Best Cordless Drill

Written By: Joe

Finding the best cordless drill has been a task of handy men, engineers, and general shoppers for the ages. It has been tested again and again in magazines, on TV, and in trade and tool shows across the nation results vary from publisher to publisher, but there are generally a strong group of manufacturers that come out on top every year and have become the basic standard for comparisons.

In this article you will find a list of some of the usual suspects in the best cordless drill “category”, and some of the determining factors in crowning a champion. As for determining the actual best cordless drill I will leave that to the experts from Popular Mechanics TM and their yearly test of the drills as they actually have the connections to get the drills and put them through a rigorous testing process.

What manufacturers are generally considered to have the best cordless drills?

Most of the wins for best cordless drill fall on the high end drills which come from Dewalt, Milwaukee, and Craftsman. But Ryobi and Bosch are generally some power players that can take bid on a few of the votes and as time passes they are earning more stars by developing better and better drills at a generally much lower cost. This is exactly why the folks over at PM used a lineup that included at least one drill form each of the manufacturers listed above as well as a few others in their December 2008 test of 10 cordless drills.

What to look for in the best cordless drill.

The general things to consider when you are looking for the best cordless drill are weight, durability, power (torque), battery life, and of course cost. These categories serve as good benchmarks because they will generally hit on all of the common elements you will need in your everyday lives. Although Popular Mechanics, Consumer Reports, and other publications will almost always pick a “best cordless drill” I think that what it really comes down to is what your personal preferences are.

For example, I have a lofted workspace above my garage that allows me to have room for a larger drill and a place to always have a second battery charging. This means power and durability where some of my major criteria for choosing a drill, while weight and battery life didn’t really come into play as I am still young and virile and don’t have any plan on needing the drill for use over extended periods of time. But as we all know the pocket book generally makes the final decision as budget is probably the most important factor for many of us. With power, durability, and price guiding my choice it was clear that a Craftsman was the best cordless drill for me.

What do the experts think?

I have referenced Popular Mechanics a few times in this article because it is one of the few magazines that I subscribe to. If you want a full description of which drill is the best I would suggest that you read the article on your own. But I know not everybody has the time so I will let you know that in the end they chose the Makita cordless drill which may be out of most home shoppers price range as well as their need range.

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