Need a new Cordless Drill

[Mike Cutler]

I'm looking for advice 'and input on purchasing a new cordless drill. I currently have older 12 volt DeWalts and I am sick and tired of the batteries not holding a charge. It's infuriating to grab them, and they don't hold a charge for more than 20 minutes. When they're new, they're great, when they get older, it bites.

What is out there? what have you folks had success with? Specifically in regards to battery life.
I'm not looking for a drill "that will get the job done" I'm looking for a drill that will get the job done 5 years from now, in snow, ice and sub-freeing temps. I want a cordless with enough butt to drill metal and dense tropical hardwoods. I don't need a rotary hammer. The battery has to work, be capable of charging, and hold the charge in freezing temps. My DeWalt's seem to always bite the dust in winter.
My corded drills are both Milwuakee's, 1/2" right angle,and 1/2" Hole Shooter. Milwuakee was my first choice in a cordless, until the mechanics at work told me that the new Milwaukee's don't seem to be as good as the older ones.

Any input will be greatly appreciated and there is no $$$ ceiling.

Mike.

PS.
Yep, here we are after a blizzard and I need my cordless drills, which worked last summer,and now they won't.
Can you sense my frustration?

[Charles Wiggins]

Mike,

I know there are guys here with a lot more experience with many brands, but I will share mine anyway. I have a Ryobi One 18v that I got in a kit several years ago and it's been a workhorse. I have a Craftsman corded drill, but I never touch it because the Ryobi has done everything I've asked of it, including drilling numerous holes in concrete block to mount my lumber rack, clamps racks, and tool racks in the garage. I recently built a two-cord firewood rack and drove well over 100 3" screws into pressure treated pine without having to change batteries.

The NiCd battery that came with it bit the dust a while ago, but I had upgraded to the Lithium Ion batteries about 5 years ago and they are still going strong, which surprised me since I had read that Li-ion batteries have a life of about 2-3 years regardless of the number of charge cycles. Li-ion batteries will hold a charge for months and they don't have the long slow decline in power like NiCd batteries. When you notice a drop in power it's just about time to charge. I love it because I don't get into the shop every day, but the Li-ion batteries are always ready to go. No matter what brand you go with I would go for Li-ion batteries.

The cold is murder on batteries. I don't have a lot of experience with using them out in the cold weather. Mine stay in my unheated basement shop so they are usually in a 55-68 degree environment. I wouldn't leave them overnight in the winter on an unheated job site or out in an unheated truck.

Anyway, my 2 cents.

Charles

[Andrew Fleck]

I agree with Charles about the Lithium Ion batteries. I have a Bosch 18v Li-Ion that works great. The charge lasts a long time and it is always ready to go even when it's been sitting for a long time. I'm not sure how it would do outside all day long. I mostly use mine inside and have no complaints.

[John Donofrio]

I have had the cordless Milwaukee 18v hammer/drill/driver for a couple years now and I love it. It's most recent heavy use was to drill the 3/4" dogholes through my bench top. Aside from having to let the motor cool down about half way through, it worked flawlessly using only about one and a half batteries (the larger ones). The only issue I have had with it was something (a shard of metal I think) getting into the chuck mechanism preventing it from turning out all the way. Under the LSA I sent it to Milwaukee (at my cost) and within a few days, they sent it back (at their cost) as good as new.

As others have said, definitely go for the L Ion batteries, They work at full power up until the death and recharge fully in about an hour. Once again this for the larger capacity batteries, which I'd recommend.

Couldn't be happier.

[John Bailey]

I've got the Bosch drill and driver combo. I think all the brands listed do a great job. I've got a stand alone shop that I don't heat in the winter until it gets down below 30F. I've also been working on an old wooden cruising sailboat with no heat this winter. Up here in Northern MI the temp is normally in the teens and 20's during the day -- often lower. The Bosch drill/driver set has worked flawlessly in those conditions.

John

[Scott Snyder]

Lithiums aren't affected by cold weather. Longevity, power, etc are the same at freezing as they are at room temps.

