Flex Power Tools

[Steel_Rain]

Yo start a damn FLEX tools thread, most of us don't care

There has been much discussion about this topic in other threads, so I wanted to start a dedicated conversation.

I own many FLEX power tools, but about mid-way though 2023, I noticed a huge slow down in marketing from them. I think that’s when the brand started to realize they needed to change tactics. Since then, things only have gotten worse. I’ve seen the aisles in my local Lowes offering less and less space to the FLEX brand.

Fast forward to Q3 2025, and the brand appeared to be on life support. Since then, they have offered short fire sale pricing on many of the tools @ Lowes. During that time, I bought another 9
tools, getting many for free during these 12 hour bogo sales.

That all said, it appears now that Lowes will be dropping the brand and moving it to online only.

Over the last week or so, many YouTube channels have stated this, with the first one claiming to have spoken directly to Chervon reps:

Big flex news and live build!

https://shoplowes.me/3KdRQEq

www.youtube.com

My local Lowes have all cleared out most of the supply and put them on clearance tables outside the old FLEX aisle. Folks on Facebook are reporting they are going to start selling the display models next week.

I’m not happy about it because I actually like the tools. Despite being heavy and a little unbalanced, these were the only real tools I would put in the same power / quality class as my Makita XGT stuff.

For those who don’t know, FLEX tools has been around in Germany for about 100 years and was acquired by Chervon (not Chevron), the same supplier of SKIL, Kobalt and Ego power tools to Lowes.

Your thoughts are welcomed, especially if you own anything from FLEX.

 

[KnurledNut]

I could have sworn a few months ago the store manager at a Do It Best lumber yard I frequent asked me if I had heard of/what I thought about Flex power tools, and was looking into stocking them since they would be available soon. I said you must be thinking of a different brand since that was a Lowes exclusive, but maybe that was accurate? I'll have to ask again.

 

[tarbellb]

@Stuey over at Toolguyd is constantly updating his thoughts on Flex
Good place to catch up what he knows

As for the brand, tough to break into that category, I liked the tools.
Was super impressed with the innovative circ saw with near zero blade offset.

Is pick up that saw alone for the right price

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

Obviously, can’t speak for the US/ North America, over here, very limited availability - if any at all, none locally - at the big box stores. But they can be found with trade suppliers, a few around here are considered “Flex performance partners”.

Purely local observation: my closest trade supplier went from Bosch Professional -> DeWalt -> and for some time now Flex. Used to sell Festool as well, but dropped/ highly limited that. They might still order & sell the others, but floor space was allocated/awarded to Flex. At the same time, that might be purely coincidental, when Bosch dropped the Hawera name for consumables & Bosch Expert rebranding of consumables happened, they switched to Heller for consumables.

Readily available online. Lot’s of promotional prices/ offers.

My guess, they are offering the best margin for the dealers currently.

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[KnurledNut]

The writing was on the wall back in 2021 when Flex debuted.
A lot of Team GJ foreshadowing back then is playing out now:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...-brand-to-beat-milwaukee-dewault-flex.477659/

 

[yevangelis]

woohoo!

i actually just bought 5 nail guns at 99$ so now I'm one of yous.
The lady who unlocked the cage was a manager and confirmed that FLEX is done at lowes...
And as someone else noticed- the flex aisle is being filled with dewalt.

my concern is the warranty if the brand itself is shrinking...

 

[Steve_P]

Launching Flex in the US never made sense to me as there are already too many existing and well-known brands to stock with limited shelf space, and the name had ~zero recognition here and had to start off in an already crowded market. I was in Lowes a few months ago and strolled thru the tool section and they had Milwaukee, DeWalt, Craftsman, Flex, Kobalt.... and a few Makita and Bosch choices; I'm sure I missed a few, but most of the shelf space was the first three.

The Flex cordless that I've seen tested have done surprisingly well, but the reality is that DeWalt, Milwaukee, and Ryobi pretty much own the cordless tool market in the US and they're almost always on some type of sale. Launching an essentially unknown premium priced brand, only at Lowes?, and having to compete against behemoths DeWalt and Milwaukee that have built up their brands, selection, and following over many years is just destined to flop.

