Best 18v Cordless Drill Reviews

A cordless drill is a ‘must-have’ tool for all DIY’ers as well as professionals. Technically, an electric drill which is capable of drilling using rechargeable batteries is known as a Cordless drill.

It is one of the most important and as a result one of the most popular tool for many out there. Being portable and capable of instant use, it is hard for it to go out of fashion. There does exist a improved version though, known as Impact Driver or Impact Drill. This article is geared to help you find the best 18v cordless drill.

What is an Impact Driver/Drill?

Impact drivers almost look similar to cordless drill. The main purpose of this tool is to drive screws. It is capable of doing it faster and effortlessly. They are capable of working on screws of all sizes, be it a wide or long screw or of any size.

What is the Difference Between the Two?

A cordless drill is engineered to drill holes and drive screws. These are slightly less proficient than the Impact drivers and might blow off if used for big projects or extensively. Whereas, the impact drivers serve great in case of big projects when the drilling and driving doesn’t stop for a minute and when the screws are of variable sizes.

Which One to Buy?

Here is a look at some of the popular cordless drill options that you have today.

Cordless

Cordless Drill

Perfect for small projects, less drilling and driving screws.

Impact

Impact Drill

Works well for large scale projects, extensive drilling and driving screws.

How to Choose a Cordless Drill?

Confused as to which one is right for you? It all depends on how you intend to use it. Here is a look at some of the factors that are important.

1. POWER

The power is measure in volts in case of cordless drills. As the volts increase, the torque offered increases but it increases weight, too. Depending on how big or small is the size of the hole required, accordingly the drill can be chosen.

2. SPEED

Usually as the power of the drill increases, accordingly the speed increases, too. Also the cheapest drills work the slowest or with the least speed. For driving screws, low speed is desired and high speed for drilling.

3. BATTERIES

Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries are sort of a breakthrough in the world of batteries for drills and Nicads are not much preferred in the upcoming models. NiMH are even much safer than Nicads.

4. HANDLES

Most of cordless drills of today’s age come with T handles which are a lot better in terms of grip. There are also drills with pistol grip, never go for those. Always go for the T handle.

5. CHARGER

Don’t be fooled with ‘the faster charging the better’ because it is not so. The slower charges may have better results in the long run. There also exist smart chargers in the market which come with temperature sensor and feedback circuitry which protect batteries from hazards.

Top Five 18V Cordless Drills

We looked at the best cordless drill drivers available today. We took into consideration everything that we stated above, and more. The primary focus was on quality, durability and the range of features offered. And here are the top 5 that we loved.

1. DEWALT DC970K-2 18-Volt Compact Drill/Driver Kit

The Dewalt DC970K-2 is an 18Volt-380watts cordless drill. In this machine, the motor is enclosed within a compact design. It has an advantage of comfortable handling of the machine. It looks comparatively small but is equally powerful and is ideal for drilling. The keyless ratcheting chuck is made up of plastic which has an advantage of tighter grip.

Things We Liked

  • Power Rating - The power rating of this machine is 380 watts which is less than the average rating of 480 watts.
  • Charger - The charger has a ‘automatic tune up’ mode which results in increasing the lifespan of the batteries.
  • Size - The size of this machine is small which makes it less tiring to work on constantly.
  • Less Weight - The weight of the machine is very less which makes it very handy to use, even on the longer runs.
  • Indicator - The charger of this product comes equipped with an indicator. It indicates the user if the power source is not enough or if it is the time for the pack of the batteries to be replaced or changed.
  • Speed - Because of the good power and torque, this drill is quite fast to work with.

Things We Didn't Like

  • Battery - This machine still come with NiCd batteries. NiMH are better.
  • Motor - When you go for drilling deep, more than standard, then the motor begins to smoke.
  • Body - The body of this machine is made up of plastic. It gives a tighter grip but on the other hand it makes it less durable also.
  • No LED - This machine doesn’t come equipped with the LED light.

2. Makita XPH012 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Cordless 1/2-Inch Hammer Driver-Drill Kit with One Battery

The Makita XPH012 18 Volt Cordless Drills is a powerful 480 lbs. torque delivering machine. It has a 4 pole motor and the machine weighs 4 lbs. It also has a built in LED light. It has a variable 2-speed which increases its range of drilling to a lot more than expected. It serves real well in terms of power. It is capable of working as driver-drill as well as hammer driver-drill offering a large range of working options using one single tool.

Things We Liked

  • Variable 2-speed design - It has variable 2-speed design to offer a wide range of drilling and driving applications.
  • Multipurpose - This cordless drill is capable of working as a normal driver drill and serves the purpose of hammer driver drill as well.
  • LED - It comes equipped with an in built LED light.
  • Power Rating - It has a high power rating of 480 watts which gives a big time increase in its performance.
  • Charging - The batteries charge very quickly without any risk of getting damaged in the near future.
  • Chuck - The chuck is massive and it is very easy to tighten it down.

