DeWalt Reviews

I had one of these for about a year. I own lots of Dewalt cordless tools, and have been generally very happy with them. I use the heck out of my standard 12v drill, so this right-angle drill seemed like a natural addition. I found the body to be pretty large and clumsy, which kind of defeats the idea of getting something for working in confined spots. Because it was hard to hold and manipulate, I had a hard time driving screws without slipping the bit out of the head frequently. After a while, I just gave up on using this and found other ways to get the work done. (If you're interested, I have used a Milwaukee corded "close quarters" drill and really like it.)

I got this on closeout at a local home center for a steal. Didn't think I would really use it much but I now find myself using it all the time. Great for small or awkward spaces. Good battery life. Fits well and balances nicely in the hand. It's pricey but very handy.

Nice functionality on drill and hammer function.
Lots of torque and battery life is remarkable.
I am right-handed and have large hands which means that I have to use care to fully depress "forward" button when changing from "reverse" to "forward" (it is a little awkwardly positioned). I did have difficulty engaging the hammer function one time, which sorted itself out after switching from "forward" to "reverse" and back again...

The saw is a dream with regards to weight, balance and power.
It does however, as everyone says, use up the batteries quite quickly (more than 4 long diagonal cuts of a 2x10 will kill a battery). But remember, it isn't expected to compete with a normal AC power tool...

I would recommend that Dewalt sell this kit with one of the normal heavy duty 18V batteries and one of the extra heavy duty batteries to make the kit even better.

This is an excellent combo with more power than most people will need for the job. The drill is the heart of the deal with the drill alone retailing for only $100 less than this kit. It has 450 inch-pounds of torque, which is enough to ripe the head off an unsuspecting dry-wall screw (this is great! nice power). The chuck and grip are well designed. If these tools have a draw back it would be the price (a bit on the high side) and weight (there are not light...which feels good, but what about the end of the day?), but ultimately these tools are comfortable, powerful, and really loveable.

I love this tool! I have 2 Makita cordless driver/drills and another DeWalt, and this is the one I always reach for first. None of the other brands of "stick" or hinged drivers come close to it's performance. The sensitive trigger allows for fine speed control which lets me use this for everything from taking apart my VCR to putting up drywall. The speed is fast enough for light drilling of pilot holes. I find it especially useful with a countersink bit for deburring holes in sheet metal. The small size/light weight make it convenient for use overhead or in small spaces. The batteries last long enough for most projects, but don't take too long to recharge. The only problem I have had with it is when you use it on the highest torque level of the clutch, "15", it vibrates enough to shift it down to 14. On the negative side, it tends to be kind of pricey. I bought mine new for $80 several years ago, but I now see it for over $120 routinely. It is sometimes available as a freebie with some of the bigger DeWalt cordless tool sets.

A good product. Over 8,000 through a nail gun with just a few misfeeds. Once in they hold, I use it for decking and subfloors. A good product.

These galvanized roofing nails really did the trick on my roof. They fit exactly in the gun and fired cleanly into the roof.

It's inexpensive, light weight and it works. If you're drilling (or driving screws) into pine 2 x 4's, plywood, etc. this drill has plenty of power. The light weight also makes it easy to use for extended periods. This is a great little drill for light-to-medium duty. Understand that if you're remodeling an old house (75+ years) where the wood feels like more like stone, you'll find it difficult driving screws and boring large holes. If you already know you're going to be drilling rock-hard materials, go get a Milwaukee Magnum (a much higher torque, more expensive and noticeably heavier tool).

i just got this for my business and i can see that it has a lot of power and it looks resistent. The thing i don't like is the locking key for the disk.

The compressor works great! I only wish it came with a bigger front tire. The tanks often hit the ground when moving it.

I'm a professional construction worker (framing-to-furniture) and I currently have two of these kits at my disposal (one in my work shop, and one in my home shop) so I suppose I have a pretty good feel for these tools at this point. I'll take them one at a time.

1. Flexible Floodlight: a real surprise to me--an invaluable tool. Very bright, stable bulb and you always have a battery handy.

2. Reciprocating saw: a very handy battery gobbling tool. I don't know how dewalt gets thier battery ratings but this saw can munch a fully-charged battery in a few minutes of hard use. It is, however, perfect for running around new construction trimming door shims, cutting a muffler off your old jeep, or other small projects that make a cord a hassle. The blade change system is great in that it clamps the blade much tighter than other quick-change systems.

3. Circular Saw: surprisingly, the weak link of the system. This saw is dangerously underpowered. It runs at such low rpms that the cut is always jagged and it bogs down easily. An underpowered circular saw can be deadly in unexperienced hands so be really careful with this one and don't for a minute consider it a 'construction' circular saw. The table is very flimsy and one drop will make adjustments difficult and accuracy impossible. However, it's a good saw for trimming 1/4" plywood and cedar shingles.

4. Cordless Hammerdrill: the best of the kit. Some tools lend themselves to battery power and the drill is the first of such tools. This is a relatively powerful drill with a broad speed range that can run all day on a single battery under normal use. It has higher rpms than most corded drills with a 1/2" chuck and plenty of power in the low end to drive large hole saws and forstner bits when need be. The keyless chuck is the best of any cordless drill out there.

5. The batteries: The batteries charge quickly (45-60 minutes) in the stock charger. Most of the time, two batteries is enough for one carpenter, working alone. If you were to depend on the reciprocating saw much you would need at least a dozen batteries to get through the day. Under normal use the circular saw and drill won't wear out a battery before the other is charged.

There is a disturbing rumor that the quality of the batteries in these kits is much lower than the replacement batteries you can buy. One of my batteries (one of four) went dead after about a month of use--dead. All the rest have been pretty good. My friends in construction have had similar problems. One kit blew out four batteries in a row. When replacement batteries were purchased new the problems dissapeared.

One more note, you will need at least a week off work practicing taking these tools out of the plastic case and getting them back in--it's an exact science.

My team was issued a set of these tools to go to a certain mountainous country in southern Asia, and we abused the hell out of them. I highly recommend them as they are extremely durable and reliable. The only drawbacks are common to all tools that use rechargeable batteries, that being short battery life in extreme temperatures.