Best Cordless tool options

[imjustdave]

Looking to tool up and after a few min in the store you see 10+ brands. Spent a few on dewalt web site and good grief they have 10+ versions of the same things just with different options, TQ settings, battery tech ETC.

I don't have a brand loyalty but used Dewalt 18V for 15+ years now and have replaced a few batteries over the years but the drill has been impressive, be careful it will break your hand if you not paying attention with a big bit.

So who has done the hrs and hrs of research and can lend me a hand.

Needs for sure, 3/8 impact, hammer drill and drill. maybe some cutting options as well. I'm going to be building my shop here in a few months so tooling up some.

Only caveat, I dislike Home Depot, there Beeping camera "anti theft" boxes in every aisle drive me nuts, so I stopped going there. could care less about the camera but every time I reach in to select a item the "Beep" and everyone else "Beep"

 

[sk farmer]

if you like dewalt, stick with it. the dewalt converter will adapt the new batteries to your old tools. i have pretty much converted to 20v max but still use the adapter on a couple things.

honestly, narrow it down to these things. does the most used tool (drill, impact, saw, ?) fit your hand? does it feel right to you? then does that lineup have the tools you need or want?

if the tools feel right to you and the line has the tools you want, it really doesnt matter as all of the main lines are good. if they don't feel good to you and the tools you want don't exist in the line you won't be happy. simple as that.

don't get ******* in specs like drill speed, power etc. in most tools the difference is minimal and you more than likely won't notice it. brushless is almost always better with more power and runtime but is also more money,

 

[anndel]

Same here, I have a mix of DeWalt, Makita, Milwaukee and Snap-on cordless tools. If you like DeWalt then you should stick with it. You won't be disappointed.

 

[pizza]

i think you know this, but there's no best tool brand overall.

for the tools you mentioned, i'd say there isn't a huge difference.

but i'll mention that i think hammer drills are a joke. i started my not-trash-quality cordless power tool collection with this kit: DCK299M2 (DCF887 impact + DCD996 hammer drill). if i could go back, i'd probably just get a regular drill and some kind of sdsplus rotohammer. the few times i've used my drill's hammer feature, it was better than nothing at all, but i cursed while using it.

fwiw, this is my everyday drill and driver: milwaukee 5205 M12 FUEL Installation Drill/Driver. powerful enough for a lot of stuff i do. i just hate the direction selector on it.

realistically, you're going to end up in more than one tool system. i say look through the catalogs and pick a brand that offers a must-have tool for you and start there assuming its impact and drill are also good (get brushless!).

i think milwaukee wins for overall variety of tools offered. they have so many..

Only caveat, I dislike Home Depot, there Beeping camera "anti theft" boxes in every aisle drive me nuts, so I stopped going there. could care less about the camera but every time I reach in to select a item the "Beep" and everyone else "Beep"

yep, i hate that **** too. it's rude as hell. makes me want to steal just to spite them.

 

[Chucktin]

Personal opinion - DeWalt, then Makita or Milwaukee.
I have 20v Dewalts (but earlier than the Cars) - biggest drawback is the hammer drill cause it's only off/on, I can't modulate the speed like the drill.
I ignored the Milwaukee ads when I went shopping but I see them alot. And Makita, despite their SiFi look, always seem to get really good reviews.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

 

[Gotcha640]

Since I have 3 Dewalt drills, and their saw, and brad gun, I'm sticking with them.

If I was starting from scratch, ryobi has some cool stuff that the others don't for much less money, and I haven't had a problem with their quality for my homeowner+ use.

Milwaukee or makita or Dewalt will probably last a bit longer in heavy use. If I was starting a shop, or going to a job, or work was paying, I would go for one of them.

My own money, and thinking about all the different things they have, I might go with ryobi.

 

[demarpaint]

I have a few Makita cordless tools and they're quite good. I'll be sticking with them.

 

[CTyankee]

In todays market, I don't think tool options should play a big factor in choosing a brand. Almost all of them, even the DIY level ones offer multiple different tools to meet the average HO'ers needs. JMO.

 

[pbon]

Many years ago I had a mix match. Then I went all in on Ridgid. Then I wanted a greater variety of tools (yard, carpentry, automotive) and changed to Milwaukee. I prefer having one brand with a good variety to share batteries. I have over 30 tools, 12 and 18v.

I did recently start a new collection for another house and went Ryobi. I probably should have just spent the extra money on Milwaukee, but I think Ryobi is OK if you buy the better ones — the hammer drill not the toy drill that comes in all the cheap kits, the 7.25 circular, not the smaller one that comes in the kits, etc. The Ryobi kits just did not appeal to me knowing what I know. I would have been throwing away some tools that come with it and buying the better versions.

 

[Wrench97]

Techtronic Industries owns both Milwaukee and Ryobi along with AEG, Homelite, Empire, Stiletto, Hoover US, Hart, Oreck, Vax, and Dirt Devil.

Ryobi is a decent tool targeted to the hobbyist market too bad the battery platform is not interchangeable with its big brother Milwaukee to fill in for tools you don't use regularly.

 

[P0234]

Personally I'd rather have the cameras in the store than paying for the stuff that gets stolen. What I hate is almost every store has let the thief go free policy but hassle the legitimate shopper.

I'm a DIY and love the Ryobi One+ line. I've had other better brand tools but have been burned by replacement battery costs on everyone. They raise the price on the batteries to the point where they cost more than a newer tool and the battery. Had to resort to rebuilt batteries. Left a real sour taste in my mouth.

Now I just buy whatever Ryobi tool I need and it comes with a fresh battery. I even bought their home quick vacuum. Their mid line tools are better than any homeowner really needs.

 

[Black300zx]

Most of the main brands each have at least a couple "specialty" tools in their battery platform which are much better than (or non-existent in) other brands.

I'd take a look at those tools and see if anything strikes you as "I really could use that tool...". Might help you make your decision on which battery platform to pick.

For me the differentiation was the automotive geared tools in Milwaukee's M12 line.

 

[GeoBruin]

Yes, I own both Dewalt and Milwaukee and my observation has been that I prefer Dewalt tools for carpentry/construction and Milwaukee for automotive. One example that might be relevant to you is impact wrenches. If you want a 3/8 impact, Dewalt only offers one and it's pretty anemic, at least per the specs. Milwaukee has their m12 stubby which is rated at higher torque than the Dewalt but they also offer their M18 gen 2 mid torque in 3/8 anvil which is significantly more capable. Dewalt's mid torque doesn't come in 3/8 (though you could use an adapter)

I should add that the impacts, ratchets, torque wrenches etc. are largely part of the m12 line which are not interchangeable with the m18 so you could go with Dewalt for 18/20 volt tools (including using the adapters for your existing tool as mentioned above) and then go M12 separately.