If you have a lot of DeWalt, Ryobi or Craftsman 18V cordless tools and find yourself frequently running out of battery power, the Ultimate Battery Power Battery Belt is something you should definitely check out. Repetitious or continuous use of cordless power tools can be troubling, since you normally need to keep a collection of batteries on the ready. Recently, we spent some time with the new Ultimate Battery Power UBP5000BT-DW-CH Battery Belt which came with the battery adapter for top post style 18V DeWalt cordless tools. The concept behind this battery belt is that it gives you up to 3.5 times longer run-time - and that means getting through a project on a single charge and with no battery changes.

The Ultimate Battery Power UBP5000BT-DW-CH Battery Belt that we received included the UBP Belt, battery pack, smart charger, belt mounted power tool hanging hook, belt mounted accessory pouch, power cord and the DeWalt style battery adapter. For editorial purposes, our kit also shipped with battery adapters for Ryobi and Craftsman 18V tools so that we could check out all the available options.

18V Craftsman, DeWalt and Ryobi Battery Adapters

The belt, which serves as the means to hold the battery and any other accessories you would want to attached is well-constructed. It utilizes dual methods to secure the belt to your waist. First you wrap the belt around and use the hook and loop attachment areas to secure it in place. Next you adjust the heavy-duty nylon strap and quick release buckle to make sure it's really locked down. The belt is fabricated much like a high quality supportive tool belt that has built-in padding and even attachment points for suspenders. The battery is kept within a form fitting pouch on the backside of the belt. The belt is intended for both left hand and right hand users, and there are openings that allow the power cord to exit on either side of the battery case. To swap the cord exit direction, you just unzip the battery access flap and pull the battery out and then reinsert it with the cord exiting in the required direction. The battery pack itself is not much to look at since it is just a long black plastic case that encloses the NiCad battery cells. On the other end of the battery power cord is a plug-in DIIN-style adapter that fits into the base of the battery adapters and which also serves as the point where you plug in the included smart charger.

Universal 12-24V NiCad Smart Charger

As we mentioned previously, the three battery adapters that came in for this review were the 18V DeWalt, Ryobi and Craftsman style packs. The battery adapters are modeled to mimic the original manufacturer's design so that the battery fit and function of the tool is not changed. In the case of the DeWalt battery adapter it fit perfectly in the five different tools we tested it in. The power cord from the battery pack plugged into the base of the battery adapter and was held in place securely with a quarter turn lock ring. What we liked about the battery adapters is that they weigh almost nothing which, in turn, helps keep extra weight off of the tool so you can work longer and more efficiently.

18V DeWalt NiCad Battery Adapter

Testing and Use

Seeing how the need for extended run time can come in handy, we figured this was a good place to start our testing. Using a DeWalt 18V cordless circular saw, we had to cut a dozen sheets of 1/2" CDX plywood in half lengthwise for a project. We decided on testing the battery belt with a cordless circular saw because cordless circular saws draw more power than almost any other type of cordless tool. We also had a lot of work to do. We loaded in a brand new thin kerf blade into our saw and went to work. Through the process of cutting the plywood, the Ultimate Battery Belt didn't once fail to deliver power. in fact, power delivery appeared to be on par with a new XRP 18V pack and the UBP5000BT-DW-CH Battery Belt allowed us to cut all the sheets of plywood without having to change batteries even once. If you add up the length of all the cuts, we did almost 100 linear feet. Along with the plywood, we also cut up a dozen 8 ft 2x4's into 32" long pieces with the same saw and battery combo. Run time was not a problem.

Circular Saw Test

A few observations from this project is that when we first went to fit the belt on, it almost didn't fit. I have a 32" waist and when I wrapped the belt around, the hood and loop areas overlapped so far that they never made contact with each other. Thankfully, the outer nylon web belt was able to be adjusted down so that I was able to clip the quick release buckle closed. As I passed the UBP Battery Belt to a few of the other guys around the jobsite, it really did not start to fit guys until they were in the 38"-40" size range. Now, I know the stereotypical construction guy is supposed to have a bit more bulk, but perhaps a couple sizes would be a good recommendation for us to make. The belt was comfortable to wear, and even though the battery weighs in at around seven pounds, with it centered on the back side of the belt and it wasn't that noticeable. The other thing to get used to is that, when using this device, it tethers your tool to you. I had to continue to remember that the cordless saw was hooked to me when I was moving plywood around.

Wearing the UBP Belt

We also plugged the UBP Battery Belt into a few different drills, hammer drills and a reciprocating saw as well to verify fit and function. In all cases, the tools operated with ample power and ease. At the end of our testing session, we connected the belt to the included smart charger and let it give the battery pack some more energy. There are LED lights on the charger that indicate the charging status which make it easy to know when it is complete.

Conclusion

The Ultimate Battery Power UBP5000BT-DW-CH Battery Belt might be a great investment for the contractor or tradesman that finds himself frequently working where access to power is limited or where they are in locations where frequent battery changes might be a major inconvenience. It's also great to relocate weight from the tool itself to your waist and is perfect for those doing a lot of overhead or elevated drilling or cutting. While NiCad is an older battery technology, we have noticed that there are a lot of guys out there that are still dependent on it for their work. With the vast number of DeWalt 18V NiCad cordless tools on the market, we think that this battery solution will work well to keep your older tools useful for a lot longer. On top of that, the price is fantastic if you compare run-time and functionality to a standard NiCad replacement battery or two.