DeWalt, Milwaukee, Makita, Ryobi?

I do most of my home improvement and mechanic work and right now my Makita impact driver is probably my most used tool. I have built a deck with it, hung pictures, and everything in between with no complaints and my first set of batteries lasted 7 years.

I have a Kobalt hedge trimmer and leaf blower that are OK but the battery life sucks and the battery went to shit in less than a year. The AZ heat is tough on batteries and I now store them inside.

The electricians and maint. dept at my work all use Milwaukee brand cordless tools. I think Milwaukee and DeWalt are both made in Mexico now but IDK. I think most of the trades people are using Milwaukee now. I see This Old House is using Festool stuff.

I am wanting some other tools like a trim nailer etc. What is your preference and experience for cordless tool.

 

Nothing wrong with Ryobi if you're just using it around the house.

Sure the other brands are great if you're working with them every day but realistically the Ryobi will be fine for most homeowners.

 

I'm a long time Ridgid user, as that is what I started with years ago. They go on sale regularly or can be found in the clearance section at local Home Depots.

The main reason for me was battery Lifetime battery replacement when registered within 90 days. I have taken advantage of it many times and never had an issue. Walk in to authorized service center, they confirm my account #, confirm battery is dead and give you new ones. If they don't have them on hand, they order them for you or rebuild if no longer made.

Pic a maker and stick with them if they have interchangeable battery and bare tools. Milwaukee will likely be hard to beat, but $$$.

 

https://m.youtube.com/c/ProjectFarm/videos?view=0&sort=p&flow=list


here you go!^


All you’ll ever need to know and more.

Search his channel for the tools you’ll use most and get the ones that most often meet your needs and price point. Cheers

 

Love my Milwaukee tools

 

Milwaukee simply because they’re the only lineup with this:

https://youtube.com/shorts/ehBfHlQnpQ8?feature=share

 

I've had great luck with DeWalt over the years

 

That looks like splashback central, let alone blowing out the wax ring

 

I am not sure why I chose Makita when I bought my stuff about 7 years ago, but I have zero complaints. Also do not buy until the Black Friday sales drop. Best time of year to buy.

 

Easiest way to unclog a toilet IMO is to squirt some toilet bowl cleaner in there (acid), let it digest over night and then flush away.

 

Back in the day (late 90's or so) Makita was the shiat. Not so much as of late, but they're still far better than some brands. I personally own Dewalt because @ the time it wsa the best available local brand; I've not had any issues.

 

All of them are good. Choose what’s best for your use and budget… and buy lots of them! I love buying tools! I have Milwaukee because I bought a big set on Black Friday and kept adding on to it, but my dad has Ryobi. They have been great for him and they have tons of nice stuff for way cheaper than the other brands…

 

Milwaukee all the way here

 

I am a long time Makita fan, my only gripe is that it is hard in the US to find anything other than their drills aimed at DIY types. In the UK I could easily find and buy the Japanese made stuff that was built for industrial use - metal chucks on drills is the main one that springs to mind. (not impossible to find here but not something you find on the shelves of your average DIY superstore).
Dewalt used to be great when they were still in the green and orange colors, they went downhill when Black and Decker took them over and I do have a few of their cordless items. It annoys me intensely that I have invested in two different types of cordless systems for work and am now making a collection of home and garden type cordless tools using two different Ryobi battery systems.. doh.

 

Milwaukee all day long. Their 1/2" Fuel impact will take just about anything off/on.

 

Really good at breaking cheap sockets too!

 

Yep. You need to use good impact sockets with that monster.

 

Get one of those 3/8 M12 Stubby impact… nasty little tool…

 

Milwaukee for the win.

 

Makita ($$$$)
Milwaukee ($$$)
DeWalt (+/-$$$)
Ryobi ($$)

For DIY DeWalt probably has the best power/dollar ratio and selection of tools. Red and blue are better if you make a living out of said tools, though DeWalt is slowly but constantly catching up to Milwauke.

Makita would be an easy pick if your work depended on little to no tool downtime.

 

I've been in the trades a looong time, and seen a lot of changes. Cordless tools have driven customers to elect one brand and stick with them for battery compatibility. Used to be that you bought a Skil Saw, there was no competition. You bought the Milwaukee Hole Shooter for your 1/2" drill, Porter Cable tiger saw cause it blew away the Sawzall, Bosch jig saw etc. etc.
DeWalt was my first cordless drill though Makita and even Ryobi were making them long before. But, I soured on DeWalt cordless years ago. I bought one of their drills and received a free t-shirt. One of those super cheap t-shirts that you can practically see through. Well, that t-shirt lasted longer than the drill batteries. I still have a couple of Dewalt chop saws....first thing you do is toss their blade in the trash and put a real blade on it.
I ended up going with Makita for all my cordless stuff. Then I started buying more of their corded tools as well. The Bosch Colt palm routers have shitty bearings and don't last long so now I have 4 Makita's. Swapped out my Porter cable orbital sanders to Bosch and after numerous failures with both am now sporting 3 Makita sanders.
Every tool manufacturer will have issues, Makita, in my experience, has fewer issues.

 

I was ever so slightly gobsmacked that my Dewalt crosscut saw came supplied with a ripping blade, I just assumed that it was some goon in the factory had put the wrong blade on the machine....

 

Milwaukee here as well, when I first started in hvac i showed up to work with a craftsman drill and was laughed at pretty hard. 3 months later when it broke I spent what I thought was way to much on a Milwaukee driver/impact combo and never looked back. I still have that same set somewhere under literally hundreds of other milwaukee power tools.

 

A vote for ryobi here. Good stuff for occasional homeowner things. Handles everything I need. If I “needed” them to earn a living, I’d probably be in Milwaukee etc but the ryobis always turn on and do what I need them to.

 

Dewalt, Milwaukee, makita, ridgid/ryobi any of those brands are good tools, no point of saying which one is better, it’s more like which battery platform you have already. Tools are cheap, batteries cost more than anything tools.

 

I had two Dewalt drills that sparked and smoked the motors. my wife got me a ryobi combo pack for Christmas that I use regularly and matches the batteries for my yard tools (hedge trimmer, edger, weed whacker and blower). I am sure there are better but I have never had an issue. The only thing is I have a rigid impact…….the ryobi isn’t nearly as stout

 

Well thank you for that channel. There goes a day off my life that I'll never get back....lol. Its only been a few hours and I've already watched half a dozen of his videos.

 

Oh it’ll be more than a day haha.

I’ve done a lot of research via him on my tool systems. I just wish a welder would do the same for welding equipment!

 

Dewalt. No complaints so far.