Dewalt is coming out with a new 20V Max li-ion brushless cordless drill driver, model DCD790, which will be released alongside the also-new brushless hammer drill that we previously discussed.
The new compact brushless drill is designed for maximized runtime, but should still outperform their previous compact brushed drill/driver by a small margin as it has a 2.86% higher power rating (360 UWO vs. 350 UWO).
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While some might look to compare this model to Milwaukee’s FUEL M18 brushless drill, it is worth remembering that Dewalt designed the DCD790 to be more compact and lightweight.
Meet the Competition: Bosch DDS181, Milwaukee M18 Fuel (Top Pick!), Milwaukee M12 Fuel, Makita 18V
Features
- 7.2″ length
- 3.5lb weight
- 360 “UWO” max power
- 2-speed gearbox (0-600, 0-2000 RPM)
- 1/2″ metal ratcheting chuck
- LED worklight with 20-second release delay illumination
- 15 clutch settings
- DCD790D2 kit includes DCD790 drill, 2x 2.0Ah batteries, fast charger, belt hook, bit holder, kit box
- DCD790B is the bare-tool
Like the new hammer drill and other recent 20V “Max” releases, the new brushless drill features Dewalt’s “XR” branding. The kit comes bundled with their new 2.0Ah li-ion batteries that provide up to 33% more runtime with 50% longer recharge time (45 mins vs. 30 mins).
The new drill also features a foot-mounted LED worklight, a la Bosch and Ridgid’s designs, for fewer shadows.
Marketing images show that the DCD790 is shorter than other top brands’ competing models, but it is also substantially less powerful. Size-wise, Bosch’s 7″ long DDS181 still looks to be best-in-class. That particular Bosch compact drill is conveniently left out of Dewalt’s size comparison photo.
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First Impression
It’s compact, it’s lightweight, it boasts “up to 57% more runtime” compared to its predecessor, and it sports some nice features such as the metal ratcheting chuck and foot-mounted LED. If Dewalt didn’t change the balance or handle profile too much, the ergonomic should be great as well.
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But I still cannot shake the feeling that there’s too much of an overlapping grey area between compact lightweight 18V/20V “Max” tools and high performing 12V models.
If I could only work with one cordless drill, I would probably pick a more powerful compact 18V drill over this one. And if I could only work with two, I would pick a high performing compact and lightweight 12V model (such as the brushless Milwaukee M12 Fuel), and a more powerful compact or heavy duty 18V model.
That all said, the DCD790 will surely be popular with users that mainly drill and drive smaller or shorter holes and fasteners. Dewalt 18V and 20V Max fans finally have 20V lithium ion brushless models to upgrade to, but those without strong brand loyalty will have to think hard about whether this is the best model for their needs.
I reviewed Dewalt’s DCD780 compact 20V drill/driver a while back, and while I didn’t use the word fantastic, it really was a very nice design. The DCD790 builds upon the 780’s strengths with a couple of improvements, most notably the brushless motor and metal chuck.
The power rating does falls short of what I would consider the ideal Goldilocks range for a compact 18V/20V “Max” drill, but that’s more a personal hangup about on-paper specs than real-world performance.
Javier
Im interested in hearing about the specs of the new brushless impact and the reasoning behind it. I doubt its better than the current brushless impact. What role does the new one fill when they already have 2 outstanding impact drivers (brushed and brushless)?
Stuart
I’m thinking a lot of users were unhappy with the brushless impact driver – I certainly was a bit. I couldn’t get used to the bit release mechanism and put off a lengthy testing session for so long because of this that the sample got buried somewhere. I think I know where it is and plan to dig it out at some point.
Of course, the new impact shown bundled with the brushless drills in 2-tool kits could just be a “budget” version, similar to how some of the other 20V kits have stripped-down basic saws that are missing “premium” features.
But my guess is that the new impact driver shares similar design and construction elements with the new brushless drills so that the same brushless motor could be used in all three tools. This would allow for lower R&D and manufacturing costs.
Official specs and details for the impact haven’t been released yet, but I’ll keep my eye out for them.
Javier
I too thought the new drills and impact shared the same motor. Side by side it almost looks like they use the same motor. But it is hard to tell as the motor housing is a bit longer on the drills.
Stuart
If not the same, then at least similar. The housing and venting also look identical until you get to the gearbox.
Greg W.
I am so impressed with Dewalts impact driver that when money allows I will get this for drilling into steel at work. On the impact, with 3.0 batteries, run time is days of running screws and tightening bolts.
Pete
Stuart, what do you think the goldilocks power number should be? I own the non brushless DCD780 as well as a bosch DDS181 and can tell you there is a noticeable difference in power on both speeds between the two. Bosch rates the DDS181 at 600 in/lbs and the DCD780 runs circles around it with its measly “350 UWO”. I get that dewalt wants there own system of measuring power but this is one of situations where they should just have used the industry standard of measuring output.
Michael Quinlan
The DeWalt may run circles around the Bosch in side-by-side comparisons, but most people don’t get a chance to do those, and DeWalt abandoning the only rating system users are accustomed to and replacing it with their own makes people like me think they’re hiding something, or at best using a rating system that paints their products in a better light, if anyone else were to use it, that is.
Stuart
Even those that can run side-by-side tests probably shouldn’t. There are way too many variables these days. For example, a drill’s performance can drastically change depending on which battery is used. This is further complicated by how some brands have updated their tools and battery packs without changing the model numbers.
