I need a new cordless drill/driver and Sears has an 19.2volt Craftsman for $99 with two batteries and charger and Lowes has a similar Dewalt (I think it is 18volt)with two batteries and a sawzall for $199. I don't have a sawzall, was planning to buy a corded one in the future, but wouldn't mind the cordless if it is good.
Any suggestions?

 

I am a little disapointed in my craftsman cordless, it does fine and is torquie, but the battery runs down if not being used, it's 18 volt.
My dewalt at work can sit in my locker for 3 weeks and when i need it, it still charged.
I went for the craftsman for the price, i just have to leave it on charge.

 

i would say the dewalt sounds good i have the 18v 1/2" drill and i love it and it is my 2nd dewalt the first one i used for 6 yrs and it was still working perfect when i decided to upgrade

 

The higher the voltage the more weight, If you have to work above your head it starts to matter!! All are pretty much the same as far as quality goes as long as it is cared for. Do not leave the battery discharged, put on the charger immediately after use and it has cooled. Charge it every month at least and if you don't use it for 2 months or so give it a workout, charge and discharge to about 75% then recharge do this a couple times. All batteries self discharge to some degree the heat they are stored at plays a big part in that. So if you put up a batt with 50% use and it is a month before you charge it it is now probably at 10% or it is 0% and a good chance of having a reversed or dead cell and it will never hold a charge to any satisfaction if at all!! Keep them charged, don't drop them, exercise or use regular even just the flashlight if you have it. All batteries have a certain life span usually 300 to 400 cycles
With proper care and cooler storage it can hit the upper end!! Look up blasting dendrites and you can bring back some ni cads from the dead, kind of like a defribillator
If you got the scratch go for the Lithium ion you will be running around looking for something to run the battery down, They last forever, just don't pierce the case or drop from a very high distance wear your lanyard. Those A123 are the most reliable
Liion cells out right now.

 

Milwaukee is the only stuff I buy, but I would take DeWalt over Craftsman.

 

DeWalt's tool network is one of the best. Also, DeWalt does not change their design every year or two so your tools will be good years from now. Everyone else has made revisions.

When DeWalt switches to Li ion batteries they will be in the same cases as the current batteries so the weight will not be an issue soon.

My $.02,
Mike

 

I would go with dewalt myself. They were the power only tools we used where I used to work, besides the one milwakee cordless that one guy owned and the hilti's we rented once in a while.

 

Thanks for the tips. I went with the Dewalt even before reading all these replies.
It sure does beat my turquoise 9.6 volt Makita that it is replacing. Yeah, that sucker is like 15 or more years old. Still kicking, but can drill less than one hole per charge!