Interesting drill comparison.

[HiltiWpg]

Not the biggest fan of the reviews, but hey, it's a decent look.

 

 

https://www.protoolreviews.com/buying-guides/best-18v-cordless-drill-head-to-head-review/45244/

 

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[ToolBane]

Metabo and Kobalt both got in some good representation in this one. Nice to see some variety in my opinion.

[King DORK]

Hard to go wrong with any of the contractor grade tools. If already into a battery platform their flagship model is just as good as any of the others. I've been into every model over the years. Switched to Ridgid cordless tools when they first came out and have yet to suffer a let down.

[paulengr]

Hard to go wrong with any of the contractor grade tools. If already into a battery platform their flagship model is just as good as any of the others. I've been into every model over the years. Switched to Ridgid cordless tools when they first came out and have yet to suffer a let down.

Ridgid like Kobalt is a house brand positioned as sort of a consumer grade but agreed they’re fairly well built. I used to use Hitachi in the NiCd and NiMH days. It worked fantastic and the price was half of the big name brands. At the time Hitachi was regarded as an industrial tool brand.

But I’ll say this. More than a few customers look at me based on the tools I carry. Milwaukee and Dewalt make a certain statement compared to a house brand or a mid grade brand.

Second issue is batteries and the size of the product line. Ridgid has around a half dozen tools on their battery platform. So right now my cordless tools are drill, 3/8” and 1/2” impact wrenches, drill, grinder, reciprocating saw, saber saw, vacuum, tower and cabinet work lights, cable and rebar cutter, cable crimper, and knockout puller. I’m already on 2 battery platforms where the second platform just covers the highly specialized electrical tools. Not counting “battery” tools like a multimeter and not counting tools that make no sense as cordless like a heat gun. While one of my partners uses a mid-grade tool brand as his main tools (Bosch) it puts him in three battery platforms.


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[King DORK]

13 hours ago, paulengr said:

 

Ridgid like Kobalt is a house brand positioned as sort of a consumer grade but agreed they’re fairly well built.

 

 

Without starting a crap throwing contest here, I STRONGLY disagree with this statement. I've been a contractor for over 20 years. Owned/used every brand out there. Originally switched to Ridgid because it was the new kid on the block and I really wanted to more easily find my tools on a jobsite among the sea of yellow and red, but once I started using them I never had a reason to go back. I see comments like your's all the time on forums and usually it's an opinion based statement, unless you can provide statements from Ridgid themselves stating that their tools are geared towards/marketed for "consumer grade" users. Then I would happily tuck my tail between my legs and submit. Unfortunately, most tradesmen were brought up believing if a tool isn't yellow, red, or blue that it's inferior. Kinda like convincing a diehard Harley rider that Japanese bikes have a right to be on the road too. Now believe me, I own very few Ridgid tools outside of their cordless line, unlike a typical Dewalt fanboy who will not buy any tool, corded or cordless, drill bits, driver bits, underwear, etc unless it's Dewalt brand. Opinions are just that, opinions. My opinion is that Dewalt cordless is crap. But again that's my opinion, however I do own many Dewalt corded tools. So for sake of conversation, most Dewalt/Milwaukee/Makita fanboys will always view Ridgid as some red headed stepchild. Nonetheless, I respect all brands and will not shoot anyone down for using what they prefer. Tool on fellas!

[Craigh9916]

 
Without starting a crap throwing contest here, I STRONGLY disagree with this statement. I've been a contractor for over 20 years. Owned/used every brand out there. Originally switched to Ridgid because it was the new kid on the block and I really wanted to more easily find my tools on a jobsite among the sea of yellow and red, but once I started using them I never had a reason to go back. I see comments like your's all the time on forums and usually it's an opinion based statement, unless you can provide statements from Ridgid themselves stating that their tools are geared towards/marketed for "consumer grade" users. Then I would happily tuck my tail between my legs and submit. Unfortunately, most tradesmen were brought up believing if a tool isn't yellow, red, or blue that it's inferior. Kinda like convincing a diehard Harley rider that Japanese bikes have a right to be on the road too. Now believe me, I own very few Ridgid tools outside of their cordless line, unlike a typical Dewalt fanboy who will not buy any tool, corded or cordless, drill bits, driver bits, underwear, etc unless it's Dewalt brand. Opinions are just that, opinions. My opinion is that Dewalt cordless is crap. But again that's my opinion, however I do own many Dewalt corded tools. So for sake of conversation, most Dewalt/Milwaukee/Makita fanboys will always view Ridgid as some red headed stepchild. Nonetheless, I respect all brands and will not shoot anyone down for using what they prefer. Tool on fellas!

Well sounds like we have a Ridgid fanboy here [emoji23]


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[King DORK]

11 minutes ago, Craigh9916 said:

Well sounds like we have a Ridgid fanboy here
 

 

There's no doubt that I prefer Ridgid for my cordless platform, but as stated, I own very few of their corded tool. I'm a fanboy of good tools regardless of who makes them. Appreciate your opinion though...

[HiltiWpg]

Ridgid is rebranded AEG.
It's not a pro-sumer tool line.
Many AEG tools found their way into Milwaukee's line up, rebranded red.

