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Designers: Austin Johnson, Taku Ohi, Nathan Smith, Nicole Bowen, Techtronic Design, Techtronic Industries Power Equipment, Anderson, South Carolina, USA
Manufacturer: Techtronic Industries Power Equipment, Anderson, South Carolina, USA
Multitools have become one of the most common and versatile tools on the job site. They boast a wide range of uses, allowing tradesmen to make a variety of cuts in multiple materials, sand surfaces, remove grout, paint, and rust, and even blast through imbedded nails and other debris that would cripple a traditional saw. With such usefulness on the job site, it is important that a multitool be powerful and comfortable.
The RIDGID R86242 Brushless Multi-Tool is a generational step up in comfort, power, precision, and control. Inspired and crafted by comprehensive field research, the R86242 is packed with innovative design features throughout.
The blade change system is controlled by an easy-to-actuate cam lever. A magnetic blade cleat hastens blade installation, and the knurled low-profile retention pin provides the security users demand without workpiece interference. Unlike other manufacturer's complicated and proprietary blade locking systems, RIDGID's R86242 is compatible with all industry-standard 8-point, 12-point, OIS, and QUICK-SYSTEM blades and accessories - ensuring that RIDGID users have unfettered access to their preferred implements.
Hidden within the compact and ergonomic outer form are 10 strategically placed dampeners that reduce the vibration felt by the user by 70% compared to RIDGID's last generation multi-tool. This greatly reduces hand fatigue and discomfort while cutting whether performing low-speed fine detail work, or rapid cuts with the unit's top end speed of 20,000 oscillations per minute.
A multi-tool's flexibility means there's no one right way to hold one. The RIDGID design team developed an extended length variable speed trigger that gives precise, on demand speed control no matter how the user grabs it. Index, thumb, even pinky - any digit can reach the trigger on the R86242. The carefully contoured housing and handle sections promote grip agility, and the expert ergonomic sculpting and strategic texture placements the RIDGID design team has become renowned for are in full display, making the R86242 secure and comfortable to use despite its monstrous cutting capability.
Further speed control is offered by the category-first digital control panel, allowing users to select 3 speed thresholds to tune the tool's maximum OPM to the task at hand. A 4th setting commits the tool to an off state, preventing accidental actuation while in storage - or in the wrong hands. For long-runtime situations, a trigger lock-on keeps the tool going while relieving the hand from trigger actuation.
Like all RIDGID 18V Tools, the R86242 Brushless Multi-Tool is compatible with ALL 18V RIDGID batteries dating back to the brand's cordless launch in 2003. Part of RIDGID's class-leading BRUSHLESS series, it features a state-of-the-art custom-wound brushless motor for optimised power demand, extended runtime, and ludicrously fast speeds. RIDGID is a job site-focused tool brand, and the R86242 Brushless Multitool is just the latest in a long pedigree of professional trade tools that the brand has championed for more than 2 decades.