Should I go Hilti or Dewalt?

[jd_1138]

for the little amount of large screwing like you mention that I do, my standard drill/driver works fine. If I did it a lot, I would probably get one. What I do not like about them...
obnoxious loud noise
lack of fine control
breaks more screws
they are hell on bits and bit holders

Pros for them, that I see...

Fast, powerful, can break stuck screws loose, annoys the wife, easier on the wrist for prolong use.

Yeah they're kinda brutish. I usually pre-drill first (with my regular Makita non-impact drill), so I can run fasteners through with the impact driver without splitting wood. I am kinda OCD. I don't like splitting wood even if it's just the top part of the board on a rough carpentry project like stair steps, deck, etc.. And even if my only payment is supper and beer.

Once I pre-drill, the impact zooms the fasteners in easily.

 

[BarryWells]

Dewalt stuff it all ready available pretty much everywhere on the planet. I've run plenty of Hilti over the years but never bought any. Probably never will. Maybe I'd try a big angle grinder for the Hell of it but the Bosch, Matabo and Makitas never let me down. I bought a variable speed Hitachi 4 1/2 a while back. It seems nice. No nicer than the Bosch but a lot thinner.It'll be interesting to see what the Hitachi/Metabo marriage results in for new products.

 

[BarryWells]

I take that back. I bought a Hilti rotary hammer once and it was ripped off in a few weeks.........25 years ago or better.

 

[Hytekrednek]

I take that back. I bought a Hilti rotary hammer once and it was ripped off in a few weeks.........25 years ago or better.

Pawn shops around here are full of Hilti stuff, stolen from the boss most likely. Sorry to hear that your was stolen, probably for dope.

 

[Finky198]

I own quite a bit of both. All of my cordless is Hilti and my corded stuff is split 50/50 Hilti Dewalt. I’ve had the cordless Hilti for Around 10 years now... top notch stuff. 2 drills, 3/8” impact, and sawzall. They still look and perform like new. I did commercial av installations with 1000s of tapcon and special anchors for years. Part of my current job involves residential and commercial masonry contracting.
The tools keep kicking. And I’ll keep buying them.

As far as corded goes Hilti is great for chipping, breaking, and drilling...
We use their combi hammers, core drills, and large sawsall’s.
They are considered best in class for a reason...

We use mainly Dewalt wood saws and metal grinders..
I have been very please with both mitre saws 10” and 12”, 7 1/4” worm drive saw,
and 1/2 dozen different angle grinders. Lots of hours never a problem many years of service in production environments.

No one company makes the best of everything. But I believe your not going
to find a better comprehensive combo then Hilti And Dewalt. If they don’t make it well...

 

[Farmall450]

I'd go with DeWalt -- more tools, better sales, easier to get/repair (if needed)/buy (add on to)/sell

 

[American Locomotive]

Whats the local store/tool availability like? I know Bosch, Makita and Hilti are very popular in Europe. I really wasn't aware that the DeWalt brand had much presence outside North America.

I would first determine what kind of tools you are looking for, before you commit to a brand.

Pawn shops around here are full of Hilti stuff, stolen from the boss most likely. Sorry to hear that your was stolen, probably for dope.

Pawn shops are always full of stolen construction tools from every brand. When I see 4 of the same model tool for sale, I know they're stolen from a job site.

 

[Superbec]

Whats the local store/tool availability like? I know Bosch, Makita and Hilti are very popular in Europe. I really wasn't aware that the DeWalt brand had much presence outside North America.

You can get Dewalt and Milwuakee pretty much anywhere in EU, online or in a real store , haven't seen Hilti in a store yet .

I just googled hilti .. well they seem to have their own chain of stores, closest to me is 1 hour each way , no thank you .

 

[Fatandre]

Yeah. Dewalt has been going pretty strong