Best Mid-Cost 18-20v Tool Family
 

I'm trying to convert all my tools to cordless, and I want to get some opinions on mid-cost tool families in the 18-20v range. I'm not a professional or a contractor, these are exclusively for home projects, so I really don't need some $900 Snap-On impact. What I am looking for:

• Durable
• Powerful
• Good customer support/warranty
• Good variety of tools that all use the same batteries and chargers
• A brand that's not going to disappear in a couple years

What are your experiences with the tools you've purchased? Thanks.

Milwaukee
I have used many brands both at home and work and while defiantly not the cheapest they are worth every penny.
I buy many of mine as used demo models at Tyler Tool.

Makita. We use strictly Makita at work. That really is going to be your best option. They have the words largest 18v line up. They will be the most powerful and they will not die. But they are somewhat costly.
Milwaukee is probably second best. I have the Milwaukee 12v lineup at home. (their 12v drill is the only 12v tool with a 1/2" chuck, all others are 3/8") They are not bad tools, i see a lot of contractors using them. 12v and 18v.

Other brands don't have such a wide product line up. So it's hard to recommend. That should be driving your decision. Think about what tools you may or may not want in the future and what brands will offer them? Makita has an AWESOME lineup of outdoor power equipment that's 18v.
Edit* Just see for yourself... https://www.makitatools.com/products...less#f:18v;36v

People are going to suggest Dewalt. Please stay away. All those tools are absolute junk.

I've been surprisingly happy with Home Depot's Ridgid brand. I have a drill and an impact driver, both primarily for working around the house. I was skeptical at first but I have not had any problems with them, they held up great building a deck. They supposedly have a really good warranty but I have not had to use it, so cannot comment there. Fine for around the house for sure. Otherwise I like Milwaukee, but typically cost a bit more.

Makita, Dewalt, and Milwaukee are your best options. I personally use Makita, my best tools are the brushless drill and 1/2" impact. I have they're 3/8" impact but it's the 1/4" adapter, and eventually the $7 adapter piece breaks. Not a big deal but annoying. The 3/8" is going to be your work horse for the miata, doing most engine and suspension pieces, where as the 1/2" is going to be irreplaceable for wheels, hubs, axles, and crank bolts.

My suggestion for any of these brands is to buy an impact/drill/x2 battery/charger combo, which they all seem to have, and then a tool-only 1/2" impact.

Edit: I got this kit: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-1...-207054643-_-N
and this 1/2" impact:
The impact was only $200 when I bought it, so definitely shop around.

I should say that my "$900 Snap-On" 3/8" impact I use at work was only ~$600 with two batteries and a charger, and is 1/2 the size and weight of the above products, with double the power. You get what you pay for.

Mikita and Milwaukee have been the best for me recently. Mikita has the most comprehensive set and is the only one that is not owned by a larger conglomerate. The Ridgid tools are fairly good which is surprising since they are owned by Home Depot and their lower cost option.

This has not been my experience.

I have a total of five DeWalt cordless drills (one at home, four at work), plus a cordless impact driver.

While we're not using 'em to push 4" hole saws through rebar-filled concrete, the ones at work do get used pretty much every single day.


Why, here's one now:

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...368841293d.png

(I swear I didn't stage that photo. Just swiveled around in my chair and there it was.)

The one above was a gift from mom. She bought it after I finally killed my trusty old Milwaukee while installing some patio lights down at their place in FL about eight years ago. It was my first DeWalt tool, and I've purchased several more since.

So, I guess the moral of the story is this- DeWalt: Kid tested, Mother approved.

I got a Dewalt 1/2 impact and a drill, with two batteries and a charger. Subsequently bought a 125mm angle grinder, looking at a pair of shears, and maybe a small chainsaw.

The grinder does chew battery though, but if you have the spare charging ...

Milwaukee is what i use.
they have a cordless wet/dry vaccuum that i use for anything and everything and a leaf blower thats excellent for "sweeping" out my garage.
i use my 1/4" impact, hammer drill amd sawzall for a living; they have yet to let me down and even if they did, milwaukees warranty department is lightning fast.

+1 to Milwaukee.

I recently started with their 12v lineup. I was very surprised by the amount of power their 12v hex impact driver delivers. I recently finished a Torsen diff swap and the hex impact handled it all surprisingly well.

I would recommend Dewalt, but ONLY if you get the brushless models.

Nobody else uses the Kobalt stuff from Lowes? Just me? I have set of their 24v tools at home and at work. I have used the lights, drills, drivers, and saws daily and abusively for 3-4 years now without issue.

I cross-shopped the Kobalt 40v yard tools against the Ryobi stuff from Home Depot, and I found the plastic casings on the Kobalt stuff to be universally lighter, thinner and flimsier. Kind of turned me off the whole brand, although admittedly I've never handled their power tools.

I've only used a Kobalt drill once. As soon as I snapped in the battery, my cat immediately went rigid, spoke a sentence of perfect Akkadian, and was then levitated into the air and hurled sideways through the picture window. Also, the grip was slightly uncomfortable.

What ever you do just get brushless. Makita dewalt Milwaukee are all solid. But pick a platform and stick with it that way batteries areal interchange.

Attachment 227728

And whatever you get, try and get a nice father's day deal. They should have the drill / impact driver / charger / two battery combos for CHEAP.

I've switched to Milwaukee at home. Both M12 and M18 stuff. I've been pretty impressed with everything so far, but in the past I had always just used whatever was cheapest and so I don't have much to go on haha. I won't always buy exclusively Milwaukee accessories if another brand makes something that will work for cheaper, but for the tools and batteries themselves I've been pretty happy with everything. The price isn't terrible if you can find stuff on sale, which happens a few times a year.

The fire department I work for switched a few years ago from DeWalt to Milwaukee exclusively. Mostly the M28 line for the heavier duty stuff, but also some M18. Supposedly the M28 line is no longer supported (as in there won't be any new tools produced) so I don't know what our replacement plan will be when the time comes. But the tools all get pretty well abused and have stood up well so far.

In Australia, Ryobi were among the first reliable 18V tools available with a decent charge life that didn't cost a fortune and all my cordless tools are Ryobi since I don't want to deal with multiple batteries and chargers from different manufacturers.

Prior to these I loved Makita corded tools and would have stayed with them in 18V cordless form but they arrived much later than the Ryobi cordless tools :(

I haven't had any issues with my Ryobi cordless tools as a DIYer and they get a lot of use but would buy Makita.if I didn't have any cordless tools (stick with one manufacturer, you want at least 2 batteries so multiple manufacturers will require multiple charges and LOTS of batteries).

I had some old DeWalt 14V stuff. The replacement replacement batteries gave up so I gave them to a friend (who bought replacement batteries and is using them still) and started to buy the M12 and M18 Milwaukee stuff. Have had to use the warantee once, it was fairly painless. I have mostly M12 tools (hammer drill, drill with 1/2" chuck, 3/8 impact, and the vibrating multitool thing). They are all solid and work well. The 1/2" 12v drill will rip itself out of yiur hand before stalling.