[Val Kosmider]

I bought a 'package deal' from Makita (through Amazon) a year or so ago. It comes with a drill, and an impact driver, two 18V batteries, and a nice charger. Also included is a dufy soft sided square bag--it is just a weird carry bag, but it works.

I was replacing a centuries old Makita 12V drill that had gone through the first battery, and the seocnd was on its last legs---wouldn't charge; wouldn't hold the charge for very long (couple of minutes). The drill is workable, but literally falling apart at the seams, and the cost of new batteries is, well, 'high'.

The new Makita has been very usable. I have drilled for a LOT of towel bars and cabinet knobs, used it in the shop to drive untold numbers of screws (many in heavy oak boards), and even stuck a one inch masonry bit in it and drilled through a concrete wall to run conduit.

Good power. Long battery life (especially compared to the dying old makita!). Good 'feel/balance'. Ugly black and white color. I have found no meaninghful faults in over one year of reasonable use.

Hope this helps. I would add it is just coincidental that both of my cordless drills have been Makitas, but i have to say i am happy with their producs-- also own a very old Makita skill saw and Makita quarter sheet sander (which i bought 'remanufactured'). My corded drill is an OLD Skill which should have died ten years ago....but it won't!

[Kevin Bourque]

I'm a building contractor who uses a cordless drill every single day. I have used them all and nothing has even come close to outlasting my Milwaukees. I had my last Milwaukee cordless for 7 years. The only reason I replaced it was because I couldn't find reliable replacement batteries for it. I have dropped them off of tall ladders onto concrete, left them out in the rain ( by accident of course) used them in brutally cold and hot weather, and still they perform flawlessly.

PS. I have never owned, or new any contrator who owned, a RYOBi tool of any kind who didn't think it was worthless. I can't believe they are still in business.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I just replaced a few drills, 18 volt Dewalt XRP's that were just wore out with more Dewalt XRP's. I tried the Milwaukee, a Bosch LI, and a Makita before buying again, and for my uses the Dewalt earned its place, again. The Milwaukee has died in light metal shop use in less than 6 months, that Bosch's lithium batteries were not as good as I wanted and its a wimp, and the Makita was not enough of a horse. These are all 18 volt. You mentioned 12 volt, I use 18 for the power, but it is a bigger tool, so maybe it won't work for you. The 20 volt Dewalts look good, but I have not tried one.

If batteries were the only issue you had with your Dewalt, why not just get new batteries? They wear out.

[George Bokros]

I have both an 18 volt and a 12 volt Milwaukee. They have been great. Only problem I had was one 12 volt battery went bad and Milwaukee replaced it under the 5 yr warranty.

George

[Steve Keathley]

I have a Makita 18v and two Dewalt 18v drills. All three are excellent. My son has the Dewalt 20v and I really like it. It's lighter than my 18v drills and has just as much power. Li batteries are also the only way to go.

I would go with the 20v if you don't already have a bunch of different tools that all use the same batteries.

[Randy Rizzo]

I bought a 'package deal' from Makita (through Amazon) a year or so ago. It comes with a drill, and an impact driver, two 18V batteries, and a nice charger. Also included is a dufy soft sided square bag--it is just a weird carry bag, but it works.

I was replacing a centuries old Makita 12V drill that had gone through the first battery, and the seocnd was on its last legs---wouldn't charge; wouldn't hold the charge for very long (couple of minutes). The drill is workable, but literally falling apart at the seams, and the cost of new batteries is, well, 'high'.

The new Makita has been very usable. I have drilled for a LOT of towel bars and cabinet knobs, used it in the shop to drive untold numbers of screws (many in heavy oak boards), and even stuck a one inch masonry bit in it and drilled through a concrete wall to run conduit.

Good power. Long battery life (especially compared to the dying old makita!). Good 'feel/balance'. Ugly black and white color. I have found no meaninghful faults in over one year of reasonable use.

Hope this helps. I would add it is just coincidental that both of my cordless drills have been Makitas, but i have to say i am happy with their producs-- also own a very old Makita skill saw and Makita quarter sheet sander (which i bought 'remanufactured'). My corded drill is an OLD Skill which should have died ten years ago....but it won't!


