fartymarty
Well-known member
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Bottom line: Winner (IMO) Craftsman Lowes
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This is a quick comparison of Craftsman 20v Sears combo drill and impact driver set vs a similar priced duo from Craftsman at Lowes (when on sale). It is not a recommendation for either over any other brand. I don't use these enough to be an expert on cordless tools, nor will I in the future be able to tell you which has better durability (unless either dies early). This is more of a first impressions out of the box look see. I purchased the Craftsman from Lowes first and then when I had points to burn at Sears, I decided another set wouldn't be a bad thing.
The Lowes Craftsman (again IMO) looks better, they are a brighter red color, the Sears versions (in contrast to the Sears photo) are more of a burgundy red. So who gives a damn about color?..well some here might considering how much talk has been generated about the colors available for HF tool boxes and carts.
It's may only be a coincidence that the Lowes Craftsman red seems similar the the Harbor Freight Bauer tools color, and the Sears Craftsman burgundy red seems very similar to the Harbor Freight Chicago Electric tools color.
Batteries. The Lowes version comes with Craftsman batteries, the Sears versions come with DieHard batteries. They are not interchangeable. The Lowes Craftsman version have a larger more robust appearing retention tab than the Sears DieHards. The Craftsman batteries have a button on the battery to check power with 3 LEDs that light up for full to near full charge. No buttons or LEDs on the DieHards. The supplied charger for the Lowes Craftsman batteries is a direct to 120VAC plug in and can be wall mounted or counter top used. It's charging status display is large and easy to view from across the room. The Supplied Sears Diehard charger is a wall wart with slender low voltage cord going to the small slip-on top of battery adapter. The DieHard unit is not wall mountable.
Additional chargers are available for both with the Sears DieHard unit being slightly cheaper and it's a more robust looking (it is wall mountable) than the one that comes with the Sears Combo set. I would say that the charger advantage would go to Sears IF the cheap looking one that came with the Sears Combo was available separately at a much lower price. I don't think that it does. Even though the Sears DieHard additional charger is nicer than the one that comes with the Sears Combo package, it still isn't as nice as the charger that comes standard with the Lowes combo and which is available separately. The additional charger from Sears is usually about $18 cheaper and usually comes with an extra battery.
Perhaps of little importance to many, but I found it mildly irritating that the Sears Craftsman models would not stand up on their base without the battery attached for ballast. The Lowes Craftsman units do stand on their base without the battery attached.
Both sets come with a bag. The Lowes version comes with a Red bag that can be folded fairly flat and put away. The Sears Craftsman combo comes with a black bag that has an internal reinforcement in the top of the bag (cardboard? Plastic?) which hindered folding it up, but would probably be helpful if the bag is used regularly. My drills & drivers will be stored in a rack in the garage so the folding bag was better for me and I guess the reinforced bag would be better for someone that regularly uses the bag for transport to a job site. The carrying bag is the only feature that I think is better with the Sears Combo. So far operationally the drill and driver units themselves seem to work the same. Time will tell.
Bottom line: Winner (IMO) Craftsman Lowes
-------------------------------------------------
This is a quick comparison of Craftsman 20v Sears combo drill and impact driver set vs a similar priced duo from Craftsman at Lowes (when on sale). It is not a recommendation for either over any other brand. I don't use these enough to be an expert on cordless tools, nor will I in the future be able to tell you which has better durability (unless either dies early). This is more of a first impressions out of the box look see. I purchased the Craftsman from Lowes first and then when I had points to burn at Sears, I decided another set wouldn't be a bad thing.
The Lowes Craftsman (again IMO) looks better, they are a brighter red color, the Sears versions (in contrast to the Sears photo) are more of a burgundy red. So who gives a damn about color?..well some here might considering how much talk has been generated about the colors available for HF tool boxes and carts.
It's may only be a coincidence that the Lowes Craftsman red seems similar the the Harbor Freight Bauer tools color, and the Sears Craftsman burgundy red seems very similar to the Harbor Freight Chicago Electric tools color.
Batteries. The Lowes version comes with Craftsman batteries, the Sears versions come with DieHard batteries. They are not interchangeable. The Lowes Craftsman version have a larger more robust appearing retention tab than the Sears DieHards. The Craftsman batteries have a button on the battery to check power with 3 LEDs that light up for full to near full charge. No buttons or LEDs on the DieHards. The supplied charger for the Lowes Craftsman batteries is a direct to 120VAC plug in and can be wall mounted or counter top used. It's charging status display is large and easy to view from across the room. The Supplied Sears Diehard charger is a wall wart with slender low voltage cord going to the small slip-on top of battery adapter. The DieHard unit is not wall mountable.
Additional chargers are available for both with the Sears DieHard unit being slightly cheaper and it's a more robust looking (it is wall mountable) than the one that comes with the Sears Combo set. I would say that the charger advantage would go to Sears IF the cheap looking one that came with the Sears Combo was available separately at a much lower price. I don't think that it does. Even though the Sears DieHard additional charger is nicer than the one that comes with the Sears Combo package, it still isn't as nice as the charger that comes standard with the Lowes combo and which is available separately. The additional charger from Sears is usually about $18 cheaper and usually comes with an extra battery.
Perhaps of little importance to many, but I found it mildly irritating that the Sears Craftsman models would not stand up on their base without the battery attached for ballast. The Lowes Craftsman units do stand on their base without the battery attached.
Both sets come with a bag. The Lowes version comes with a Red bag that can be folded fairly flat and put away. The Sears Craftsman combo comes with a black bag that has an internal reinforcement in the top of the bag (cardboard? Plastic?) which hindered folding it up, but would probably be helpful if the bag is used regularly. My drills & drivers will be stored in a rack in the garage so the folding bag was better for me and I guess the reinforced bag would be better for someone that regularly uses the bag for transport to a job site. The carrying bag is the only feature that I think is better with the Sears Combo. So far operationally the drill and driver units themselves seem to work the same. Time will tell.
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. 2 months later it stopped working. I took it to lowes and they replaced it with a brand new one no questions asked. The new one is working perfectly and my son loves it.