I have a 15.6 volt Panasonic that is great, plus it has nickel metal hydride bateries. Generates its full rated torque at any speed, all the way down to when it is barely turning.

 

skill 18 volt twisted off a 1/2"bit all i can say

 

I recently bought a new drill, and spent a considerable amount of time researching them. This is the gist of what I found. Porter cables are heavy, and are known for eating their gears up. Newer dewalts have issues with their gears and battery life. The panasonic gets rave reviews for its batteries, they are the best, but it does have a twitchy trigger, its hard to get a slow speed with it. I liked the Bosch's feel and ergonomics the best, but it didnt come with Nimh batteries or a smart charger. I got the Makita 6337DWE 1/2" chuck model, especially when I saw Home Depot having them out for $125. (They now have them marked at $180). I had a Ryobi prior to this, and after about 6 years the batteries finally died.

 

I have an Makita 14.4 and it still works like new. It's 4 yrs old

 

I really believe that cordless tools are just a ploy to sell batteries.

 

I have three Porter Cables of different voltages, and one Dewalt. They're all at least five years old. I find the PC's to be better balanced than the Dewalt, and the charge seems to last longer on their batteries. I used to have a Sears that was made by Ryobi. The battery finally gave-out, so I gave the drill to a friend that had the same model. It was like a toy compared to the PC's.

MR

 

i have a way over worked 9.6v dewalt,that just keep's going,a 14.4v ryobi that i use pretty hard,and a 18.0v makita i use at work every day,and they are all good.i still have a heavy duty 1/2''b&d corded drill,and a lite duty 3'8'' corded that i still use all the time.they all work good.

 

I have a Makita 7.2V, DeWalt 12V and 14.4V.For most of my projects the 14.4 works best. For just general purpose work and price the 14.4V Firestorm (Black and Decker) is good. I got mine from Sears for $69 on sale. I would say go with the Firestorm. Good luck, George

 

I have a Skil 18v that the battery died and new ones are no longer made. (Long winded way of saying paper weight.)
I have a Coleman 18V drill that runs fine.
My friend has a Tool Shop 18v from Menards that he likes. The man that put in new windows upstairs used an 18v Tool Shop. The maintenace guys at work use 18v Tool Shop drills.
When Menards has their tote sale after the first of the year (buy a plastic tote for $3-4 and ANYTHING you can fit in the tote is 20.05% off) I might pick up a Tool Shop 18V.
The window instaler told me that when buying a power tool, a big question should be "Where is this going to break when I drop it?"

 

i love all of dewalts tools, but the drills are kinda pricey. I went with a craftsman and itsa great drill too, battery life could be a bit longer though.

 

I've got a DeWalt 12v and a DeWalt 18v. No complaints or regrets.

 

I got rid of my POS Milwakee 14.4 and bought a Bosch 14.4. Wow what a difference the Bosch I feel is balanced better and just plain more comfy to use. But it ain't cheap.

 

I like my milwakee 14.4 (it is a 14.4v 1/2" hammer though), but it is balance really crappy.. The newer ones are balanced a lot different now though.


The problem with getting tool opinions is that most people like their "brand X" tool they've had for 5 years. However, in the last 5 years, the company has sold out or made their tools a lot cheaper.

I've been thinking about bosch and hitachi now since people have mentioned them. has anyone bought one in the last 6 months?? and what price are we talking about for say a 1/2" hammer or something along those lines..?

I think it is better to got with a 1/2" if you are drilling alot (esp masonary). 3/8" are great to drive in screws though.

 

Here at work, they run a lot of Dewalts. When the battery packs finally give out they just take them apart, remove the rechargeable batteries, and rebuild them with new ones. A little soldering and they are as good as new for half the price of buying an entire pack.

 

Hey guys thanks for all the replies so far. Ive always hated to buy one fearing Id buy the wrong one.Theres nothing like talking to a guy that has used one and knows what there like. Iknow I could count on the guys on this site. Hey Thanks again. Any more thoughts out there.