Jacob Kaplan-Moss

I have opinions: battery-powered tools edition

A friend asks:

What kind of electric drill should I get?

If you just need a tool to get a job done once or twice the Bauer brand sold at Harbor Freight battery tools are perfectly mediocre and will get shit done at the lowest price.

Otherwise, you want to choose a battery platform up front: the batteries are the most expensive part, and they’re not cross-compatible(*), so you need to choose an ecosystem.

My take on the various ecosystems:

  • Bosch, Makita: high-end euro brands (well, medium-high, we’re not even going to talk about Festool). they basically never break but are the most expensive platforms and have somewhat thin tool selections (all the major tools, but missing many minor/niche tools, e.g. PEX crimpers, hot glue guns, tire inflators, etc.)
  • DeWalt, Milwaukee: mid-range US pro/prosumer brands. You’ll see most tradespeople in the US will have one of these platforms, and folks are generally happy with them. Good longevity, good tool selection, medium-expensive price. Probably the best value-for-money.
  • Ryobi: cheap and surprisingly durable (not great but better than the price would suggest). HUGE tool selection. Wins the Best Value award in my book.
  • Kobalt: Lowes’ attempt to copy Ryobi. Done poorly, avoid.
  • Metabo: really really nice tools, sort of an up and coming brand in the US. Mostly a poor selection and too expensive, but might rival Bosch/Makita some day.
  • Bauer (Harbor Freight): very cheap, sometimes okay, but really only worth it for a tool you only expect to use a couple of times.

(I’m just talking about the 18/20V ecosystems; the smaller 12V tools are lovely in how lightweight they are, but should be a secondary platform if at all.)

I chose Bosch almost 15 years ago, and have been more or less happy. I’m very happy with the tools themselves, super high-quality and not a single one has broken. I’m also very impressed with the quality of the battery packs — I have packs that are a decade old and almost indistinguishable from new ones.

But I have been unhappy with the tool selection, and ended up buying some Ryobi tools to pad out my library, which sort of defeats the purpose of choosing a platform.

If I were starting from scratch today, I’d probably choose Milwaukee. The quality seems almost as good as Bosch, and they appear to have all the tools I need. But I’m not particularly price-sensitive when it comes to power tools, and I do think Ryobi is probably 90% as good for 50% of the price. (Ryobi and Milwaukee are actually the same company, so some of the time it’s literally the same tool with green plastic instead of red, and a different battery connector).

[* There are, actually, grey-market battery adaptors out there. I have one that lets me use my Bosch batteries with Ryobi tools. It hasn’t caused a fire yet.]

<![CDATA[A friend asks: What kind of electric drill should I get? If you just need a tool to get a job done once or twice the Bauer brand sold at Harbor Freight battery tools are perfectly mediocre and will get shit done at the lowest price. Otherwise, you want to choose a battery platform up front: the batteries are the most expensive part, and they’re not cross-compatible(), so you need to choose an ecosystem. My take on the various ecosystems: Bosch, Makita: high-end euro brands (well, medium-high, we’re not even going to talk about Festool). they basically never break but are the most expensive platforms and have somewhat thin tool selections (all the major tools, but missing many minor/niche tools, e.g. PEX crimpers, hot glue guns, tire inflators, etc.) DeWalt, Milwaukee: mid-range US pro/prosumer brands. You’ll see most tradespeople in the US will have one of these platforms, and folks are generally happy with them. Good longevity, good tool selection, medium-expensive price. Probably the best value-for-money. Ryobi: cheap and surprisingly durable (not great but better than the price would suggest). HUGE tool selection. Wins the Best Value award in my book. Kobalt: Lowes’ attempt to copy Ryobi. Done poorly, avoid. Metabo: really really nice tools, sort of an up and coming brand in the US. Mostly a poor selection and too expensive, but might rival Bosch/Makita some day. Bauer (Harbor Freight): very cheap, sometimes okay, but really only worth it for a tool you only expect to use a couple of times. (I’m just talking about the 18/20V ecosystems; the smaller 12V tools are lovely in how lightweight they are, but should be a secondary platform if at all.) I chose Bosch almost 15 years ago, and have been more or less happy. I’m very happy with the tools themselves, super high-quality and not a single one has broken. I’m also very impressed with the quality of the battery packs — I have packs that are a decade old and almost indistinguishable from new ones. But I have been unhappy with the tool selection, and ended up buying some Ryobi tools to pad out my library, which sort of defeats the purpose of choosing a platform. If I were starting from scratch today, I’d probably choose Milwaukee. The quality seems almost as good as Bosch, and they appear to have all the tools I need. But I’m not particularly price-sensitive when it comes to power tools, and I do think Ryobi is probably 90% as good for 50% of the price. (Ryobi and Milwaukee are actually the same company, so some of the time it’s literally the same tool with green plastic instead of red, and a different battery connector). — [ There are, actually, grey-market battery adaptors out there. I have one that lets me use my Bosch batteries with Ryobi tools. It hasn’t caused a fire yet.]]]>