Home Improvement → Cordless Impact Driver recommendations

Craftsman used to make excellent tools. Today I will not buy anything they sell. In 1962 I bought a 3/8" drill, jig saw, and 6" bench grinder. They still work as good today as they did 50 years ago. I replaced the brushes in the drill about 1980, but have done nothing to them since. I still use the grinder regularly and jig saw several times a year. The drill not so much.

In about 1985 I bought a Craftsman 10" table saw, 16" drill press, and 12" band saw. They were all junk. The drill press chuck would wobble and drill egg shaped holes, the band saw blade would not stay on the wheels, and the table saw was the worst of the lot. There was no way to set the heel and toe adjustment so that it would stay alined. The parts were aluminum and would bend and warp at the least pressure. I tried to take them back, but ended up having to sell all of them at give-a-way prices.

A few years later I bought a set craftsman chisels. I thought what could go wrong with chisels? Well, I found out. The first time I tried to use one on concrete the tip bent. This was concrete, not steel and the edge of the chisel curled up. Since then I will not buy anything that has the craftsman name - nothing.

I'm going to go completely against the grain here and say that I've got a Ryobi impact driver and I'm quite happy with it.

It's no workhorse, but I'm just a schmuck homeowner. I'm not using it for a trade, and so it's held up fine.

My philosophical side hates myself for it, but there's only so many things I can spend 3x extra on for top quality before I can't even afford the 1x.

A great tool for $49. A good tool at $69 (its normal price). Not Bosch quality, but not a Bosch price tag, either.

There is a difference between a drill-driver and an impact driver. Even for an extensive home project, I wouldn't use a drill to do any driving, just like I wouldn't use an impact tool to do any drilling. Other than that, Hitachi makes great tools and the tool you're picking up will be very good at drilling.

I've got no issue with Ryobi stuff - I got 2+ years out of my Ryobi driver before it busticated on me...

Still have a Ryobi drill, circular saw, and sawsall... They work, and are, IMO, a good value... But as I wear them out, I'm replacing with up-level stuff, as well.

I was able to get that Dewalt and the drill for $299. Look around for the combo.

Love it so far. Miles ahead of my Milwaukee 18V.