Picked up the CMan XCP drill this weekend

[kevinz]

Picked up the CMan C3 1/2 in drill with the compact XCP battery kit this weekend at the local Sears for $112 out the door. Have been wanting a good cordless drill for a while and had it narrowed down between the CMan and the following:

Porter Cable PCL180CDK-2 1/2 in 18v Li-ion drill kit ($140 at local Lowes)
http://www.lowes.com/pd_160577-70-PCL180DRK-2_0__?productId=3014680&Ntt=porter+cable+drill&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dporter%2Bcable%2Bdrill&facetInfo=

Milwaukee 2601-22 1/2 in 18v Li-ion drill kit (local place had it on sale for $160)
http://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-2601-22-18-Volt-Li-ion-Compact/dp/B000WER5SE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359347142&sr=8-1&keywords=milwaukee+2601-22

Craftsman C3 Heavy Duty 1/2 in drill w/XCP battery ($112 out the door at local Sears)
http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-c3-lithium-ion-compact-drill-kit-powered/p-00935704000P

So why did I choose the Cman over the Milwaukee and Porter Cable, which many here would argue are much superior brands? The Cman specs are: 465 in-lbs torque, 0-350 rpm low speed, 0-1600 rpm high speed, all metal chuck, 8in long and 4 lbs heavy with battery.

The Porter Cable has 400 in-lbs of torque, 0-350 rpm low speed, 0-1500 rpm high speed, all metal chuck, 7.7 in long and 3.8 lbs heavy with battery.

The Milwaukee has 400 in-lbs of torque, 0-350 rpm low speed, 0-1400 rpm high speed, metal chuck WITH plastic sleeve, 7 3/4 in long and 4lbs heavy with battery.

All in all, it came down to the price and the slightly better specs of the Cman. Plus, I now have an XCP battery to try with my cordless C3 sawzall and soon to arrive C3 grinder I ordered Friday..I already had a lithium C3 battery so now I have two li-ion batteries and two chargers, one for home and one for work. The Cman is slightly longer (although not by very much) and feels very nice in my hands...one of the biggest positives I got out of the reviews for it was the ergonomics of it. Come to think of it...never saw any bad reviews of the drill. I drilled a couple holes in some metal after buying it and it did great, so we'll see how it does in the long run.

But just wanted to post my story and the specs for these three drills for those who are interested...I didn't look at Dewalt because they were high priced at Lowes and sadly, we don't have a Home Depot in my city or they have a Rigid drill I would have considered as well.

Any questions, just ask and I'll do what I can to answer them.

 

[kevinz]

Just thought I'd update with some real world trial of this drill...used it last night to put a couple screws in my overn door for the handle and side trim, and it worked fine. Used it today at work with a hone to enlarge the I.D. of some tapered cone bearings we made to use as setup bearings for a Dana 30 axle. Worked great; tool din't get very warm and it performed well. The compact XCP battery performed pretty decent and lasted a lot longer than I thought it would, then I switched to my regular Lithium battery which was 100% charged and it didn't last as long as the XCP but still lasted a while...I'd say probably almost an hour on the XCP and maybe 1/2 hour or so on the plain compact lithium, and that's running at high speed.

I feel pretty good about this drill...it did very well today and normally honing is usually done with a plug in drill due to the time it takes to do it...I've honed engine cylinders before and this definitely took more time due to the hardness of the bearing race...so I give this drill a BIG thumbs up and hope to add the larger XCP to my collection soon!