship.
Also, it occurs to me that even if USB charging is slower, I already have six of them lying around. I might tolerate slower charging for saving the cost of a cradle, or simultaneously charging all my packs at once.
jec6613
Each USB chargeable battery has an additional cost at the battery itself. The charging electronics actually have to be built into each additional battery, which isn’t free, and substantially increases the manufacturing complexity of the battery.
So, yes, a big stand-alone charger is more expensive than a USB charger, but USB chargeable batteries are more expensive compared to ones which do not support it (all else being equal).
Stuart
Yes, that’s all true. But consider this – how many batteries will most homeowners or casual DIYers buy?
Cr8on
B&D hasn’t put out a new battery form factor in at least a few years…. (Eyes rolling) kinda a neat though to charge and as a charger.
Austin
New 12v b&d tools? I wonder if this means new dewalt 12vtools are on the horizon. It seems like people have been asking for them for a couple years.
Brian A
Kinda nice to have the USB and micro USB for devices on the battery instead of having a power adapter. My problem is everything is moving to USB-C, soon nothing will be USB or micro. Companies should not produce a new product not USB-C. Just realized Milwaukees new USB platform cant be used as device power with the external charger, wtf…
Nathan
the microusb only looks to be the input into the pack. Not as an output.
Brian A
It should only be one USB-C, no need for old USB and the micro.
Diamond Dave
I would imagine the key point in this tool launch is the ability to charge the battery through USB however slow that is. I have the Dewalt DCB090 – 12v/20v Battery Power pack that fits on top of the Batteries and I use it almost daily because of its convenience. Easy to switch out with a new fresh 20v battery any time I need. I also have a few Black and Decker 20v Yard Tools and I am really surprised B&D did not come out with the same type of battery top USB charger as well for their 20v System?
Joe
Cmon…SBD…stop selling homeowners the “new, better,cheaper,but just as good as” stuff. Ive spent tens of thousands on Dewalt cordless tools and thousands on every other brand…this universal idea thing is ridiculous. I wish SBD would put more effort into developing more 20v max tools and Flexvolt tools and less gadget stuff……just build the line of 20v tools completely…don’t skip any tool,,,…………homeowners have plenty of choices of great inexpensive quality tools and tool lines to choose from….(Ryobi,m12,porter cable, kobalt, etc.)
…………how about retooling and make a real 12v line of tools instead of sending all your 20/60v customers to competing brands to buy 12v tools, to add to their collection…???