Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Power Tools). This thread is read-only.
They seem worried!
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Not really sure why Ridgid is a much better buy than the Kobalt. The only thing I like about Kobalt is the battery packs are cheap, but I haven’t seen much expansion in the lineup of tools Ridgid has a pretty strong lineup. The only thing ridgid is missing is some yard tools as it is a fringe diy/pro brand.
This one Home Depot seems to be worried about Kobalt, is there a Lowe’s nearby? Home Depot in general doesn’t seem worried or they would have actually put together a well thought out display with printed graphics instead of markers on construction paper.
The stupid cheap batteries are about the only selling point I see to Kobalt, but they would need to put out something that another brand doesn’t have that I want in order for me to pick up any of them for myself. Ridgid has a much larger line of tools that I actually want like the 18v compressor and router.
If I wanted to go cheapest, I would buy harbor freight. L has consistently disappointed me on anything that’s theirs. Brand names are fine, but I drive extra to go to HD when I am not shopping local
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jhulten wrote:
50 minutes ago, jhulten said:If I wanted to go cheapest, I would buy harbor freight. L has consistently disappointed me on anything that’s theirs. Brand names are fine, but I drive extra to go to HD when I am not shopping local
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Welcome to the forums dude
Pretty much all my HDs are close to a Lowe’s and none of them are pulling this…this is just one GM that is trying to drive sales and for some reason thinks it’s a good idea to inform his customers that Kobalt has a new(ish) power tool line.
BMack37 wrote:
Pretty much all my HDs are close to a Lowe’s and none of them are pulling this…this is just one GM that is trying to drive sales and for some reason thinks it’s a good idea to inform his customers that Kobalt has a new(ish) power tool line.
Exactly.
Bashing your competition usually drives interest in it!
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All of the Kobalt 24v batteries (even the 1.5!) have fuel gauges on them. Whoever did this display was a moron.
Also, Ridgid’s cordless stuff has never been verified as being “best in class” in any category I’ve ever seen from videos and websites that run cross-platform reviews. They’re generally the definition of the B-tier. If anything, the consensus is they inflate their specs.
BMack37 wrote:
3 hours ago, BMack37 said:Pretty much all my HDs are close to a Lowe’s and none of them are pulling this…this is just one GM that is trying to drive sales and for some reason thinks it’s a good idea to inform his customers that Kobalt has a new(ish) power tool line.
Yeah it probably even violates their own policy somewhere for them to do this. Could get them in trouble not only with the competitor in addition to practically advertising a brand you don’t carry…Home Depot’s corporate office wouldn’t want anything to do with this.
ToolBane wrote:
1 hour ago, ToolBane said:Yeah it probably even violates their own policy somewhere for them to do this. Could get them in trouble not only with the competitor in addition to practically advertising a brand you don’t carry…Home Depot’s corporate office wouldn’t want anything to do with this.
I can see that. The tool game is not like the auto industry (Very little patents, loose in using each other’s products for comparison). At shows they paint other tools for comparisons for this reason…I doubt they’d care because this is basically promotion for what I think is a better feeling tool. The Kobalts are also newer too, I believe. Then they get someone googling and they see the price difference in the batteries or have someone second guess and check out Lowe’s selection…once someone who is ready to buy leaves the store, they generally don’t come back.
The absolute BIGGEST selling point is the Ridgid warranty and I don’t see it there, you should be able to see it from across the store.
Kobalt has both a pretty good heavy and reasonably stout compact impact wrench, which is a pleasant surprise for a budget platform. Personally I would love to see them expand, but I don’t know how sustainable their current 1-year return policy is.
Ridgid is well established as Home Depot’s premier exclusive brand (Milwaukee being sold elsewhere), with battery compatibility going back a few generations at least. Kobalt 24v Max replaced the interchangeable 18v/20v Max and has yet to really stand the test of time.
As others have stated, this comparison does little for Home Depot. In my opinion, Harbor Freight’s DeWalt comparisons are valuable to them because they may attract dedicated HF shoppers who want to feel like they are getting a professional quality tool without spending (admittedly not much) more for DeWalt. This Ridgid to Kobalt comparison only serves to make HD shoppers aware of Kobalt’s new line, with the two brands being similar in nature to each other (both store exclusives, both mid-tier with some encroachment on professional specs and quality, both offering latest generation brushless technology and advances previous incarnations did not, etc.).
Ridgid’s offerings speak for themselves. They have a myriad of lighting solutions Kobalt cannot match and were among the first manufacturers to offer cordless sanders, routers, and other tools. Kobalt 24v Max is still playing catch up with tools long offered by the likes of Ridgid, Porter Cable, and especially Ryobi.
