Best cordless drills?

[Stuey]

I test a lot of cordless drills and have come out with my 2014 recommendations earlier today.

http://toolguyd.com/best-cordless-drills/

Milwaukee's FUEL drills take top spots in both 18V and 12V categories. While I would like to say it's a close race, it's really not.

Bosch's older model is still my personal pick, and Dewalt's 3-speed brushless deserves special mention for those who don't mind the weight and size.

Hitachi and Bosch are my top 18V and 12V budget recommendations, respectively. There's a new budget-aimed Hitachi kit, but I find the older model, despite its loud color scheme, is the better buy.

Agree/disagree? Discuss here, there, or both. Maybe there's another cordless drill I might have missed.

 

[CJM8515]

What do you think of the non fuel 18v milwaukee?

 

[Beemer533]

I must be a lot stronger than I realized, I've never considered the Dewalt 20v stuff heavy

 

[Stuey]

What do you think of the non fuel 18v milwaukee?

The new one came out a few months ago, and I haven't tried it out yet.

It looks great on paper spec-wise, and looks like it has the same updated geometries as the Fuel models.

Price-wise, they're a little high. It's not quite inexpensive enough to be a budget model, but it's still appreciable cheaper than the FUEL model.

In the $150-$200 range the 2606-22CT is a very appealing model. Again, just going according to specs and what I have experienced with other M18 Fuel and non-Fuel tools.

I think that the 2606 will be a much better buy if it's included in a drill + impact combo kit for $225 or less.

I must be a lot stronger than I realized, I've never considered the Dewalt 20v stuff heavy

An extra pound or two all day adds up.

 

[Beemer533]

An extra pound or two all day adds up.

Very true, I guess I just compared them to the 18v XRP type and the difference is huge. I'm in the transition point now selling off most off my 18v stuff for 20 & 12v models..

One of the brushless models I have is the DCD790B; especially with the smaller 1.5 or 2 Ah batteries it feels like I can use it forever... I never really noticed a weight difference of as much as 2 lbs with other models?

Do you know of a comparison table somewhere?

Obviously if you get the premium HD drill with 3ah battery it is going to be heavier than a normal 3/8" drill, but they aren't meant for the same purposes...

 

[CJM8515]

I was specifically looking at Model # 2697-22-48-11-1840, which is the $270 dollar combo deal with impact and drill 3.0ah batteries and the 4.0ah batt for free.

Fuels but about $100 more.

 

[Stuey]

Very true, I guess I just compared them to the 18v XRP type and the difference is huge. I'm in the transition point now selling off most off my 18v stuff for 20 & 12v models..

The difference is huge, even from the XRP to the 20V. XRP to 20V brushless is incredible, but the 20V brushless is still larger and heavier than competitors' best 2-speed models.

I was specifically looking at Model # 2697-22-48-11-1840, which is the $270 dollar combo deal with impact and drill 3.0ah batteries and the 4.0ah batt for free.

Fuels but about $100 more.

That has the older hammer drill. Decent for the money, but a little dated.

There are two 2697-22 kits - one with the older tools (http://www.milwaukeetool.com/power-tools/combo-kits/2697-22ct), one with the newer ones (http://www.milwaukeetool.com/power-tools/combo-kits/2697-22).

There are advantages to the newer models, but with that Home Depot bonus combo kit, you get the tools for substantially less and you get a free bonus battery.

The new hammer drill is also available in a bonus kit - 2607-22-48-11-1840 at the same price, but you would need to spend an extra $99 on the impact driver. But, here you would get (3) 4.0Ah batteries instead of (1) 4.0Ah and (2) 3.0Ah ones, and you get the newer tech. But for the price, a little more and you can get the Fuel combo 2797-22-48-11-1840 .

If you want greatest bang for the buck and are set on Milwaukee, the kit you mentioned is a good bargain. Not the latest and greatest tools or the highest capacity batteries, but you save $99 to $130.

 

[GSteg]

My older 1/2" Bosch Compact DDS181 drill is my to-go drill. It's not brushless, but its dang powerful for the weight. Another drill I'm very fond of is the Ingersoll Rand D5140. It's not talked about much in a world dominated by Milwaukee/Dewalt/Bosch, but I've been impressed with the power. It's rated at 700 in-lbs of torque using a brushed motor and 3.0AH battery. It's very smoooottthh. I've used it to mix concrete and other projects where I normally use a corded drill and it seem so be doing quite well. It does lack an LED light (baffles me), and you cannot use it with their 1.5ah compact battery.

 

[CJM8515]

Thanks for all the info. Im pretty set of milwaukee b/c I have several other tools of theirs and have yet to break anything. I managed to fry a makita 18v (dont mix thinset with one of those compact drills!) and my dewalt stuff is all nicad and old. its just for personal use, so I doubt I will be unhappy.

