What triggered you to align with a certain manufacturer for your cordless tools?

[Zee09]

Milwaukee here too. Old stuff was Makita. But I really don't like Makita although they were very durable.
Not sure why but I think it's more of a personal preference.
Ryobi...no- everything to me is harsh and loud and lately horrible battery life.
Dewalt for woodworking like Orbital sanders etc.

 

[vpr5703]

I initially went with DeWalt because they had a pack of tools I thought I would use the most in the garage. I just kept buying them as time went on because I don't want to deal with different battery technologies. They've served me well!

 

[D60]

People think it's ridiculous but the DRM Drama Drill ensured I don't buy Dewalt.

A private individual was gifted a black and yellow Harbor Freight drill which he then put up for sale on eBay. Dewalt had their lawyers force ebay to shut down the auction because the colors violated their trademark.

Why not pursue THE MANUFACTURER of said drill and not some random private citizen who had nothing to do with the production or color choices of the offending drill? Because that would make too much sense.

Can't make this stuff up.

Now 20 years later I'm pretty much over the absurdity of it but it's an example of stupidity costing a company money (hello Disney and Bud Light). Once I abandoned Dewalt and became invested in Milwaukee I stayed there and was happy. At the time I literally sold the three or four Dewalt tools I had (I was just getting started) and went looking elsewhere

 

[Hall]

I have Ridgid stuff from Home Depot because of the lifetime warranty on the batteries. I had prior stuff from different manufacturers (pre Lithiun Ion) that the batteries went bad in.

So far, I haven’t had to use the warranty.

Ridgid here and for the same reason. I had a Craftsman 19.2v tool set that still worked after 20+ years but the batteries were obviously shot. Only things available were aftermarket and too many bad experiences with getting junk batteries turned me off.... After the Craftsman, I had a smaller 12v Bosch set but it felt underpowered and the batteries wore out too quickly and I was a pretty casual user.

I started with a Ridgid impact driver and drill with 2.5 or 3Ah batteries. Later added a 1/2" impact wrench with a 6Ah and 3Ah battery (bundle offer from HD). A couple months ago, I bought a Ridgid weed trimmer and leaf blower. I suspect these two new tools will affect my batteries much quicker than my power tools so I might be finding out about their lifetime warranty.

 

[gman2304]

I bought a Dewalt 18 volt drill driver with 2 batteries, flashlight and a carrying case at Lowe’s on Black Friday for $99 about 25 years ago. I did replace the batteries about 5 years ago with $30 eBay knockoffs and still going strong.

 

[AandPDan]

I have Makita and Milwaukee.
I still use regularly the Makita 6012HD drill I bought around 1989. In 34 years I'm on my 3rd battery (aftermarket). My other tools are mostly the 18v LXT line.
I was "gifted" a Milwaukee M12 driver and oscillating saw and find them to be OK. We have some M18 stuff at work that works but feels awkward compared to Makita and I don't like the M18 vacuum. While it works well it blows the exhaust in your face.

 

[I<3oil]

Quality, size, availability of tools/batteries, different form factors

 

[D60]

Also a few points about Milwaukee, some perception and some factual:

1) AFAIK Milwaukee pioneered Li-Ion technology as we know it with V28. V28 was actually a huge flop and suffered from short battery life, but they stuck with it.

I was sold even with V28 because of the battery gauge on the batteries and fade-free performance of Li-Ion. Up until then everyone was running Dewalt XRP which allowed no way to gauge state of charge and would just keep slowing down little by little (granted, you can't pull Li-Ion down too far without permanent damage)

I will say: V18 users really got screwed and have a right to be angry. The subsequent M18 -- which was much improved-- wouldn't fit V18 but M28 batts slid right onto earlier V28 tools. Milwaukee was stupid here.

2) I've had excellent results with Milwaukee's warranty service, although as they've gained market share turnaround has gone from literally one week to several weeks.

Still, I'm unaware of any other manufacturer that offers 5 years on tools, 3 years on big batts and 2 years on small batts. If you don't have your receipt the time frames are based off date of manufacture coded into the serial # or a heat stamp on batteries. Even if I have a receipt I don't bother to upload it if I'm in the time frame -- it's simply not necessary. Milwaukee pays to ship the tool to them and provides you a FedEx label to print and even Li-Ion safety stickers if you're including batteries.

3) if you pay full retail for batteries you're punking yourself. However this means as a consumer you've gotta watch for deals, promos and sales. Oftentimes you need to buy more tools to get batteries cheap or free, but if they're tools I was already eyeing I don't mind. Failing that, open box secondary market on ebay is the way to go. Just don't get knock-off batteries. Buy from a seller with good fb who explicitly states they're genuine Milwaukee.

 

[zzyzzx]

Poor battery life and performance triggered me to only use corded tools.

 

[racer12306]

DeWalt because they were free, pre-production samples or were sitting around some ones desk and they needed to clean out. Only tool I've paid for is a cordless DeWalt pancake compressor and I was swayed to the DeWalt because I have a smattering of 20V batteries.

 

[JeffKeryk]

@Trav recommended the Makita stubby 1/2" impact. Outstanding choice. At first I was a little gun shy due to price, but this tool is amazing.
The star of the show...

