Cordless Tools Reviews

This trimmer is a little heavy for a woman, but exactly what I expected and you can't beat the price. Works great.

I would recommend this trimmer. My only basis for comparison is the Toro cordless with a 6 volt battery I used for probably 8 years with no problem until the battery died. I like this one much better. It has a 12 volt battery, so it cuts much easier and faster. It is heavier because of the bigger battery, but still light enough for me, a small 51 year old woman. I like the way you can make the edges look like you used an edger. I was unable to control an edger or gas powered trimmer due to the weight.

This cordless trimmer is by far one of the best that I have owned. It's 12 volt battery is more than powerful enough for most household jobs. Who need a gas model when this Toro works just as well.

I saw this cordless nail gun at Lowes at half the price of the DeWalt. I am going to need to do some trim work coming up and was not looking forward to manually nailing all the pieces, or the $399 list on the DeWalt alternative. Note: I do have several DeWalt tools, and find them to have exceptional value. I was concerned about this tool being from B&D. I know, DeWalt snob... But, with a baby coming up and other expenses, decided to try this tool. I have only shot a few dozen brads to make sure it worked OK out of the box. Also, I bought what I consider to be quality brads in decent packaging for a few bucks, rather than use the ones included. I would assume that brads kept straight in the packaging, rather than the somewhat bent packaging in teh B&D box would keep the tool firing better. Anyway, I was surprised to see how well it fired the 2" brads that I purchased. I was skeptical because most cordless/battery operated nailers only go up to 1-1/4". I don't think I'll have any problem going through 1/2" molding, 5/8" drywall and a stud with a 2" brad. If you're that concerned about thicker hardwood moldings (and can afford to purchase it!), you can probably afford the DeWalt and already purchased it!

I read the bad reviews and most of them must have been about the 12 volt version. I bought the 12 volt version of this nail gun when it first came out 2 years ago. I had good luck with it using the 1.5 inch nails on most projects although sometimes had to use more force than I would have liked to seat the nails.

When they came out with the 18 volt version though I was excited because the batteries were interchangeable with all of the other Firestorm tools I had. I managed to acquire one of the 18 volt versions and it is by far the best value for home owner cordless nail guns. Where the 12 volt would be slightly underpowered sometimes the 18 volt always had enough power to fully seat 2 inch nails. It seems to work even in oak. All in all great product for the money.

I HAD THIS CORDLESS FOR ALMOST 2 YEARS AND KEEPS WORKING LIKE NEW AFTER SOME COUPLE THOUSANDS NAILS, BEFORE THIS I BOUGTH A DEWALT CORDLESS THAT BROKE ON THE FIRST NAIL,NO GOOD FOR A GUN THAT COST 3 TIMES MORE

My old batteries gave out quite some time ago through excessive use and improper care (I left them in the heat way too much), so finding the same batteries online for a very reasonable price makes my power tool work again and me happy. This why you get the five stars.

I was surprised when I opened the box from Amazon and found the factory new replacement battery for my Makita tools. I wished I had ordered more, as this is the original equipment battery at a much better price than I have ever found any place else.

The old Makita set keeps going, and I like the feel of the drill, so a new battery makes sense. The NiCad seems to be just as good as the newer NiMh battery I have, and will charge in the old charger. I do admit my new Panasonic drill has much more power, but is heavier. Lou - full time electrician and fixer.

at first id say 1 in 10 screws cocked and jamed up in the mechanism, however thats only because i had no skills with it. now having gone through over 50 of the buckets of screws it happens maybe once in 1000 honest. and an added plus it fits ryobi batteries (14.4 only). however If anyone else on the job picks it up to tack something they usually wind up cursing at it and tossing it. and for full speed work just screwing behind the guys tacking you need 4 to 6 batteries
hope this helps

great gun, but required getting used to. In that I agree with the other reviews. But ... can you imagine, a craftsman actually having to learn how to use a tool!?