I have the same Makita pair. Bought em a couple of years ago, HD had em on sale. Great units, light compared to my old DeWalt which as many have said wouldn't hold a charge for more than 20 minutes. The impact driver is a gem. The LIon batts hold a charge and quickly recharge.

[Kim Gibbens]

You might check out the new brushless motors that are coming out. They supposedly require less power, therefore the batteries last longer between charges. I am in the process of converting my garage into a shop and I purchased a Makita brushless impact driver a couple of weeks ago and it's the bomb. I really like this tool. Blue and black, made in Japan. Makita LXDT06. I've had Dewalt, PC, and worthless Ridgid before.

[Joe Shinall]

I have the 12 volt and 20 volt Dewalt Max series drills and drivers, as well as some other 20v tools. I tried pretty much all the brands and I just love the Dewalt better. Better grip for a guy with a bad wrist. Ton of power. I only use the 20 volt driver for rough carpentry because it's way too powerful to control on fine stuff. It's a beast. The 20 volt drill I usually use for drill bits and then use the 12 to drive screws. A little more control that way. The 12 volt to me is all you need but I just couldn't help myself from buying the 20 volt for remodeling the house. I have the circular saw and recip saw for the 20v and no lack of power from my corded ones.

Batteries for both last a good time and charge fast. Can't go wrong with either series.

[Jim Andrew]

I have 3 Makita drills that came with one each NIMH battery and one Nicad, and all 3 NIMH batteries have bit the dust. They were supposed to last longer than the nicad, but the nicads still work. I have one new Bosch 3/8 LI drill, like it as it is light, but not nearly as strong as the Makitas, but great for drilling small holes and using for pocket screws. Also have a new Dewalt set, got the drill, saw, reciprocating saw light set at Sears black friday for a great price, and am surprised at how powerful the drill is. Guess the next time they have the Dewalt on sale, will pick up another. It is also Nicad. Cheaper to buy another drill than 2 batteries.

[Jim Andrew]

I have 3 Makita drills that came with one each NIMH battery and one Nicad, and all 3 NIMH batteries have bit the dust. They were supposed to last longer than the nicad, but the nicads still work. I have one new Bosch 3/8 LI drill, like it as it is light, but not nearly as strong as the Makitas, but great for drilling small holes and using for pocket screws. Also have a new Dewalt set, got the drill, saw, reciprocating saw light set at Sears black friday for a great price, and am surprised at how powerful the drill is. Guess the next time they have the Dewalt on sale, will pick up another. It is also Nicad. Cheaper to buy another drill than 2 batteries.

[Andrew Joiner]

I'm happy with every brand of cordless drill I've had when the batteries are new. Hate them all when the batteries are done.

Right now I'm in love with the Ridgid 12volt lithium. It's powerful and tiny. The chuck is very nice. You get free batteries for life if you fill out the paper work.

[Mike Cutler]

Thank's for the replies folks. It appears that the consensus is that Lion Batteries are the way to go. The drills are the only cordless tools I have, so changing manufacturer, or battery size won't be an issue.
I'll look again at the Milwuakee's and Dewalt's, mostly because I've always liked their products. I know we're not supposed to succumb to brand loyalty, but.....
I've heard good things about the Panasonic Compacts also, so I'll check those out, and I checked out some of the Festool's yesterday also, but they seemed a little clumsy too me. Maybe because of the very different shape. Then again, it may be that what I'm really looking for is two drills. One compact type for close in work,and beefier one for outdoor work.
Thank you all for the input. It is very much appreciated.

[Bill White]

Bought the Makita 18v L-ion when the DeWalt batts bit the dust for the second time. Nothing wrong with the DW stuff, just bad batt. life.
The Makita has been very good.
Bill

[glenn bradley]

I'm happy with every brand of cordless drill I've had when the batteries are new. Hate them all when the batteries are done.

