Dewalt, Bosch, Milwaukee, Makita, Ryobi, Panasonic, Black and Decker, Craftsman, Porter Cable, Rigid, etc.

I'm looking for a combination tool kit with the circular saw, reciprocating saw, drill and light. Must be at least 18V. I'm thinking a jobsite radio in the future might be a bonus.

What do you prefer and why?

I can tell you that I don't like my pos black and decker.

My go-to used to be Craftsman, but ever since SB&D bought them I've been looking for a new brand to latch on to.

I have a Dewalt 18V cordless drill that's probably 10 years old. Now truthfully, I don't use it on an everyday basis, so I can't say I've come anywhere close to abusing it. I bought new batteries for it a few months ago, but other than that, it still runs like a champ.

FWIW, my wife's uncle works for the construction wing of HEB remodeling stores that need it and I've noticed that pretty much all of his cordless tools are Dewalt.

Every DeWalt battery I've ever owned has died within 6 months. It's the only thing I don't like about their products.

YMMV

Milwaukee

I really like all my DeWalt 20v stuff. I invested in the bigger batteries and have been very happy. I have a drill, circular saw, impact driver, radio and blower. I should be getting the 1/2 impact wrench for Christmas, the reviews I've seen are pretty good

I have a set of 18V Dewalt (drill, driver, circular saw, 1/2 in drive impact wrench) and Milwaukee M12 driver and 3/8 in drive ratchet. The Dewalt's are my "workhorse" ones and the Milwaukee driver is lighter duty while the ratchet is used on smaller bolts on vehicles.

If I were doing it over again I'd go with Rigid from Home Depot because of the lifetime warranty on the batteries as long as you register them.

I still buy replacement Dewalt batteries because I use the 1/2 in impact when working on vehicles.

Makita

Edit: I have had a drill, impact driver, hammer drill (36v), angle grinder, sawzall, blower (36v), weedeater (36v), and flashlight from Makita for 3 years with zero issues.

Anything not named Black & Decker

Ryobi because that is what I have and they have retaonrd backwards compatibility with their batteries.

But to be honest I rarely use any cordless tools beyond the impact driver and screw guns.

Milwaukee. I gave away my Dewalt 20v stuff and fully switched over to Milwaukee because of the battery life. Its not a perfect comparison because of new vs. well used, but all of the Milwaukee 18v outworked the Dewalt 20v across the board - reciprocating saw, circular saw, impact driver, hammerdrill, etc.

Residential use, it won't really matter. Shop for deals, use what you like.
Commercial/Industrial/heavy use, go with Milwaukee, Makita, Rigid, Dewalt

FYI, there was a long thread similar to this a month or two ago that had a lot of good responses.
https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/2885359/1

I have DeWalt 18V Lithium Ion stuff and like it. The 20V Max stuff from DeWalt is all marketing - it's really 18V nominal volts but the batteries are more ergonomic.

I have heard good things about Makita but went with DeWalt when I needed to upgrade from my old drill due to a sale on the 18V LiOn stuff due to impending release of 20V Max stuff on the market and haven't looked back.

Good explanation on the 20V MAX vs 18V DeWalt tools and the difference or lack thereof

Anyone deal with Rigid warranty before? I'm dewalt now and really like them but curious on the lifetime warranty (including batteries) from Rigid.

I know you have to register the warranty within like 60 days and it is non-transferable but assuming you do those things

I've used most of the major brands, really this is like asking what's the best truck between ford dodge and Chevy? They all work just as good as one another that you're going to have to be doing something they aren't intended for to find a big difference.

All that being said I've got dewalt currently because it's what had the best deal going at the time.

Makita user here.

Duncan Idaho said:

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Ryobi because that is what I have and they have retaonrd backwards compatibility with their batteries.

But to be honest I rarely use any cordless tools beyond the impact driver and screw guns.

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Same here. Ryobi set was a gift a few years back & I've added to it since. 2 original batteries are still going strong. Built dog house, fixed deerstands, cut PVC for plumbing yesterday, and various artsy craftsy things over the years. Get a quick change chuck adapter for the drill/driver. Love the mini-circular saw, I use it way more than I though I ever would. Don't have a rec saw yet, but haven't needed one...

Whatever you get, use the batteries all they way down until the die before swapping out to recharge. They'll last longer.

Milwaukee.

From the research i did a couple years ago Milwaukee had better long term reviews. Dewalt reviews were fine and people who used them for home use had good reviews, but some complained they didn't do well with heavy use. Although i don't use mine heavily I decided I wanted the brand that could do it if necessary.

For infrequent to moderate (maybe even heavy use), Milwaukee hands down. For commercial construction, where 15 guys all use the same tools and don't really give two cares about how much abuse it takes go with Hilti. Waaaay more expensive than anything you'd by in Home Depot but can straight up get beat to crap and still work. Milwaukee and Hilti is all we buy.

Hilti has 2 year free replacement and 20 year parts and service warranty. I've literally watched a concrete truck runover a $3000 Hilti rotary laser and they sent a brand new one free (inside the 2 year period). All in all, Hilti has the coolest equipment, constantly coming up with innovative tools for even the most oddball tasks. It's nice knowing you can hand the guys a Hilti tool and not have to bark at them for abusing it. It can handle it.

Rigid. Better batteries and overall performance than Dewalt.

Milwaukee

Makita

Hitachi

In descending order of quality and price.

Dewalt--my CNC uses a 611 router.

And pre-war Stanley (display purposes only)

I run Ryobi because my Dad does... and we can share batteries between my house, his house and the ranch... and they are easy to get at Home Depot...

I got the Ridgid 18v set 7 years ago and when i used them on home projects they did great. Tons of torque and the batteries were awesome. My house got harvey'd and they have been in constant use for the past 4 months. amazing tools. One battery died a week in and they sent me a new one no questions asked in about 2 days. I added the oscillating tool to my bag during the construction and that thing is awesome.

The expensive contractors I have in my house use Rigid also if that helps.

Love my Dewalt stuff for residential use. no issues with batteries but thats just my experience.

I run DeWalt 20v at my house now. Much better than my old 18v ryobis. I noticed the contractor that's redoing my boat house uses a Milwaukee cordless drill/driver driving lags through 10 by material with no problem. That thing is a wrist breaker.

I run Dewalt at home and for work. I've only had 1 issue and Home Depot made it right with no issues.

I install soil moisture probes 4 foot deep with a 1/2" drive 20v cordless and have no problems with them. I did have the issue with this one, but the second one has installed 40+ probes with no problems.

Hard to beat Ridgid's lifetime warranty.

I have Ryobi and they have served me well, but I don't have a lot of project time and when I started I picked up something cheap and now I have 5-6 batteries so not worth jumping brands yet.

Milwaukee

From the 1/2" thread, Rigid apparently will warranty their batteries.

I love my DeWalt stuff, but Rigid will get my money next.

Rigid for the lifetime warranty includes the battery

I got the 18V Rigid set a few years ago. I really like it. I went with it for the lifetime warranty and I also noticed it was the only set I saw that came with a full size 7 1/2" skill saw. Most battery powered ones are only like 5" blades.

I've got a lot of Ryobi tools.

They also have a website where I've bought several refurbished ones.

Every tool I've bought from them has lasted for years. I've yet to replace one.

Ryobi, cheap and dependable