Best cordless tool system

[hmmhmmcamo]

I’m looking to upgrade my current old school Ryobi Drill and Driver. They were a nice gift from the inlaws but the batteries are toast and I don’t think it’s worth it to buy more batteries.

I’ve been “storing” a friend’s Dewalt tools for the last couple months and the quality difference has been impressive. What brands are you happy with? Makita seems pretty good?

It looks like the lithium ion batteries are the new thing? Is 20V worth more than 18V?

Any help would be appreciated.

[Wormius]

I picked up a Bosch set from Costco a couple of years to replace a Dewalt drill that died. Quality is really good and the batteries charge quite fast. Haven't had any issues with them yet.

[transplant99]

IMO Milwaukee is superior to all the rest, but i do find that it is a matter of personal preference when it comes to tools. I know guys that swear by Dewalt and others that like Makita...to me there is no comparison. Red rocks and I do notice the vast majority of construction sites have guys using Milwaukee as well.

Though it all depends what your using them for and how often. The value may not be there if you are just a once a month kind of handyman/DYI'er.

[hmmhmmcamo]

I'd say I'm a weekend warrior that appreciates decent tools. I also think having nice tools makes it easier to use them and I do have several projects they would come in handy for.

Here's a flyer that has my interest.
https://www.kmstools.com/eflyer/

[btimbit]

Milwaukee and Makita are in a league of their own. Bosch and Dewalt are really good but a step below those two. I have DeWalt stuff mostly just for the price/quality balance, and a few Milwuakee things like their M12 electric Ratchets, which are awesome to have for automotive stuff

[T@T]

If your like me and need tough tools Dewalt are boss. Milwaukee is probably better now days but 20 years ago I thought they were complete junk.

The 20 volt Dewalt kit kicks ass IMO.

[OMG!WTF!]

I think I'd go with Dewalt. They are great for average to professional use but the best part is that they seem to have more sales and more options than the other brands. So when I needed new batteries in the past I just waited until a drill went on sale for $90, throw out the drill and you still have two new batteries for half price. Fixing tools is easier at the dedicated Dewalt store too. They often have cheap refurbished tools there as well. They're just really easy to deal with. And if you're not in a huge rush, wait until your kit goes on sale. I got a free charger radio and a free 16 gauge nail gun (it was advertised as a nail gun but they sent the radio instead. I phoned and asked about it and they sent the nail gun too)

[millhouse11]

I like Ridgid because of the lifetime warranty.

[zamler]

Dewalt is a toy compared to Milwaukee but sadly all of them are now made in China. 20+ years ago Milwaukee was made in the U.S. their stuff was incredibly durable.

Milwaukee is now a subsidiary of a Chinese company.

[GreenLantern]

Originally Posted by transplant99

IMO Milwaukee is superior to all the rest, but i do find that it is a matter of personal preference when it comes to tools. I know guys that swear by Dewalt and others that like Makita...to me there is no comparison. Red rocks and I do notice the vast majority of construction sites have guys using Milwaukee as well.

Though it all depends what your using them for and how often. The value may not be there if you are just a once a month kind of handyman/DYI'er.

+1 for Milwaukee. Although to be fair I've never owned a Dewalt, sure they are also very fine tools. No matter what you buy never pay full price as they are always rotating really good deals.

[REDVAN]

I have dewalt stuff and that is because I am a home handyman and not a pro

[sworkhard]

It all depends what you want to use them on.

For fine woodworking it's hard to beat Makita. They make well balanced, lightweight tools.

For construction, Milwaukee or Dewalt are the cordless tools to use. Milwaukee's are a bit more durable, but Dewalt's are easy to fix. Makita's don't survive drops well enough to work well in this environment. Most construction companies I know keep going back to
Dewalt despite trying different brands quite regularly. Dewalt seems to have hit right balance between durability, repair-ability, and cost.

[Stormageddon]

I am a huge fan of Milwaukee everything. Hand tools and power tools. I have them for personal use and work use. We had Dewalt in the past and I was never impressed with durability or comfort. The Milwaukee tools are light, tough, super fast charging, and have many nice features (charge indicator on the batteries, although other brands may have that).

Sales pitch over. No I'm not a Milwaukee salesman.

[PepsiFree]

I pretty obsessively scoured online reviews and what I found was that most power ranges of Milwuakee products outclassed the other makes in that range.

I went with Milwuakee. For everyday use with the ability to handle heavier duty work, I couldn't be happier.

Though I brought it home and my partner was convinced I had purchased "beer branded" power tools...

[surferguy]

If you have piles of money falling out of your pocket get the Festool. It puts everything else to shame.

IMO

Festool
Milwaukee
.
.
.
makita/Bosch
Dewalt
.
.
.
.
Rigid
.
.
.
.
.
.
300 ft of ####
.
.
.
black and decker

[dieHARDflameZ]

In my opinion the best option is the 18V Milwaukee Fuel combo kit.

They now have a 5.0A/hr battery as well which lasts for days.

The kits aren't cheap however. The fuel drills are brushless and therefore less likely to wear down over time. They're well worth the price if you ask me.

[PaperBagger'14]

I'm a Makita fan myself, I bought the 7 piece kit about 8 years ago and have only replaced the drill. The only advice I'd give is to try and get a kit with a brushless drill.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by surferguy

If you have piles of money falling out of your pocket get the Festool. It puts everything else to shame.

IMO

Festool
Milwaukee
.
.
.
makita/Bosch
Dewalt
.
.
.
.
Rigid
.
.
.
.
.
.
300 ft of ####
.
.
.
black and decker

Ryobi would have to slot in somewhere near the bottom of this too, right? Maybe slightly above B&D?

[V]

surferguy has it right. I had to upgrade recently, and everyone I know in construction says that Milwaukee is the best, and Dewalt is a shadow of its former self. Festool is in a class of their own, but I don't understand why you'd pay that kind of money unless you were making gobs of money. Man, that stuff is expensive.

[photon]

I like Bosch but the Bosch impact driver I have was put to shame by my dad's Dewalt impact driver. He could do 3 times as many deck screws as I could in the same amount of time.