Looking for a new drill

Those two just sound like they go together lol

 

This^^^

 

I use the hell out of my brushless DeWalt drill...even the LED outshines other LEDs on other drills lol

 

I'm basing my opinion on my bucket list experience in AK for 10 months. Didn't matter whether Lowe's or Ho Depot. (By the way...Lowe's and Ho Depot shares the same parking lot pretty much in Anchorage)....Rigid was always in short supply and anything made by Stihl. Just an observation. What was left on the shelves?????

 

I just find it odd how you can buy Stanley in a local parts store dollar bin but pay a loooot more for a tool literally owned by the same parent company.

 

I was gifted a DeWalt worksite radio with two batteries. I love it. Seems to be well built. Stanley obviously has become synonymous with budget tools.

 

I wanted to add I also that i have Milwaukee tools in my cabinet shop, the only complaint I have with them is battery life. They do not last as long as long as my bosch or festool..

 

On the way ...

 

From what I’ve seen Milwaukee is leading in tool innovation these days with every other manufacturer attempting to keep pace. If you look at Milwaukee’s (states) torque numbers compared to others, it’s a no brainer. As for reliability; can’t really speak to that as I don’t push my tools hard enough to pass fair judgement

 

I looked at all the box store stuff, looked at lots of reviews and asked around to some of the trade guys I do business with and ended up buying Makita 18V LXT impact drill/driver and an angle ratchet. Their are a ton of products in the LXT series.

I'm done with Dewalt... just not made well enough anymore for heavy jobs.

 

MILWAUKEE !

 

I just got Ryobi. I wanted Milwaukee, but Ryobi was on sale. I don't use them regularly, so I figured buy cheap, if I like it or start using them more I will switch it up. I like their lawn and garden tools, so we shall see if the drill and impact hold up.

 

IMHO nothing comes close to Ridgid since they have the lifetime warranty. I have had 3 batteries replaced recently that were from around 2012. Just called the 1-800 number and told them the serial number....5 days later, brand new batteries. The tools are durable and powerful. Sure there are lighter and more powerful tools out there, but they can't compete with a lifetime warranty!

 

I have two Ridgid cordless drills. I'd highly recommend them for the warranty alone. Register them and they are warranted for life. Or at least that's how it used to be and I think it's still the same. Even the batteries. I've not had anything go wrong with the drills but have had the batteries replaced on one of them years ago. That drill has NiCad batteries, iirc. The second one has Li-ion batteries that are still working fine. I do keep my cordless tools in the house rather than let them cook in the garage heat. A large percentage of the contractors I have seen are all Ridgid tools probably due to the reasonable cost, performance, and superb warranty.

I've got a Milwaukee AC angle grinder that's been fantastic so it would probably be my second choice based on my experience.

DeWalt left me with a bad impression when a hardly used angle grinder blew up on me five minutes into using it. By blowing up, I mean fire and smoke shot out of the cooling vents. Thus my purchase of a Milwaukee angle grinder. I've also got a DeWalt jigsaw which had a screw fall out of it from somewhere in the mechanics. It still works but I haven't used it much and never abused it. I also have a DeWalt AC recip saw. It has fought me on some brands of blades and the latching mechanism hasn't left me with a lot of confidence. Needless to say, no more DeWalt in my garage. If you gave me one, I'd sell it the next day.

 

This video is what sold me on the Milwaukee line. And it’s not even their most powerful impact. Pretty impressive..
https://youtu.be/wBMRDZzdXmY

 

I've got a stable full of Ryobi tools. No problems whatsoever. The driver gets medium to heavy use. Including building a 300 square foot deck. The inflator has held up through 3 pool seasons so far.

 

You can get 20v dewalt w/2 batteries and charger for $99 at lowes

 

I just picked an inflator up. I haven't tested it yet, but my buddy loves his.

 

I'm construction manager for a fire sprinkler company, I buy all our tools. We drill holes into steel pipe all day long with holesaws, Dewalt 18v and now 20v has been the best for us, we do have some milwaukee 12v their small bandsaw is good as well as their ratchet and led light. We still have lots of the 18v tools kicking around, we use the 18v to 20v adapter.

 

I bought Ryobi because it was on sale at the time. Got an impact driver first then added a drill and inflator to my arsenal. The Ridgid looks great with the battery warranty but given how often I use these tools and how frequent sales comes along with Ryobi batteries and then expansive 18v tools they have, I just kept the Ryobi and have been happy with it so far.

 

Don't expect it to air your tires up from 18 to 35. But it's great for inflatable pool toys, which is why I got it.

 

No I will get a compressor for that. I got mine for river toys, bike, and lawn mower. I currently don't have a garage or storage for the compressor I want. Once I move into a place with a garage I will get a nice setup. Still researching on board air for the truck vs portable air for off roading

 

I used to run makitas but got into the m18 milwaukee after someone owed me some money, so he let me pay off his milwaukees in pawn and keep them as they were new. I ran makitas then as they were the only battery saw sized to cut dimensional lumber, but their saws had a tendency to break--OK, bend so jumped to milwaukee.

makitas had a huge problem with their batteries biting the dust--and they were at the forefront of battery tools.
dewalt owned a huge share of the contractor market in the era of the pancake batteries, but IMO makita's lithium ion took that away from them....until said batteries died out too often/soon.
Milwaukee owns it and now DW is competing with their 20v batteries.

I've had and ran most tools--and still have a brand diverse collection. Tools aren't what they used to be and that's where people need to read the label. Bosch used to be a great line, but they have joined others in cheapening their products....except for the contractor grade tooling. The only line I know of whose contractor grade also went downhill is dewalt. Most of their tools are made in mexico so quality was hit and miss. Last tool I bought from them was a right angle drill and it was a defective POS returned before using.

We don't know if OP is talking about battery tools or corded, but for just an impact and drill, no reason to not go battery as they are decent for what they are and handy.
One thing I will say is the new milwaukee m18 drill/hammerdrill's chuck stinks. You think you have it locked in...until you use it. I think that's because they made it a hammer drill combo as the earlier versions didn't have that issue. For hammer drilling work, I have corded hammer drills and a rotary hammer. Corded tools are for production/OOMPF work, IMO.

so as with others if you have a battery tool, get matching battery as long as it's the newest battery. If not, get a matched set, drill/impact with the batteries. They don't cost that much and should last you a long time. Don't need the big batteries as that's for production type work. Can get a smaller amp hour battery so one is always in the charger.

YMMV

 

I'll tip my hat to rigid for shop vacuums and plumbing tools. Their compressors are made by campbell hausfeld...and if I wanted one from them, I'd go to harbor freight and buy one..... :-D

 

@T-Rex266 what is the verdict???

 

I'm a little late to the party here. Makita XPH07

Makita XPH07TB 18V LXT BL Hammer Drill Kit

https://www.amazon.com/Makita-XPH07Z-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Driver-Drill/dp/B0160TRO8A?th=1&psc=1

It's a beast. Batteries go forever without needing a charge. May be a bit more than you want to spend, OP.