Home Depot’s “buy an 18V (or 20V Max) cordless power tool combo kit, get some free tools” promo is back for 2017.
It’s simple. Buy a new select cordless combo kit, and take your pick of free tool or battery. Buy a larger set, and get your choice of 2 free tools, batteries, or accessories.
There’s a pre-determined selection of eligible freebies, which Home Depot has made easier to sort through this year.
Here’s the deal landing page. Following are links to the individual landing pages, as well as some light discussion about the deals.
I can’t see an obvious expiration date, and so I assume it’ll be valid at least into December.
The starter kit is a little weak, if you ask me. You can get a premium latest and greatest Dewalt brushless hammer drill and 3-speed impact driver combo kit, with 5.0Ah batteries for just over $306, as of the time of this posting.
But some of the bare tools in this combo promo might sweeten the deal. Personally, I’d go for the 2-bay charger and 4.0Ah battery pack bundle, or the brushless oscillating tool.
Price: $299
But really, I’d step up to this combo. It starts you off with a similar premium brushless combo kit I mentioned just above, but with a soft tool bag and FlexVolt battery pack upgrade. The DCK299D1T1 kit (compare at Amazon) gives you the best impact driver and cordless drill that Dewalt has right now.
PLUS, the choice of free tools is really sweet. You can’t just pick the free bare tool, you pick from a choice of special single-SKU combos. There are a total of 14 options, ALL of them currently sold out.
Some of the combos are really, REALLY good. I’d check back often to see if they come back in stock. Or you could check your local store.
I’d get the combo that gives you the brushless oscillating tool and circular saw as the free bonus items. or the one with (2) 2-bay chargers and battery pack bundles. Or maybe the bundle with the free blower and wet/dry vac.
Price: $379
Why are there more special bundled together, instead of allowing customers to buy a combo and add the bare tools to their carts as separate items? Probably to simplify things, but also possibly because Home Depot got tired of people buying a bundle and then returning items to keep part of their order at a discount. Just because their system allowed it in previous years, that doesn’t mean they were happy about this happening.
As with the Dewalt deal, this Milwaukee “tier 1” offer is good, but not as crazy-good as the higher tier.
Wait. These are M18 BRUSHLESS tools. That changes everything. Pretty soon, you can buy the brushless drill and brushless impact driver standalone kits for $99 each. But this kit gives you a hammer drill, XC battery packs, and a free tool for $100 more.
If I bought this bundle, I’d choose the circular saw or compact vac as my freebie.
Price: $299
While not brushless, the combo kit at the heart of the deal is a 4-tool combo. Throw in 2 more tools, such as a circular saw and full-size reciprocating saw, angle grinder, and hand vacuum, and you have an incredibly good 6-tool combo for $400.
Price: 399
Makita’s “tier 1” combo kit is also a brushless hammer drill and impact driver combo kit, bundled with 4.0Ah battery packs. There are some good choices in the “free bonus tool” list, such as their compact brushless router, or a brushless angle grinder.
Price: $299
And again, the higher-priced combo tier offers an even better bargain. The base kit comes with a heavy duty hammer drill, 3-speed impact driver, and 5.0Ah battery packs.
Me? I’d go for the brushless router and angle grinder as my freebie choices.
Hmm, the angle grinder comes with both guard types? +1 gold star to Makita.
Price: $399
Ridgid’s “one free tool or battery” offer starts you off with a brushless hammer drill and impact driver combo kit. There are some very good freebie choices in the mix, including a brushless 7-1/4″ circular saw, a brushless cordless router, and their new LED folding panel light.
Price: $279
Take a big jump up in price, and you start off with Ridgid’s 5-tool cordless combo kit. The bonus tool selection is decent, and starts you off with a good selection of tools.
I’d pick one of the combos that features the brushless router.
I should also point out that this image is WRONG. It shows the starter kit as featuring (3) battery packs, when the combo kit only comes with (2) 4.0Ah battery packs. The LED is shown with a battery pack that is not included in the kit.
Price: $499
Lastly, buy a Ryobi 18V One+ brushless drill kit, and get your choice of free bare tool. I’d go for the 7-1/4″ circular saw, or maybe the cordless miter saw.
Price: $149
Which of these offers do you find most appealing?
Personally, I think that the Dewalt 20V Max brushless kit, with its 2 free tools, is most appealing. I’m probably not alone, as all the options are currently sold out. Or maybe that just means that shipments are on the way to the stores or warehouses. The Milwaukee deals, and first tier Makita deal are also particularly good bargains.