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I have Bosch 12V for my smaller stuff, I stuck with them for an 18V impact driver; but recently got a Milwaukee ratchet and love them.
Ryobi. Not that I think they are superior but because as others have done, it’s a collection built over the years. I started with a set back when they were blue (2006) and every one of those still work today. I don’t use them to make my living but I haven’t babied them either. The absolute best part is that they’ve kept the same battery design so even though the original NiCads finally gave up the ghost, I can pop in a new Lithium one and still use the old tools along with the new.
Overall I think they have a great value.
I think their long term battery compatibility is awesome. If I’d known about it before I bought my Metabo hpt stuff I probably would ve gone with ryobi.
Honestly staying with what you already have is the number one thing IMO. The batteries and chargers are often as/more expensive as the tool and it’s nice to be able to interchange.
I did have a not so old Ryobi battery go bad but there are a lot of cheap off-brand compatible replacements. They might be 80% as good but you can three for the price of one original.
I have mostly DeWalt 20v tools, started with their 18V stuff years ago and the fact that they released an adapter to use the newer batteries in the older tools helped ease the transition. I’ve been happy with all of them, both for automotive projects and work around the house and yard.
I also have a small collection of Milwaukee 12v tools. Started with the cordless ratchet, then the cordless right angle grinder, 3″ polisher and some lights. I also ended up grabbing another drill/impact kit on sale so those often get thrown in my bag when working on small projects. Milwaukee has done a nice job with the M12 line and offers a lot of tools that nobody else does.
I’ve been eyeing some of the 12v Milwaukee too. Very tempting, although not cheap. Maybe Black Friday.
Black Friday is a good time to look. Home Depot also does power tool deals of the day about once a week and there’s usually a lot of Milwaukee stuff included. The deals are out there, but I do think Milwaukee tools are overpriced in general.
Corded tools I don’t really care much as long as I think its a decent quality for a decent price. Cordless, I use Dewalt because I already have some big dewalt batteries and I have no interest in spending that money yet again for another brand.
My battery power tools are Ryobi to have battery compatibility with the FRC team I mentor. I even have a drill from the Blue Ryobi days that still works fine. The rest are misc brands and Harbor Freightium… speaking of which time to wait for a broken tap extractor….
I’m just finishing my first year of mentoring FRC. I was new to it – Really amazing program, although our team is not where we want to be.
Cool! It’ll take a season or two to get the hang of it but it’s a fun time and even as a mentor you’ll learn a lot.
All my power tools are ridgid. Made in the same factory as milwaukee but not eye wateringly expensive. I don’t see a point for paying the upcharge as they are just as good as milwaukee imo.
For power tools, it is now the M18 Milwaukee stuff, because the first tool I bought, the M18 Impact, is a beast. Now I have a sawzall, as well as a weed-whacker (which has interchangeable ends, in case my edger takes a dump, or I want a long hedger).
Hand tools, I tend to buy Craftsman, but also have been adding in a lot of Husky stuff, because it’s cheaper with as good of – or a better – warranty, especially with Sears not being a place I can just…go to anymore.
Whatever is the best deal and doesn’t have terrible reviews. My power tool shelf and charging area is a rainbow. Milwaukee, DeWalt, Ryobi, HitachiHPT, Greenworks80v(if that counts), Bosch. I love everything I have. My mom’s neighbor is Makita loyal and talks highly of them. Just never caught a great deal with them.
I’m not loyal – I just bought Makita and luckily their 1/2 impact was pretty legit.
I use DeWalt 20v power tools just because I bought a drill combo years ago and I feel locked in.The one thing I wish DeWalt made was a water pump, like Milwaukee. Otherwise, I’ve been good. Drills(regular, Impact, Hammer), two sizes of hammer wrench(these are a godsend on frozen nuts/bolts), Saws(Sawzall, Circular, Pole), multitool, grease gun, and air inflator.
Regular hand tools are all over the place. Harbor Freight, Craftsman, Kobalt, etc.
Same exact reason everything I have is DeWalt. They’re certainly fine, but I’ve liked a lot of the Ryobi and Milwaukee stuff some of my friends have.
I used to use Hilti with green/yellow/red loads for driving pins into concrete. Corded tools were either Craftsmans or Makitas. Cordless has all been Ryobi (to keep the same batteries)
Been a fan of Ryobi for a long time. They’ve got a huge selection of different tools for home and garage, and I love having only one type of battery I can use for everything. Drills, impact wrench, string trimmer, tire inflator, work lamps, saws, small multi-tool. They’ve got everything.