OTOH, Ego was the opposite- they came into the developing OPE cordless market with a leading product and were able to gain a lot of the market. Yes, I know cordless OPE has been around before Ego, but that stuff was toys compared to the current crop of products with 40-56V batteries which can actually do the job. Ryobi makes sense because of the price and selection and it's more than good enough for the typical homeowner who's going to drill a few holes a year; they also have an excellent OPE line with 40V batteries that's up there with Ego

I have a friend that went with Flex on his cordless tools because he just has to be different. I suggested Milwaukee or DeWalt, but nope.

 

[yevangelis]

i wonder if the flex stack tool storage is leaving lowes as well. none of that is on sale so doesn't seem to be following the tool trend.

 

[mrvm]

woohoo!

i actually just bought 5 nail guns at 99$

Same $99 deal here x3…if the Flex nailers perform well I’ll exit the compressor camp. The red/yellow cordless nailers at 3x the price were a deterrent for small projects.

 

[Steel_Rain]

I was in Lowes a few months ago and strolled thru the tool section and they had Milwaukee, DeWalt, Craftsman, Flex, Kobalt.... and a few Makita and Bosch choices

It couldn’t have been Lowes, they haven’t carried Makita or Milwaukee in many, many years. You might have mistook them for Bosch and SKIL?

 

[Steel_Rain]

Yo start a damn FLEX tools thread, most of us don't care

woohoo!

i actually just bought 5 nail guns at 99$ so now I'm one of yous.

How did you go from not caring to owning 5 nailers? you cheap son of a *****!

Welcome to the club.

 

[mrvm]

Contacted Flex yesterday about 3 leaky batteries. New replacement batteries are scheduled to be shipped out. The early 2.5 /5 Ah batteries have an odd issue with black goo leakage. There are no issues with the 6.0 Stacked batteries.

 

[Steel_Rain]

The early 2.5 /5 Ah batteries have an odd issue with black goo leakage.

Yup, good to see your getting them replaced.

PSA: if your in the FLEX lineup and you registered your packs, run them in a high load setting for the entire pack straight thought if possible. The “phase change” material will leak out via some black liquid. If it does, take a pic and start a claim with FLEX for free replacements. This mostly affected the early packs from 2021-2023, but many of those same packs are being sold right now during these fire sales. Who knows how long and much inventory FLEX will retain moving forward, so now is the time get replacements, especially since there has been a massive influx of Customers over the last 3 months.

 

[finn]

How did you go from not caring to owning 5 nailers? you cheap son of a *****!

Welcome to the club.

That’s how I ended up with my Metabo HTP Brad nailer last Christmas….$99 for the complete kit. It’s got a weird spring loaded mechanism activated by a battery motor to wind it up, but it worked perfectly for my project and weighed half of what a Milwaukee would. The weight was important since this was one of those over and behind my head jobs.

I bought it as a one use tool, but already found additional uses. All my other nailers are pneumatic, which means dragging out the compressor to shoot a couple if dozen fasteners, or, horror of horrors, using a hammer.

I don’t think Flex sells anything I don’t already have covered, though.

 

[zendriver]

There has been much discussion about this topic in other threads, so I wanted to start a dedicated conversation.





Your thoughts are welcomed, especially if you own anything from FLEX.

You tube drama aside, Lowes is probably "killing" the brand, because it is not selling.

They look like good tools, so if the fans like them, probably a good time to stock up and move on with life.

 

[dnschmidt]

Unless they find another retailer this is bad news for the future of FLEX. Milwaukee sells a hell of a lot more **** at Home Depot than they do from Acme Tools. They have a lifetime guarantee that doesn't mean much if the brand disappears.

 

[neophyte]

Flex was originally an industrial tool brand in Germany.
They used to claim that they “invented” thr angle grinder, but later seem to have dropped the claim, although they were so synonymous with angle grinders that the term “Flexen” is used for angle grinders in some countries.
The actual manufacturer was called Ackermann Schmitt.
Porter Cable owned the brand for a period before PC and Delta got purchased by Black & Decker, and Flex and PC basically occupied a similar niche as “industrial level” power tools used for specific tasks by professionals and in industrial settings.
Some Flex tools like polishers were sort of the industrial standard for certain tools in certain industries.

Chervon was likely manufacturing cordless tools for the brand for a decade before finally buying the brand, and Chervon was manufacturing the same or similar tools for brands like Matco.
The “Industrial” cordless versions of the Flex Industrial corded models are usually 18v.
The 24v line seems to have been a line made specifically for Lowes, or maybe an alternative line Chervon wanted to try.

As for Lowes “dumping” the brand, Lowes, and Home Depot, etc., periodically switch the brands they carry, like many major retailers.

