Power tool recommendations - which brand?

Paul_S

Paul_S

Club Member
Hi all, I'm in a quandary. I want to buy a new cordless drill and impact driver set and would like some advice.

I'm a keen DIYer with pretty much the whole house the renovate. Up until now, I've only owned a cordless Ryobi combi drill (never had an impact driver) which has done well with the abuse I've given it, but it's time is over.

I'm just looking at Screwfix for the moment and there are 3 sets all around £200:

DeWALT - https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-d...-li-ion-xr-brushless-cordless-twin-pack/362jt
Makita - https://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-dlx2336st-18v-2-x-5-0ah-li-ion-lxt-cordless-twin-pack/914jj
MILWAUKEE - https://www.screwfix.com/p/milwauke...ess-combi-drill-impact-driver-twin-pack/699fj

Even then, each manufacturer have a few variations for around plus or minus £30!

I would happily consider another Ryobi, but am interested in other brands. I'm not yet tied to any particular brand and battery set.

Any advice would be appreciated :)
 
uk66fastback

uk66fastback

Club Member
Makita if you’re using it pretty much all the time - I’ve gone all in with Ryobi now and don’t regret it - I’m only a DIYer …
 
Makesy

Makesy

Club Member
At a previous workplace (uk retailer) we had our fitting team do a lot of power tool testing. General consensus for drills and impacts was that Makita and Hitachi (Hikoki) were great, milwaukee and bosch blue were good, dewalt were ok, bosch green was less good.

Interestingly on one occasion the Aldi range (Workzone) performed quite well against far more expensive kit. Lidl (Parkside) less so

I use Ozito for both (because I got a great deal when Homebase went through a buyout). It's the same kit as Einhell and has served me well for a good few years - I'd recommend them

Whichever way you go, I'd try and ensure you get the same brand for both so you're not messing with different chargers/batteries.

I hadn't owned an impact before this one and it's a brilliant bit of kit. I wouldn't do without one now! I'd recommend buying a bit set with a quick change bit holder like this

www.screwfix.com

Milwaukee Shockwave Impact Duty ¼

Order online at Screwfix.com. Optimised Shockzone and custom Alloy76 steel absorbs peak torque and reduces stress at the tip to prevent breaking. Wear guard tip is laser-blasted to create a hardened surface layer that acts as a protective shield around the tip for improved wear resistance and...
www.screwfix.com
 
Robotsan

Robotsan

Club Member
Paul_S said:
Hi all, I'm in a quandary. I want to buy a new cordless drill and impact driver set and would like some advice.

I'm a keen DIYer with pretty much the whole house the renovate. Up until now, I've only owned a cordless Ryobi combi drill (never had an impact driver) which has done well with the abuse I've given it, but it's time is over.

I'm just looking at Screwfix for the moment and there are 3 sets all around £200:

DeWALT - https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-d...-li-ion-xr-brushless-cordless-twin-pack/362jt
Makita - https://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-dlx2336st-18v-2-x-5-0ah-li-ion-lxt-cordless-twin-pack/914jj
MILWAUKEE - https://www.screwfix.com/p/milwauke...ess-combi-drill-impact-driver-twin-pack/699fj

Even then, each manufacturer have a few variations for around plus or minus £30!

I would happily consider another Ryobi, but am interested in other brands. I'm not yet tied to any particular brand and battery set.

Any advice would be appreciated :)
Click to expand...

I've got the Ryobi impact driver and it's so far not let me down - seems to have plenty of torque. The drill is crap for anything serious like masonry though - doesn't even have a hammer mode.

Makita & Milwaukee etc are going to be better in a lot of ways though so I'd go with them.
 
uk66fastback

uk66fastback

Club Member
If you buy one of the Ryobi hammer drills they’re fine. No drill from whatever make is going to go through masonry without a hammer option!
 
Rushingphil

Rushingphil

Club Member
My current favourites are the Milwaukee range. Only go for the brushless range. I find the 12v range suitable for most things I do. They have a lovely feel and balance. They also have an incredible range of other 12v tools that obviously use the same batteries and chargers.