Team nothing. Aside from the cordless makita drill/impact pair they’re all corded. The cordless duo are used more yearly than the corded circular/miter saw/sawzall/brad nailer/oscillating tool/hammer drill combined. As the corded tools were purchased thru the years on an as-needed basis, its a mish-mash of brands. No label is owed my loyalty.
I’m vendor-locked, if that’s what you mean. I took me years and years to finally move to a new brand/battery format, before finally deciding on Milwaukee 18V. I’m mostly happy with it, but my drill’s quill is eccentric and makes three-lobed holes (especially on holes <5/16″), which drives me goddamn crazy.
edit to add: no loyalty in particular beyond above vendor lock, but I have some nice Bosch corded tools, DeWalt here and there, and 10:1 Kobalt:Husky everything else, because Lowes is a mile closer.
Wait! There is one thing I will buy on purpose and to a brand: multimeters. Fluke or nothing.
Love my Flukes!
When Sears was still around and selling Craftsman tools, I was a big fan of their 14.4V cordless drill: it worked all day running 3″ screws through 5/8″ MDF and into wall studs. (I did the detached garage’s walls in heavy MDF so I could hang stuff anywhere.) Yes, I know Craftsman still exists as a brand; no, it’s not the same.
For the past several years I’ve been on Team Ryobi. The 18V One devices have really good battery life and there are hundreds of tools that use the same battery, which is nice. In addition to regular and impact drivers, I have the cutoff tool, die grinder, and some oddballs like a one-handed pruning chainsaw with an 8″ bar. (Just call me ‘Ash’…)
We were talking about cordless tire inflators in the Autopian Discord a week or two ago, and we generally agreed that the now-discontinued Ryobi model (shaped like a cordless drill) is really good except for one thing: it has a hair trigger and no safety/lockout, so remove the battery before keeping one in your vehicle unless you want to be startled to death when it starts running on its own.
I do still have corded drills of the 3/8″ and 1/2″ varieties with keyed chucks, but they don’t see any use these days.
The Craftsman set my dad bought 40 years ago is great, the new stuff not so much. I happy with a Lowe’s Kobalt mechanics set I picked up during pandemic for most things. I have a old 1/2″ Craftsman and 3/8″ SK set I use for certain jobs that are better.
Before Sears was ruined, Craftsman stood for something- while I was never a huge fan of their cosmetic design, the vendors were highly qualified and each tool was tested hard before it was called Craftsman – and there were a lot of U.S. based suppliers.
The answer is always Milwaukee.
Hear, hear!
Reppin’ the 414 baby!
Milwaukee Is Like What Advanced Users Keep Endorsing Everyday
My POV on tools is either:
1 – You can swear once when you buy an expensive tool.
Or
2 – You can swear every time you use a cheap tool.
I have that tattoo…
So says Project Farm https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectFarm
Most of the time anyway…
Craftsman. I grew up going to Sears with my grandfather for tools. He always praised the quality of Craftsman tools and 98% of his tools were from Sears. Couple that with getting more tools when Sears stores were closing, I’ve ended up with a very red tool collection.
I know Craftsman quality and the warranty isn’t what it used to be, but they’re the only tools I’ll buy. All of my batter tools are Craftsman. Socket sets: Craftsman. Air compressor and tools: Craftsman. Tool chests; you guessed it, Craftsman (I also got a baller deal on a 2 chest cabinet set for the price of one piece at Lowes). I do have a few cheapy-HF sets, but they’re what I’d consider throw aways.
I’ve used them to build a shed in our backyard and I’ve been highly impressed with how well they’ve done.
I tend to buy corded for home use so I’m not overly picky. My good drills are Hitachi, my good pad sanders are Skil. The rest is a mish-mash of brands, some inherited. My cordless weed trimmer and leaf blower are Black and Decker, as are a pair of cordless drills. I have a compressor and a few air tools.
I worked at a lab in college with a lot of battery powered drills. Almost all were DeWalt or Ryobi purchased at Home Depot. They saw daily use by college students with limited experience with power tools and a lack of caring. The Ryobi tools seemed to last longer in every instance, made me a believer.
That said, when I got my first house family bought me some nice Milwaukee tools. Wanting to stay in the battery ecosystem I’ve since bought more. They’ve treated me very well, the only one that’s “broken” is my very first drill, and that’s only because it’s the only one that takes the old NiCd batteries versus the new lithium batteries. I’ve looked into adapters or new batteries but it was essentially as cheap to just buy a new drill with the modern batteries on a Black Friday sale.
When I worked in a machine shop in college the nice cordless drill that most students weren’t allowed to just grab was a DeWalt. Always likely it so when I got a house I bought one just like it. Years later it’s battery is not compatible with anything else I have but it’s a great drill and I still have a soft spot for the brand.