Right now I'm in love with the Ridgid 12volt lithium. It's powerful and tiny. The chuck is very nice. You get free batteries for life if you fill out the paper work.

I have three of the small form factor Ridgids and the time I pull the trigger and get a slow response is so rare I am always surprised. I go for days and days without using a drill motor so the lithium holding power is a great thing for me. I also love having a 3/8" drill chuck on the small tool versus the 1/4" hex chuck-ette.

[Mark Bolton]

Mike,
Keep in mind too that if you do much in the way of screwing, lags, running sockets, etc. with your cordless one of them being an impact driver will greatly extend your battery life/run time because the motor is never bogged down or even worse stalls. If you run screws with a non impact and those times the drill simply stalls or is lugged way down it zaps the heck out of your batteries.

For years we had basically sworn off cordless tools because of the battery issue. The batteries costing only slightly less than a combo kit got to be too frustrating and we just gave up buying 100 dollar batteries or combos and having more and more tools with too few batteries. When we quit the cordless we wondered why we ever went with them in the first place. Stringing a cord was a small price for endless power and run time especially with things like sawzalls and small circular saws, grinders,etc.. We kept some small 12 and 14 volt impacts for the shop but thats about it.

Then a few years back a guy who was injured on a job and was having to leave the trades asked me to buy out his tools. In the lot was a bunch of Makita 18v lithium ion impact drivers, about 15 batteries, two chargers, sawzalls, circ. saw, flash lights, etc.. So they landed at the shop and man have been in use ever since out in the field. I cant say we drill a lot of steel with the drill but it happens occasionally. Thats a job I still string a cord for unless there is no power around. But I have been pleasantly surprised and honestly impressed with the makita's. Sawzalls and circular saws are still junk other than for short small jobs and are just too slow.

I dont think any cordless under heavy use is likely going to perform like new in 5 years but these are that old and think we've lost maybe one battery to failure.

I also have a couple small milwaukee right angle drills (12v version) and the bosh pocket impact which is handy. But again, the impacts will do wonders for your battery life if they fit your type of work.

[Ken Ketcham]

I have had a Hitachi DS18DL for several years now. 18 volt, lithium batteries. Much better than my Bosch and Ryobi (tho they aren't lithium). Excellent longevity, power, good location for switches. Very good chuck. Fairly expensive, but they've outlasted my others by a couple years. Batteries are still going strong.

Ken

[Chris Padilla]

Why not just get the batteries rebuilt? I've used PowerOne in the past to rebuild my Festool battery packs. There are other outfits doing this as well.

[Tom Clark FL]

I got sick of the DeWalts and pitched them. Same problem as you, and I wasn't about to pay the price for replacement batteries.

I now have a Ryobi 18v for when I just have to have cordless, but to tell you the truth, 95% of the time I use a Ryobi corded 3/8" drill, the one with the clutch on it. It is wonderful, and costs about $29, yet never runs out of power. I just drilled a thousand sell-drilling screws through steel siding, and the cord was not an issue - not messing with charging batteries was!

[Mark Bolton]

For us, we had had several batteries rebuilt and for all the reasons the rebuilders mention its the best option. Fresh batteries, possibly higher quality than new, and the option to upgrade to a higher ah battery. For me, when I quit the corldless it was in the NiMh days and the rebuilds were no cheaper than buying a new battery (though still better). Regardless every couple years you were in for 300-400 dollars to get 3, 4, 5, batteries rebuilt. All the while at the time drill with two batteries and a charger cost 189.00. For us it just became "well, Im gonna spend 200 to rebuild two batteries or for 189 I get two more with a drill and another charger". Eventually you have half dozen drills and chargers and only two batteries.

Now that the Lithiums seem to be lasting so long, and the complete tool/charger pricing is no longer to where its cheaper to buy the tool than the batteries (thought still close) its not such an issue.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I have several of the Ridgid 12 volt LI drills. Bought my first about six, or seven years ago when they first came out. Signed up for LSA. I usually do a years of home shop use in a week on mine, as they earn me a living. Had a couple sets of batteries replaced under LSA, at no charge.If they were lost / stolen, I would buy the same again.

