I'm very much a fan of Hitachi or HiKoki as it is know over here (IIRC U.S. customers didn't like the new name in a focus group, hence why it ended up as Metabo HPT).
Their original (pre Hitachi split) line-up of tools was reliable but very stale, however since coming out with their Brushless stuff they have really started to innovate and seem to be trying to chase Makita.
They are not always the best quality or the best performance when compared to the competition - but they often provide 90% for a more affordable price.
For example their mid-torque impact wrench is IP56 rated and a beast (I have one). They are the first with a 1/2" cordless router. Their table saw offers a massive capacity and with their AC adapter can be cordless or corded depending on the job.
The elegant backward compatibility of the 36v batteries is nothing short of genius in my opinion - I can take a Hitachi tool from 2009 and stick a brand new 36V battery on it, and it is compatible. Wish more manufacturers had support like that. The new bluetooth batteries are a novel way around the automatic dust collector challenge.
It's not all unicorns and sunshine though - my biggest annoyance are the lack of accessories. They seem to come out with the tool and go "right, we are done, onto the next thing".
Makita will make eleventy billion extras to cover anything and everything and will continue to add options to the line up over time - Hikoki will give you an instruction manual and a packet of desiccant and that's your lot, for ever.
Trim router is a case in point - luckily a lot of the Makita bits fit the Hikoki, but how hard would it be to make a few extra bases?
While on the subject of the trim router, you will often see "better" models available as Japanese market only, for example the 36V is a monster, able to compete with the top end Makita and wipes out the Dewalt and Milwaukee in testing - but the rest of the world get the 18V which is fine (I have one) but somewhat anaemic in comparison. Seems like a missed trick or a push to try and make you buy both the 1/4 and 1/2.
In the U.K. they also apparently haven't heard of the concept of promotion or marketing.
We don't get any of the battery deals you guys in the U.S. did. We don't get deals at all.
While all the other colours will run regular promotions or enticements the HiKoki strategy has been to actually pull out of two large U.K. retailers and leave you to buy their tools from small trade only dealers and a handful of online sellers, if and when you can find them in stock.
We also only get a subset of the available tools at usually at least a couple years behind Europe.
Infuriating when you are continually having to wait to actually give them your money.
With that said, I'm happy with Team Green so far, the cordless tools I've got have all served me well. I have a few older Hitachi corded power tools which I actually think were better quality than their newer equivalents, and for Grinders I use a lot of the (German) Metabo, but do have a couple of Hitachi ones which have been pretty good too.
www.hikoki-powertools.com
