Grizzly has recently teased their entry into the cordless power tool market, with a new 20V drill/driver listed on their site. Now, it’s clear they’re all-in, launching a full spectrum of core cordless power tools.
Grizzly, if you’re not familiar with the brand, is large mostly mail-order brand of woodworking and metalworking machinery, offering everything from benchtop tools under $1000 to huge 3-phase equipment with 5-figure price tags.
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And now, they’re getting into the cordless power tool market. Not only that, they describe their new power tool lineup as Pro, which could mean they’re looking to grab a chunk of market share from typical pro brands, such as Dewalt and Milwaukee.
Here’s what Grizzly has come out with so far:
- T30290 Grizzly PRO Hammer Drill
- T30291 Grizzly PRO Impact Driver
- T30292 Grizzly PRO 3/8″ Impact Wrench
- T30293 Grizzly PRO Circular Saw
- T30294 Grizzly PRO Reciprocating Saw
- T30295 Grizzly PRO Jigsaw
- T30296 Grizzly PRO Oscillating Tool with 9 Accessories
- T30298 Grizzly PRO Inflator w/ LCD Panel
- T30299 Grizzly PRO Angle Grinder
- T30300 Grizzly PRO Bluetooth Speaker
- T30301 Grizzly PRO USB Adaptor
- T30304 Grizzly PRO 2.0Ah Lithium Ion Battery
- T30305 Grizzly PRO 4.0Ah Lithium Ion Battery
- T30303 Grizzly PRO 2.4A Dual Port Charger
- T30300 Bluetooth Speaker
Grizzly says:
Have instant power at your fingertips with our new lineup of professional duty 20V Grizzly PRO™ cordless tools and accessories! The beauty of our 20V system is the ability to operate any tool in our lineup without unnecessary additional batteries lying around your shop – it’s that simple.
For some of the tools, they add:
The Grizzly PRO™ 2.0Ah Lithium Ion Batteries are low profile and incredible lightweight for all day performance.
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They also say: Affordable Performance has Arrived!
Looking at the product pages for the individual tools, their specs are modest.
The new Grizzly Pro 20V cordless hammer drill has competitive speed range, but lower max torque rating than I would have expected. It does have a brushless motor, which is surprising, but welcome.
- 1/2″ metal chuck
- brushless motor
- 0-600/0-2000 RPM
- 370 in-lbs max torque
The new Grizzly Pro 20V impact driver looks a little better on paper.
- 1/4″ quick-release chuck
- brushless motor
- 0-3000 RPM no-load
- 0-3000 IPM
- 1400 in-lbs max torque
They don’t mention if it’s single-speed, or if there are multiple torque/speed settings.
The new 6-1/2″ Grizzly Pro 20V circular saw is not listed as having a brushless motor.
- 6-1/2″ blade size
- Electric brake
- 3800 RPM
Dewalt’s DCS391 brushed motor cordless circular saw, for example, features a 5150 RPM motor. Faster cutting speeds means greater performance and quicker work.
Overall, the new Grizzly Pro cordless power tools appear to be very low priced – a good thing for DIYers and others who want maximum capabilities on a smaller budget.
The Grizzly Pro cordless jigsaw, for example, is $69.95 for the full kit, including a battery and charger. Or, it’s $57.95 for the tool and a 2.0Ah battery. The bare jigsaw is just $26.95.
Cordless circular saw? $34.95. Oscillating multi-tool? $34.95 for the bare tool.
Grizzly Pro 20V Combo Kit Pricing
- Hammer drill and impact driver kit with (2) 2.0Ah batteries and charger: $189.95
- Circular saw and reciprocating saw kit with (2) 4.0Ah batteries and charger: $187.95
- “Contractor” 5pc tool kit with 3 batteries and dual-port charger: $329.95
- 20V Master kit with 10 cordless power tools, a charger accessory, 3 batteries, and dual-port charger: $549.95
More Info(Grizzly Catalog Page w/ Links)
Notably, the batteries are said to be made by Samsung, although it’s unclear as to whether they mean the battery cells, or the entire packs. Samsung does offer power battery pack design and manufacturing services (Samsung SDI).
First Thoughts
What makes these tools “Pro?”
What will the warranty be like, if a tool fails prematurely?
Who is Grizzly competing against?
Will they be coming out with new tools?
Will bare tools and batteries still be available for purchase 5 years from now?
Grizzly introduced their lineup as being incredible professional 20V power tools. What makes them incredible? From the looks of it, affordable, yes. Incredible? No.
However, the tools do offer some good features. The oscillating multi-tool, for example, has tool-free blade change.
The pricing is really low. $13 for a fast charger, $35 for a 2.0Ah battery, $58 for a 4.0Ah battery, and bare tool prices are around $35 for the saws and $60 for the brushless hammer drill or impact tools.
The impact driver has a mid-range max torque rating of 1400 in-lbs, but the brushless 3/8″ impact wrench is a little under-rated with similar specs, using the Dewalt DCF890B as a baseline.