[Mike Cutler]

Why not just get the batteries rebuilt? I've used PowerOne in the past to rebuild my Festool battery packs. There are other outfits doing this as well.

Chris

I looked into that and to have them rebuilt, at least the ones I have, wasn't going to be much less than waiting for a sale at the 'Borg. Now I'm in the position Mark wrote about; four drills and two halfway good batteries.
In all actuality I should take a whack at rebuilding them myself. I've worked on a lot more complicated electronics assemblies than a battery pack. I don't see it as being to terribly difficult.
For awhile I was going to graft a 12v rechargeable gel cell onto the DeWalt plug and just use those. I always have a bunch of those laying around. It could get a little heavy and awkward though. I might still do it just for fun.
It looks like the consensus is to upgrade to lithium Ion batteries as a first step, regardless of manufacturer.

However, since you're the only one that mentioned Festool, I have a question.
Do you find the Festool awkward to use?

[Matt Meiser]

I've got quite a few of the Milwaukee M18 tools and I don't have any complaints with any of them. The smallest drill is really nice. The larger hammer drill does pretty much everything I ever need a drill to do around the house on the bigger end. I can't remember the last time I used my corded drill and I sold my corded hammer drill. And if you ever choose to expand the Sawzall is good enough I sold my corded one of those too.

[Mike Heidrick]

Right now I'm in love with the Ridgid 12volt lithium. It's powerful and tiny. The chuck is very nice. You get free batteries for life if you fill out the paper work.

I will try them next too - I dont think you can beat that deal.

[Kevin Jenness]

I've had good results with rebuilding of batteries by Primecell. I hate to toss a usable drill because the battery failed. That said, I like the new Bosch lithium-ion powered drills and impact driver- light, powerful, and they have a light in the nose for working in dark corners. Can't comment yet on battery longevity.

[Terry Barnhill]

I'm an electrical contractor who uses cordless 99% of the time. Stay out of the borgs and find you a Hilti dealer. You will never look back. Yes, they are more expensive, and for a good reason. Even though you don't think you need a hammer drill, get one anyway. I run both 14 and 18 volt; you can get a combo kit in 14 of a drill and an impact driver. Once I switched over to an impact several years ago, I will never again try to drive anything with a drill. Hilti, Hilti, Hilti.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Catching up on the thread here finally, so this post is out of order...

I may have a bad Bosch Li drill or something. Its an 18 volt too, but the batteries last less than the the Dewalt's, Milwaukee's, and Makita that I mentioned before. The first two of those are old fashioned batteries, the Makita is Li.

To add to my "review" previously, the Li 18 volt drills I tried both had less power and held a charge less than the Dewalt and Milwaukee. The Bosch looses power sitting. A week doing nothing and the batteries need recharged. The Makita was better, but I expect more expensive battery tech to be better, and when I test head to head in my real world style, and the Li batteries don't do better than the 18 volt Dewalt XRP (which to be fair are high capacity batteries), I have to stick with the proven technology.

To clarify the Milwaukee failure, it had brush and switch issues.

[Greg Portland]

The Panasonic drills are excellent. Their battery tech has been a market leader for years (look when they came out with LiOn versus other companies). I agree that an impact gun is preferred for driving nails.

[peter gagliardi]

I strongly agree with Greg above- Panasonic has far and away the very best battery technology and life out there. I still have 4-5 Panasonic 15.6 volt drill/drivers that I bought at least 15-18 years ago, and have only had to replace about half of the original batteries. I have owned/ do own dewalt, makita, festool, porter cable, bosch, and milwaulkee, nothing even comes close. Besides, the drill has performed flawlessly as well- zero repair history . I can't say that about any other except the festools, but they are almost new- but the Panasonic beats the crap out of the festool in the power and runtime category.
Peter

[Ben Martin]

I have the Makita and while it worked well when the batteries are new, they are now on their way out and can't be rebuilt. Do a bit of research around here on that, but I would not recommend the Makita...

