IMO, they don't look cool, they look and feel like a toy. I have never and will never buy one, so I can't answer your question. I'm a Milwaukee fan.

 

Looks are for fan boys anyway. But I do like Milwaukee products. They fit and are balanced nice. Solid AF

 

A guy I used to work with had a little impact from them (12v?). It seemed like it would hold its own.

 

I don’t know about Hitachi’s cordless stuff in general, but that experience would turn me off to them forever.
Considering the bashing that Dewalt seems to get around here sometimes... I have two 18V XRP hammerdrills that still work great after 3 or 4-years. I just used one to drill out a resi kitchen remodel a couple of days ago. I use them for that kind of thing all the time, day after day. I like that their cordless tools are simple to maintain and repair as well as easy to get parts for, so IMO, they are hard to beat.

 

Yeah the DeWalt I used before that was an 18v ni-cad XRP hammer drill(part of a drill + reciprocating saw kit) probably like yours, and we would use that thing while roughing in houses to drill 2x4s and whatever else needed drilling when the corded drill was too far away or someone else was using it. It had a pretty hard life and all the labels had been scraped off but it always worked and it was hard to make it stall. The only thing it didn't get used for was masonry and brick where we usually used a Bosch or Hilti rotary hammer.

DeWalt bashing? Does that mean their recent stuff is not as tough as this? I almost bought one.

 

back in the day when the tools didnt look so "fancy" I quitte liked hitachi tools. But the new stuff is crap IMO. Indeed looks and feels like toys.
I prefer Hilti for drilling, and makita for other stuff.

 

Makita isn't what it used to be either. Hilti and Milwaukee if you invest in your own for work or your own company. Hitachi sold to metabo and they cheaper it up even more dropped the **** out the bottom on warranty times and who knows.. prolly be a Lowe's brand in another yr or two

 

I rank Hitachi down with Black & Decker power tools. They seem to be made just for homeowners for small random stuff. Back when we started our company we had a 5 piece set of Black & Decker tools and roughed in around a 3,000 sq. ft. house. Needless to say the only tool that made it to the end out of that set was the flashlight, all the rest of the tools the motors burnt out on. Now we mainly use Bosch, DeWalt, Milwaukee & Hilti.

 

my experience with drills so far has been pretty good for the most part. i work for an industrial contractor and we do some pretty heavy work, and having a cordless helps alot in some situations (not having to drag a cord all over the place especially).

1st dril- ridgid 18v nicad
not a bad drill, i got it in a package with a reciprocating saw for $140 from depot. saw wasnt bad at all, kit had a 1/2 hour charger, but the high/low switch on the drill shattered inside the casing after 91 days. (only reason i know it was 91 days is when i went back to depot to exchange it i could only get store credit.) dont get me wrong, i bought my dad a ridgid for around the house and he loves his, but it didnt cut the cheese for what i do for a living. which brings on drill # dos.

2nd drill- milwaukee 18v nicad
got this drill in a package from depot as well, using the store credit i got from the aforementioned ridgid set. that thing kicked ass for 2 1/2 years. it fell from a 12' ladder, drilled 3" holes in 1/4" steel diamond plate, drilled countless 7/8" holes for the K.O. punch, drilled countless 1/2" and 3/4" holes in block and precast for anchors, along with some wood here and there. the hammer mode worked beautifully, and the drill did what it was intended to do and then a lot more. the only reason im not using it any more is the clutch went out on it. (keeps slipping even in drill mode in low gear), and the reciprocating saw stopped working. i'll be sending both to get repaired soon along with some new batteries.

i use a drill almost daily at work and i really got used to having a cordless set available at all times pretty much so i got another set to use while i get the milwaukee worked on, bringing on the third drill.

