Which Cordless Drill Brand Wins?

claims up to 60% more power and up to 1.5 in shorter length vs a comparison model, up to 2x faster speed under heavy load claimed, peak torque claim 1200 in-lb, up to 2000 RPM claimed, 5-year warranty, made in Vietnam, brushless motor

brushless motor, 3 speeds, max power claim of 820 unit watts out, up to 2000 RPM claimed, 11 clutch settings, 3-year warranty, made in USA with global materials

claimed most powerful drill in the lineup at 1090 in-lb torque, brushless motor, up to 2100 RPM claimed, made in China

Hypermax lithium, claimed high performance motor and all-metal gear construction, claimed max torque 450 in-lb, claimed RPM 0 to 450 and 0 to 1700, guaranteed for 90 days, made in China, brushed motor (only brushed-motor drill in the lineup)

torque claimed, 0 to 450 and 0 to 1750 RPM claimed, 3-year warranty, made in China, brushed motor; ships with a 1.5 amp-hour battery but was tested with a 4 amp-hour battery for consistency with the other brands

brushless motor, up to 650 in-lb torque claimed, lifetime warranty, claimed micro-clutch premium clutch design with over 100 settings, claimed diecast gearbox for extended durability, comes with a handle, made in China

brushless motor, max RPM 2100 claimed, max torque 755 in-lb claimed, made in Malaysia, comes with a handle

max torque 531 in-lb claimed, made in Czech Republic, battery made in China, charger made in Germany, brushless motor, claimed to spin nearly twice as fast as the competition at 3800 RPM in mode four, chuck can be removed and a driver installed, manufacturer website claims it 'will stand up to anything you can possibly throw at it or throw it at'

LED stays on 10 seconds after trigger release

light settings; offers by far the brightest light on the highest setting of all brands

two LEDs, stay on 10 seconds after trigger release

single LED, stays on 4 seconds after trigger release, shortest light duration in the lineup

only stays illuminated while the trigger is engaged, no delay unlike every other brand tested

stays on 10 seconds after trigger release

stays on 10 seconds after trigger release

four LEDs, activated only by pressing a separate button next to the lights, unlike every other brand's automatic trigger-linked light

11.4 oz, nearly the same as DeWalt

10 oz

by far the heaviest drill at 5 lb 2 oz (82 oz per the closing weight comparison, heaviest of all 8 brands)

lightest tool of all 8 brands at 64 oz (3 lb 15.8 oz with a 3 amp-hour battery)

3.9 oz

7 oz, heaviest at that point in the intro sequence

9.2 oz, only a couple ounces less than Milwaukee and DeWalt

10.3 oz, nearly the same as DeWalt and Milwaukee

shortest drill in the lineup at only 7 in

very close to 8 in

very close to 8 in, about the same as DeWalt

slightly longer than Bauer

shortest at that point in the intro sequence (later surpassed only by Milwaukee's 7 in)

the longest drill in the lineup

tied with Ridgid for loudest baseline at 83 dB; electronic clutch quiet at 70 dB

baseline, slightly quieter than Ridgid; electronic clutch only 73 dB, much quieter than the Bauer/Ryobi/Ridgid mechanical clutches

very close to 80 dB baseline; mechanical clutch is the loudest of all 8 brands at 102 dB

baseline; mechanical clutch loud at 100 dB

baseline, slightly quieter than Bauer; mechanical clutch 99 dB, slightly quieter than Bauer's

baseline, loudest at that point in the intro sequence (later tied by Milwaukee); mechanical clutch loud at 100 dB

quietest baseline of all 8 brands at 77 dB; unusual design where the electric motor also powers down when the mechanical clutch is activated; clutch measured at 98 dB

quietest drill of all 8 brands at 73 dB baseline; electronic clutch also quiet at around 70 dB

described as 'pretty good' but not the best in the field

very good at only 23 RPM

same as DeWalt at 23 RPM

did very well on the lowest torque setting (no reading below 0 in-lb)

best low-RPM control of the mechanical-clutch brands at only 19 RPM, 'even better low RPM control than the Bauer'

very good at only 27 RPM

best low-RPM control of all 8 brands at only 7.3 RPM

very good at only 11 RPM

short of its 550 first-gear rating; nearly 200 RPM short of its second-gear rating

made 453 RPM vs a claimed 450 first-gear rating; exceeded its 1300 second-gear rating by 40; slightly beat its 2000 RPM rating at 2011

very close to its 550 first-gear rating; slightly over its 2100 second-gear rating at 2111

beat its own 450 RPM first-gear rating at 465; beat its 1700 RPM second-gear rating at 1733

came very close to its 450 RPM first-gear rating; about 90 RPM short of its 1700 RPM second-gear rating

very close to its 550 RPM first-gear rating; a little over 100 RPM short of its 2100 RPM second-gear rating

came up a little short of its 480 RPM first-gear rating at 433; nearly 200 RPM short of its 2100 RPM second-gear rating

slightly over its 400 RPM first-gear rating at 404; beat its 850 RPM second-gear rating; over its third-gear rating by nearly 100; beat its fourth-gear 3800 RPM rating by 75

lowest setting 136 in-lb ('definitely not a tool for delicate work'); highest setting (level 14) 231 in-lb

lowest setting 76 in-lb, 'definitely not a good setup for delicate work' (electronic clutch); highest setting (level 11) 245 in-lb

lowest setting 0 in-lb, performed very well (mechanical clutch); highest setting 78 in-lb

lowest setting produced 0 in-lb (could not move the torque adapter off zero, the best possible low-end result); highest setting 141 in-lb, 'a pretty wide range of torque settings'

performed well on the lowest torque setting (mechanical clutch); highest setting 114 in-lb

lowest setting 0 in-lb, did very well; highest setting 180 in-lb

lowest setting 0 in-lb, did a great job (mechanical clutch); highest setting 69 in-lb, the lowest maximum clutch-torque figure of all 8 brands

struggled on the lowest setting (electronic clutch) at 92 in-lb, 'definitely not a good setup for delicate work'; highest setting 151 in-lb