As a Semi pro, I run Metabo HPT for power tools and beat the hell out of them and get free batteries. Never had a tool or battery die in several years.
For groundskeeping I go with worx. They’re great but aftermarket batteries suck ass.
Any plug in tools that aren’t antiques are rigid, their warranty is nuts, and their mitre saw has the widest range of any I’ve ever used. Plus free service and parts for life.
My coworker runs Milwaukee, lots of variety, but he’s had two drills and three batteries die in 3 years of basic use, so I’m not sure if I trust them wholly. The packout is nice, but there are better options out there for portable tool chests now, like flex and toughbuilt.
I know a few pros who switched to flex tools and swear by them, but they’re too fresh to market to know for sure, although the company has been around forever supposedly.
I’ve somehow killed half the Hitachi/MetaboHPT batteries I’ve bought, and two of three chargers to boot. If anything else in my house made a habit of mysteriously dying for no reason I’d blame the power company, but as it stands it’s just the power tools, and I am by no means a heavy user. Maybe my garage just gets too hot? I dunno.
I’ve noticed a difference between the Lowe’s/retailer Metabo tools and the stuff they have at Menards and Amazon. Menards especially seems to only stock discontinued models. I’ve been consistently surprised at how hardy mine have been. Maybe I just got lucky, or you unlucky.
I’ve been pretty happy with the Ryobi 18 and 40 volt stuff. If I ever need anything fancier I’ll probably start investing in milwaukee. At some point I plan to invest into a tool storage system and milwaukee may win that decision…
For corded stuff, brand loyalty isn’t that useful. I have a dewalt portable/job site table saw I really like.
My jigsaw and circular saw are skil, so I could probably stand to upgrade, but they work well enough.
Just bought a kobalt powered screwdriver that uses usbc to charge and seems fine for household use (when a drill driver is not needed)
Still have an old dewalt drill on a dead battery platform that refuses to die.
If you’re looking for a solid storage system, check out toughbuilt or flex. As someone with the rare experience in several different mobile tool chests, flex and toughbuilt kick the hell out of the packout. I run the toughbuilt stacktech myself, and it’s got everything I could have hoped for. Tough as hell, metal corners, waterproof, no fumbling to lock or unlock pieces as they connect automatically, and they’re a good bit cheaper to boot.
Ryobi is great for starting out. They’re definitely not the best tools, but they’re cheap. If you wear out something from them, you’ve earned the right to buy a good brand of that tool.
I’ve gone through a skoolie (school bus converted to an RV) project and now most of a house renovation with one 1/4" Ryobi drill and one 3/8" Harbor Freight drill and they’re both somehow still going strong after five years of hard usage. I had bad opinions of both manufacturers before but not any more.
My experience with Harbor Freight power tools is a (corded) circular saw that works extremely well. I put in a better blade, and it rocks. I’ve had it for years and it shows no signs of slowing down. I’m not a heavy user but I’ve used it for quite a few projects over the years, including an RV renovation I’m working on now.
For those who hate being stuck with one brand because the batteries are so expensive you can buy adapters to convert between them. For instance I use a rigid battery with a ryobi tool etc and it works great! I’ve seen adapters for working between most of the brands since almost all the tools are 18V. I’ve seen ones that jump between lower voltages and higher ones which is a bit sketchier but are likely fine as well. www.google.com/search?q=power+tool+battery+adapte…
I got the Bluetooth speaker from Menards online. I love it. I charge my cellphone and listen to podcasts while I work. The small battery gives me nearly a day of audio.
There is a canadian Youtuber that I stopped watching because he turned out to be a Canuck Trumper type, but he did a lot of videos where he broke down power tools with various price points and showed why they cost what they cost and where manufacturers do or don’t cut corners. Interesting stuff.
lemmyshitpost
Active
This magazine is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.