Brand recommendation for Power tools (drill, small impact, screwdriver) for apartment?

[Sequoiasoon]

My son is leaving for Virginia in about 1 month. He'll be renting an apartment for at least 1 year, no clue after that for home but does want to buy at some point.

I have a Ridgid 18V drill and 1/4" impact from HD. They get used all the time. I know his bride will have lots of small projects for him from furniture, pictures etc. The Ridgid's replaced my old, worn DeWalt's mostly because of batteries. Ridgid was doing lifetime battery replacement when I bought them, I have had some replaced no questions.

If you were getting a set now what would it be? Thinking on the start with a brand and you can add from there.

I'm going to give him some of my things anyway if he wants like a 2ft level, hammer, other picture hanging. All things I have 2-4 of between tool bucket, tool box, I just don't want to bombard him with stuff he won't use or have space for.

I don't want to spend crazy and this would have been great for Black Friday but that didn't happen.

 

[Kira]

Maybe being in an apartment makes corded tools more attractive?
It's not like he'll need that many.

I just went through this and searching through a company's tool offerings is actually difficult.
I found no "chart" which shows a battery/charger type THEN shows you which tools go with it.

Just for giggles, go to De Walt's site. There's a gang shot of "all their tools".
Weed out gardening tools (trimmers, blowers) and folding desk saws...and you still have an ocean of yellow to sift through.

To BITOGers who remember my post:
I gave my 18V De Walt drill/driver to a kid beginning electric school. There are aftermarket batteries (9096 and 9099) available
I got a replacement kit with a more compact drill/driver and a stubby 1/4" hex driver.

 

[racer12306]

I would get the house brand of the big box store (HD or Lowes) that is closest to him in the event of warranty and for expanding if he needs to.

 

[D60]

If you're near a HF their offerings are no longer junk.

I'm a Milwaukee guy so for an apartment I'd go M12, but unless you shop carefully and wait for promos and sales it's more expensive.

That said, sometimes killer combos come up for M12 that will include a brushed drill, impact driver, ratchet and more for ~$200

 

[D60]

I mean here you get the brushed drill (it's only 3/8" and not that powerful), impact driver (plenty good for the average homeowner), hackzall, "Dremel", and two batts (only 1.5ah) for $180

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...E-Bit-Set-25-Pc-2497-24H-48-32-4095/331592209

This is a great way to step into the space and he can add tools or upgrade batts in time.

 

[D60]

Here's a "wrench" kit for $200. I use this light daily, it's quite good and magnetic. The screwdriver I use constantly for under-dash and trim work: set the clutch low and run in trim screws or kick plate screws with abandon. I use the 3/8" ratchet on almost every project. With the inflator he'll be the hero of the apartment parking lot.

The Achilles Heel here is again the small batteries:
https://www.acmetools.com/milwaukee-m12-4-tool-combo-kit/S0000000087393.html

 

[nbpt100]

For Home owner grade power cordless tools I think Ryobi is a great deal. They have not changed their battery platform in decades and have no plans to do so moving forward. You can get packaged deals frequently at HD and on line at various tool distributes. They are good enough. I have used them for a long time and never had a problem. For corded tools look for sales. You do not have to worry so much about brands. But, Stay away from Black and Decker and the Walmart house brand. The HF Bauer and Hercules stuff has improved. You can always buy the insurance plan at check out if this worries you. Porter Cable, Ridgid, Craftsman, should all be good enough. If there is no hurry, You can always look on Market place for used pro level tools.

 

[dubber09]

He can perhaps do with just a drill (may be hammer type), 12V would be sufficient.

 

[CarLuver]

when my son mover out to an apt , i gave him one of these . i already have a set and its my most used impact . most of the time unless one is really doing some construction, these should be plenty for normal everyday use

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...-2-Batteries-and-Bag-2-Tool-3497-22/320268525

 

[D60]

when my son mover out to an apt , i gave him one of these . i already have a set and its my most used impact . most of the time unless one is really doing some construction, these should be plenty for normal everyday use

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...-2-Batteries-and-Bag-2-Tool-3497-22/320268525

And at this exact moment you can get s free 5.0XC with purchase. Those are workhorse batteries as shown by TTC

To the OP, this is what I was saying about shopping promos like free batt deals. Here you get a good kit (brushless Fuel) and the best battery currently available as a "freebie"

 

[V70tdi]

At work i use Hikoki cordless tools and i really abused them. Out in the rain and muddy pits and they just keep going.
My work mates use Milwaukee and they works all great but i prefeer the Hikoki a little smaller and lighter in the 1/2" impact and do the same work.
At home i have Makita who has been really good to a reasonable price but i guess that you have better prices on the US made tools than we have here in Sweden.

 

[nbpt100]

At work i use Hikoki cordless tools and i really abused them. Out in the rain and muddy pits and they just keep going.
My work mates use Milwaukee and they works all great but i prefeer the Hikoki a little smaller and lighter in the 1/2" impact and do the same work.
At home i have Makita who has been really good to a reasonable price but i guess that you have better prices on the US made tools than we have here in Sweden.

We have Makita in the States and in my humble opinion they make a great tool. A bit pricier but worth it for a heavy users. I have never seen nor heard of Hikoki. Is that a Swedish brand?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I am really happy with a 20v Lithium battery B+D small drill I got on sale a couple years ago at WM. Beat my 7x more expensive Hitachi hands down. Perfect for apartment use and some bigger jobs too. It's a torquey beast.

 

[V70tdi]

We have Makita in the States and in my humble opinion they make a great tool. A bit pricier but worth it for a heavy users. I have never seen nor heard of Hikoki. Is that a Swedish brand?

Hikoki is Hitachi Power tools. Dont know why they rebranded since some years ago.

 

[nbpt100]

Hikoki is Hitachi Power tools. Dont know why they rebranded since some years ago.

OK, thanks. I use to see Hitachi power tools in stores a few years back. I have not seen any in a long while. But I am not going out of my way to find them.

 

[k1xv]

I have gone Milwaukee because it makes and sells a wide variety of battery powered tools, and in comparison tests, such as by Project Farm, they always seem to do much better than average.

 

[Bkdc]

You’re not buying the tool. You’re buying into the tool/battery system. I agree with Milwaukee (Techtronic which really specializes in cordless power tools also owns Ryobi), but these days, they are all made by the same two or three companies. I bought into the Dewalt long ago so hard to switch systems. It’s like buying into a digital camera system.

 

[nbpt100]

You’re not buying the tool. You’re buying into the tool/battery system. I agree with Milwaukee (Techtronic which really specializes in cordless power tools also owns Ryobi), but these days, they are all made by the same two or three companies. I bought into the Dewalt long ago so hard to switch systems. It’s like buying into a digital camera system.

Even inside of Milwaukee they have 12 volt and 18 volts systems. Two battery platforms inside on one company. With that said I own two 12v Milwaukee power tools and really like them. At the time I had a need and Ryobi did not have a good option so I went with Milwaukee. But my majority of power tools are invested in Ryobi and I prefer to keep it that way until there is some incentive to not.

 

[D60]

Even inside of Milwaukee they have 12 volt and 18 volts systems. Two battery platforms inside on one company. With that said I own two 12v Milwaukee power tools and really like them. At the time I had a need and Ryobi did not have a good option so I went with Milwaukee. But my majority of power tools are invested in Ryobi and I prefer to keep it that way until there is some incentive to not.

But they were smart to make the (M18) chargers also charge M12. It makes for a more cohesive feel and fewer chargers on my wall.

 

[Hohn]

In theory, corded tools can work very well in an apartment.

The problem is that many power tools simply have no corded equivalent. Where's the corded impact driver that's 4" long and takes hex bits? Where's the corded 3/8 impact wrench that is under 5" long?

It's kind of mind boggling how two tools, both operated by electric motors, can be so different in size and why the larger/heavier tool is the one that does NOT carry its own energy source on board. You'd think corded tools would be smaller and lighter still than cordless, given the higher energy source available and not stored aboard the tool.


Corded tools also lack certain features you take for granted in cordless. For example, cordless tools don't "spin down." If you take your finger off the trigger on your cordless impact, it immediately stops. What happens on most cordless tools? It spins down slowly. This is a big deal for anything that drives a screw or bolt. Only a handful of pro-grade corded tools have electric brakes that stop them quickly, but even then it's 1-2 seconds instead of 5 or 6. The braked corded tools are NOT the instant stop of a cordless.

There are still several tools where corded reins supreme-- angle grinders being the obvious example because of the high power consumption and continuous nature of the use at times.

But especially for home use where fastening and drilling are the main uses, I'd say cordless 100% of the time. Not because you need the portability and convenience, but because you want a lighter, safer tool that offers more control.