Here is the question that Grizzly needs to answer: WHY should someone buy these cordless power tools? Right now, it seems like they’re hoping the tools sell themselves. Why buy these tools instead of say Porter Cable, Skil, Ryobi, or Harbor Freight’s Hercules line, or any of the other more budget-friendly cordless power tool systems?
Thank you to Fred for the heads-up!
In this email, Fred postulated that maybe Grizzly is looking to compete with Harbor Freight. They could be, but if so they’ll have to improve their marketing game. They’ll have to up their marketing if they’re looking to compete with any brand.
Lastly, I’m just thinking aloud here, but could these new Grizzly Pro cordless power tools be linked in some way to Walmart’s inclusion of Grizzly in their Pro Tools store?
Jim Felt
“Brand extensions” are the litmus test of many marketing driven business decisions. Y a w n . . .
Popgun42
Everybody and their dog is getting. Into cordless power tool business…. Maybe it will drive prices down…
James
My opinion is that a race to the bottom is a loss for everyone. Their are plenty of inexpensive cordless options. As prices get pressured down, quality will go down as well.
Doresoom
Only 370 in-lbs on that drill? There are 12V tools that are up at 350 in-lbs. And 3800 RPM is really low for a 6-1/2″ circular saw. Even Ryobi’s offering in that category is up at 4700 RPM. I would expect more from a “PRO” branding tier from Grizzly.
Sam
These tools look a lot like the current Porter Cable tools. Anything is an improvement over the present Grizzly cordless tool line.
John
Do a little more research and you will see that these are exact rebadging of no name Chinese made cordless drills and impacts that are sold on Amazon. The dude on youtube who does the strange bear animation and talks about HF tools already went through this.
Why do people need to buy crap? Why do companies need to sell crap?
Stuart
I assumed as much, but couldn’t find the “OEM” version, and without that, it’s just baseless speculation.
I don’t know which tools – if any – are designed or specified by Grizzly. But there are pros (and cons) to buying their machine tools regardless. What are the pros to buying these tools, aside from the entry price point affordability?
John
Baseless speculation haha, go to this link and you’re staring at the IDENTICAL tool in a different color. Doesn’t take a genius to figure this stuff out.
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/VPCD2092-Vollplus-brushless-motor-cordless-drill_60756902743.html
Stuart
Thanks! I don’t get your tone. If I said that it was relabeled from generic off-the-shelf imported tools, without supporting evidence – which I looked for but couldn’t find, it would have been baseless speculation. Perhaps maybe not baseless, but there just wasn’t enough information to upgrade it from baseless speculation to “supposition.”
Now that you’ve provided concrete evidence, it’s a support statement. *thumbs up*
Some of the other tools also appear under Vollplus 20V branding on Alibaba.
John
Stuart, I apologize, was not at all intending to be rude to you.
Stuart
Thank you, and no worries. Objectively, I can see how I could/should have used more words to clarify my statement. Reading things over a few hours later, if I interpret my first comment as you did, your comments were 100% fair.
I am sometimes limited in what I can say, or how I can say something.
In this case, there simply wasn’t enough background information to guess where these tools were coming from, and my research wasn’t turning anything up. Searching turned up a dozen different designs that were similar but distinctly different.
Tom
Found it!
https://tiankon.en.made-in-china.com/product/kXLxFORdZnfl/China-20V-Brushless-Motor-Lion-Cordless-Drill-with-Hammer-Function.html
Stuart
Thanks!!
Hmm, so are they Vollplus, or Tiankon? The same tools appear under 18V and 20V searches for both brands.
fred
We were puzzled when trying to source some components for one of our product lines from China. Maybe Alibaba and other China sourcing venues have gotten better in the 6+ years since I was involved – but back then it sometimes was difficult to distinguish between who was the factory, who was a trading company and who was manufacturer’s rep. Pictures and specs on some items looked identical – prices might not be – and then you were told they shipped out of very different ports. That did not make sense to me – assuming they came from the same factory. Maybe similar things happen with some tools – where one China OEM produces several lesser-known Chinese brands – possibly then rebranded for the US market. Or it might be that one factory in China reverse engineers (or has a license) to copy what another one is producing. Just more speculation – and a “puzzlement”.
Stuart
There could be different labels operating out of the same factory, or an OEM making tools and relying on other brands to market them, sometimes with customizations.
Or, one brand could be the OEM, and another a broker, who acts as the middle man for a cut.
james M
Eh pretty much everything in most stores especially hf and most store brand tools are all just rebranded tools, except for the big tool makers which do however rebrand some of there tools in different brands that they themselves sell. Like hf isnt designing anything they just found a chinese supplier and of course u have to buy bulk with those guys but u too could easily get ur own tool brand. I do a lot of research on most things that i buy. For instance i Bought a hf welding cart that sears was selling in the store exact same cart same weight everything was like 160.00 and hf was 39.00, from the chinese company prob 20 or less . some really nice nickel barn door hardware that i seen 1500 dollars at this store that sells mostly that, found it for 180 direct from china.
