Looking to replace my hodgepodge of tools for around the house to a single brand. No more different brands of batteries, chargers and what not. Pretty much narrowed it down to Dewalt and Makita. Dewalt is 20v and Makita is 18v, for what I’ll be doing around the house either will work just fine. I suspect this is a Toyota versus Ford type debate, but I’ll listen to those with first hand experience.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MattW,

Dewalt's 20V is the same as Makita's 18V - same battery configuration, just creative marketing.

Either are good, Makita is generally a little more heavy-duty, IMO, but that won't come into play for someone that doesn't use them day in, day out, all day. Go with the one that has the tools you want.

I've settled on Dewalt for standardizing my home and business tools. Helps that their service center is about 5 miles from my office plus we are always getting our customer's tools fixed there.

No Milwaukee? That's all I have and love it.

Makita tools are lighter, which makes all the difference for me. Dewalt, and Milwaukee offer a little more power, at the expense of being heavier and bulkier. Makita also tends to be cheaper.

All of my cordless tools are now Makita 18v, with the exception of a 16g finish nailer. Until Makita makes one.

20v and up.... meh, if I need a whole lot of Oompa for an extended period I still have the corded tools to call on.

Makita will likely be more expensive, but it's also a somewhat better tool, IMO. I regard DeWalt as the "bottom-end of the acceptable range," whereas I place Makita in the same group as Milwaukee, Bosch, Hitachi, etc.

A lot of people find DeWalt perfectly serviceable. I do have a couple DeWalt tools and they've yet to let me down. But, still: There are other brands I prefer, given the choice.

For the casual user, you might as well pick the color you like best at a given price-point.
Milwaukee = Red
Dewalt = Yellow
Makita = Blue

ARC is right though, Milwaukee and Dewalt are generally slightly heavier and more powerful for a given voltage, vs lighter weight ergonomics Makita stuff.

Did I mention pick a color and price-point?

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Makita will likely be more expensive, but it's also a somewhat better tool, IMO. I regard DeWalt as the "bottom-end of the acceptable range," whereas I place Makita in the same group as Milwaukee, Bosch, Hitachi, etc.

Interesting, I wonder if there is a regional price difference, as here Makita is cheapest I've found. Setting aside Amazon of course, where I've found the free battery deals and tool combos also very good.

I'm not sure if DeWalt offers the shear variety of tools that take the batteries, if they don't, they will. Makita makes yard tools and vacuums that take the 18v batteries, the backpack vac has been great for final cleanup at a clients house.

I would suggest you price out batteries when looking around also. I started to changed over to Kobalt 24v tools last summer because the batteries are much cheaper and the tools are on sale every 3 or 4 mounths. The 2-Amp-Hours batteries are $20. The 1.5-Amp-Hours battery is $10. The 2-Amp-Hours batteries keep tool weight down in comparison to 4 or 5 -Amp-Hours batteries. The Kobalt 24v tools seem to work good for what I need.

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:
Interesting, I wonder if there is a regional price difference, as here Makita is cheapest I've found.

That I find surprising, so maybe it is.

Last battery-powered thing I bought, save the little Milwaukee I bought on Xmas sale at HD, was a cordless drill/driver set a couple years ago. Milwaukee was far-and-away the most expensive. It also performed the best in all of the torture-test reviews. Makita, Hitachi and Bosch tested-out about the same, and hit roughly the same price point. DeWalt did not fare as well, and was commensurately less expensive.

I got a screaming deal on a Dewalt 18v set some years ago. Pawn shop was having a yearly sale, manager knew us. The set looked like someone had bought it, built a prefab shed, and sold the set plus an extra charger and third battery.

I was kind of bummed when the Lithium came out, but no way could I beat the price I paid, and all the tools have been solid. I bought a bare hammer drill. Some of the newer tools have assembled in USA options now.

A friend got the lithium tools and showed me his cool little vacuum.

Then I noticed the vac took both the lithium and the older 18v batteries. And there was a cordless/corded version. Got it for Christmas that year.

Best accessory tool ever.

All mine are corded tools, but with the exception of the superb Bosch router, all mine are Dewalt.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Last battery-powered thing I bought, save the little Milwaukee I bought on Xmas sale at HD, was a cordless drill/driver set a couple years ago. Milwaukee was far-and-away the most expensive. It also performed the best in all of the torture-test reviews. Makita, Hitachi and Bosch tested-out about the same, and hit roughly the same price point. DeWalt did not fare as well, and was commensurately less expensive.

I had a Bosch cordless drill once. Once. I go to them for corded routers, jigsaws, planers, and tablesaws.

Milwaukee is definitely the most expensive. Dewalt is like buying a less expensive Milwaukee that is less reliable.

Dewalt just won my quest for a new 12" compound miter though. Best size/weight ratio. Price was good too.

When you've got to hump it, weight matters.

^Aha... applicable in a number of situations.

I scored a Dewalt boom box that can run on their 20V lithium battery. Bluetooth capabilities make it a lot of fun. Tools, like guns, are individually preferencible. The higher voltage Dewalt stuff is very good. Just keep the hell away from the Hitachi stuff....

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:
Makita tools are lighter, which makes all the difference for me. Dewalt, and Milwaukee offer a little more power, at the expense of being heavier and bulkier. Makita also tends to be cheaper.

All of my cordless tools are now Makita 18v, with the exception of a 16g finish nailer. Until Makita makes one.

20v and up.... meh, if I need a whole lot of Oompa for an extended period I still have the corded tools to call on.

The weight, or lack of, as you mentioned is pushing me towards Makita. Price wise for my area both brands tend to be within a few dollars of each other.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
No Milwaukee? That's all I have and love it.

I carry several cordless Milwaukee tools for work that are provided by the company. I just can’t say I’m that impressed by them.

quote:

Originally posted by CQB60:
Just keep the hell away from the Hitachi stuff....

Why?

As I noted, above: When I was in the market for a new cordless drill/driver combo, a couple years ago, in terms of performance the testing came out:

1. Milwaukee
   
2. Makita, Bosch and Hitachi
   
3. Everybody else
   

The separation between each of 1, 2 and 3 was fairly pronounced. Thus the grouping.

Bosch didn't offer as large a battery as Makita and Hitachi, so it was down to those two for me. I fondled each and decided I liked the Hitachi ergonomics better. I've not been disappointed. I ran the hell out of those two tools, right out of the gate. Performed like gangbusters. Been working well for me, in casual use, ever since.

What ever you do don't do Ryobi.
I have various corded one from several companies > Dewalt, Bosch, Mikita but all of my battery units are all now Milwaukee.
YMMV

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
No Milwaukee? That's all I have and love it.

+1.

M18 FUEL series.

-Rob

I've been using Makita for the last 4 or 5 years and had great success. No battery on tool issues. They just work every time.

The batteries seem to charge up faster than I can use them.

Cheers~