These days specs, even torque ratings, should only be considered as ballpark values.
So you can’t really rely on on-paper specs, nor is it easy to rely on head-to-head comparisons.
It’s easy to create comparison tests, but I have yet to find a way to interpret results with high enough confidence. Power tool benchmarking seems to be a lot easier with saws than drills and drivers.
At this point it doesn’t really matter that Dewalt adopted their own metric, now that some li-ion-powered tools shut down before they even get to the max-torque shutoff.
Pete
Michael if it was the case that dewalt was trying to hide something don’t you think they would have picked a system that made their numbers look better instead of worse? I really think dewalt was trying to be honest here in measuring their tools in a more practical way but unfortunately when the rest of the industry doesn’t follow suit it makes it difficult for the end user to make any real comparison when shopping. its a shame really because the 20v line from dewalt is quite solid.
Stuart
It’s hard to say, but during testing there were times when I wished the 780 was *just a little bit* more powerful. A 3% difference isn’t really significant. Maybe a 10-15% would have been better on paper with 385-400 UWO being be sweet spot But that’s perhaps too close to the 450 UWO of Dewalt’s premium brushed drills.
Direct comparisons are incredibly complicated, especially now that li-ion batteries typically have built-in protection. Honestly, it’s such a pain. In one case, a higher-rated model shut off and a lower-rated model kept pushing until it smoked up.
There is no public UWO to in-lbs conversion, but I believe that the multiplication factor seems to be somewhere between 1 and 1.5. That is, 1.0 UWO might = 1.0 – 1.5 in-lbs of torque.
I believe I once read (or was told) that they adopted UWO because it allowed for a true measure of power between different Dewalt models, while in-lbs relates to no-load torque. But that doesn’t take into account that PTI member brands should all be following the same testing methodologies to ensure fair and honest torque comparison.
Mike U.
Direct drill comparisons are very difficult, especially for the consumer who can’t afford to buy multiple drill sets to take home and measure the number of 1/2 holes they can bore. Stuart’s point about multiple battery options is well-made and adds more complication.
One thing that UWO may also provide for Dewalt and now P/C as well is encouraging brand loyalty. If I have a DW drill with say, 350 uwo, I really have no point of comparison to Brand X whose new drill makes 475 in/lbs torque. But if Dewalt comes out with a 400 uwo drill, I know its better (although not really how much). I’m probably more likely to stick with the brand I know.
Noah
So glad they got rid of that stupid bit chuck on the BL impact driver….I can actually consider a DeWalt now.
Tom
UWO is the way Dewalt gets out of the spec wars, plain and simple. UWO is almost impossible to calculate and they are the only company that has been doing this type of measurement. I give Dewalt less credit since they moved to UWO, a while back. Tool specs in general have little to do with true performance though. Torque ratings always seemed to be skewed by the manufacturers, along with RPM’s and other ratings. Breadth of line, charge time, and service all rate higher than specs these days. If a modern cordless drill can’t do it you may have the wrong tool.
Stuart
While tool specs have less meaning than they used to, many buyers rely on them when buying new tools. When viewing drills side-by-side, customers will see and think that 650 in-lbs is better than 600 in-lbs, even if lesser specs would suffice for their needs.
With PCs it used to be processor speed in GHz, with digital cameras it was the number of megapixels, and with LED flashlights it’s lumens.
A lot of people still make purchasing decisions based on quantitative specs. Ignoring everything else, what would you rather buy for $150, a 650 in-lb drill, or a 600 in-lb drill? Some will look at other factors, but a lot of people will go for the one with the higher rating.
Who knows why Dewalt switched to “UWO,” but whatever the reason we can be sure they did it in their favor.
Ken
I think Dewalt doesn’t advertise torque is because they don’t want to be part of the spec war. As you said, people will shop based on the torque spec alone. Ridged advertises 1,750 in-lbs of torque on their impact driver (R86034K). That is higher than any other manufacturer advertises to my knowledge. Do you really think that Ridged’s impact is more powerful than everyone else on the market at a almost $100 lower price point? I believe UWO is a better gauge of how fast a tool will perform most applications than just listing torque because it takes into account RPM as well.
Javier
I read a while back on the dewalt website that one reason for the UWO measurement was to compare cordless tools to corded tools. I couldnt find what I remember reading but heres an article listing why they chose UWO as a more reliable rating system over torque measurements.
http://www.dewalt.com/featured-articles/power-tools-what-does-torque-rating-really-mean.aspx
Stuart
Thanks for the link! The idea behind UWO sounds good, but it’s still useful to know the maximum torque for a drill/driver, at least sometimes. As discussed, I feel it’s hard to know what to think now that a lot of tools shut themselves off way before they stall.
Curiously, Dewalt still provides torque ratings for impact drivers and impact wrenches.
DKing
I finally spent some time with the DCD790. The grip is worse but the light is better.
The grip shape is different, and the change is quite noticeably negative. I really liked the old shape. The new grips are fatter and the trigger is farther away: both negatives for my medium hands. The shape is similar and would still be excellent if my hands had grown from medium to large, but my hands remain the same so the new grips are too big.
On the other hand the light does now illuminate the tip of the bit, unlike the DCD780 which got in the way of its own light. That’s a nice improvement.