Cr8on
The impact driver appears to have 3 buttons/indicators on the base of the grip, possibly muti speed.
Stuart
That could be. I thought they look like LED indicators, but if so where’s the control button? Grizzly does not mention this in the product description.
RCWARD
Just what we need , another battery platform
Joe framer
Can’t just print “Pro” on the label to be a professional tool.. Gizzly does make some good shop tools.
These are even cheaper then , techpo, they look like a Hitachi designer had a stroke. Great prices, Horrible tool specs.
I hate HF with a passion but I’d buy a Hercules tool before that Grizzly junk. I’d say grizzly really stepped in it this time.
Chad Wright
Any idea who builds these? They look identical to Menard’s Mastercraft 20v line. I have seen elsewhere people postulating that the Mastercraft are made by Makita, but nothing definitive.
Matt
Masterforce
Mike (the other one)
No thanks. I’ll stick with DeWalt. Might be more expensive, but I can count on it to work when I need it.
John Patel
I like off brands. I purchased them for years. I didn’t always have the job I have. People who can’t afford tools of quality certainly can’t afford tradesmen who charge $100 just to show up at someone’s driveway. So I care not for the elitist knocks on cheap tools and “races to the bottom.” Choices aren’t necessarily optimal when forced. Yes many will be crap, but for the people who need them, they are gold.
Joe framer
Well John, I think the point some people are making is that there are better tools , more power,and better quality for a couple dollars more ..
Whether you have money or not, shop wisely.
John Patel
I forgot to mention that now that I can afford limited quality tools such as Milwaukee, I’d rather spend the money hiring professionals that know what they are doing. I feel better about that than buying expensive tools.
John Patel
Limited means limited in the number of tools. I stick to basics drill/driver, light, oscillating tool.
Garrick
I’m wondering if Grizzly had enough fortitude (and financial resources) to find reasonable quality Chinese tools that could rebrand. I know Grizzly well (I have a hat that lets people know), and while they do sell some crap, most of their powered machinery with their own name on it is respectable, and often leads in the “best value” categories in tests from Fine Woodworking and others.
While they certainly are not professional tools, they may (just may) be the best of the rest.
Ever the optimist.
M T
Really really bad tools
Jim Felt
After reading all the above I’d add that the only thing that actually offends me is their ever so cavalier and pretentious use of the word “Pro”.
What kind of marketing genius thinks the true tool heads won’t be put off at the least and far more likely actually offended? Great marketing positions. Eh?
And isn’t that “serious” market Grizzly’s normal heavy tool market?
Scott K
It’s like putting “collectible” in the product name ?
John Patel
The misuse of terms like pro is sad. Its misleading at best and predatory at worse. None of the pros that I’ve hired ever had tools like these brands and that was educational enough for me. So I waited for good deals on a limited set of tools pros would use per this website.
Corey
You know, the wife keeps telling me to stop being so judgemental, but this absolutely screams, ” ______ brand’s brand new we-make-tools-too!!!” to me. A speed read of the comments shows support for my snap judgement lol
Unimog411
It is just impossible to produce and sell a good power tool at such a low price.
The What?
This is about as low quality as you can get. These make hf tools look premium. And as bad as hf tools are, they at least make their own products for the most part or at least have some originality to them. I bet not one of these tools were manufactured by anyone that is associated with grizzly shop tools or machinery tools. Most of the time it’s the shitty Chinese brands that ripoff the American brand designs. I didn’t think that it would be the other way around. This is not a good way to get name recognition within the tool market and it may effect the reputation of their commercial tools.
Delbert
The manufacture is JINDING, you could find all the tools with the same appearance from the official website http://www.jinding.com/product/24/
Will
You’re right. Drill, driver, and Recip are already sold on Amazon under “Construx Pro” with gray plastic. VonHaus and NoCry also seem to come from Jinding.
Will
The tool cases are a bit different, but these batteries look literally identical to the no-name “VonHaus” and “NoCry” brands on Amazon. Looks like a simple business decision for Grizzly. Adequate Li-Ion cordless tools are now available OEM from manufacturers the same as the Taiwanese and Chinese big tools that Grizzly has been sourcing for decades. It does NOT look like Grizzly are actually invested in the platform in any meaningful way though.
John D
Has anyone here including Stuart have actually used any of these tools? You can read specs and compare where they are made all you want but until you get the tool in your hand your just guessing. I would really like to hear from a few people who have used these on a regular basis. My nephew has the reciprocating saw and loves it. He used it at my cabin a few weeks ago to cut down some branches for the fire. That said I’m not sold on one person loving one tool. I would love to hear from someone who used the drills, impacts & circular saw side by side to Ryobi, Rigid or others.
Stuart
I haven’t tried them yet, and I haven’t heard any public feedback yet either.