 

[cashishift]

A little surprised to not see any mention of the DeWalt 12v Stuff..

 

[ADSR]

A little surprised to not see any mention of the DeWalt 12v Stuff..

Dewalt doesn't push the line, or spend any money promoting it. IMO it's dead in the water.

 

[Davefr]

I test a lot of cordless drills and have come out with my 2014 recommendations earlier today.

Maybe there's another cordless drill I might have missed.

I would have added Panasonic to the list if you're looking for "best of class".

 

[GortonsFisherman]

Great, another mine's-better-than-yours thread, even if that wasn't the intention.

 

[jdmstr]

I test a lot of cordless drills and have come out with my 2014 recommendations earlier today.

http://toolguyd.com/best-cordless-drills/

Milwaukee's FUEL drills take top spots in both 18V and 12V categories. While I would like to say it's a close race, it's really not.

Bosch's older model is still my personal pick, and Dewalt's 3-speed brushless deserves special mention for those who don't mind the weight and size.

Hitachi and Bosch are my top 18V and 12V budget recommendations, respectively. There's a new budget-aimed Hitachi kit, but I find the older model, despite its loud color scheme, is the better buy.

Agree/disagree? Discuss here, there, or both. Maybe there's another cordless drill I might have missed.

Not sure what your price range is but i can make a few recommendations from the bosh and hitachi lines. personally i have both Bosch 12v and 18v lines and i couldn't be happier with my bosh drill and impact driver.

High End

Hitachi DS18DBL
http://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-DS18DBL-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-
Brushless/dp/B007F5ICI0

Bosch DDS182
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HUCUGBY/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Lower End

Hitachi DS18DSAL (best buy)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001N2NTEI/?tag=atomicindus08-20

DDBB180-02 (best value)
http://www.lowes.com/pd_329087-353-...l&pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=bosch+drill&facetInfo=

i bought the Bosch DDBB180 kit from Lowes a few months ago and couldn't be happier with it especially for the price paid. Don't get me wrong im a huge milwaukee fan and have some of their tools but as far as cordless drills i think bosch is the best.

 

[jdmstr]

Great, another mine's-better-than-yours thread, even if that wasn't the intention.

it seems to always go that way on here!

 

[ADSR]

Great, another mine's-better-than-yours thread, even if that wasn't the intention.

That's ok, because my fuel is on top!

 

[GortonsFisherman]

That's ok, because my fuel is on top!

 

[Beemer533]

Dewalt doesn't push the line, or spend any money promoting it. IMO it's dead in the water.

What makes you say dead in the water? I don't know, but either way I use them, dead in the water or not

 

[crucible]

Love, love, love my Bosch 18v impact-mine has two impact speed settings and another for non-impact use.

http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-26618-01-18-Volt-Lithium-Ion-Batteries/dp/B003HIWR12/ref=sr_1_7?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1402513931&sr=1-7

 

[Fifelaker]

Best cordless drill I have ever used was a Panasonic by far. I have used most all of them at one time or another but the Panasonic out worked them all. Most of my time on them was screwing 5/4 decking.

 

[bcradio]

I would say 12v award definitely goes to M12 Fuel tools.

 

[BK13]

Great, another mine's-better-than-yours thread, even if that wasn't the intention.

Yeah, Stuey, WTH are you thinking, writing an informative article after actually testing what you write about...

/sarcasm

 

[Monte]

Festool...Fein...

 

[cashishift]

Dewalt doesn't push the line, or spend any money promoting it. IMO it's dead in the water.

Very surprised about this, the tools are great.

Well built, well designed..

I fill out all their survey's for the Dewalt Insight group.. today's survey was heated boots that run off 12/20.. and a heated "core" wrap.

I really wanted to be like.. you are losing your asses in the 12v market to Milwaukee.. now I know why!

 

[Kin Creed]

As usual, great information Stuey. Keep up the good work!

I have the 18V Ryobi and 12V Milwaukee and they are both very nice. 12V Milwaukee is just such a nice size for anything but heavy duty jobs. Then you just pull out the 18V and done.

I also have a Ridgid 12V which is nice, but there are very few other 12V Ridgid tools so that's a bummer.

I think Bosch looks cool and the boxes are crazy nice.

Larger size 12V batteries (like you see on DeWalt and Ryobi) are a deal breaker for me, if I'm using 12V I want the battery small. Otherwise you might as well go 18V. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Dust Devil]

I have always preferred Makita over all the rest when it comes to cordless.

 

[Stuey]

My older 1/2" Bosch Compact DDS181 drill is my to-go drill. It's not brushless, but its dang powerful for the weight. Another drill I'm very fond of is the Ingersoll Rand D5140. It's not talked about much in a world dominated by Milwaukee/Dewalt/Bosch, but I've been impressed with the power. It's rated at 700 in-lbs of torque using a brushed motor and 3.0AH battery. It's very smoooottthh. I've used it to mix concrete and other projects where I normally use a corded drill and it seem so be doing quite well. It does lack an LED light (baffles me), and you cannot use it with their 1.5ah compact battery.