I buy cheap for occasional use and spend more for regular use, I have brands that make decent tools in both camps but not loyal to any in particular. I tend to use DeWalt for battery stuff as I already have batteries and they seem like really good tools.
If I use a cheap tool enough to wear it out or break it I replace it with a better one.
I’m on team Milwaukee, but I think most people would be just fine if not better off with Ryobi. I do have a milwaukee to ryobi battery adapter so for cheap / low use / disposable stuff like a tire inflator I’ll pick up the $30 ryobi tool over the overbuilt indestructible milwaukee version for $200. When it comes to corded tools though, harbor freight all the way. I’d rather buy 5 HF angle grinders for $12 each, have a different attachment on 4 of them, and keep one as a spare than buy a single name brand one for $100.
It used to be that You’d go with a brand like Dewalt if you were mainly into wood working / construction, snap-on / milwaukee if you’re a mechanic, milwaukee / ingersol rand if you’re doing heavy industry, etc. but now a days each brand makes good versions in each category so it mainly boils down to what battery system you want to commit to.
I’m not making a living off of my tools so good enough is usually good enough. I have cord reels and outlets where I need them so no real benefit to going cordless (and I can get a much better tool for less money).
I used to be team cord until I used a Milwaukee impact driver. Now I have six or seven Milwaukee tools and rarely use one of my old cord-powered tools. The convenience of cordless is a game-changer for me.
The price difference between cord and cordless tools isn’t vast if you stay in the same battery ecosystem.
Not as true for yard stuff though.
A cordless trimmer and blower is wayyyy more versatile and easier to wield.
All my yard stuff is cordless – 40V Black and Decker and a gas Toro mower.
Granted this won’t apply except for the high end tools, but you can get more power out of a cordless tool than a 110V outlet. Most corded tools use a “universal motor” which generally are 50% efficient so you’re getting about 800W max out of an outlet, but some milwaukee and dewalt cordless tools now exceed 1200W of useful power.
However I also agree with the “not making a living using tools” argument. There are several tools that I NEED to work right then and there and that’s where I’d lean milwaukee, but if I were just looking to stock my home garage I’d be mainly ryobi or harbor freight.
Yep. I tend to buy higher quality hand tools and look at usage before buying electric. TBH I usually just use a breaker bar to break free lug nuts and such (I hand torque mine so NBD). I have some pneumatic but its usually not worth the hassle.
I tend to prefer the precision of hand tools as as I’m not knocking them out at a shop…
DeWalt. Never let me down, and I’ve remodeled 2 100+ year old houses with them. Probably drilled thousands of holes, ran thousands of drywall screws. Plus I have a 10″ DeWalt table saw that I used for all of the millwork in my current house. Awesome tools.
Milwaukee has a mostly consistent and strong lineup with less duds than the competition. I recommend “The Torque Test Channel” on YouTube for tool comparisons.
Appreciate the reference.
TTC++
Or Project Farm for tool testing.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectFarm
Mostly Ryobi for battery tools which are fine for most of my uses. If more is needed, I have construction/mechanic friends to turn to. For cabled tools, I don’t care about brand, moreso the actual tool.
FLEX, a relatively new commer, has lifetime warranty on tools and batteries. They seem to do really well on most YouTube comparisons too, while being on the heavier side. I’ve started buying them and have been happy with the drill and mid-torque impact.
Is that a new Lowe’s private brand? No judgement, I just haven’t looked into it yet despite seeing them around. Poking around Lowe’s and HD’s sites didn’t turn up much, but I’m thinking it’s a slightly upmarket Kobalt?
Not really. It’s part of the same conglomerate that makes Ego, Kobalt, Skil and a few others. It’s somewhat exclusive to Lowes, like Milwaukee is exclusive to HD. But it’s also available online from other verified vendors.
It’s supposed to compete with and best Milwaukee and DeWalt. Some of their offerings are better, some are worse, but it’s generally really close.
Milwaukee is not exclusive to Home Depot.
It is in the same sense that you can’t get it at Lowes or Menards. If you read the whole sentence, I even use the word “somewhat” when making the comparison.
Hmm, I think actually Flex might be new to USA, if it is the same flex I know of, they are a german company famous for making very good grinders back in the day
https://www.slashgear.com/1396546/who-makes-flex-power-tools-are-they-good/
“The Flex brand started in Germany in 1922 and developed the first flexible-shaft grinder in 1954. In 2013″
Yes that’s them, no they aren’t new to USA. They’ve just kind of re-branded a bit and changed their marketing and sales direction with a huge push in their 24V battery lines.