Often, power tools are where it’s “at”. When people visit the site, they want to know who makes the best corded and cordless power tools. This includes drills, drivers, hammer drills, saws, lights, sanders, multi-tools, best shop vacs, and more. These powered tools have reduced the time it takes to complete many jobs and tasks tradesmen work on every day. Our power tool reviews take the most recent tools and talk about how they rate and rank in the industry. Our reviews are targeted and written for the tradesman and business owner. Our goal is to allow the Pros a chance to see which recent developments in the industry are increasing productivity and which are just gimmicks. We also want to help you know which power tools are best overall. For this, we have round-up articles to find the best cordless hammer drill, best impact driver, and the best reciprocating saw. If these don’t help you find the best power tools, we don’t know what will.
One of the first things we noticed about the Skil 2895LI-02 18V Cordless Drill/Driver was how lightweight it felt in our hands. Now some might take this as a negative point, but we liked what we saw because the tool had good balance, was easy to hang onto and appeared to be well made. While many heavy duty homeowners will like this tool, we think that many budget conscious contractors can also benefit from its no-nonsense approach to driving and drilling.
Take something that is good and make it better. That’s what Hitachi did with their new WH10DFL 12V Peak Lithium Ion Micro Impact Driver. This impact driver is also part of the KC10DFL 12V Driver Drill and Impact Driver Micro Combo Kit. Features like a smaller size, lighter weight, better batteries and more power are just a few of the improvements that make this new tool stand out. In a market with many new tools in the sub-compact category, it can be a tricky endeavor to add value and good features.
Take something that is already good and continue to make it better. That’s what Hitachi did with their new Hitachi DS10DFL 12V Micro Drill Driver. This drill is also part of Hitachi’s KC10DFL 12V Driver Drill and Impact Driver Micro Combo Kit. Features like a smaller size, lighter weight, better batteries and more power are just a few of the improvements that make this new tool stand out. In a market with many new tools in the sub-compact category, it can be a tricky endeavor to add value as well as good features.
Compact tools are all the rage and, to make sure they have their market share, Milwaukee Tools has beefed up their M12 line with some pretty cool goodies like the 2491-24 four tool combo kit. Two of the included cordless tools that drew us in were the 850 in-lb impact driver and a small sized reciprocating saw.
Ryobi decided to follow the Craftsman Nextec Hammerhead’s lead and came out with their own version of a cordless Auto Hammer just in time for the 2009 Christmas Holiday Season. Since this tool seems to be a popular gift item this year, and just about every Home Depot store has a sample station set up so you can test it before you buy it, we decided to put it through our own battery of tests. In the past we have been pleasantly surprised by the balance of quality, features and price of the Ryobi brand products. Read on to see if this tool lived up to our expectations.
When you hear the name Porter Cable, thoughts of quality tools usually come to mind; so when we heard about the new PC180DK-2 18V cordless Drill/Driver Kit we were pretty excited to check it out. This cordless drill/driver kit comes complete with two Ni-Cad batteries, a “fast” 60-minute charger, carry case and double-ended bit. As we began to remove the drill from its packaging we quickly noticed its quality, like the gray hard-molded ABS plastic body with black overmolded rubber grips. The tool has a decent heft to it that seemed to convey a rather robust build quality. This is a tool that is ready for business.
We got to take a look at the Milwaukee M18 Cordless Work Light (49-24-0171). Initially we liked the basic design of the work light, but had to complain, respectfully, that any stand-alone light in this day and age should include a new super-bright LED bulb. Milwaukee sells both an LED-based Work Light 2735-20 ($55) and a 50,000-hour stand-alone LED upgrade bulb 49-81-0090 ($30).
Having a cordless circular saw is like having the keys to your parents’ sports car and a full tank of gas […]
The Milwaukee M18 Sawzall (2620-22) is just plain fun to use. It’s cordless, which opens up a wide range of opportunities for use, and weighs just shy of 8 lbs with the battery. The weight puts it surprisingly close to its corded brethren. What it gives up in power (and lack of orbital action) it makes up in strokes per minute. In fact, it has more SPM than the corded 11-15 amp models Milwaukee offers. Since it lacked orbital action (which reduces its effectiveness at demolition work) overall cutting progress was considerably slower than a corded or even cordless orbital model.
When we picked up the Milwaukee 2601-20 M18 drill we immediately noticed its serious heft. Weighing in at 4 lbs, this is not a light-duty model that you’ll want to reserve for assembling furniture and pre-drilling holes for shelves. This is a heavy-duty tool that can certainly hold up to commercial use. It also weighs much less than Milwaukee’s V28 line of tools – which makes it a good fit for professionals who want as much power as they can get without having to look like circa-1984 Arnold Schwarzenegger to carry the tool around all day long.