I have tried the IR 12V, and they are phenomenal, but haven't seen the 20V firsthand yet.

I would have added Panasonic to the list if you're looking for "best of class".

Panasonic has promised to get tools in my hands for well over a year now. Their PR and media contacts cannot even answer simple product questions, but I thought they would be able to figure out how to send a test sample. Guess I was wrong. I can't comment on tools I have zero experience with, so Panasonic wasn't even considered.

Great, another mine's-better-than-yours thread, even if that wasn't the intention.

That really wasn't the intention, sorry you feel that way.

What makes you say dead in the water? I don't know, but either way I use them, dead in the water or not

I think he meant the line. Dewalt progress towards 12V expansion has been extremely slow. From what I hear they're not particularly strong sellers, at least compared to the 20V Max line, which means Dewalt efforts are probably going to be focused on 20V expansion sooner than 12V.

As usual, great information Stuey. Keep up the good work!

I have the 18V Ryobi and 12V Milwaukee and they are both very nice. 12V Milwaukee is just such a nice size for anything but heavy duty jobs. Then you just pull out the 18V and done.

I also have a Ridgid 12V which is nice, but there are very few other 12V Ridgid tools so that's a bummer.

I think Bosch looks cool and the boxes are crazy nice.

Larger size 12V batteries (like you see on DeWalt and Ryobi) are a deal breaker for me, if I'm using 12V I want the battery small. Otherwise you might as well go 18V. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks!

Battery-in-handle designs are more compact, but battery-at-bottom designs like Dewalts' tend to have slimmer handles. While I favor Bosch and Milwaukee's 12V drills over Dewalts', Dewalt's has an edge when it comes to ergonomics.

 

[Kin Creed]

Possibly venturing off topic, but I seem to remember Makita as a pretty dominant player in high quality cordless tools many years ago. They still look great, but I wonder how all the others caught up? Maybe it's just the proliferation of cordless in general causing more intense competition.

 

[Stuey]

Possibly venturing off topic, but I seem to remember Makita as a pretty dominant player in high quality cordless tools many years ago. They still look great, but I wonder how all the others caught up? Maybe it's just the proliferation of cordless in general causing more intense competition.

You snooze you lose comes to mind. Lots of neat Makita stuff has been coming out, very little makes it to the USA in a timely manner.

e.g. this ultra-compact 18V impact is available elsewhere but not here - http://toolguyd.com/makita-18v-brushless-impact-driver-2014/

Bosch, Dewalt, and presumably Milwaukee soon enough as well, are coming out with 5.0Ah batteries. Makita's 4.0Ah batteries haven't even been released in the USA yet.

 

[Kin Creed]

Wow, that ultra compact 18V Makita is amazing. It's getting close to the profile of some of the larger right angle drivers!

So all you need to do is move to another country and you can get all the cutting edge stuff... hmmm.

 

[jdmstr]

I would say 12v award definitely goes to M12 Fuel tools.

+1 as far as 12v lines fuel is on top right now but bosch is right there with them.

 

[wafrederick]

Dewalt,I just bought a new 18 volt last weekend to replace a 13 year old Dewalt that had smoke come out one day.The hardware store I bought the new one from said I got good life out of it for 13 years.

 

[ADSR]

What makes you say dead in the water? I don't know, but either way I use them, dead in the water or not

Because they're not expanding the lineup. They should have at least 4 brushless versions by now.

I think they know they can't even compare to M12 fuel.

 

[durallymax]

Bosch, Dewalt, and presumably Milwaukee soon enough as well, are coming out with 5.0Ah batteries. Makita's 4.0Ah batteries haven't even been released in the USA yet.

Meanwhile Metabo has had 5.2ah since last fall.

You should see about trying their LTX 18 Brushless. Might not be easy to get one, I know I couldn't when I tried and the brushed version I got was one of two in the US warehouse. I absolutely hate their battery attachment system. Bump it too easy and I dropped the drill from my toolbox and snapped the tabs off the battery rendering it useless.

Other than that and their lack of presence, it's a great drill. Only 7 clutch settings but I've never understood why you needed 18. The quick change that let's you go from Jacobs chuck to 1/4" chuck to 90* chuck to torque multiplier chuck is nice. The drill is light and very compact compared to others. You can leave the Chuck off and use the built in 1/4" drive for even more compact. I haven't quite figured out the Impuls advantage. The LED at the base is nicer in some situations, not all. I do like how the new ones turn it on when it senses movement of the drill versus hitting the trigger. Not a huge deal though. One neat thing is that it's actually made in Germany versus China.

