Over at Home Depot, there’s a Dewalt 18V drill and impact driver combo kit, DCK235C, and it’s on sale for $99.
I can’t tell if these tools are built in the USA or elsewhere. I have seen some 18V tools being built in the USA.
Hmm, looking at my photos from my Dewalt factory tour, it’s a different drill that’s assembled here.
Update: This Amazon listing suggests it’s built in the USA, but I can’t tell if that applies to these kits too. The Amazon listing also shows different specs for the impact.
The drill delivers up to 380 UWO of power, and the impact driver up to 1170 in-lbs of torque.
In comparison, Dewalt’s holiday special DCD777 drill/driver, on sale for $99, delivers 340 UWO, and their original 20V Max DCD780 delivers 350 UWO. Dewalt’s latest generation compact brushless drill/driver delivers 460 UWO of power.
As for the impact driver, the original 20V Max DCF885 delivers 1400 in-lbs, and the latest and greatest brushless DCF887 delivers up to 1825 in-lbs.
In other words, the drill looks alright on paper, despite its bulky physical looks, and the impact has “just okay but not really competitive for a non-super-compact tool” specs.
These are 18V NiCad tools, not Li-ion. The kit comes with (2) 1.2Ah battery packs.
So who’s buying them? Pros on a very tight budget? DIYers who want 18V-class drill and impact driver combo kit for under $100?
Dewalt says they’re perfect for the HVAC or installation professional.
Looking at Ryobi, they also have a $99 drill and impact driver combo kit. There’s no information about the drill’s max torque, but the impact driver is rated at 1600 in-lbs max torque.
On Home Depot’s site, there are many reviews, with a lot of them being from recent weeks, showing that lots of people are still buying this kit.
I suppose it stands out because it’s one of very few kits that give you a drill and impact driver, and a battery for each, at just under $100.
Looking at the product photos, the impact seems to have an LED worklight, but not the drill/driver. In this day and age, no LED? How barbaric. I say that in jest. I think.
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
That brings forward a good question.
If you needed a cordless drill and impact driver, and only had $100 to spend (ignore sales tax for a moment), which would you buy?
- A: This Dewalt kit
- B: A Ryobi kit
- C: A 12V-class kit
- D: None of the above
Me? I think I’d go with C, a 12V-class kit. If you look at Home Depot’s Black Friday 2017 tool deals, there’s a Milwaukee M12 drill and impact driver combo kit that’ll be going on sale for $99. That’s what I’d spend my $100 on.