[Mike Cutler]

I'm an electrical contractor who uses cordless 99% of the time. Stay out of the borgs and find you a Hilti dealer. You will never look back. Yes, they are more expensive, and for a good reason. Even though you don't think you need a hammer drill, get one anyway. I run both 14 and 18 volt; you can get a combo kit in 14 of a drill and an impact driver. Once I switched over to an impact several years ago, I will never again try to drive anything with a drill. Hilti, Hilti, Hilti.

Tony
That was one of my companies to look at, Hilti. We use their large boring machines at work, and are they monsters. I know their corded hammer drills are nice. I've installed a few Hiltl's into concrete through the years, and they are definitely sweet. We don't have any cordless Hilti's at work, so I'll have to find a dealer.

[Mike Cutler]

Greg

I haven't heard anything bad about the Panasonic's except for the price, and that's not a criteria for my decision. I want to check them out as well as the Hilti's.

[Brian Elfert]

I bought a Makita lithium-ion combo kit back about 2006. This was when the Makita lithium-ion stuff had first come out and I got a real good deal on the kit. I have abused the heck out of these tools and they just work. I did have one battery die around 2009 and had to buy a new one. I've not found anyone who can rebuild the batteries yet.

[Jim German]

I've got the new Milwaukee Fuel M18 Brushless drill and and impact driver. Can't say I'm overly impressed with them. Nothing particularly wrong with them (besides the lack of a bit holder) but they just don't feel as nice as my old Dewalt.

As for batteries, all of them are going to be negatively effected by the cold, regardless of manufacturer. In fact the life issues are most likely going to be the same regardless of manufacturer as well. They're all using basically the same technology

[Kevin Barnett]

I've got the new Milwaukee Fuel M18 Brushless drill and and impact driver. Can't say I'm overly impressed with them. Nothing particularly wrong with them (besides the lack of a bit holder) but they just don't feel as nice as my old Dewalt.

As for batteries, all of them are going to be negatively effected by the cold, regardless of manufacturer. In fact the life issues are most likely going to be the same regardless of manufacturer as well. They're all using basically the same technology

Agreed. Here are some general rules I see amongst the shop guys where I work:

All NiCad batteries last about 500 charging cycles. They get less life when they are heated up and frozen. Don't run them until they are hot to the touch either. NiCads continually are running there juice out. So if you leave the shop for a couple of days, expect the battery to have about 20% less power than when you left. Anybody that says their batteries last more than 10 years has a bad memory.

All Lithium Ion batteries seem to have more cycles than NiCad (maybe something like 600-700 cycles) Freezing and high temperatures seems to affect the number of cycles and can "kill" the battery if severe enough. They are about 50% lighter than NiCads.

Regardless of type, batteries are rated by volts and amp-hours. The more amp-hours, the more work and less frequent charging. A Panasonic drill will drill about the same number of holes as a harbor freight if the amp-hour rating is similar and the HF doesn't fall apart. Brushless motors are about 20% more efficient and drive about 20% more screws than a comparable brushed model.

Panasonic, Milwaukee, DeWalt, and Bosch have very good drills and price points are similar. Craftsman, Ryobi are more cheaply made, but will last if taken care of. Most of the other brands fall in-between.

Our guys favor small 12V impact drivers in positions where they screw a lot (Bosch and Milwaukee), 18 or 20V drill for metal drilling (mostly DeWalt), and corded models that have a variable speed for large holes (Rigid has an excellent one). Our guys on the jobsite favor the DeWalt 20V Max drill and the Makita 18V series because they can perform a number of jobs decently and have 3.0 amp-hour batteries.

[Peter Kelly]

Tony
That was one of my companies to look at, Hilti. We use their large boring machines at work, and are they monsters. I know their corded hammer drills are nice. I've installed a few Hiltl's into concrete through the years, and they are definitely sweet. We don't have any cordless Hilti's at work, so I'll have to find a dealer.You want to look at this one: http://www.us.hilti.com/holus/page/module/product/prca_rangedetail.jsf?lang=en&nodeId=-216021
You'll probably need to find a Hilti store, I think the ones they sell at Home Depot are all made in China now. There's a compact 18v version as well but the chuck is a bit smaller.

