Which drill to choose?

[Majoram]

Which would you choose?
I have 2 drills and wondering which one to keep.

1) Hitachi 18V Lithium Hammer Drill
$148
10 year Warranty

OR

2) RIGID 18V Lithium Auto Shifting Drill (Not a hammer drill)
$199 (normal $250)
Lifetime Warranty

Any suggestions on which one I should get?

[pmc]

The Hitachi at Lowes ...yes.

[t3359]

I have about 10 RIDGID tools, about 6 or 7 are cordless... I decided to go with RIDGID because of the price compared to the DeWALT line and they had a wide selection of tools. If you are building your tool collection, consider getting all your cordless from within one line, as they can all share batteries... if you check out the prices, they are pretty expensive. I have corded tools from everywhere.

About drill v.s. hammer drill, I use my drill much more than the hammer drill... in fact, I think I've only used my hammer drill about 5 times in the last 3 years. Look into the weight of the two tools, you'll want a light drill - of my power tools, I probably use the drill and impact driver the most.

I've seen Hitachi power tools, but have never used them to be able to comment on them.

bjl

[Majoram]

I have about 10 RIDGID tools, about 6 or 7 are cordless... I decided to go with RIDGID because of the price compared to the DeWALT line and they had a wide selection of tools. If you are building your tool collection, consider getting all your cordless from within one line, as they can all share batteries... if you check out the prices, they are pretty expensive. I have corded tools from everywhere.

About drill v.s. hammer drill, I use my drill much more than the hammer drill... in fact, I think I've only used my hammer drill about 5 times in the last 3 years. Look into the weight of the two tools, you'll want a light drill - of my power tools, I probably use the drill and impact driver the most.

I've seen Hitachi power tools, but have never used them to be able to comment on them.

bjl

Cool thanks. Saw your reply to my post in the other thread ;)
Just thought to move it to it's own thread.


So far 1 vs 1.
Any more votes for either drill?

[RageOfFury]

Ridgid > Hitachi

Yes it's that simple;)

[t3359]

Cool thanks. Saw your reply to my post in the other thread ;)
Just thought to move it to it's own thread.

Ahhh cool, it was late at night and I sorta remembered typing that somewhere... thought I was going insane :)

So far 1 vs 1.
Any more votes for either drill?

If you're just using it at home, I'm sure almost anything will do. I had even put in a few hundred screws through concrete backer board with an 18V Black and Decker with two batteries. You can assume that the Hitachi and RIDGID will both be much better than that.

Generally, I think most contractors use DeWALT tools, and but I've seen some use RIDGID. I've never seen anyone with Hitachi, but I think it'll work :)

bjl

[Menthol]

Hammer drill in case you want to drill concrete

[TTony]

get something compact, they both bulky,
last year I 've got Hitachi from home depot for $ 49 it was blsh

[goofball]

Ridgid.

Love my Ridgid tools.

[Majoram]

hmm okay. Seems the vote is for Ridgid.

I guess I won't need the Hammerdrill unless I place to drill on my outside wall (brick)? Or would the Ridgid do that fine?

The only place I can think of for concrete drilling is in the basement walls.

[Drthorne]

I saw a Makita 18volt li-ion at Home Depot for $167 a few days ago, I would get that instead of the Ridgid

[Majoram]

I saw a Makita 18volt li-ion at Home Depot for $167 a few days ago, I would get that instead of the Ridgid

Damn! Definitely I'll look for it.

Was it a hammer drill btw?

[t3359]

Damn! Definitely I'll look for it.

Was it a hammer drill btw?

It's spins like a normal drill, but also "hammers" at the same time (see the bpm number), helping to drive the bit into harder materials. Mostly used for drilling into concrete. I think most hammer drills can operate in non-hammer mode as well, but I would guess they are not optimized for high speed drilling... not sure on battery life either.

Mine is pretty heavy and I only use it when I need to :)

bjl

[CaptSmethwick]

I have only been disappointed by Hitachi tools I have owned in my life - perhaps they're better now but I won't chance it any more. OTOH, Ridgids have been good to me. I also personally think that cordless hammer drills are (a) too much tool to have to carry for the odd time you need a hammer drill; (b) relatively useless if you have to drill any hole of consequence. On the latter, I have never used a Li-powered hammer drill...

[Quick_lude]

I have only been disappointed by Hitachi tools I have owned in my life - perhaps they're better now but I won't chance it any more. OTOH, Ridgids have been good to me. I also personally think that cordless hammer drills are (a) too much tool to have to carry for the odd time you need a hammer drill; (b) relatively useless if you have to drill any hole of consequence. On the latter, I have never used a Li-powered hammer drill...
I've been using various Ridgid tools at work for the last 5 years and for the price they are pretty good. My 24V Li impact finally decided to give up the ghost but it has seen a LOT of work. Last year I got the large 24V Li hammer drill on sale for $149, mostly for the 24V battery but also as a backup to my corded hammer drill. It works very well drilling into brick or concrete, at least with a good quality Bosch 1/4" bit.

If you are going to use this at home, I would buy the cheapest 18V drill by Ridgid, whenever it goes on sale.

[Majoram]

I've been using various Ridgid tools at work for the last 5 years and for the price they are pretty good. My 24V Li impact finally decided to give up the ghost but it has seen a LOT of work. Last year I got the large 24V Li hammer drill on sale for $149, mostly for the 24V battery but also as a backup to my corded hammer drill. It works very well drilling into brick or concrete, at least with a good quality Bosch 1/4" bit.

If you are going to use this at home, I would buy the cheapest 18V drill by Ridgid, whenever it goes on sale.

thanks for the input. I've returned the Hitachi and I'm keeping the Ridgid.

It's not an awesome deal but I figured $199 is okay to pay for an 18V Lithium Ion. My only regret is that it's not a hammer drill which would just be nice to have if I needed it.

For bits, I had bought a 70 piece titanium coated Hitachi set.
For $16 I figured it was worth it .. for now.

[Majoram]

I saw a Makita 18volt li-ion at Home Depot for $167 a few days ago, I would get that instead of the Ridgid

I checked and saw some "open box" for sale at $169 but it was just a driver, not a drill.
:(