I am not a professional, but I found the Duraspin screw gun to be an incredible time saver. It made drywall hanging much easier and a lot faster. I hung drywall in a garage, bedroom, bath, and laundry room with the Duraspin, and it had plenty of power. The battery held up well. The second battery was always charged and ready to go, when the first battery started to lose power. The screws almost always were sunk to the correct depth (95%+). The only time I had troubles is putting a screw into the corner of a wall, and I had to go in at an angle. Sometimes I would have to follow up and sink these screws a little deeper.

I have used the screw gun on other miscellaneous non-drywall jobs too, and I have found it to be a simple, easy and fast way to sink screws into any wood job. I would highly recommend it.

I was under the impression Bosch made good quality tools.
Bosch from my recent experience has VERY poor qualtiy control.
The jig saw in this set worked twice (on thin plywood) and now just smokes and really heats up the battery.
The flashlight never worked.
The drill has been working OK, but the chuck is pretty poor, the bits tend to rotate if the bit just binds a little.

I have been a custom home builder and cabinet maker for several years now and have used many different cordless sets. I can easily say that this set is the best value out there. After great luck with an old Dewalt 12v drill, I went to a Milwaukee 18v set after their great magazine reviews. That set was good but not nearly as good I expected. Every 18 months or so I sell the old set and get new to avoid any troubles.

2 years ago, the 18v Bosch set (5 piece) came next and I liked it much better.
The drill is the core of every set and this one is very solid and well balanced. Easy clutch adjustments and decent hammer-drill function. Nice magnetic tip included as well.
The circular saw is the best 18volt I have seen with a great depth gauge and even a dust collection port (that I have never used).
The jig saw is absolutely fantastic. It is not quite on the same level as my Bosch corded jig saw (which is the best jig saw ever IMO) but I use it more than my corded unit with very good results.
The reciprocating saw is the set's weakest point. The blade gaurd is adjustable but is all chewed up now. The unit does have an adjustable stroke which is a nice feature. The Bosch is pretty good but can't hold a candle to the balance and smoothness of a Milwaukee Hatchet.
The flashlight is a fair 18volt flashlight with great run time and fair output.
The bag is a little cheesy with a few rips in the interior pockets and can't contain all the tools in the set while zipping shut.

I always look at value and what you get for the money. Other sets may have individual pieces better but at a higher cost. I have used the heck out this set with no failures. This price for a standard set plus a great jigsaw is a tremendous value in my book. I give this set 4 stars but I'm the kind of guy who never sees any thing 5 stars (perfection is unattainable).

I'm in the market now for an updated set and this 6-piece Bosch set is on the top of my list.

I have the 5 piece kit which has all the same tools except the planar. I bought the kit earlier this year and used every one of the tools in the construction of an Ipe deck. All the tools had more than enough power for every task I asked of them. The hammer drill was used to drill through brick to mount the ledger board, the circular saw to notch the Ipe railing posts and cut deck boards, the jigsaw to cut notches in the deck boards and the recip saw to cut posts to length. These tools handled everything I threw at them with ease.

I'm glad others have enjoyed some success with their Husqvarna 350. I unfortunately am not one of those. I'm in the camp with others who continue to have starting problems.

So does the Husqvarna rep just down the street where my Husqvarna is now being looked over.

Bottom line, I bought it new - used it once - after some starting problems. Put it in an enclosed garage for a winter with fuel stabilizer. Tried it fire it up this past weekend and nothing.

Took it to the Husqvarna rep and they had the same starting problems. They replaced the plug, which was drenched in fuel and oil, and got it to start - but only with the tell-tale oil and fuel all over the bar.

Sorry folks, but a new chainsaw shouldn't be such a problem - nor should so many individuals in such a wide-geographic range be experiencing the exact same problems without there being some manufacturing deficiency.

This was my fist Husqvarna purchase. It is also going to be my last.

My Husqvarna 350 has worked without any issues for 2 years, using only occasionaly. However, it started leaking a lot of chain bar oil. When I took apart to see the problem, I found that the screws that hold the handle that screw up through the bottom have rubbed a hole through the bar oil reserver. The other screw has nearly rubbed a hole through the bottom. This was purchased by me new and it has never been worked on, so I did not install the handle with too long of a screw. It came from the factory this way. I recommend that anyone with one of these saws, check the screw length of the bottom two screws that hold the handle on. The oil reserve is part of the engine case so it is not a simple repair.

