The sales cometh, so... cordless power tools?

I am in serious need of some new cordless tools (drill, 1/2" impact, etc). The Ryobi 18V Li-Ion One+ line looks really nice (and their 20V Li-Ion garden edger is fantastic). Any other systems recommended? Best sale to grab them at?

Cant help with sales and whatnot, but I received a Ryobi kit as a gift a few years back. Contained a circular saw, drill/driver, and recip. saw, plus got the tight angle screwdriver as a bonus add on, and everything in the kit is still working very well 2 years later. The batteries are starting to show fatigue, where their charge gone about a day after coming off the charger, regardless of usage, but will power thru an hour or 2 of use without much loss in juice.

That said, they've performed handsomely through 2 whole house renos, and dozens of this-n-that honey do type handicraft around the house/garage. I have no plans to replace the tools any time soon, but a pair of new 18v batteries is climbing up the list of wants...

I got myself the Ryobi 18V Li-Ion One+ Drill and Driver combo last year for Fathers Day and I think they are great. The batteries hold a charge for a long time and while in use have good life. Plus you can then pick up whatever older One+ tools you like and the batteries will work.

I've got the Ryobi ecosystem as well. I'm satisfied with it. Just keep in mind that corded power tools will always outperform a battery powered tool.

Yesterday I saw an ad for a new Bosch cordless driver that uses wireless charging. Simply set the drill on the charging platform and that's it. I don't know about you, but that sounds freakin' awesome.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

Pretty much what Keith said. I recently picked up a ryobi combo that was the cordless drill, cordless sawzall, (2) li-ion batts and smart charger for $80. Seemed pretty perfect for a grm'er buying into a new set.

I love my Ryobi 18v impact driver. It really has some grunt. I used it to mend some picket fence at my house and it powered wood screws through 4x4s all day long.

I have a Hitachi drill and light. The light is good, but the drill, after a few years of being heavily used (you've seen my build thread), and it doesn't hold the torque limiting feature where I want it, so it stops drilling. I taped that feature out since I poo'. It looks like this:

18V I think. Avoid.

I'm going with the Rigid brand LiOn drill/impact combo for $199 at Home Depot. Comes with $50 coupon towards other power tools.

I like this. Best warranty/service agreement in the business.

I only haven't pulled the trigger already because i want to see if it'll be on sale further for Black Friday, but Home Depot doesn't seem to want to tell anyone what will be on sale.

Which sucks for them a bit, because they have a bunch of stuff right now that i'd like to buy to get a jump start on the home garage at good prices, but i don't want to be mad if i buy now, and they mark it down a bunch on Friday.

Here's the Rigid combo: http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-X4-18-Volt-Hyper-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-Drill-and-Impact-Driver-Combo-Kit-3-Tool-with-Radio-R9601/203810442?N=5yc1vZca8n

I’ve bought three cordless combo sets over the years as gifts but I’ve never gotten one for myself…this thread is of much interest. My top priority is a battery system that won’t be phased out (see what I did) in a few years; sounds like Ryobi Lin-Ion One+ addresses this requirement.

Also, if you are drilling serious holes, this thing is un-berkeleying-stoppable

http://www.stanleysupplyservices.com/dewalt-dc900kl-36v-cordless-hammerdrill/p/443-429

I used it on the job to drill 5/8" holes through 1/2" steel plate, and the stupid thing did like ten of them before running out of battery. The chuck is amazing, and the handle isn't just for show.

In reply to Ian F:

Glad to see these getting to market. I encourage everyone to run out and pick up a wireless charging combo set!

Add another pleased owner of the Ryobi 18V lithium ion. You just missed the home depot deal where you get the impact and drill plus two batteries and smart charger for $100. Maybe they'll offer it again this week?

I've no complaints with Dewalt stuff except when it gets really used and worn in. By that time, it starts to have trouble grabbing and slips. Dewalt batteries don't like cold weather either. I have a cordless drill from Harbor Freight that i've had no issues with.

All my cordless stuff is Makita. I've accidentally dropped it 30 feet off of an aircraft tail picked it up and used it unscrew a leading edge like nothing happened. It's put in more floorboards than I can count and drilled a ton of sheet metal holes. That thing doesn't owe me a dime even though it's only used for light duty stuff now.

The 18v batteries also come in a half size version which makes it really light and the charger recharges the batteries in under 15 minutes.

In reply to The0retical:

I had a corded Makita die. I went to take it apart and the label said "Makita Japan..........made in China" and I threw it away. Be aware, they are no longer excellent at everything they sell.

Dewalt/milwaukee here.....and they'll probably still work in 15-20 years.

In reply to yamaha:

Be aware that Milwaukee also sells some made in China things that probably aren't as good as their tools of olden days.

My buddy works for Dewault, which is owned by Black and Decker, and oddly enough it is the ownership namesake stuff that is made in China.

I keep finding myself buying nicer CORDED tools lately. Most of my work is close to plenty of outlets.

captdownshift wrote: In reply to Ian F: Glad to see these getting to market. I encourage everyone to run out and pick up a wireless charging combo set!

Hmm... I suspect you are involved with this somehow?

In reply to Ian F:

not just when it comes to power tool recharging, wireless charging components embedded into injection molded or roto formed plastics though, yes. In both of those situations I do well. (thanks Motorola, Toyota, Mopar, Bosch and several others (3 additional auto manufacturers will offer it very, very soon)

I didn't read all the way through so this may have been mentioned. I also have the ryobi 18 lithium system and it has been great. But if I had it to do again, ridgid has the same parent company and they have a lifetime warranty thru home depot as long as you register it

Add me to the list, looking for a Sawzall and Impact gun. Milwaukee or DeWalt, but Rigid's warranty is very enticing. Does Holmes Depot still take Harbor Freight coupons?

This all gets murked up, but I'll try to make some sense out of it.

They all are basically made by one of two these days. That is not to say they're all the same, but the illusion of choice is a bit fun to walk through. I worked for Home Depot repair for a few years and I've seen them all, fixed them all, played with them all.

For years, the real go-to was Milwaukee. They are still one of the best, but they have been bought by Dewalt. The whole kit and caboodle was bought up by Ridgid a few years ago along with Black and Decker. So under one hypothetical roof you have B&D, Ryobi, Homelite, Dewalt, Ridgid, and Milwaukee, and I would put them in that order of quality. Of all of those, I sill prefer the Milwaukee for overall quality. But... I personally own Ridgid. Their batteries suck, but the lifetime warranty is truly as good as it gets in the industry as long as you register your tools. If you don't, you don't get squat. I probably gave away $20,000 worth of inventory to Ridgid customes who brought in a tool for repair. Sometimes I repaired, but most of the time it was just a new one off the shelf. Ridgid guts are actual metal and soldered wire. Step down below Dewalt and you get plastic planetary gears and crimp connectors on the wires inside. I would still place Milwaukee above Ridgid in quality, but they have a flat 2- or 5-year warranty, which is what keeps me a Ridgid customer. My absolute only complaint about the Ridgid kit I have is that the sawzall doesn't have a very long stroke. Its plenty powerful, but the stroke is pathetic.

The Hitatchi stuff is very good. I rarely saw them in for repair, but they also don't sell nearly as well so there aren't many out there compared to Ridgid. When they did come in, it was usually because of a bad trigger/switch or because the motor fried, but it was pretty rare. I usually advised Hitatchi customers to frequently blow out the vents with compressed air. They way they're vented sucks a lot of junk into the motors and they overheat.