Cordless Tools Reviews

This is an excelent choice for the contractor or DIY that uses cordless tools all the time. If you need to get your tool powered back up fast, this one will do it on your coffee break or while using a spare battery. The only drawback: For the steep price, I would also expect to see a tune up feature included with this charger as is in the DW9116. Still, time is money and 15 min charges translate into "0" time wasted if you also have at least 1 spare battery.

This charger is great! I have several 14.4v cordless Dewalt tools-some with 5 year-old batteries. These of course have lost some of their charge capacity. It is frustrating waiting for the standard hour-long recharge when I use the batteries faster than they can be charged. The 9117 helps me stay busy-at least I have to find another excuse for slacking. The 3-stage charging aspect of rejuvenation (overnight charging) yielded a noticeable increase in power for 2 of my older batteries. Since batteries are about $54 each, increasing their life expectancy appeals to my wallet. If you have 2 or more tools going at the same time (drill, screw-gun, saw) this charger will ensure your job keeps going!

Well, first off, my wife thought this was crazy. Sometime in the shopping process I did too. I mean, is it *that* hard to mow your own freakin' grass?

I grew up in Florida, where lawnmowing is an ugly chore, in 100% humidity, with sticky, hot grass all over your shoes, legs, etc.
Bad lawnmowing memories.
Now that I needed to buy a lawnmower of my own, I had always wanted to pick up one of those Freindly Robotics robomowers... When I saw Toro private-lable these things, give them a bigger battery, and then the prices kept falling, and then they had the refurbs even cheaper... I thought, heck, why not do it?

Report that I'm pretty pleased. I started the thing in the dusk, so I wouldn't be embarrassed by neighbors seeing this thing eat my flowerbeds, or small children if things went terribly wrong. Ended up with my wife and I with big silly grins as IMOW just ate our grass while we watched it (or tried not to watch it and look cool while the neighbors gawked and found excuses to come over and watch it - we're meeting a lot more neighbors now) The kids like IMOW ("Daddy, IMOW likes to mow ALL BY HIMSELF!") and so do I.
The down side is that there aren't quite enough pegs, especially if you have lots of obstacles that need the guide wire navigated around. The refurb didn't ship with a video or charger, I am assuming Toro will make good on parts if you didn't get everything in the 'open box specials' though.
If you have a relatively flat, square lawn free of lawn gnomes and junk, you are a prime hassle-free IMOW candidate.
Hey, go for it. It's a cool little mower.

I asked for this Imow as a Father's Day gift. Wife was skeptical at first but she went along. It took some time to install the wire boundary for the whole yard but the mower worked quite well. Wife is impressed enough to consider getting one for her dad - maybe next year Father's Day.

The whole box weighs around 100 lbs so be really sure that you want and can use it as shipping to you is free but returning freight won't be.

Before you buy, go get a copy of the user manual from the manufacturer .. and verify that your yard terrain is within specs. Then do some paper layouts of the mowing plots. The thing uses a zigzag pattern to cover the area. You want to avoid bottlenecks/strait-like areas to allow it to traverse the plot. I found it more efficient to break a large block into smaller plots as the zigzags overlap with shorter distance between boundaries. My yard totals about 10000 sq ft with 4 plots. The smallest takes about 40 min., the largest 100 mins. With those work durations, it fully recharges overnight.

It is kind of fun to watch as it follows the boundary wire during the edge mode (very precise turning). The mowing is a triangular zigzag. Not entirely random though, I noticed it seems to track obstacles that it bumps into and maneuvers to avoid that area later on (my firmware is rev 3.2...) In any case, the pattern looks inefficient compared to the path a person would do. Just let the thing work and with enough time the grass becomes even. A couple trial runs and you can determine the correct time for each plot.

On dry days with long enough grass, I let it loose on a plot as I return from work. It is very quiet and can hang out thru dusk and night time w/o risk of West Nile, Eastern Equine Encephalitis and other nice effects of mosquito bites. And holy cow, I get to do other things on the weekend!

Finally, automation gets to the yard! I guess my son will have to do part-time web authoring for spending money in the future...

I purchased this drill kit about a month ago and have not finished putting it thru it's paces- but, it has outperformed my B&D 12v, and my old standby Sunbeam (1958). Fein has the ability to develop torque after the others give-up.(especially handy with the 1/2in capacity chuck). This drill is well balanced and the dual position battery lets you work in closer places. A "remote" battery extension cord would be a nice accessory. I am still not used to the reverse switch location - but learning. The instruction book is less than great - but the carrybox is magnificent. A lifetime purchase for a homeowner/hobbyist. Even the service agency in Pittsburgh seems above average -'tho not tested yet!