I bought a Husky 350 after making the mistake of purchasing a Craftsman. The difference was like night and day. It satrts easy, and runs like a champ. The guy with the gastank problem, I don't know what to say. I haven't had any problems with mine. THe guy who cant start his might want to try reading the manual. Try the decompression valve and a freshly sharpened chain may help cutting logs instead of sanding them in half. Keep your chain out of the dirt and thin down your bar oil when it's cold (-10) and you'll have no problems. If you do break something on it (I spun my oiling gear by not thining my bar oil when it was -10) parts are readily available, inexpensive, and easy to fix.

The new Versapak battery I recieved was weaker than the origional five year old battery I still had. One of the two origional batteries quit working and I ordered a new one. The new one delivered only about half the torque to my screw driver and did not last long even after overnight charge. Perhaps I could have just recieved a defective one. I like the B&D cordless driver and will try again to order another one.

I presentlly am keeping these batteries as a spaare. But having used the product before I'll tell you they don't have a long life and are expensive, based on the initial cost of the product that these battaries operate.

i was unable to purchace the item at home depot and target. so that is why i went to amazon.com but after ordering this item i found it at another target store at a much lower price. $18.00 for a package of two and your price was $27.29. that is my complaint. p/k/h

I don't know if this is normal or not, but the plug for this battery charger gets very hot. I don't know if it is a design flaw, or if I am putting a "bad" battery in the charger, or if this plug is supposed to get hot. All I know is that I don't like it getting hot, as I believe it poses a fire hazard. My old charger used to get hot, so I replaced it with a new one. Now the new one even gets hot, so I am not sure what the problem is.

I was glad to find this particular charger as I have several tools that use this type of battery. My old charger had died and I had not found a new one in stores around me. Order and delivery were great!

The extra battery comes in handy for the flashlight that came with my versa pak drill. Great Product.

The Dust Devil by Dirt Devil worked great for the 4 months I was able to use it. It suddenly stopped charging and eventually ran out of juice.

I have put this into my "Do not buy" list for breaking after an estimated 30 uses.

I live in a 3 story house with mostly hardwood floors. This hand vac has been great for slurping up the dust that accumulates on the staircases and for picking up lint and dust on ceramic tile in the bathrooms and laundry. For dense carpeting, it's only so-so. If you have mostly hard floor coverings, this unit should do the trick.

I really like my little Dust Devil. I've owned mine for over a year and use it on an almost daily basis. We get along quite well and he does his job like a good boy. He eagerly cleans up scattered kitty litter, pet hair off the bed comforter and sofa, and various other small messes made by me or one of the critters. Nor has he ever ran out of energy before the job is done. Also, easy to clean, lightweight, simple to use, and in ravishing red - the Dust Devil sufficiently suits my needs.

There are more powerful hand helds on the market and this little guy is certainly not going to do the job of a full sized vacuum, but for those casual spills that go along with daily life, I recommend this product wholeheartedly.

P.S. Especially good for those with pets and/or kids.

I have two tools (drill & screwdriver) that use this battery system. I have 2 battery chargers (one with each tool) and three batteries. The tools work fine - when the batteries work. However both chargers are useless (one after only one battery recharge). Not sure about the batteries - no working charger to test with.

Based upon this limited sample, and comments by others, I would suggest staying away from Black and Decker Fire Storm systems

The Black and Decker website claims these batteries will recharge 300 or 500 times (depending on which page you view...). My drill with 2 batteries is about 5 years old, and I would say I have recharged the batteries no more than 15-20 times. They are now vitually useless. They will recharge, but in 3-5 days on the shelf they are completely dead. As others have mentioned, I can go buy a new drill with 2 batteries and accessories for [...], or pay [...] for 2 new batteries. Guess which I will do...

I love this cordless tool set, it does everything. I realy need the jigsaw tip right now but the batteries both willl not take a charge. Did these new bateries solve the problem? No, it appears the charger has died. Now I'll order a charger and will have 4 batteries. That'll keep it going for a while.