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[King DORK]

Now that was a more educated response, however, I will not be throwing away my Ridgid underoos and Speedos any time soon. Lol. Good stuff fellas!

[ToolBane]

10 hours ago, King DORK said:

...I will not be throwing away my Ridgid underoos and Speedos any time soon...

 

You seriously have that? Where did you find them? I’ve been looking everywhere for some!

[King DORK]

Email Ridgid a video of yourself explaining that your the ultimate Ridgid fanboy and keep your fingers crossed. Was also sent some Ridgid thongs for the Mrs but I decided to toss them in the old tool trailer and use them for dust masks. 

[Babysaw]

I’ve used Ridgid cordless tools plenty (former boss) and I own a pretty good dewalt collection. I’ve had coworkers with most of the popular brands.

 

Theres a reason Ridgid stuff is cheaper. The build quality is lower. The batteries aren’t as good. Their tools are durable but try using a Ridgid multi then the dewalt; the difference is huge in quality. Their drills feel like the difference between a Ryobi trimmer and a stihl: bearings whir and gnash on a Ridgid, it’s not a smooth operation. Try using a Milwaukee drill that’s smooth like butter.

 

ridgid is for guys who don’t wanna invest real money 

[King DORK]

22 minutes ago, Babysaw said:

ridgid is for guys who don’t wanna invest real money 

 

 

Never in my life have I been  accused of pinching pennies. If spending more truly gets you more I'm always first in line. Have any opinion you choose, but throwing out statements like that is just ignorant, sister.

I knew even posting in this thread was gonna rub a lot of egomaniacs the wrong way and obviously got some of y'alls panties in a bunch which wasn't my intentions, but now I find highly amusing. I own plenty of Dewalt, Milwaukee,  and Makita stuff and respect each for different reasons. I've just never been afraid to go against the grain. I'm no rookie. Been doing this a long time and my work more than shows that. So, all y'all enjoy your choices as I do mine and best of luck with whatever you do. Not trying to make enemies but prefer to not associate with egomaniacs, so peace out. 

[Babysaw]

The ridgid multi master is inferior to the cordless dewalt.

 

the ridgid drills are all weaker than the dewalt 996

 

the brand spanking new ridgid cordless skill saw doesn’t hold a candle to the three and half year old flex volt sidewinder saw, never mind the cordless worm drive.

 

old dudes get stuck in the past. Do your homework 

[King DORK]

First, I guess at 46 I could be referred to as an "old dude", but the fact that you even had to go their only shows what a douche bag you truly are. Second, your "precious Dewalt" line doesn't have a cordless worm drive, but in fact in their words a "worm drive like saw". So you're a douche bag that doesn't even know what you're saying about your own tool line (aka-dumb ass). Third, I totally agree that Ridgid's cordless multi tool sucks. I never liked the switchable head idea and epoxied mine together which eliminated all of the excess vibration. I am in total agreement with you that the Dewalt is far superior, to pretty much any other cordless multi tool in my opinion.

Sadly, this whole crap storm started simply because I stated my personal opinion that I strongly disagree that Ridgid is a consumer/homeowner tool. Opinions were exchanged, which is great, and then one lone a-hole has to come in making unnecessary statements about Ridgid users being "for guys who don't want to spend real money" and "old dudes stuck in the past". For the rest of you I genuinely respect y'all even if we don't agree. But as for d-face, if you want to continue to throw stones, please do it through personal messaging. It really isn't impressive. See y'all on other threads. 

[King DORK]

1 hour ago, Babysaw said:

U mad grouchy. They’re gonna warn u, maybe me too. All I did was state fact tho. You’re butthurt 

 

The last comments you had made on 2 of your posts had nothing to do with facts of any kind. Butt hurt? Not me bitch. I just have no problem whatsoever calling out a dickhead, which is exactly what you are. Warn me, ban me? I could care less. You're an egotistical, arrogant, old lady's used douche bag and you can bury your face in a big platter of male privates and gobble em up like a pelican. I've dealt with enough assholes like you in my time. Karma will find you. Just for the record, smile on my face so adios dick muncher. There you go mods. Gave you every reason to ban me for good. Haha 

[ChrisK]

By guys, sorry I haven’t been active as much, my Daughter was born prematurely and we have been really busy. Regardless... disregard @Babysaw comments and he has been suspended from the forums for a year. Guys, please keep it friendly, seems to me we have had some really rude posters lately. This forum has been getting less and less active and it is sad to see this happen, it has been the best forum on line for years. Consequently for some reason a couple of our members have been out of control and blatantly rude. Though prizes haven’t been a part of the forum for a while the heart of the forum has always been friendly with prizes as an add on bonus.  As comments like @Babysaw continue in, I will be banning those posters for a year. I figure our activity has been diminished for quite a while I would rather see less activity posted by decent people instead of inflammatory comments written by trolls. I am not going to lock down this post  but please keep it real. Sorry for the typos, I am a bit pissed and hammering away on my iPhone with my fat fingers! Thanks all, Chris

[fm2176]

Sad to see this unfold, I'm not as active as I once was.  I appreciate all of the modern tool systems, being just old enough to have used fairly archaic cordless tools in the past (DeWalt/B&D Univolt--have my Ranger kit in the garage as I type this, though the batteries are shot as should be expected).  I took my Gen 1 M18 Fuel saw (2731?) and my Flexvolt wormdrive-style saw outside yesterday to cut up some treated 2x6" for the fire pit.  Both worked fine, though the latter was noticeably more powerful.  The last time I used my Ridgid brushless circular saw I was impressed, though it lacked the power of either of the aforementioned saws.  