As a former carpenter who used my tools to pay my way through college, I have owned and worn out more good tools than I want to think about. With the recent demise of my B&D commercial corded drill, I decided that I only wanted to buy one more drill (unless, at my option, I convince myself in the future that I really need another). I bought the Fein based on the company's reputation for quality and longevity, and have been using it for some rather heavy remodeling I am doing to my house. I have been blown away by the performance of this drill. Classic Teutonic, like my BMW. No bit, screw or hole saw has slowed it down, the dual battery locations are much more useful than I imagined when I bought the Fein, and the speed control is prescise. How they got this much power and control in such as reasonably sized 12 volt package, I will never know. If you can stomach the price, stop your search. You can save money with another drill now, but you will not find this quality anywhere else.

Like all Hitachi tools... this saw performs perfectly. Tons of power and it rarely binds up. I've even used it to cut firewood in a pinch. The light on it is an excellent idea. It's quite helpful when working in new buildings still running temporary light strings off generators. Only thing that keeps it from getting 5 stars... just one battery. I also have a 14.4 Hitachi Drill... and this saw will use those batteries in a jam so it's not a big concern for me... but if this is your only Hitachi cordless tool... be prepared to let the saw sit around for an hour while the battery charges. I guess they wanted to keep the price low, but this is pretty silly.

Have used it since 1988, loved it, cut all the siding for a rental house with it. Had 2 batteries but they are dead. Problem is Hitachi (nor anyone else) can supply me with new batteries, so saw is useless ... wonder if they will abandon buyer of latest saw the same way?

This drill is remarkedly comfortable to use. It is smaller and more powerful that an older DeWalt 9.6 volt drill I have. The major draw back is the battery charging system. With the DeWalt you put a battery in the charger and leave it until you need it. Not with the Hitachi. It says to take it out when charged. Therefore you got to watch it. Also, if you are using the drill alot and the battery gets low on power, it is also warm and the charger will not charge it until it cools off. Can't get the battery to charge until it cools off???? If you need to charge right away, you are out of luck.

I guess for the price, I can live with this flaw. But sure like the DeWalt charging system much better.

This drill is a champ, I had an old stick type 9.6v Makita that served me well for 8 years. When I finally lost the last battery I decided to buy a new drill. I never really wanted more power than the 9.6v Makita delivered so I didn't see the point in getting a huge cordless drill. This drill is light, incredibly comfortable, all the power I need in a cordless and for $80 with a flashlight and a rebate for a third battery it was a no brainer.

I own a wildlife reserve so needless to say I need a chainsaw that I can count on. I had a Poulan 20" saw that worked good but it finally melted down because it isnt meant for heavy work. This saw was expensive but it's in line with "you get what you pay for."

The nice thing about this saw is that it came assembled and ready to go. You have to purchase a case for it which runs about $30.00 but it does come with a blade guard. I love the blade gaurd. It makes carrying and transporting the saw very easy for when you just need to throw it in the truck and go. My Poulan case always got in the way of something but I never wanted to transport it without blade protection.

The differences between the Husqvarna and the Poulan in terms of sturdyness and feeling was like night and day. The Husqvarna felt solid as a rock. The plastic felt high quality unlike the poulan.

When I went to start the Husqvarna it was probably about 1.5 times harder to pull than the poulan. I thought I was going to die. But what I found was that with the Puolan I had to pull 5-10 times to start it but with the Husqvarna only one pull did the job. I'll take that any day.

The engine sounds like a beast. A great big burble of power.

With the Poulan it felt like you were using the wrong tool for the job when you cut down large trees. Don't get me worng, I loved my Poulan but when you cut a tree with the Husqvarna you can see that this saw was meant to cut trees - day in and day out.

The $350 was steep but if you need a dependable saw that won't fail you this is the way to go.

This is my first, and still my primary chain saw. It is an all around saw, light enough to use for more than a few hours, but large enough to fell mid-size trees. I found it only to be small when working at the trunk of large diameter trees like maples, some oaks. But for the price, if I had to own only one chain saw -- this would be it.

But if you like an easier to start and higher power saw, consider the 359. The de-compression feature on the 359 makes it easier to start than this. I would only recommend the 359 if you are using the saw more than once a week -- in which case how much power the tool has matters more. Less than that the additional power of the 359 doesn't save so much time as to be worth the extra cost and the 55 is your best deal.

I've used my 6213 for over a year now. For me, it's the perfect balance of weight, power and battery life. Whether I'm drilling 1" holes through 2x lumber or building a deck with 3" #8 screws, my drill outlasts and out-torques some higher voltage models from other brands. (I've never put it up against other Makitas with higher voltage) On site, I've never run out of power before my second battery was re-charged. Not as heavy as the larger 18 & 24V models...cheaper, too.