[Chris Padilla]

Chris

I looked into that and to have them rebuilt, at least the ones I have, wasn't going to be much less than waiting for a sale at the 'Borg. Now I'm in the position Mark wrote about; four drills and two halfway good batteries.
In all actuality I should take a whack at rebuilding them myself. I've worked on a lot more complicated electronics assemblies than a battery pack. I don't see it as being to terribly difficult.
For awhile I was going to graft a 12v rechargeable gel cell onto the DeWalt plug and just use those. I always have a bunch of those laying around. It could get a little heavy and awkward though. I might still do it just for fun.
It looks like the consensus is to upgrade to lithium Ion batteries as a first step, regardless of manufacturer.

However, since you're the only one that mentioned Festool, I have a question.
Do you find the Festool awkward to use?

I like my Festool drills. I have two of them and don't find them awkward at all. Did they not fit your hands well?

[Greg R Bradley]

I think when someone thinks of a Festool drill as being awkward, they tried a C series drill and it seemed strange. I tried one and couldn't get comfortable with it although some people think they are wonderful. I think it is something that you love IF you take the time to get used to it. Different might be better but it might just be different.

I have a CXS and it is my absolute favorite for small work. It is slim enough that it doesn't need a offset chuck like the bigger drills and the rt angle works well. I was given a T-15 set with the offset chucks and rt angle and I pretty much never use my Makita LXT drills now. The T-15 is all the power you can use without the ability to attach a side handle so I don't understand why anyone would want the T-18.

The Festool drill that does not make sense to me is the Ti-15 impact/drill. I will keep my Makita 3 speed brushless impact, thank you. It seems like they outsmarted themselves on that one trying to make one tool that does everything. I think it will be about as successful as the Makita Hybrid 4 mode driver.

[Matt Meiser]

I have a CXS and it is my absolute favorite for small work. It is slim enough that it doesn't need a offset chuck like the bigger drills and the rt angle works well.

+1 if you are in the small drill market. One of these pretty much built my kitchen. Only time I really used my Milwaukee was when I wanted one for drilling and one for driving while cranking out boxes. I use it for lots of projects around the house too. But its not a big drill, and the included chuck only goes to somewhere between 5/16 and 3/8. You can buy a bigger chuck, which I did, but that's another $40 or so.

[Lonnie Gallaher]

I have been reading with interest the posts. I want to supplement my 20 plus year old makita 9v (It just will not die) with a cordless impact driver. I read about the warning for Lithium Ion batteries and just don't think they would fit my work style and schedule. There are time when the drill would not be used for long periods of time. What I read about storing the drill seems problematic. So I went looking for a NiCad battery drill. There are none on the shelves at the big box stores, all Litium batteries. The NiCad drills I found were much more expensive than the Lithium drill. I strange thing is though the NiCad replacement batteries are much cheaper than the Lithium batteries and the NiCads can be rebuilt whereas the Lithium batteries cannot be.

So what is the deal with the NiCad drills being so much more expenive than the Lithium drills? And if I opt. for a Lithium drill will I be sorry next year when I have to buy new batteries for it. I am getting my Lithium battery information from one of the battery rebuilding sites.

[Mitchell Garnett]

I'll give another vote for Ridgid if your use is non-professional. I have several different drills and impact drivers, all are Lithium Ion and none have failed yet. I think my oldest is probably about 7 or 8 years old now. The go-to drill is an 18v. It gets used several times a week. I'm not sure it would hold up if you're using it for several hours a day though.

I know some people have posted about having problems with Ridgid on warranty issues but I can't comment on that subject since I've never needed warranty service.

Let us know what you finally choose.

[Ken Seiler]

I picked up the DeWalt 20v lith-ion a few months ago. Included 2 batteries, charger and case for $99. It's on sale again this weekend at Home Depot. It's a lot better thanthe older 18v DeWalt I got about 10 years ago.