I think if they tried harder in the US they could have a nice presence.

Bosch and some others can be the same way. They keep all their nice stuff on their side of the pond.

We've used Makita in the past then switched to Dewalt, now have the Metabo stuff. Personally I avoided Milwaukee because everyone was so in love with them I figured they couldn't be that good. The new DeWalt stuff didn't impress me. After the Metabo battery frustrations though and mostly the frustration of their limited line in the US I decided to get some M12 and M18 stuff for myself. I love it and have too much of it. Use the impacts and ratchets daily. The ratchets are not strong enough for day to day use but I'll see how long till one breaks. The impacts are nice. I love the M12 fuel drill. Nice and compact. I really like the M12 handles, nice and beefy, some people with smaller hands don't like them though.

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk

 

[nehog]

What do you think of the non fuel 18v milwaukee?

I just burned up my second 14V Milwaukee today. Let all the magic blue smoke out! Damn it, best batteries in the world, worst motors possible. Two of them, both died the same way.

 

[GSteg]

You snooze you lose

Bosch, Dewalt, and presumably Milwaukee soon enough as well, are coming out with 5.0Ah batteries. Makita's 4.0Ah batteries haven't even been released in the USA yet.

Jeebus that was fast. I just bought the 4.0ah pack for my Bosch tools a few weeks ago. Next company that provides me with 10AH gets my money.

 

[BikerDad]

Not sure why, but DeWalt has been lagging behind the other tool makers in bringing advances to the market ever since Stanley gobbled up B&D. Look how long it took 'em to get on the Lithium-Ion bandwagon.

I've not heard good things about the durability of the Milwaukee cordless tools though (relative to the other major brands), that's one thing that kept me from going that direction when I was jumping into the 12v compact pond. As for super-dooper extensive line of 12v tools they have, so what? 1/2 of them look to be nothing more than gadgets.

I am, however, looking to go down the 18/20v brushless path now. Contenders are DeWalt, Milwaukee and Bosch. Each has some features I wish the others had... grrrrr.

 

[durallymax]

I use my 12v far more than 18v for what I do (heavy mechanic). I can see someone in building construction or something having far less need for the 12v stuff though, for me its compact and nice to use. I only grab the 18v stuff if I need the power. The big lineup is nice. When you switch to using mostly cordless tools you no longer have an air hose out all of the time. One thing that sounds useless at first is the rotary M12 tool. I love that thing. You can't cut much with it, but theres enough times I just need to cut a CAC clamp or something and hate to drag out the air hose and air tools just for that.

 

[Stuey]

Meanwhile Metabo has had 5.2ah since last fall.

You should see about trying their LTX 18 Brushless. Might not be easy to get one, I know I couldn't when I tried and the brushed version I got was one of two in the US warehouse. I absolutely hate their battery attachment system. Bump it too easy and I dropped the drill from my toolbox and snapped the tabs off the battery rendering it useless.

Other than that and their lack of presence, it's a great drill. Only 7 clutch settings but I've never understood why you needed 18. The quick change that let's you go from Jacobs chuck to 1/4" chuck to 90* chuck to torque multiplier chuck is nice. The drill is light and very compact compared to others. You can leave the Chuck off and use the built in 1/4" drive for even more compact. I haven't quite figured out the Impuls advantage. The LED at the base is nicer in some situations, not all. I do like how the new ones turn it on when it senses movement of the drill versus hitting the trigger. Not a huge deal though. One neat thing is that it's actually made in Germany versus China.

I think if they tried harder in the US they could have a nice presence.

Bosch and some others can be the same way. They keep all their nice stuff on their side of the pond.

We've used Makita in the past then switched to Dewalt, now have the Metabo stuff. Personally I avoided Milwaukee because everyone was so in love with them I figured they couldn't be that good. The new DeWalt stuff didn't impress me. After the Metabo battery frustrations though and mostly the frustration of their limited line in the US I decided to get some M12 and M18 stuff for myself. I love it and have too much of it. Use the impacts and ratchets daily. The ratchets are not strong enough for day to day use but I'll see how long till one breaks. The impacts are nice. I love the M12 fuel drill. Nice and compact. I really like the M12 handles, nice and beefy, some people with smaller hands don't like them though.

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk

I haven't had luck with Metabo's USA PR and marketing people. As with Panasonic, they seem incapable of answering questions about products. If they can put a test sample or loaner in my hand I'll be able to consider it for the next post update, which will probably be in early 2015.

 

[cashishift]

Because they're not expanding the lineup. They should have at least 4 brushless versions by now.

I think they know they can't even compare to M12 fuel.

They must believe in it somewhat.. just released a 2.0aH battery..

http://toolguyd.com/dewalt-12v-2ah-battery-pack/

I got an email about it the other day.

I need to remember to buy that USB charger :rofl: