Need big box-store power drive bit recommendations

[monomach]

I chewed up my last #2 phillips power bit today right in the middle of a project. I have to drive past a Home Depot and a Lowe's on my way to work tomorrow, so I figured I'd grab something at one of those so I can get back to work on the project tomorrow night when everything is closed.

I usually just grab whatever's at eye-level with these and run since they're all so cheap, but that's got to stop. I went through the last set (Ryobi) waaaaaaaay too quickly.

- The only power screwdriving I do is #2 phillips into wood with a keyless chuck drill.

- I HATE magnetic bit holders. I've tried them from a number of brands with the 1 inch bits and they all have some amount of play that feels sloppy and drives me crazy...so I gave up on them. I don't even use multi-bit hand screwdrivers for the same reason.

From what I can see, these are my options:

Makita Impact Gold

Milwaukee Shockwave Impact Duty

DeWalt plain-old no fancy tech-sounding name

DeWalt Impact Ready

Kobalt

Right now I'm leaning toward flipping a coin between Makita and Milwaukee simply because I've never had a tool from either of them that wasn't excellent. Anyone use anything on this list and hate or love it?

 

[JonnyMac]

I have beat the Milwaukee to death and they still keep giving.. I personally think its difficult to find better...

 

[Metal Werks]

Another vote for Milwaukee's. I use the #2 1" insert shockwave bits in a magnetic holder. They hold their edge without rounding off for quite a while.

 

[BK13]

In admittedly limited use I kinda like the Makita Gold.

 

[themiller]

I use the dewalt with 3" shank. Seems to last for a few hundred fasteners per bit.

 

[ssentt]

Bought my boy the Milwaukee Shockwave Impact Duty set a couple x-mas's ago. He's a tech at a dealership so they get a bit of regular use. He told me just the other day they are holding up very well......and he is a tool destroyer!!!

 

[jjjrmx5]

I have a Milwakee Shockwave set I bought last Black Friday Sale In Nov and was not impressed.

For hand driver bits I use Wiha.

I don't do a lot of impact nor drill/driver work using bits lately but the Makita Impact Golds have impressed me so far.

Meanwhile, those poor Milwaukees still sit in their little case in the basement toolbox.
At night I think they "stir it up" with the Bosch and Makita tools that they share the dwr. with out of spite. LOLZ>

 

[cheechi]

I would say milwaukee and dewalt impact ready you linked are about 1 for 1.

Others at GJ would say the milwaukee aren't very good.

For you with a drill and a keyless chuck, the plain dewalts are more than fine. All the others are for impact drivers, although they work fine with drills the extra isn't necessary unless you see getting an impact driver also (I do recommend you do this anyway).

 

[si_jeff]

The Milwaukee shockwave are not that good, they are Ok, on par with the Dewalt impact. I've had good luck with the Makita Impact Gold. They're really the best out of the list you have there..

 

[doan]

The Milwaukee shockwave are not that good, they are Ok, on par with the Dewalt impact. I've had good luck with the Makita Impact Gold. They're really the best out of the list you have there..

Agreed, I like Makita the best, but at the end of the day they are all disposable. I buy the dewalt sets at HD when they're on sale for $5.

 

[NoahG]

I've used everything in the big boxes, heres how I feel.

For Impact:
Makita Gold are the best I've used from the big boxes. Wow.

Dewalt Impact Ready is the old standby. Their new Flextorq (slowly replacing Impact Ready) stuff is pretty decent so far.

Haven't had any luck with the Milwaukee Shockwave stuff. Seems to strip out instantly.

For regular drill/drivers:
DeWalt's regular stuff has always been my go-to. Lowe's has some Bosch phillips with ACR ribs that are actually rather good.

 

[southalabama]

I buy whatever is on deep discounts during the holidays and Black Friday. I've leaned toward dewalt but have some of the other major brands.

 

[Dustball]

I bought a pack of Milwaukee #2 phillips bits to try at work for driving 3 inch screws for crating up machines and they were total ****. I'd never buy them again. I just bought a pack of Vermont American Ice Bits for our guys to try out- heard good things about them.

http://www.menards.com/main/tools-h...nsert-drive-bit-50-pack/p-1811675-c-10156.htm

 

[quattroJoe]

I've been very happy with the Milwaukee Shockwave bits, although 90% of the time I'm using them in a non-impact driver. I'm also pretty pleased with their magnetic bit holders, and normally I don't care for bit holders because of the added wobble.

 

[trpearcy]

Dewalt. I've had a few of their sets over the years and I love em. They seem to last longer then any of the other stuff I've used.
I'd say stay away from kobalt. Never had good luck with any of their bits

 

[bareass172]

There were 2 threads on this same subject in the last 2 weeks, if you really want good info dig those up because they were extensive, including actual specs on what each brand could handle. I use Dewalt and Kobalt with good results, but I recently bought a bunch of Bosch from Cripes Distributing on Ebay for super cheap and they've been good so far. If you can buy a few to get you by for now, Cripes is really insanely cheap on these with a lot of options.

 

[monomach]

Early this morning, I found websites with tests with DeWalt's Impact Ready and the Milwaukee Shockwaves.

The heads on the Shockwaves stripping out in no time at all turned me off, so I ended up grabbing the Impact Ready for now. If they're not fantastic, I'll grab some Makitas next time.

Thanks, everyone.

 

[truckdriver]

I am an admitted Milwaukee fan boy but their Shockwave bits are junk. The tips wear really fast. I Have heard great things about the Bosch but I cant stand the way they flip, but for use in a drill it's actually a benefit.