 

[JakeATX]

I picked up Ryobi about 10 years ago. I was a poor student looking to get some basic tools, and was looking for a deal. Found a clearance deal on 2 packs of 4Ah batteries for $25.03 each at HD. Picked up 10 packs and resold half on eBay to make enough to buy a 6 tool starter kit.

I’ve stayed as I appreciate that Ryobi is committed to the battery form factor and has an exhaustive lineup of tools (probably the most different offerings). I’ve got 40+ tools now, including most of my automotive tools (impacts), woodworking hand tools, and some lawn equipment. I’m a home user, so don’t need pro-grade reliability or warranty. Even so, their newer brushless stuff has narrowed the gap between Milwaukee, Ridgid, etc. You can always find good deals during the frequent sales at HD or DTO, and I can’t beat the ROI at my usage.

Also have a handful of Milwaukee M12 for their compact size. Just impact driver, 3/8” impact wrench and a couple of electric ratchets. They’re nice, but I don’t plan to invest further at their cost.

 

[mrsilv04]

As far as I can tell, I use DeWalt cordless tools now, because my Dad started way back when with what was called the "Professional" cordless tool line from Black and Decker. I've also owned Porter Cable tools in the past as well. So, I've pretty much stayed in the B&D family. I get most of my tools at Rural King, who sells both DeWalt and Milwaukee.

Of course, it doesn't make much sense, as all of his corded tools were Milwaukee brand. I'm assuming that he bought Black and Decker cordless tools because the supply house that he mostly bought from. must have been selling Black and Decker cordless tools at the time.

 

[FastLane]

Milwaukee M18 has been my go to. I'm not brand loyal though. I've been happy with the basic drill/impact kit I bought 8 years ago. Its still running strong. Since then I've bought a 1/2" impact. Recently I bought a M12 hackzall. I was so impressed by it. I bought a M12 rachet. So handing working on machines. I'm thinking of buying a M12 drill/impact kit from Home Depot. The M12 line is impressive.

 

[Torrid]

I always had Dewalt because where I worked 15 years ago supplied them to us, then they switched to Makita and went with the small pistol style impacts. I loved how lightweight it was and simple to use for mobile work. I still prefer an adjustable clutch style around home and I'm used to that with Dewalt so for familiarity I still lean towards them.

 

[ssamaroo01]

My dad used to own his own construction company in the 90s and he had all brands of tools. Makita, Milwaukee, Dewalt, Stanley Bostitch, Porter Cable and way more than I can remember off of the top of my head. I’ve been working with his tools since I can remember so I’ve had a good deal of experience with a variety of tool brands. His first cordless tool was an 18V Dewalt drill. He liked it but didnt have faith in cordless since it wasn’t as powerful as corded.

When I was in college, I started buying tools and I started with a 20V Max Dewalt drill. I looked for sales and grew my toolbox with more Dewalt 20V tools. For a brief while, I worked in construction and they were very handy. I used M18 Milwaukee but some of the tools didn’t feel comfortable for me. Like the drill for instance, the direction button was in the way and I kept hitting it while using the drill. They make fine tools but the Dewalt tools felt right in my hands. I do own M12 and M18 tools, but I own a ton of 20V Max Dewalt. In about 15 years of owning them, only 2 batteries out of 15 have actually wore out. I do yse my tools regularly as I am always working and remodeling my house, working on my rental properties, or helping friends and family out.

 

[loneryder]

Reading the "new tool thread" discussion on the quality of Makita cordless tools, thought to ask why BITOGERS align to certain manufacturers of cordless tools.

Many of us will stick with one manufacturer simply to keep the batteries the same. I suspect if all manufacturers used the same battery, our tool boxes might not have cordless tool brand loyalty.

My manufacturer loyalty is to Milwaukee. The reason is PEX A tubing. Milwaukee manufacturers the only readily available cordless PEX A plumbing expansion tool.

Milwaukee making the PEX a expansion tool has made my cordless tool purchases exclusively Milwaukee. What's your reason/ justification?

The batteries I had on hand. Dewalt.

 

[UncleDave]

What attracted me to my pet brand ?

It started in the 80's.

1. The tool was applicable to my work. What GON says about pex makes Milwaukee applicable to this kind of work.

2. I was exposed to it at the job site, and was allowed to experience it firsthand. " Here try this" "This thing is sweet"

3. Enough time in use to determine quality and longevity. I wore out a Dewalt saw and drill building a deck and a shed (?!?!? #$%^&*!!! really? )
My 30 year old Makita drill/driver still works great. It's about as slick as a first gen cell phone but it works great. If I had nothing else I could still build things with it.

3. Service and support - having a knowledgable dealer that could give me real world feedback and actually fix the product vs how it away.


All these thing pushed me to Makita, away from DeWalt.

I could probably live with Milwaukee, and if I did plumbing Id have little choice. These guys seem happy, but I see no reason to switch.

 

[Reggaemon]

Gee, guess I'm the only one using Bosch. I went their drills cause I found them to be the lightest. Was doing a lot of overhead work.

 

[UncleDave]

Gee, guess I'm the only one using Bosch. I went their drills cause I found them to be the lightest. Was doing a lot of overhead work.

This prize seems to go back and forth between brands and "lightest" is a combo of tool and and battery so highly variable.

The bosch stuff always seemed pretty good.