Craftsman CMCF940 M1 Review: A High Torque Impact Wrench That Outperforms Its Own Specs

Introduction

Craftsman has released its first brushless high torque impact wrench for the V20 platform, and the CMCF940 M1 kit makes a strong first impression. For $229 retail, before any sales, you get the tool, a battery, a charger, and a canvas bag that is genuinely decent for the money.

The kit carries Craftsman’s new RP badging, which appears to mark the brand’s brushless tools, in the same way earlier brushless models were rebadged when the line transitioned. But the most interesting thing about this tool is not the badge. It is how familiar the tool looks to anyone who has spent time around DeWalt’s high torque lineup, because both brands sit under the Stanley Black and Decker umbrella.

Size, Looks, and a Familiar Cousin

Physically, this tool is nearly a mirror image of the long-standing DeWalt DCF899 high torque. The vent holes, length (within 1/16 of an inch), width, toggle speed selector, hardware holes, and even the overall weight (within a few grams) all line up. The two batteries are not cross-compatible, though one will slide most of the way onto the other’s foot.

It is easy to confuse this with DeWalt’s newer, beefier, and pricier DCF900, but the DCF899 is the closer comparison and the one this Craftsman goes up against most directly.

On paper, however, the two are not equals. Both are rated 700 ft-lbs of tightening torque, but the Craftsman claims 1,000 ft-lbs of bolt breakaway torque versus the DCF899’s 1,200 ft-lbs, despite the older DeWalt being a six-year-old model. That downgrade in the advertised specs is worth scrutinizing, because past examples under the same corporate umbrella have shown rebadged tools with altered specs at different price points. So the numbers were put to the test directly.

Test Results: Torque That Beats the Specs

In the five-second working torque (tightening, forward) test, the Craftsman came out on top: 478 ft-lbs versus 453 ft-lbs for the DCF899, with median runs shown and one Craftsman run reaching 504 ft-lbs, a level the DeWalt never approached in repeated testing.

In reverse, where DeWalt claims a 20% advantage for the DCF899, the results went the other way too. The DeWalt managed 546 ft-lbs, while the Craftsman posted 570 ft-lbs. Not miles ahead, but certainly up rather than down, contradicting the advertised gap.

The gap widened further in the longer 10-second reverse max torque test, where the Craftsman delivered 670 ft-lbs against the DeWalt’s 629 ft-lbs. That result is even more impressive considering the Craftsman kit’s 4 Ah battery versus the DeWalt’s 5 Ah pack, and past testing has shown DeWalt 4 Ah batteries delivering less than 5 Ah packs on impact wrenches.

For context, the newer DeWalt DCF900, tested against the DCF899 with the same 5 Ah battery, posted roughly 830 versus 630 ft-lbs in that reverse test and pulled even further ahead in forward. So the DCF900 remains the more powerful tool in the family, but the new Craftsman comfortably outpaces the DCF899 it resembles.

One handling note: the trigger has a fairly delayed release, more so than the DeWalt’s, which is already not the best. Let go and the tool will spin and impact a bit further, so in testing the trigger had to be released early or pulled off the rig at the buzzer. In top mode, an intended short burst could accidentally become a longer one, so be careful with lug nuts.

What Is Inside: A Familiar Design With New Parts

Opening both tools with the same process and even the same size bolts reveals a layout, terminal and injection molding design, and electronics placement that are exact matches. But many of the actual components differ. The capacitors are different, the Craftsman uses a larger wire gauge despite the same voltage, and the trigger is a new part number, arguably a worse one, though board programming could play a role.

The brushless motor and impact mechanism look very similar but are not identical. The Craftsman motor has different cutouts, windings that are at least partially epoxied in place, and soldered plus epoxied terminals. It is also rated for an extra 100 RPM and roughly 200 more impacts per minute. The planetary housings appear interchangeable, though the LED drops from an SMD type on the DeWalt to a cheaper bulb-style unit on the Craftsman.

The hammer assemblies tell the real story. The DeWalt’s hammer carries T3 stampings and reliefs on the hammer face; the Craftsman’s lacks those reliefs and carries a T2 stamp despite being a much later model. The Craftsman hammer assembly weighs around 1.9 pounds versus roughly 1.8 pounds for the DeWalt, yet its higher-RPM motor drives the greater mass faster, producing more torque. A similar compound effect was previously observed when a larger Milwaukee hammer mechanism was paired with a higher-RPM motor.

The takeaway is that Stanley appears to have spec’d and priced the Craftsman below the DeWalt while forgetting to downgrade the internals. For V20 owners, that is a big win.

Value and Buying Advice

In a performance-per-size ranking, the Craftsman’s runs convert to strong scores, and at 8.77 inches long it delivers 76.1 ft-lbs per inch of length, making it easier to fit into tight spaces than the DCF899. With the same advertised tightening torque and a bolt breakaway rating that seems oddly lower than the older tool’s, the specs simply do not reflect the real-world performance.

The kit currently sells for $229, and with a typical battery-plus-charger kit discount the bare-tool equivalent works out to around $169, one of the most affordable high torques on the market. It ranks ahead of the Ryobi high torque, which offers similar performance in a lighter, more compact design, but for more money.

One caveat: DeWalt’s massive battery ecosystem still matters. The DCF899 benefits significantly from large packs like the 9 Ah FlexVolt with 21700 cells, surpassing the Craftsman’s 670 ft-lbs when paired with one. The Craftsman does offer a 9 Ah battery as well, but with traditional 18650 cells inside, so DeWalt’s range of battery options still brings a lot to the table.

If you are already invested in the Craftsman V20 system, this tool is an easy recommendation: it outperforms its own advertised breakaway rating, matches or beats the older DeWalt flagship it mirrors, and does so at a lower kit price than what the DCF899 originally cost.

Conclusion

The Craftsman CMCF940 M1 is arguably the most interesting high torque impact wrench release in its segment: a tool that was priced and spec’d as the budget sibling, yet delivered more torque than the DeWalt DCF899 in nearly every test. The delayed trigger and the cheaper LED are the main trade-offs, but the value proposition is hard to argue with, and the advertised spec downgrade turns out to be protecting brand hierarchy rather than reflecting real performance.