Things We Didn't Like

  • Chuck tightening - The chuck needs time to time tightening to the bit.
  • Plastic parts - Many parts of this product are made up of plastic which gradually will be required to change.
  • No indicator - There is no indicator available to indicate that the charging is about to get over.
  • Battery - The battery that comes with this tool is Lithium battery and not NiMH.

3. Bosch DDS181-02 18-Volt Lithium-Ion 1/2-Inch Compact Tough Drill/Driver Kit with 2 High Capacity Batteries

The Bosch DDS181-02 is an 18-volt battery with compact and not so heavy design. The power system of this tool is very flexible as it supports both DD & HDD power system. It requires lithium ion batteries and includes an electronic battery fuel gauge so that the power available is enough for the desired job.

Things We Liked

  • LED - It comes with an LED bulb and its position is ideal as the users hands doesn’t come in between as an obstacle.
  • Chuck - The working of the chuck i.e. the spinning and the clamping is very smooth.
  • Weight - This machine is a lightweight making it very easy to handle.
  • Battery Indicator - The battery itself indicates about how much is it left.

Things We Didn't Like

  • No holder - In order to hold the drill bit, no holder is provided.
  • Assembly - Whenever the chuck or the brushes turn bad then whole assembly itself has to be changed and not a single item.

4. DEWALT Bare-Tool DCD950B 1/2-Inch 18-Volt XRPHammerdrill/Drill/Driver

The Dewalt DCD950B XRP is an 18 volt – 450 watts cordless hammer drill-driver. It features a patented 3-speed all metal transmissions which helps in determining the desired speed as required for every job in the best way possible. This machine is quite a light weighted one with mere 3.9 lbs. With heavy duty half inch self tightening chuck the gripping strength increases automatically.

Things We Liked

  • Patented 3-speed transmission - The patented 3-speed transmission features helps greatly in determining which speed suits the best for doing a job accurately.
  • Weight - This machine weighs less which makes it very easy for the user to work with.
  • Chuck - This machine is equipped with a self tightening chuck which helps in making the gripping strength better.
  • LED - The Dewalt XRP comes with the feature of LED light.
  • Compactness - The tool is designed in a compact manner which makes it very handy.
  • Hammer Drive and Drill - Along with the standard feature of driving an drilling, this tool is capable of doing the hammer drive and drill functions also.

Things We Didn't Like

  • Metal Chuck - Even if the chuck is good enough to strengthen the grip but at the same time, being made of metal, it starts giving friction burn on a lot if bit changing.2.
  • Speed Trigger - The speed trigger is one of the great features of this tool but it lacks perfection as it isn’t very smooth while transitioning between speeds.

5. Milwaukee 2607-20 M18 1/2" Hammer Drill

The Milwaukee 2607-20 is a 18 volt cordless hammer drill – driver. It weighs merely 3.4 lbs. It is equipped with a 4 pole frameless motor that offers really powerful torque of 525lbs. It is ergonomically designed and is one good compact machine. It comes with a speed trigger helping to understand what speed suits what job. Along with that it has an exclusive for drilling at higher speed and screwing. At lower speed.

Things We Liked

  • Light weight - The product is very light weight and still offers heavy duty driller and driver.
  • Charging - The charging of the product is done in the least possible amount if time.
  • Small batteries - The batteries are interchangeable small ion ones which lightens the weight of the product and provides heavy duty drill and drive at the same time.

Things We Didn't Like

  • Battery life - Even a fully charged battery doesn’t last for a very long time, hardly a day.
  • Bits - The bits have a habit of wobbling and do not stay tight in chuck.
  • Drill Overheating - The drill gets overheated easily which may result in its early burn out.
  • Sparks - On releasing the trigger the sparks come out of the armature.

WHO WINS OUT OF THE TOP FIVE?

Out of all the five best 18v cordless drill reviews, the Dewalt DC970K-2 seems to be the best and deserves bagging the first position. It has two-speed transitions and 17 clutch settings.

With the provision of keyless ratcheting chuck, it helps in holding the position of the bits way more tightly and securely. The balancing of the drill works really well because of the ergonomic handle and weight distribution. The company has thought about safety feature, too, in a detailed manner. It provides with an electric brake which stops the spinning of the drill as soon as the trigger is released.

The charger that is used in this product has a mode –automatic tune-up mode which helps in increasing the lifespan of the batteries. It also has a feature of alerting the user if the power source is inadequate or the pack of the batteries has to be replaced or changed.

The motor of this product can be a big issue to think over, else this product is unbeatable in terms of giving robust performance.

If you're looking for more reviews on cordless drills, make sure you check out the rest of our site as well where we have evaluated a large number of them.