When I visited my closest Lowe’s store to scout out their Black Friday tool deals, I saw that they were clearing out a bunch of Flex 24V Max cordless power tool batteries and chargers.
It was very out of place, as the Lowe’s clearance table was right smack in the middle of the main aisle, right ahead of their other tool deals and promotional displays.
Since then, I’ve seen numerous mutterings in online enthusiast communities, where Flex tool fans were sharing news from their local Lowe’s stores.
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This wasn’t just one person talking about hypotheticals, I’ve seen quite a bit of chatter and field reports from fans of the brand, rather than hypotheticals from critics.
One post said that Lowe’s was dismantling their entire in-store setup that showcases Flex 24V cordless power tools.
Another person said that Flex was shifting to online-only at Lowe’s.
Today, I saw someone mention discounts of up to 50% on Flex cordless power tool products, with an end date of 11/19/25.
It’s being described as a “deal,” but from what Flex tool fans are saying, it seems they believe this is akin to a clearance or fire sale where everything must go.
One Flex fan says that their Lowe’s store manager said “get what you can while you can,” because the Flex tools are “going away.”
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From everything being said, it seems that Flex tools might still be available from Lowe’s website. How has that been going for tool brands such as CAT and their 18V cordless power tool system?
The rumors seem credible to me. It won’t be long until we see if everything being said by multiple sources is true or not.
Honestly, I’m hoping this won’t be a “I told you so” type of moment. But: I’m Worried About Flex Tools.
Flex’s parent company, Chervon, is truly a talented power tool company. Their former CEO is Executive Vice President of Merchandising at Lowe’s.
Before joining Lowe’s [in 2018], he [Bill Boltz] served as president and CEO of Chervon North America, where he oversaw the sales, marketing, engineering, and development of products under the EGO, SKIL and Skilsaw brands.
For Flex to be pushed out of Lowe’s stores – assuming the rumors are all accurate as I do believe them to be – two questions come to mind: what happened, and what comes next for Flex?
Flex does have an in-store footprint that Lowe’s won’t be leaving empty. Which brand(s) is all that space going to be going to? Certainly not ToughBuilt. Skil? I love Klein Tools, but please – no more orange! Dewalt? Bosch? Metabo HPT? Craftsman? Maybe Kobalt.
What does the Flex tool situation look like at your local Lowe’s store?
scott taylor
Also they have getting rid of the old stock of craftsman wrenches and sockets. Chrome for .99, impact for 2.99 and wrenches for 4.99 and it included the lose stock of the v-series ratcheting with the offset ends and selector switches. They include the 18MM and 7/8in large wrenches. Most were the Taiwan COO and a few with China and India thrown in. Picked up some of the odd sizes that most sets leave out, 16MM, etc
Paul
I thought they’re getting rid of Bosch at my local Lowe’s, they were deep discounting the impact bits for $1-$3 a bit. Flex seemed to be the sleeper brand at Lowe’s. My guess if FLEX leaves then they’ll fit more skil. I guess the newly merged Metabo could decide to make a bigger splash now
Rick
Perhaps Lowe’s are simply shedding their existing Flex stock in order to eventually replace them with newer Flex tools that use stacked lithium batteries?
I’m suggesting that because I’d read elsewhere that “They are just getting rid of older models to make room for the newer lighter & compact 24v stacked lithium series pretty sure. Also releasing new products, mostly corded from what I’ve seen”.
If true, that might explain the great Flex sale that you posted a few weeks ago: Huge Flex FREE Tool Deal of the Day at Lowe’s (10/6/25). Lowe’s just want to deplete all existing Flex stock, but not because they are dropping in-store sales of Flex.
And it would also explain you seeing in store sales for the older Flex batteries batteries, chargers and tools. My understanding is that you can use older Flex chargers to charge their stacked lithium batteries, but it takes longer. And now the only batteries for sale on their web site are stacked lithium.
If you search for any Flex tool online, they either have very few in stock, or none at all. Whether or not Lowe’s will ultimately be selling newer Flex tools/batteries/chargers in their stores, that certainly suggests that they are phasing out in-store sales of older Flex products.
Stuart
Previously they cleared out the higher performance tools and moved to compact and lower priced tools. They’re not going to now clear it all out again to bring in the pouch cell battery kits at higher prices.