 

[four.cycle]

Terms and Conditions of FLEX Warranty revised 11/25/25

Chervon / Chervon see Chervon (China) Trading Co., Ltd., Jiangsu, China /

Chervon / Chervon (China) Trading Co., Ltd., No. 99, Tianyuan West Road, Jiangning Economic And Technological Development Zone, Nanjing City, Jiangsu province, China / https://global.chervongroup.com/en / est. 2010 /

Flex / Flex, Chervon North America, Inc., 1203 E. Warrenville Rd., Naperville, IL 60563 / https://www.flexpowertools.com/ / power tools manufactured in China and Germany / see also Flex-Elektrowerkzeuge GmbH, Steinheim, Germany /

Flex / Flex-Elektrowerkzeuge GmbH, Bahnhofstrasse 15, 71711 Steinheim, Germany / https://www.flex-tools.com/ / est. 1922 acquired by Chinese Chervon Holdings Ltd. 2013 / see also Flex, Chervon North America Inc., Naperville, IL /

65% of the stock in the publicly-traded company is owned by institutions, not private individuals.

 

[KnurledNut]

Flex was originally an industrial tool brand in Germany.
They used to claim that they “invented” thr angle grinder, but later seem to have dropped the claim, although they were so synonymous with angle grinders that the term “Flexen” is used for angle grinders in some countries.
The actual manufacturer was called Ackermann Schmitt.
Porter Cable owned the brand for a period before PC and Delta got purchased by Black & Decker, and Flex and PC basically occupied a similar niche as “industrial level” power tools used for specific tasks by professionals and in industrial settings.
Some Flex tools like polishers were sort of the industrial standard for certain tools in certain industries.

Chervon was likely manufacturing cordless tools for the brand for a decade before finally buying the brand, and Chervon was manufacturing the same or similar tools for brands like Matco.
The “Industrial” cordless versions of the Flex Industrial corded models are usually 18v.
The 24v line seems to have been a line made specifically for Lowes, or maybe an alternative line Chervon wanted to try.

As for Lowes “dumping” the brand, Lowes, and Home Depot, etc., periodically switch the brands they carry, like many major retailers.

Chervon already was in the 24v game providing Lowes with Kobalt power tools before Flex appeared.

 

[Aaron_W]

No shade on the brand intended, but as much as I hate marketing, marketing and name recognition matters. Flex just doesn't have it.


Coming into a crowded cordless market would be difficult even with name recognition in another area. Trying to go up against Ryobi would be hard, but going after Milwaukee, Makita and Dewalt? I'll give them credit for trying, that takes some confidence.

Flex being made by the same company that makes Kobalt is not really a selling point. Ryobi may get a boost from the Milwaukee connection, but it doesn't really work the other way.

The Ego connection could have helped but, Ego does yard tools, an entirely different market.
As to the parent, I'm sorry but outside of tool super nerds most people would just be like "Chevron makes tools?" (I know it is Chervon and unrelated to Standard Oil, but how many do?). Chervon and TTI do not have the name recognition of Makita or Bosch.

As much as many say the corded tool is dead, they still have some value to a company. Since you don't have to buy in to a battery platform, a single purchase tends to be cheaper, and people are more willing to give a new brand a try. A corded orphan isn't an issue if it works. A cordless orphan is more difficult to maintain. Corded tools allow a new brand to build some trust.


Personally I've felt like Lowes has been going downhill for years. In the early 2000s I liked Lowes better than HD as it felt like they offered better quality stuff. For quite sometime now I've felt like Lowes was just getting HDs scraps. Flex getting out of the Lowes exclusive thing may be a good thing if it allows them to offer some good deals in more locations.



Shortly after his Flex video Den of Tools did one on Skil, which may also be leaving Lowes. He made kind of an off hand comment, that I think is true. There aren't many bottom tier entry level / casual DIY cordless tool brands anymore. Pretty much everything is aimed at the serious DIYr (Ryobi, Craftsman, Bauer, Hercules, Rigid, Kobalt) or professionals (Makita, Milwaukee, Bosch, Flex).
About the only real bottom tier stuff these days is Hypertough at Walmart and Warrior at Harbor Freight

 

[Vinny]

Flex was originally an industrial tool brand in Germany.

I was wondering if they were the same brand. I always heard high regard for the German Flex tools.

