I've had very good luck with Dewalt over the years. I've got a cordless drill/driver still going strong on year 13 and I use it pretty regularly. I don't use these tools for a living so someone more experienced may feel differently.
I've had very good luck with Dewalt over the years. I've got a cordless drill/driver still going strong on year 13 and I use it pretty regularly. I don't use these tools for a living so someone more experienced may feel differently.
But the average guy will be very happy with a Rigid, Milwaukee (my choice) or DeWalt. I'm not a Makita fan. Time was, they were the leader in cordless drills, but now they are an also-ran, but unless you are using them all day every day any of those 4 brands are fine.
There are several good brands these days, and I'm not really knowledgeable enough to bad mouth any. Check the warranty if that's important to you, but also look at the other tools in the series, see if they make something else you might eventually want on a common battery. I have a couple of the Bosch drivers and a couple of other things of theirs. I drill a lot, screw even more. Interestingly, I got one for janitorial purposes. I've gotten some scrub brushes and whatnot, and you can seriously scrub something raw. I have a fiberglass shower that I was about to replace when I found this. There's some grot all over the fiberglass that is very resistant to cleaning, but grind into it with a brush and some soft scrub and it comes off. Being cordless, I can run wet without taking a 120V hit.
I have never had issues with any of my Dewalt tools. That’s why I keep buying their brand. Table saw, router, miter saw, and drills have all performed well.
Use drills everyday at work and they buy Milwaukee. They started off good but I’m not impressed with their use after awhile. Maybe their corded stuff but not battery drills or saws-all.
I was in the same boat last summer. I was looking mainly at Milwaukee and DeWalt. My daughter had a summer job where they used cordless impacts and drills all day long and said everyone there with all their experience preferred Milwaukee. So that's what I went with.
I think budget is what's important. I know I could've spent less on Porter Cable or Ridgid and been just as happy.
Milwaukee for durability, DeWalt for practical part time use.
I picked up a cheap Ryobi that's been fantastic on light use. I have NO idea what would happen to it if really pushed hard.
I've got a Porter in the tool box that works great other than I don't like the grinding sound it makes when I pull the trigger.
I have the Bosch drill and driver in 18V love them. My brother uses his every day to make a living and they are still going strong after 5 years or so.
ANY of these mentioned will do nicely. I've used Makita for 27 years (back when they were the only game in town) but there is nothing wrong with ny of the other brands already mentioned.
I have historically had good luck with the DeWalt, but my most recent purchase was less than desirable, a basic 20v drill. The chuck was not aligned and it loosens while using it. If purchasing again I would get the higher prices DeWalt, likely the version that is also a hammer drill, or I would get a Bosch.