I bought this drill about five years ago at an inventory close-out sale at Yardbirds. It was my first pro-grade cordless tool purchase. I originally bought a Skil 12V amateur "toy" drill and found that the Skil had terrible battery life and had almost no torque even though it was at 12V(what a joke the Skil was!). I vaguely remember the Skil 12V had around only 180 in-lbs or 190 in-lbs. of torque. That's abyssmal and probably at the end of the pack for a 12V drill. Maybe the current 12V Skils have improved, but I kind of doubt it. Skil and Black and Decker are generally all amateur toy tools, but Makita is pro stuff. So I returned the 12V Skil right away and bought the 9.6V Makita 6203DWAE and have been very happy with it.

At 280 in-lbs., this 9.6V Makita drill has about as much torque as any current top-of-the-line 12V drill. By comparison, Makita's 12V version of this drill, the 6213DWAE, has 287 in-lbs. of torque. This 9.6V Makita has way more torque and battery life than the 12V Skil that I returned. Today, the 280 in-lbs. may not seem like that much anymore, but five years ago, it was a lot of torque as I remember it. Even today, 280 in-lbs. is probably still the highest torque of any 9.6V drill that anyone can find. This much torque comes at a price in the form of short battery life. But since I am a non-pro DIYer, who only uses the drill to maintain my mom's rental properties and for doing occasional stuffs around the home, the battery life does not matter at all, as long as I have a second battery as backup and a fast charger.

The large torque, on the other hand, has been very important. I can easily drill 1" or larger holes in wood with a spade bit, although for such large holes, it can only drill a few at a time before the battery dies, but as a DIYer, where I may only need to drill a couple of holes at most, the short battery life is not a concern. I have used it to drive 3" long x 1/4" thick lag bolts into pre-drilled holes in a wood door jamb to install a security steel screen door. In fact, I have yet to come across a situation where it did not have sufficient torque for my DIYer/home/rental property maintenance applications.

For a DIYer who only uses his tools very occasionally, the NiCd batteries in this kit are also generally better than the newer higher capacity NiMH batteries because NiCd can hold a charge for much longer during storage. I could put a fully charged NiCd battery away for a couple of months at a time and take it out and would still have enough battery juice to finish my light duty DIY repair work.

This drill is larger than most 9.6v drills. It in fact has the same shape and about the same size, as well as the same torque, as Makita's 12v model. It is heavier than Makita's other 9.6V drills with an elbow-shaped handle, but also has much higher torque than those. The T-handle on this drill has excellent balance. This drill weighs exactly 4.0 lbs. It has a keyless chuck. It has two speed ranges. Top speed is 1200 rpm.

Lastly, it has a very responsive variable speed trigger switch that allows you to precisely set screws down to a tiny fraction of a turn.

What it comes with:

Drill
Two 2.0 AH NiCd batteries
1-hr fast charger, which only works with NiCD batteries. This charger does not work with NiMH batteries.
Plastic case.

This is the only battery powered blower on the market since "Weedeater" and "Black & Decker" discontinued theirs. The description is a lie. It does not come with the 14.4V battery so you are out another $34 for that and if you don't have a charger, add $60 making it a pricey little gadget.

It works great. I use it everywhere: workshop, house, truck, yard. It produces a strong amount of air that can quickly clean out the workshop, or truck bed. The vacuum part works great also, but I mainly use it as a blower. A longer run time would be great, but I'm very satisfied with this tool.

I purchased this tool bag as a replacement for the hard plastic case which my 3/8" drill came in that I broke. This little case has proven to be a great replacement. Not only does it fit my drill but it also has enough room for extra bits and screws. This case has more than fit my needs and I'd definitely recommend it for anyone that needs a power tool replacement case.

I am a field technician and go to house to house all day long.I used to use a strapped tool box but that proved bulky and would wack off customers walls! So I switched to this bag and found it fit everything I use and gave specific locations to all the various small parts I can now carry instead of going back to the truck 10 times.I would like to have seen a little more strength were the shoulder strap meets the bag but I fixed that by looping the strap hook through the fabric of the handle as well as the strap eye on the bag itself.I loved the bag so much I ordered 3 more to stockpile, its a great bag but will not last forever as if it was made from a heavy canvas.Well worth the money thou.

This driver drill is powerful, smooth and lightweight (3.8 lb). I can use the same battery charger as my other Milwaukee tools. The only flaw is that it is difficult to change the direction of the drill (forward/reverse) without using two hands. It can be done with one hand, but you have to shift your grip on the tool to do it.

A very good product at a reasonable price. I did a lot of research and decided that a 12v drill would be sufficient for the things I needed to do with it. It turns out that the 0502-26 offers more than enough power. The tool feels well built and the worklight that comes with it is also nice.