 

In short, we can't go wrong with any of the primary modern brands.  I own DW 20v, 12v, 8v, and a sole 18v recip saw; M12 and M18, Ridgid 18v, and Ryobi 18v.  Had a Bosch 12v drill but gave it to my daughter.  If I were still in construction I'd be glad to use any of my platforms...based on what I own, though, I'd use Milwaukee if I were still an auto or material handling equipment tech.

[King DORK]

Hey fellas. Please accept my sincere apologies. I'm typically a very non confrontational guy and possess a true passion to both learn from others and also offer knowledge when I can. I tried to express that in earlier posts in this thread while undergoing some badgering. A few too many personal digs towards me allowed me to react very negatively. I do not apologize even slightly to who it was directed at, but to the many good members of this forum and the moderators I'm genuinely sorry. I will prove my worth on this forum to y'all. I value everyone's opinions and contributions as I always have. Differences of opinion can be very constructive when approached in the right manner. I'm making it a point to learn from this and look forward to learning many things to come from all of y'all that share my passion.

[Mycrossover]

Ridgid like Kobalt is a house brand positioned as sort of a consumer grade but agreed they’re fairly well built. I used to use Hitachi in the NiCd and NiMH days. It worked fantastic and the price was half of the big name brands. At the time Hitachi was regarded as an industrial tool brand.

But I’ll say this. More than a few customers look at me based on the tools I carry. Milwaukee and Dewalt make a certain statement compared to a house brand or a mid grade brand.

Second issue is batteries and the size of the product line. Ridgid has around a half dozen tools on their battery platform. So right now my cordless tools are drill, 3/8” and 1/2” impact wrenches, drill, grinder, reciprocating saw, saber saw, vacuum, tower and cabinet work lights, cable and rebar cutter, cable crimper, and knockout puller. I’m already on 2 battery platforms where the second platform just covers the highly specialized electrical tools. Not counting “battery” tools like a multimeter and not counting tools that make no sense as cordless like a heat gun. While one of my partners uses a mid-grade tool brand as his main tools (Bosch) it puts him in three battery platforms.


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I guess "grade" is in the eye of the beholder but I always thought Bosch was contractor stuff, if not as popular as Milwaukee and DeWalt. All their advertising seems to be aimed at the industrial user. It is priced high end.

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[Mycrossover]

My neighbor is an HVAC contractor on new construction. He was working on unit in his back yard with a Ryobi drill/screw gun. I said nothing but it struck me as strange that a "pro" was using home owner grade tool. I guess it is time to be less judgemental over people's choice of tool brands. You use what works for you and stop worrying about what others think.

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[King DORK]

I'd bet my right arm that a huge majority of homeowners don't pass a bit of judgement on what brand of tools we use when working on their homes. Do a job that leaves a smile on their faces and you'll get plenty of word of mouth recommendations.  As tradesmen that use tools to make a living we are the ones obsessed with who's using what. One of my mentors years ago had only one cordless drill. It was an 18 volt Black & Decker Firestorm. Whether drilling holes or driving screws I couldn't believe that drill's will to survive. He'd drive 3.5 inch deck screws all day. Every one would slow that drill down to what seemed like 10 rpm, but it kept going. Most of us feel a certain responsibility to use what we hope others perceive as contractor grade stuff to emit an aura of professionalism, but realistically, more people care about how the job turns out than they do about what drill or saw you used to do it.

[DR99]

I follow the Milwaukee Facebook group and the hate for Ryobi is only eclipsed by Dewalt. Tool purchasing like trucks dosen't have to be that tribal, buy what you like. If it could be a GM product it would be appreciated they pay the bills.

[regopit]

When my business was larger and I had guys working for me I would buy Ryobi all day long. Theses guys didn't care how they abused them and they didn't have to pay for them. They worked well got the job done and when it took a dump it was cheap to replace. Fast forward to today it's just me and a helper I'm deep into Milwaukee but I have a few of the other colors thrown in there. The bottom line is buy what you like and what works best for you.

[DR99]

57 minutes ago, regopit said:

When my business was larger and I had guys working for me I would buy Ryobi all day long. Theses guys did care how they abused them and they didn't have to pay for them. They worked well got the job done and when it took a dump it was cheap to replace. Fast forward to today it's just me and a helper I'm deep into Milwaukee but I have a few of the other colors thrown in there. The bottom line is buy what you like and what works best for you.

If I had to provide tools to guys Ryobi would be on the top of the list. If it gets broken or stolen yeah it sucks but your not out the big bucks like major tool brand. Also they just have so many tools. The only time is when you need something big like a hole hawg or bigger saw you have to jump to a bigger brand.