 

[Steve_P]

It couldn’t have been Lowes, they haven’t carried Makita or Milwaukee in many, many years. You might have mistook them for Bosch and SKIL?

It was Lowes, but I'm obviously wrong on brands; I wasn't really paying attention, just walking past to get some HVAC filters. I saw a lot of red (I guess Skil and Craftsman, a lot of DeWalt yellow, a little blue that was separate from Kobalt (must've been Bosch), and a little gray for Flex. I think they even had some Metabo as I saw some green and it wasn't Ryobi.

It's just waaaay too many brands fighting for a fixed amount of shelf space, and Flex trying to compete with the premium brands with no real name recognition in the US was just a recipe for failure. Flex can be a niche internet only brand here, but that just seems destined to die a slow death after a few years; as said, no one is going to use them professionally if they can't go to Home Depot, Ace, or Lowes to buy a new battery or drill when they dropped their other one 15 feet onto the driveway and broke it and need to get back to work right now. I'm sure this is why almost everyone in construction where I live uses DeWalt- readily available. I have some Makita corded tools, and I like them, but I can't remember the last time I saw someone using Makita commercially. In the 1980s, construction used Makita and Milwaukee 120V tools almost exclusively, at least where I lived. My neighbors use DeWalt and Ryobi (including me), and two of us also use Ego for battery OPE (including me). When there's a Home Depot a mile away, and two of them within 10 miles, an Ace Hardware 3 miles away, people typically buy what they can easily get.

 

[Steve_P]

As for Lowes “dumping” the brand, Lowes, and Home Depot, etc., periodically switch the brands they carry, like many major retailers.

True, but when that's your only major retail outlet, like Flex is with Lowes, that's probably the death of the brand in a few years in the US. If Ace Hardware dropped DeWalt they'd survive just fine. If Ace, Home Depot, Lowes.... dropped DeWalt and they had to switch to internet only, they'd be in trouble also.

 

[neophyte]

Chervon already was in the 24v game providing Lowes with Kobalt power tools before Flex appeared.

The Flex brand has existed for decades. (Since at least the 1950s).
Chervon bought the German Flex company, from Black & Decker, who had acquired the brand with their purchased of Porter Cable, since Porter Cable’s parent company had bought Flex.
Under Porter Cable, the Flex tools were dold as “Flex, by Porter Cable” and this goes back to the 1990s.

 

[neophyte]

True, but when that's your only major retail outlet, like Flex is with Lowes, that's probably the death of the brand in a few years in the US. If Ace Hardware dropped DeWalt they'd survive just fine. If Ace, Home Depot, Lowes.... dropped DeWalt and they had to switch to internet only, they'd be in trouble also.

Maybe they can “rent” some space at Harbor Freight if they don’t find another major retailer home.

 

[four.cycle]

Or, alternatively, maybe they can just buy Harbor Freight and make "Flex" the house brand.

 

[four.cycle]

The Flex brand has existed for decades. (Since at least the 1950s).

1922

 

[Steel_Rain]

 

[dnschmidt]

Or, alternatively, maybe they can just buy Harbor Freight and make "Flex" the house brand.

I think you've got this backwards. HF could buy Flex.

 

[pbon]

The only Flex tool I own is the VCE 44 vacuum that I bought at a ridiculously low price of $180 posted on GJ about 6 years ago. I recall reading that the vacuum is actually a rebranded Nilfisk Attix 44

 

[Monte]

btw. Flex....Flex is closing their german manufacturing plant by the end of the year.

 

[zendriver]

Harbor Freight seems to do just fine with their cordless tool offerings.

Why would they want anything to do with the Flex brand, that seems for the most part, no one gives a **** about?

 

[Callelle]

I think you've got this backwards. HF could buy Flex.

Why would HF buy FLEX when they have a rabid Hercules / Bauer fanbase already?

 

[dnschmidt]

I didn't say that they would. I simply stated that they could. Who knows Chervon might make the Hercules line already.

Why would HF buy FLEX when they have a rabid Hercules / Bauer fanbase already?I

 

[Steel_Rain]

From the Facebook pages, it appears that Lowes is starting to sell the display / floor models @ 75% off or more. You may want to check your local Lowes if your interested since this is not being advertised. One of my Local stores had already axed the FLEX aisle months ago, but the other two having started putting the new/display FLEX models on tables and racks in the tool section area. It appears that DeWalt and Metabo have started taking over the FLEX section at those locations.

 

[Bubba Fett]

I'm not surprised that they had a tough time getting a hold of the market.

