Panasonic. Yes, Panasonic.

Smaller, more power, hold charges longer.

I use the bejesus out of my tools.

Regardless of what you get for a cordless, make sure the trigger lets you get smooth power through the whole power curve, from almost zero rpm's to full juice. Trust me, once you use a drill that gives you that you'll never go back to a trigger that leaps from zero to say 150 rpm.

 

Milwaukee is the best by far !!
Four years in and out of ditches in the rain and mud and my drill and sawzall never once failed. Get the hatchet sawzall with the kit they are very handy.

 

My new favorite is the Bosch impact syle. It is , I think, 18V, 3/4 the size of my 12V DeWalt, and power is incedible.

Now the bad news....$389.00 gets you two batteries, charger, and drill.

Have just completed 3 drywall jobs, no problems even after the drill was kicked off the scaffold to the concrete 10 feet below.

Ed

 

As was mentioned, "reconditioned" usually means the tool was returned defective then repaired by the manufacturer. The three best names in tools are generally Milwaukee, Hitachi, and Porter Cable. If you buy one of these, I don't think you can go wrong.

 

consumers guide last year rated porter cable milwalkee panosonic in that order

 

be careful with that idea.

I had one 12V dewalt self-disassemble itself using it on lugnuts. Turns out the chuck is threaded onto the motor armature - and the only thing keeping it from unthreading itself is a small (like - *small*) reverse-thread bolt down the centerline of the truck. Too much torgue in reverse and the small bolt snaps, chuck unthreads itself and pops off. No big deal, except the whole torque clutch comes too.

Don't know if the newer ones are held together the same way but I'm going to buy a 1/4 or 3/8 impact driver for that sort of use now.

 

reconditioned means it has been returned to the factory and any problems fixed thus it cant be sold as new.
As far as brands. I have a dewalt corded and a craftsman cordless. Our shop has gone thru about a dozen 1/2" dewalt cordless drills. either the motor burns up or the gears break. We replaced it with a Milwaukee hole hog cordless and that thing rocks. My advice is to pick up the drill without a battery and see where the weight is. if its light near the chuck, its plastic gears and are junk.

 

Craftsman club sale started today. I have the 19.2v 12" drill and love it. the spare batteries can be bought for about $30.

 

I was a Milwaukee guy for YEARS, but when I researched buying a cordless impact for work, Makita had the best reviews, so I went for it...

man... I LOVE this thing... I've got the 14.4v impact/drill combo. I've never used the drill, but my buddy's used his and likes it. I use my impact to drive deck screws when rebuilding my shipping crates, and man does it RUN 'EM!!!!!

but for tearing down and assembling machines, it rocks... the 14.4v is rated at 107ftlbs and the 12v is rated at like 90ish. same exact tool, but different battery.

they just came out w/ an 18v lithium ion cordless impact that I'd really like to have just to have the biggest and best, but my little 14.4 does just great. battery life is AWESOME compared to Millwauke cordless stuff I've used in the past too!

the Makita is the smallest of the cordless impacts, and it also packs the biggest punch. not sure what application you're needing a cordless drill for, but like I said, this thing will drive deck and drywall screws like CRAZY! obviously it's a little loud but MAN

 

Im never going back to cordless.

Give me a corded 1/2" drill and let there be NO batteries.

 

I now have the Rigid 18 volt hammer drill and it is by so far the best and most powerful cordless I have owned. It came with a dual charger and charges them to full in 30 min or less, it usually only takes about 15 min. the charger has a cooling fan so the batteries do not overheat.
It came in a set with the drill, circular saw and a flashlight.
The saw is surprisingly good but not for heavy-duty use for that I use my Skill 77.
It does fine on small jobs, I just cut a bunch of plywood and 2X6’s working on my roof right now and have done it on 1 battery
The charger is in my truck and powered from my inverter.
I got the center handle over the traditional rear and it has a much better balance and feel. Downside of this drill is it is on the heavy side and a bit tiring when you are on a ladder or working overhead.
Before this I had an 18 volt 3 speed DeWalt and that thing had a loud gear train and didn't seem to have the power.
I also have Hilti, Makita's and Milwaukee corded power tools; the Milwaukee Hole Hawg can take you for a spin.
I use the Rigid for almost all of my drilling when I am installing alarms and video systems and they handle augers and hole saws with NO problem.
I have cut 6” holes in thick aluminum plate and steel. It has enough power that you need to be careful, because I was drilling a plate in an attic with a 3” bull bit and it hit a nail, the drill caught and had me pinned in the attic.
I also made a 3 foot extension for when I have to install water heater restraints on homes, it reaches around the tank where you can't get your hand and is socketed for a 3/8 X 3" lag bolt.
It will drive them in with NO problem.
I don’t know if anybody makes one, but I wish there was a leather or neoprene jacket to protect the housing, like on my impact wrench.
BTW You can snap a lot of drywall screws if you don't set the clutch.
Jim

 

What ever drill you decide to buy, I would recommend that you insure you can get new batteries for it. Sears sells good stuff but their marketing strategy doesn't allow for them to keep spares for their small battery powered drills for more than a few years. Ryobi was manufacturing the drills and they sell them so cheap that when they break they just replace them. This information was given to me by a Sears salesman, for what it is worth. I like DeWalt. They seem to have good quality and a reasonable price, plus the versatility that is equal to anything else out there.

 

I prefer to keep a smaller (9.6V or 12V) driver/drill around for light duty work. Being lighter and smaller they are easier to handle when on a ladder or in awkward positions. Currently I have smaller Makita units that work for what I do but the Milwaukee and Bosch 18 or 24V units are more for production level use, with a correspondingly higher price for batteries. A jammed up bit on a 24V Bosch will come close to breaking your wrist unless you let go real quick.

My brother installs home theater/whole house audio systems and they use 24V Bosch equipment. Other than the batteries being outrageous they get good use out of them. I think they only had to replace one drill casing that busted off the battery latch when it got dropped and that is after three years or so of daily use/abuse. I know they had a fit when the batteries started dying because the replacement cost for a set of batteries will just about buy you a new drill/charger/2 batteries.

With any rechargable batery you have to be careful about dropping the battery - the way they are made and the material in them can be shorted out from shock load from being dropped.

 

The home depot has the makita I believe for $179 new with a case and charger with flashlight 18v. seen it last week. I think I'm going to go back and get it.

 

I must realy be cheap...and lucky ..

I needed a cordless and didnt have a whole lot of money at the time, so I bought a Chicago Electric 18V from Harbor Freight, I think it was around 50$ with a spare battery and charger.
I have had the thing almost 5 years now, use it constantly.... havent had a bit of trouble, built two barns with it now( screwing in the metal-screws for the tin and have dropped it, its been stepped on by a horse, fell out of the truck while moving... havent broke it yet...(knock on wood....)