For heavier car work I have a couple of Ingersoll Rand impact guns and drills, but they are damn heavy
 
jonbills

jonbills

Membership Secretary
Site Administrator
whatever is cheapest works for me.
I got a conentool 1/2" impact driver a couple of months a go for about £40. It got the crank pulley bolt out of my engine and hasn't broken yet.
 
Huw

Huw

Club Member
jonbills said:
whatever is cheapest works for me.
I got a conentool 1/2" impact driver a couple of months a go for about £40. It got the crank pulley bolt out of my engine and hasn't broken yet.
Click to expand...
Likewise, unless it’s a tool I will use a lot, I tend toward getting the cheapest that will do the job on the basis I will unlikely use it ever again
 
ALN

ALN

Club Member
So... like all things, it's really worth considering brand and eco system and how much you DIY.
For example I started with Makita 18V because I could use the same batteries and chargers in all the 18V products.
I bought a Drill and Impact Driver with a charger and 2 batteries, and later on just purchased and impact wrench.
Had to do some DIY on the house, and purchased a sander and later a circular saw... all of them use the same batteries and charger.
Ended working out better value in the long run...

I also appreciate that you might never need to use the tool frequently enough to justify the cost....

Good luck!
 
Robotsan

Robotsan

Club Member
uk66fastback said:
If you buy one of the Ryobi hammer drills they’re fine. No drill from whatever make is going to go through masonry without a hammer option!
Click to expand...

Haha I know. I wasn't saying that. Just saying the one I got doesn't have a hammer option, and as that was part of the 2 pack with the impact driver, maybe best to avoid it.
 
Paul_S

Paul_S

Club Member
Thanks to everyone for your replies. A lot to consider!

These tools will get a lot of use so I do want to go with a good known brand and will no doubt buy more in the range.

At the moment I'm thinking of going with Makita because of good reviews and recommendations on here.

3Ah brushless or 5Ah brushed? :conf2: I tempted to go 3Ah brushless because, whilst the battery capacity is less, the brushless devices should use less power and be a bit lighter too.
 
ALN

ALN

Club Member
3Ah and 5Ah are the battery capacities - and go for brushless motors on the tools
I have 5AH batteries and they last forever before needing charging
 
Paul_S

Paul_S

Club Member
Thanks. I'm edging toward this:

www.screwfix.com

Makita DLX2414F01 18V 2 x 3.0Ah Li-Ion LXT Brushless Cordless Twin Kit

Order online at Screwfix.com. Brushless twin pack containing combi drill and impact driver. Lightweight and compact combi drill has a 2-speed gearbox with all-metal gears for extra durability. Impact driver features assist mode, which slowly increases the power delivery as the unit comes under...
www.screwfix.com

Rather than this:

www.screwfix.com

Makita DLX2336ST 18V 2 x 5.0Ah Li-Ion LXT Cordless Twin Pack

Order online at Screwfix.com. 18V LXT twin pack containing combi and impact driver with 2 high capacity 5.0Ah batteries. The powerful DHP453 combi drill has 2 mechanical gears and all-metal gear construction to ensure high transmission durability. Features variable speed trigger, 16 adjustable...
www.screwfix.com

Smaller capacity battery, but brushless...
 
candy red

candy red

Club Member
I’m a builder as all my cordless tools are Makita Brushless with 5and 6ah batteries great tools last forever and they get a lot of use nearly every day 🤓
 
Rob Gaskin

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
I have a Makita Drill and Makita Strimmer. one pair of batteries. Makita have a very good reputation.
 
Matt Berry

Matt Berry

Club Member
I’m an electrician, and up to about a year ago I used makita but then so does every other tradesman and batteries are forever disappearing! I’ve always had a Metabo wall chaser and it’s bullet proof so decided to try their other tools. I bought a sds hammer drill, multi tool, angle grinder, skill saw, and the combo drill with the quick change system. They’ve been absolutely faultless and because no one else seems to have them I always head home with all my batteries!
 
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