I feel the same way about Metabo HPT. Both of these brands have a bigger market in Europe, but average DIYers, Pro-Sumers, and even professionals are not likely to be as familiar with them compared to DeWalt/Milwaukee/Makita, and Bosch/Ridged/Ryobi/Craftsman/Porter-Cable etc. Not to Mention the HF brands.

The market is simply saturated with brands that are more well known and have a wider selection of tools. Plus warranty and service is a factor.

 

[Steel_Rain]

I'm not surprised that they had a tough time getting a hold of the market.

I feel the same way about Metabo HPT. Both of these brands have a bigger market in Europe, but average DIYers, Pro-Sumers, and even professionals are not likely to be as familiar with them compared to DeWalt/Milwaukee/Makita, and Bosch/Ridged/Ryobi/Craftsman/Porter-Cable etc. Not to Mention the HF brands.

The market is simply saturated with brands that are more well known and have a wider selection of tools. Plus warranty and service is a factor.

Agreed. There was another post that quoted Den of Tools YT channel and how he made a good point about the LACK of budget tool brands these days. It really does seem that most **** tool brands are gone and the mid-tier brands are moving more upscale.

I guess it's good thing that power tool evolution has given us few bad options these days.

 

[Mainiac Mat]

Come on guys... this was pretty predictable.

When Flex hit the market at roughly the same price point as Milwaukee Fuel and DeWalt XR, the writing was on the wall, as those two brands have very faithful followers in the world of guys who make their daily bread with their tools.

Unless a new brand shows up with a new patented "killer app" type tool, that the trades guys all want, there's no way you're going to get them to jump ship.

 

[neophyte]

I'm not surprised that they had a tough time getting a hold of the market.

I feel the same way about Metabo HPT. Both of these brands have a bigger market in Europe, but average DIYers, Pro-Sumers, and even professionals are not likely to be as familiar with them compared to DeWalt/Milwaukee/Makita, and Bosch/Ridged/Ryobi/Craftsman/Porter-Cable etc. Not to Mention the HF brands.

The market is simply saturated with brands that are more well known and have a wider selection of tools. Plus warranty and service is a factor.

To be fair, there was “Metabo” and “Metabo HPT” with “Metabo HPT” being what was formerly Hitachi Power Tools.
Metabo wound up in a niche as a top manufacturer of high end angle grinders, and certain other specialty metalworking tools, and before that, had sort of wound up the the slightly mire expensive but also slightly higher quality power tool brand from Germany, back starting in the 1990s in the USA.
Metabo sort of got kicked down a notch when Festool heavily entered the market, and then actual Metabo started introducing, and discontinuing various cordless tools and battery lines.
The Metabo CAS battery system for cordless tool batteries was probably one of the better ideas from Metabo.

Hitachi Power Tools on the other hand sort of gad a weird market position.
The cordless tools were generally good, but nit as good as other professional brands like Bosch, or Dewalt, or Milwaukee, etc., but still a step up from Skil and Black & Decker lines.
The corded power tools varied from heavily and well built enough for professional use, to simple but well thought out designs, but at a lower cost than professional brands like Bosch etc.
The Hitachi nailers were generally very well regarded.
The renaming of Hitachi Power Tools to Metabo HPT is just confusing to anyone who didn’t follow all the minute changes to the brands.

As for Chervon using the FLEX branding, someone probably thought the brand name was good, because it was short l, had a long history, (even if the average person has no clue of the brand), and was memorable, which to be fair, probably is sort of true.
The actual German tools were genuine Industrial Tools, with prices and durability of tools made for industrial use, but nobody outside of very niche industries are going yo be aware of, or ever use tools of that type, unless by chance.
FLEX was basically originally a brand like Rupes, or Suhner, etc.

 

[cgrutt]

I shop alot at Lowes and generally prefer it over Home Depot, but never really spent much time looking at tools (aside from Hitachi/Metabo air nailers) because I have been heavily invested in Milwaukee (for better or worse). When FLEX started showing up I honestly recall thinking they were introducing a cheap brand to compete with the Ryobis, etc. Never really gave a thought to trying one out. For me its Milwaukee first only because I have a lot of batteries followed by Makita, Bosch and Dewalt. I used to have a strong preference for Porter-Cable when they were more of a professional brand. I started buying Festool for a while and really like them but they're too expensive. FLEX really never entered my thought process. Suspect that's the case with many others.