I don’t recall the exact wording, but one of the first enthusiast reports I saw conveyed that Lowe’s would soon be dismantling their Flex tools displays.
Ciccio
The third question could be:
Are they going to replace Flex with another brand ???
paul
Lowes won’t kill it right away too much money to be made from battery sales for the next 5 years until the tools begin to fail in greater numbers. I just want a good clearance on their Stack Pack so I can buy two more pieces. I did notice price increases on some storage pieces.
Stuart
Flex Stack Pack is already long-gone from my Lowe’s stores.
Nathan
Pros didn’t go for it so off it goes. Is my guess. I wonder if they’ll bring back Bosch. Or add more depending on which store you go to
mizzourob
Guessing we might see more Skil as that brand has had barely any permanent shelf space, just promotional item like placement in stores. Maybe Flex and Skill will split the existing Flex shelf space as Flex fades away
Another crazy idea would be for Lowe’s to introduce a Utilitech/Project Source/(or other house brand) that is “powered by Skil like what Amazon did with Denali.
The warning sign about Flex has been the constant annual extension of their Flex for Life Founders Warranty. It was originally only for the launch year but keeps going as perpetual limited time promotion. If they sold enough at first why would they keep doing this, or if they wanted to take on Rigid’ LSA , Flex would make this standard instead of a cheesy as seen on TV promotion.
Sinclaire
I’m not too surprised. This is purely anecdotal of course but, despite their strong showings in head to head performance reviews, I’ve never once seen a Flex tool on site.
Jerry
I also have not seen one in the wild. I work around every trade from hospitals to supermarkets. Being a tool nerd, I pay great attention to what the techs & builders are using.
Chad
Changed all my tools to Flex during these sales and they outperform every brand and it’s not particularly close. Let’s hope they don’t throw out good tools to put in cheap Bosch or Skil junk.
Clay
Flex just come along too late to a flooded market?
Craftsman seems poised to be Lowe’s version of Ryobi, but I know few people that use their cordless tools. I would not expect them to get rid of them though, since the brand name still has some residual cred and they seemed focused on DIY customers.
But I don’t know many folks that use Metabo HPT* and Bosch’s 18v. I would not be surprised if they were removed from the brick and mortar stores or maybe even entirely.
*I love my HPT 36v tools. I think they are pretty underrated.
Jesse M
I have begun to collect Metabo/HTP tools. I was in the market for a framing gun. Was project specific. I have some Milwaukee M18 things. Older tools with brushed motors.
Milwaukee prices for a homeowner are ridiculous. Absolutely zero complaints with the Metabo stuff. Great tools. I would like it if I could walk into Lowes and see EVERYTHING Metabo has to offer at the store
Jim
Shifting the floor space from Flex to Skil would be an interesting move seeing how both are Chervon brands. Perhaps that would indicate that Lowe’s has become too top-heavy at the high end and wants more options at the low-mid price levels?
Stuart
I doubt they’re doing that either. If that plan would be supported by interest or sales volume, we would have seen greater visibility in the seasonal or main aisle promotions.
Patrick Johnson
If nobody’s buying Flex, as some have said, did WHERE did all those tools go? This feels like a course correction to me, but knowing Lowe’s as I do , I won’t be surprised if they are in talks with another brand for a deal similar to the Klein mega shift.
CMF
As I usually say, this is too bad. I never like to see the possible demise of a brand or company. It is a jungle and survival of the fittest always applies.
Flex is available in many other hardware stores; some independent and some small chains. They could still survive but we will see.
Dwayne Hicks
Flex has a large worldwide presence and is sold in a lot more places than just Lowe’s. The “Flex is dying” rumors have been going on for years. To me it’s a lot of anecdotal rumors and unconfirmed news.
The just rolled out three new corded polishers at SEMA and whole line of wall mount organization accessories that work with Stack Pack.
This all seems like more of a Lowe’s thing than a Flex thing.
Stuart
Flex was known for polishers.
The wall rail storage system looks fine but nothing special. https://toolguyd.com/flex-track-lock-wall-storage-system/
Yes, Lowe’s being rumored to be clearing out Flex and dismantling the floor displays is a Lowe’s thing.
The big question is whether that’s impactful or not. Lowe’s is likely Flex’s biggest customer in the USA. Retail visibility can be vital to a brand’s growth, sales volume, and success.
