Metabo ups the Amp's on them Batt's.

Well, I ended up returning mine for a full refund.
The next Metabo vac needs to allow stacking for the next version and an option to run both corded and cordless.
I think a Vac would be one of the tools that really justifies having both options for more than one good reason. 20 min runtime on max and then a second battery on the charger? No thanks, I don't like the idea of having to have a pair of batteries for almost every machine. That means you need more than one charger on site and a very well planned out day for charging. And that just ain't me. I check batteries when I go to lunch (if I do) and at the end of the day.

For the larger Vacs the BT trigger on the hose that I got for my Festool CTL 26E is great! Just leave it on Auto and trigger on the hose for general clean up or working the battery machines. Works just as well as paired batteries if you ask me. It takes a few sec for the Vac to build up suction so pressing the hose button and then just go for it.

As for portability I did return to the Festool CTL SYS with the new smooth hose. It is a great little Vac for drilling and assembly work. And stackable... I think it is better than the Metabo, but not by a huge margin. Would I like a battery option for it?
Hell yes!

Best thing I’ve ever done was get the 8 bay Metabo charger. I have something like 15 batteries so each tool has a battery in it inside my trailer and then the charger has 8 full batteries. It’s to the point I just snag a new battery off the charger and maybe once a week I unhook it from my trailer and bring it inside the job to charge them all up.

I got a new one off eBay for $500. I’d pay the $900 though it’s so convenient.

Unavailable Henrik. It's either the slowest 2.5 Ampere chargers in single or 8-bay configuration, or the single 6.0 Amp "Ultra" chargers. Until recently there was a German-made 5.0 A "ASC15" too, but this has been discontinued in favour of cheaper east asian sourced product. Only Li-HD batteries can cope well with high-current charging, however.   Single-cell monitoring & carefully designed internal battery cooling aerodynamics supposedly minimise the risk of deadly heat damage.

I conclude, from Metabo's marketing perspective, that the alloy briefcase-style 8-bay charger is predicated upon the much-vaunted "cordless worksite" scenario. In reality it's probably best suited to either heavy users of dual battery powered tools, such as the big 9" grinder/s, cordless table saw & dual battery vacs or the bigger "old style" 2 x 18V SDS hammer. I suppose in certain circumstances lighter users could also benefit from ultra-slow, ultra-gentle charging too, provided there's sufficiently light demand &/or spare batteries available to compensate for the glacially slow 5 hour+ charge time of the most capacious batteries!

You can always cobble-up your own 2-bay charger in say a spare Systainer/Metaloc/Hitbox/Macpac/T-Max II or larger with a pair of "new style" (i.e. square footprint) ASC 30s or Ultras (ASC 15s won't fit), a tube of contact cement, a double adapter & strategically cut or drilled holes or slotting for the single power cord & cooling air. Same net result, but about 1/3 to 1/4 the cost. You'd even have sufficient storage space for a few extra batteries too.

Metabo themselves offer loose-packed charger kits containing a pair of ASC Ultras, & 4 big 8.0 AH Li-HDs in a Metaloc II or III (unsure which).

Remember, the new 9.0 & 4.5 AH Li-HDs are mere months away now, as predicted by Metabo's marketing department a year or so ago..

I may've exaggerated some of the charge times.  I was actually quoting figures from the thankfully discontinued SC60 Plus charger. This particular device outputs a mere 1.5 Amperes, giving times in excess of 360 minutes (6 hours) for the biggest batteries!  The ASC Multi-8 @ twice the current halves these abysmal times.  Still, 3 hours per charge isn't really all that great either!

Checking the manufacturer's published charge times for the 6.2 Li-Hds @ 130 mins (2 hrs 10 mins) using the ASC Multi-8 charger.  Not too bad considering there's so many bays available.  Bigger batteries charge slower, however.  The biggest will take some 180 mins (3 hrs) per charge, and 36v Li-HD batteries still take a quoted 260 mins (4 hrs, 20 mins) each.

Even the smallest Li-HDs (the discontinued 3.1 AH battery from a couple of years ago) need over an hour.  Not an issue at all for smaller, lower drain tools.  Given that the new dual-battery vac, table saw & WPB 36 grinder all have a charge-life of about 20 mins, you'd need to be constantly cycling a dozen or more batteries in pairs to maintain continuous work flow.  Even then, I'd imagine the need to spend a few hours at home charging up the last 8 or so batteries to allow a full day's work.

I used to have a pretty big property with a fairly large lawn area.  Using a cordless 36v mower I'd employ 4 batteries & 3 chargers to maintain constant relatively uninterrupted mowing, given that I'd only get about 20 minutes cutting per charge & allowing for the extra downtime for constant battery exchange, emptying clippings etc.  I always felt that it rather diminishes the cordless tool pundits' claim of increased cordless "efficiency" when so much unproductive time is actually wasted in battery exchange!

The biggest advantage of lower output multi-bay chargers is the gentle "trickle charge" nature of the lower current, which is extra-gentle on temperature sensitive cells. This should ensure longer overall battery life than is the norm using faster chargers.

Self adhesive velcro patches?

I've found old hi-density foam camping/yoga sleepmats to be useful to cannibalise for padding strips. After a few seasons of bashing through the scrub they tend to get a little tired, but are ideal recycled into padding for toolboxes, kneelers, workshop creepers etc.