3rd (and current) drill- makita 18v li-on
i got this set to replace the milwaukee while on the DL. a few guys i work with have the same set and liked them alot, so i thought i'd give it a shot, it was 50 bucks cheaper than the milwaukee, and i heard good things about it. anyway, so far so good with the set. the drill is WAAAAY lighter than either of my past 2, but it seems to have slightly less torque than the milwaukee, but i'll give up the torque for the weight. if i need more i'll grab a corded drill and deal with dragging a cord to where i'm working. it also has a plastic chuck on it, so i bought a spare one just in case it shatters for some reason.

here's a link to my current set. http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...1vZ1xr5/R-100608554/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

I use a Makita 18v lxt drill. Very good drill, light weight and enough torque to do commercial, if i need more i can switch to my corded rotary/hammer drill for abit and use that. the Hitachi i looked at them but felt way to light, and seemed like something i can give to a homeowner for very small light jobs. plus i don't like how they feel. most people i see use DeWalts, Milwaukee's, and Makitas.

 

does drilling into wood in hammer mode help anything?

 

Not that I ever seen

 

User error period. U smoked the motor.. it's a compact doing what a fullsize should been doing. U let batteries cool, u didn't let motor cool enough.. more to this story I'm sure. I have exact drill. Off three stories at work second week busted the chuck off the gear train assembly.. all new guts minus motor and trigger w harness . I've abused and used this for over 8 9 yrs since. Mixing epoxy, building countless speaker boxes, drilling **** I shouldn't have been able to. It gets warm to hot I set it down. Never even replaced the brushes yet. Been the best damn cordless I've ever owned. Had DeWalt motor went after 4 yrs and numerous batteries replaced. Broke plastic gears in makitas. Only thing I can think is better would be Milwaukee, boshe would be about same level. Hitachi was stronger then DeWalt and makitas in closest price brackets above this. Originally lifetime tool replacement 10 yr battery is what sold me hands down besides price. Makita only had 2 yr batt and DeWalt was one yr. I'm sure metabo bought that too.. I'll push that I ever need to. Never even had to replace a battery yet. Flashlight is long gone. And my impact driver that latwr came as a three kit w flashlight I bought as a impact only 2 batte and charger w case when I took this one in for repair at local authorized repair house. You may have let batteries cool..but not long enough I guarantee. I only have 20 min dead to full charge times. Heavy use does pull batteries down quick. Compare these to DeWalts skinny compact 18volts and they on the same level.. get the bigger ones for ext charge runs. You wanted to get what u had to done and pushed too hard..user error hands down all day anywhere. Never once has a battery taken longer then 25 30 mins max mid summer even when starting charg run after sitting plenty to cool.. I average still on 9 yr old batte 20 to 25 mins full cycle and have even used them to jump start vehicles whe desperate.. misuse period. You cook any cordless til it's that hot to hold and yiur gonna have a bad day. Idnt what except maybe Milwaukee cuz thats why the red costs what it does . They are usually lifetime tools unless you have mixed ship provided Milwaukee stuff. Constant use by electrician buddy of mine has never replaced one of his Milwaukee tools rebuult the batteries himslef w new cells but thwts a giben after how many hundreds of cycles. Don't dog the company over misuse. Mine been a beast it's whole life. But I also never got I so hot I had to set it down cuz I coukdnt hold it anymore and I bet you did..got them batteries way too hot as well. Next time just show up w hand tools...lmao. And anything matches klien unless it's a specialty meter. Lmao..bet my Hitachi makes it 20 plus yrs..that's why they og had lifetime tool replacement..duh.. never left a battery dead longer then a day or so. Thenid charge esp if I wasn't going to be packi it too work. Saw another video a guy was whining over blet clips .not clips I pulled mine day 2 opted for bungee balls with belt hook..way better and can run up and down ladders no worries at all..use those for all cordless tools on exterior houses...even DeWalt framing gun.. just need to double up ball and clips...ewsy peasy.. it's like clipping some sundown audio z series subs , the. Digging sundown for being over priced crap..user error every time my friend..tak it how you want I stand on what I said..sorry brother .use the tool don't let it use you..you'll have a bad day every time..lmao

 

Best first five posts ever.

 

Just 15years late.

 

Personally, from what I've seen other trademan use (in the commercial industry only), millworkers use Makita and Hitachi. Personally, I have some woodworking tools for my own household purposes, and I try to buy Porter Cable or Makita for wood. I am suspecting Hitachi is up there too with the 'heavy hitters' WOOD WORKING tools.....perhaps even up to Fein!