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replaced my Dewalt 18v 4pc kit Review by thebigdoghimself

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I have had about 10 cordless drills in the past 15 years and recently upgraded to this Hitachi 9 pc kit.

Most recently I had a Dewalt 18v 4pc that was about 5 years old. even though my Dewalt tools were in OK shape the 4 batteries were pretty much dead and had been "revived" a few times. I looked at replacing the batteries but between spending $250 for a new charger and pair of batteries or just replacing the whole kit it made sense to get new tools (my drill needed repair as well).

My initial impression is mixed I chose the Hitachi set over the Dewalt mainly due to cost and the Lithium Ion batteries, not to mention that they have a 10 year warranty on their tools.

The batteries on the Hitachi kit were definitely lighter than dewalt's. seemed like they were almost 1/3rd the weight but their plastic shell does seem to be cheaper quality then dewalt's and the clip mechanism also seems not as sturdy (hopefully though they will last longer).

I was very disappointed with the Hitachi lantern. The description states it has both LED's and a fluorescent lamp what it doesn't state is that there is ONLY 1 LED. Now com-on what can you do with 1 LED? the fluorescent bulb isn't that great compared to Dewalts gooseneck lamp this thing is nothing more than a childs toy.

Looking at the Drill itself, it's a nice solidly made tool. The design is a bit funky as it has a mix of plastic and rubber pieces its very comparable to the Dewalt 18v unit. Hitachi does fall WAY short on the silly belt clip / LED light that is attached to the lower left side of the tool. First off the LED is YELLOW another "come-on what are you thinking?" as it should be a white bulb also noteworthy is that it seems to be powered by its own battery. I have not taken the light apart to determine its power source but my guess is a couple of flat watch type batts and well that makes it worthless as well one of those marketing add ons that really does not need to be there.

The Sawzall, jigsaw grinder and SDS drill are all high quality once again the funky combination of plastic and rubber. I DID however really like the rubber surround that covered the front of the sawzall it makes the tool very comfortable to use.

My Favorite piece here so far is the one that I thought would be used the least. The 1/4" impact driver is great for driving screws I have even used a socket adapter into it and used it when working on my lawn equipment. Weight wise its about the same as my older Makita 14.4v unit but has alot more power is much smaller and drives long screws and bolts 500% better than a non impact driver.

My least favorite tool here is the "blower" I do alot of woodworking and thought it would be nice to have it handy to to blow off sawdust. I figured I'd have it handy and would be quicker than having to find the blower attachment for my air compressor. The unit works ok but its one of those tools that if you are in your shop and you have an air compressor 15 feet away its no big deal and add no value to your combo.

so what do I miss?

Not much if anything at all the tools are very comparable to my old Dewalt kit as mentioned the batteries and the charger appear to be cheaper plastic but thats nothing major and should not be a deal breaker.

I do plan on buying the matching impact wrench a few extra batteries and the real flashlight (since the florescent lantern is a joke) here in a few months.


I do however want to point out that I wish Hitachi made a right angle drill as one does come with Dewalt's larger 18v kits.

(Posted on 1/6/10)