Kobalt has a Jigsaw, OMT, and Sander out now which is more than I knew. Because it’s so new the product line was so limited at the start.
The TTI rep could also be responsible for the display.
DR99 wrote:
Just now, DR99 said:The TTI rep could also be responsible for the display.
I feel like the TTI rep would know better. This screams the store is losing sales to nearby Lowes and GM had the idea to compare brands. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was gone real fast the next time a TTI rep comes in.
BMack37 wrote:
18 hours ago, BMack37 said:The absolute BIGGEST selling point is the Ridgid warranty and I don’t see it there, you should be able to see it from across the store.
If the TTI Rep is responsible you would think the “lifetime warranty” would be stressed? Me, and guys I know started considering more products under this platform because of it.
I’ve noticed the TTI reps do tend to push Milwaukee and Ryobi more than Ridgid. I’ve never seen one in a Ridgid shirt either, Milwaukee or Ryobi only.
Milwaukee TTI owns outright the other 2 are weird name licensing deals. TTI cares about Ryobi because that brand sells a ton of product. I just noticed Ryobi got out of the painting game they don’t sell any corded or cordless paint tools now.
DR99 wrote:
10 hours ago, DR99 said:Kobalt has a Jigsaw, OMT, and Sander out now which is more than I knew. Because it’s so new the product line was so limited at the start.
I had to check over there and yeah, there are a decent bit more tools than I remember since even a few months ago. A lot of them are brushless, too.
Interesting they haven’t released an impact driver yet. They must want it to be something special, because their impact wrenches look extremely price-competitive already to my eyes.
ToolBane wrote:
2 minutes ago, ToolBane said:I had to check over there and yeah, there are a decent bit more tools than I remember since even a few months ago. A lot of them are brushless, too.
Interesting they haven’t released an impact driver yet. They must want it to be something special, because their impact wrenches look extremely price-competitive already to my eyes.
They have an impact driver must have just missed it. In this day and age impact drivers are considered standard equipment now I would have been shocked if Kobalt didn’t have one. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-24-Volt-Max-Lithium-Ion-1-4-in-Cordless-Variable-Speed-Brushless-Impact-Driver/1000061637
They have even more online: Hammer Drill, drill/driver, impact driver, 1/2″ impact wrench, 3/8″ impact wrench, jigsaw, ROS, 6.5″ circular saw, 4″ circular saw, reciprocating saw, Hacksaw, 5″ angle grinder, OMT, jobsite blower, leaf blower, 12″ string trimmer, work light, spot light, power source
https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=kobalt+24v
I like how they’ve given the display the full infomercial treatment with the blue side being all beat up and rough looking. 😀
I honestly never really bothered to look at Kobalt before but recently I saw a video of the brushless 3/8 impact wrench really impressed me. Its rated at 150 ft-lbs but the video showed it breaking loose lug nuts torqued at 220 ft lbs, which was 5 ft-lbs more than the 3/8 Milwaukee fuel could break loose.
Testing these tools to see the maximum upper end of how much torque it puts out, while interesting in an academic sense, seems a bit silly to me. I can’t imagine that anyone that regularly operates on 200 ft/lb torqued nuts would ever use something that takes 15 seconds to remove it, so the fact that the Kobalt can technically remove it is really only useful in the case of a “oh crap, this is the only tool that I’ve got so I really hope I’m not out of luck” situation.
I’m happy to be proven wrong, but personally, I’d step up to a more powerful tool if something took that long to break free.
ToolBane wrote:
On 2/22/2018 at 2:42 AM, ToolBane said:Interesting they haven’t released an impact driver yet. They must want it to be something special, because their impact wrenches look extremely price-competitive already to my eyes.
There is an impact driver.
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khariV wrote:
23 minutes ago, khariV said:
Yeah I think I just typed a search in that didn’t pull it up. That maybe they don’t sell it as a bare tool? Because I didn’t look past the bare tools.
Seem to speak to the point that displaying a competitor’s product mostly draws attention to said competitor’s product given all we’re talking about now is Kobalt stuff
ToolBane wrote:
Seem to speak to the point that displaying a competitor’s product mostly draws attention to said competitor’s product given all we’re talking about now is Kobalt stuff
Precisely
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I can’t help but wonder if there will be a re-branding of the Kobalt line with Craftsman power tools. Perhaps make each platform battery-compatible with the other. Lowe’s currently has DeWalt (which is their biggest seller by far), Porter-Cable, Hitachi, Bosch, Black and Decker, Bostitch (nailers only), and Kobalt battery platforms. As much as I like the Kobalt power tools they’re basically a rich man’s version of Porter-Cable’s tools (very basic stuff; not much innovation at all but covers most of the bases).