If Lowe’s is indeed purging all Flex products from stores, it’s going to be a big blow to Flex in the USA. They can still focus on international sales, where they were known for polishers, but that won’t help their USA business efforts in an appreciable amount.
I wouldn’t say that this is the very end for Flex, but it definitely can’t be good for them.
ColeTrain
This is crazy and also bring Bosch back? There already at Lowe’s. Also do people buy Bosch more than flex? It doesn’t surprise me a bit since they got rid of skil real fast and quietly just to promote more Craftsman, so I doubt they have a problem offloading another Chevron brand. The interesting thing is they’re promoting flex stuff at my Lowe’s at least the tool boxes anyways. I’m not sure if any other laws is like this but they also to my surprise expanded that tough built stack tech shelf…. Of course there are no products on it so who knows how that will go. Lowes seem to dive in and then dump tool brands pretty quickly it seems. Remember worxs and works being there because I do. I was happy to see them go but the sad thing is flex and skil make great stuff. I would argue You Don’t see much new stuff from flex or kobalt so I get it but skil puts out some stuff every few months.
Christopher Bigos
I wonder if their run of defective batteries had anything to do with it. They used a spongy rubber like substance around the batteries for the thermal control, and it turned to goo and leaked out of the batteries. My brand new tool had batteries that were leaking glue and Flex replaced them.
Rog
Maybe they can become TSC’s newest exclusive power tool brand…
Stuart
I completely forgot about what happened to Porter Cable!! Great example.
Kenny
I was looking at some Flex tools just this morning at Lowe’s when a Bosch rep approached me and asked what I was looking for. Naturally he tried to steer me towards Bosch but he did say that Lowe’s is phasing out the Flex tool line and that before long Bosch would be taking the display area where Flex currently has. I like the Flex tools I currently own but am concerned about the future. Especially any warranty issues with their lifetime warranty.
Jesse
Yeah, was wondering when you’d report on this. I was in my local Lowe’s the other day and saw that all the Flex stuff was 50% off. A hell of a deal. I asked an employee and they confirmed to me that their store would no longer be carrying Flex tools. I didn’t clarify if this was their store or all Lowes, but he didn’t seem to know more beyond that. Other places (notably Acme) are still supporting the Flex brand still, so maybe this Lowes fire sale could be a chance for people to get into the battery system, though it seems a bit risky long term. As a carpenter in the Twin Cities I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Flex tool on a job-site. Ever.
They’re good power tools, but there’s such a huge selection of other brands that are just as good. I think the market is too saturated.
MattT
While I was in my local (Michigan) Lowes today I went to check out their Flex tools display. The signs indicated they’re running a sale with some tools for $99 (“Up to $100 off”) and some tools for $149 (“Up to $50 off”), but nothing explicitly marked 50% off and no yellow clearance stickers anywhere. Not really anything to indicate they’re dumping the line.
The shelf display looked like it had a sizeable selection from the Flex cordless lineup and took up about 3/4 of the shelving unit, with the other 1/4 being Metabo HPT cordless.
Also, at the other end of the store where all the modular storage stuff is, they had a shelving section (in one of their “mini aisles”–I don’t know how to describe it, but if you’ve been to Lowe’s I think you know what I mean) dedicated to Flex’s modular storage components, and it was pretty full.
Charles
Home Depot has two pro brands and Lowes basically has none. I bet they are bringing back Bosch, maybe expanding DeWalt again
Stuart
3 – Dewalt, Milwaukee, Makita.
Lowe’s has some Dewalt, some Bosch, some Metabo HPT.
Rob
Makita customers don’t buy tools at Home Depot.
Justin V
I have 3 local Lowes stores. 1 of the 3 has removed the FLEX aisle completely and replaced with Dewalt. They have a single dusty end cap with clearance pricing on the remaining items.
The other two stores have not restocked the FLEX aisle and have started moving in Metabo tools in their place.
I’m angry. I’ve been a FLEX tool fan for about 2 years and own about 12 FLEX products. To see them go away from Lowes to “online only” and losing focus on the working man is a betrayal. Once confirmed they are dropping out of Lowes, I’ll sell them. I still both Makita LXT/XGT to fall back on thankfully, but Chervon isn’t exactly my favorite brand anymore.
JASON NERI
They are clearing out original 24v to go stacked lithium and compact, as well as migrate a lot to online only.
Rob
Stacked came and went. Just as multivolt came and went.