I've had my dewalt 18 volt combo kit forever and it's been abused but served my well.  Having trouble getting batteries so it time to update.  Have friends in the trades that use both Dewalt and Milwaukee and have good to say on each.  Some say Milwaukee kinda of fell off for a while but has improved back into a good quality product over the past 4-5 years.  Not sure what way to go?  

I used Dewalt for years. Was good.

I have Milwaukee now. Is better.

Edited October 17, 20213 yr by Legend

I’ve used dewalt for decades and it continues to be my #1 choice because of its performance.  But, I don’t know that it is any better than Milwaukee (or other high end equipment).  My dewalt has just taking a beating and keeps on showing up for the next.  Every single piece does.  

Been more than satisfied with my Milwaukee products.  Opinions may vary.

I don’t really think anybody can go wrong with any top end stuff.  I think battery life makes the difference more than anything.

Even at work the plant I work at is all Dewalt Flexvolt grinders and impacts.  At the one assembly plant it's almost all Milwaukee and a 2nd assembly plant it's a mix of Dewalt and Milwaukee.  

Makita and festool

cRyobi FTW!

I’ve never been a Dewalt fan. Currently, slowly, converting all of my everyday automotive cordless stuff to Milwaukee though. 

I have a 3/8 dewalt impact and it really isn’t any better than my el cheap craftsman I had to replace because the batteries died. I bought like a year ago. 

although dewalt is a good product, Milwaukee as of late us making some pretty good stuff

Milwaukee. Makita was the choice in the past but they seem to have gone down hill in my opinion.

I think Rigid is making some decent stuff now too.  I’ve had good luck with it but, don’t use it much.  Most of their stuff just seems clunky and ergonomically tough to use.  Like it’s playschool type stuff.  Kinda weird but, I hear some good things.

Dewalt Milwaukee, Makita, Bosch are all probably pretty close in quality and reliability.

This is as good as an oil thread... 

Working with these types of tools daily - we use all Milwaukee, I have a friend that owns a plumbing business and he scrapped his dewalt stuff because the chucks on the drills didnt last he and his guys (his environment is far more abusive then most). 

I have Milwaukee 12 v and 18v 1/4" impacts - the smaller 12v ones are awesome for working on sleds and where tight areas leave you with little space, and the fuel 12v ratchets are worth their weight in gold - a huge time saver when it comes to working on sleds/streetrods/shitboxes. 

 

36 minutes ago, fortune46x said:

This is as good as an oil thread... 

Working with these types of tools daily - we use all Milwaukee, I have a friend that owns a plumbing business and he scrapped his dewalt stuff because the chucks on the drills didnt last he and his guys (his environment is far more abusive then most). 

I have Milwaukee 12 v and 18v 1/4" impacts - the smaller 12v ones are awesome for working on sleds and where tight areas leave you with little space, and the fuel 12v ratchets are worth their weight in gold - a huge time saver when it comes to working on sleds/streetrods/shitboxes. 

 

I can no longer live without my Fuel 12v 1/4” ratchet. When I use my air ratchet at home, I hate it. 

5 minutes ago, SayatodaU.P.eh? said:

I can no longer live without my Fuel 12v 1/4” ratchet. When I use my air ratchet at home, I hate it. 

At work we've really migrated away from air tools and went with battery hand tools.  No air lines to run or hose to drag around.  This is a large weld shop

Both?

Lol, armed and ready for action @Not greg b

 

I use and abuse mine daily they get dropped thrown run over you name it lol. I like my Milwaukee stuff no complaints. I don’t have anything battery dewalt to compare it to but I’d say Milwaukee has been better than the snap on crap I got. Mikita drill I got has been bullet proof for years too. 
 

20 minutes ago, Doug said:

At work we've really migrated away from air tools and went with battery hand tools.  No air lines to run or hose to drag around.  This is a large weld shop

Same I’ve swapped probably 85% of my tools at work for battery. Couple I rarely use I haven’t bothered to yet but eventually I will. Air lines are a pain in the ass. 

29 minutes ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

Both?

Lol, armed and ready for action @Not greg b

 

Let’s start that sno pro bumper Manufacturing business. Maybe Alex will loan us a stick welder to put them together?

Have both.  Also have some Snap On high torque impacts.  The older Dewalt used to get the win because the batteries were so easy to change. They were harder to store and carry, but super simple to swap.  The newer channel style is even more prone to dust and debris than the Milwaukee.

Dewalt sorta screwed up with their high cap batteries.  They are charger finicky.  We have charger banks scattered around, but the high caps don't always work with their basic chargers.

If you are using the basic 3/8 impacts either is fine.  The Dewalt seems slightly louder.  We have had issues with the Dewalt ball retainers on their 1/2 and 3/4 drives.  Those tend to fail way before the drive.  The Milwaukee triggers do need cleaning more often.

The Snap On stuff works well, but we put those in a gold lined safe.   Nobody wants to wreck one during a crap job.  They come out when we need the "big guns"

Also have some Makita stuff.  Not bad, but one flaw in their 3/8 chuck.  Drop one and you'll likely need tools to remove whatever is in the chuck.  Have not used their bigger impacts.

It's too bad Dewalt didn't go with the Milwaukee battery system when they changed.  It would have been a good fit.  The Dewalt line has some nice stuff like their light options and one hell of a leaf blower.  The Milwaukee stuff seems a bit more user friendly for long haul wear.

2 hours ago, Doug said:

At work we've really migrated away from air tools and went with battery hand tools.  No air lines to run or hose to drag around.  This is a large weld shop

If I had the money, I would be all cordless at home, already. Problem is, I need the better tools at work more than I need them at home and buying double of everything cordless, would be ridiculously expensive. The air tools I have at home are my old stuff from work. They get the job done around the house. 

11 hours ago, Not greg b said:

Let’s start that sno pro bumper Manufacturing business. Maybe Alex will loan us a stick welder to put them together?

too small of a market

@fortune46x and I are working on a kickstarter for the 4S YamaCats so they can remove all their e-start shit and shave 43lbs

waiting for engineering documents from @Tommcat

invest now, invest early, this is going to be a $ maker

I have Milwaukee and use dewalt from time to time at a shop I work at. Like a few people said the Milwaukee ratchets are a lifesaver for a lot of stuff. I have both 3/8 ratchets and find myself using the regular one a lot more than the high torque or whatever it’s called because it fits in a lot more places. I think as far as the smaller “impacts” and bit drivers they’re both about the same and both work very well comparing the dewalt and Milwaukee. I worked at a generator company for about a year and we had all Milwaukee shit, seemingly everything they made. Everything worked as good as anything corded I’ve ever used but the drills did seem to eat up chucks semi regularly although we weren’t the easiest on them.

I left my fuel 1/2” impact at my buddies shop like 6 months ago and he’s adopted it as his preferred impact over his snap on 1/2”

I've been running Metabo HPT tools for well over a decade, granted I'm not in the construction biz or a full time mechanic, but the tools are used weekly. Has really proven to be a good purchase

Snap-On cordless tools are 110% overpriced garbage. 

10 hours ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

too small of a market

@fortune46x and I are working on a kickstarter for the 4S YamaCats so they can remove all their e-start shit and shave 43lbs

waiting for engineering documents from @Tommcat

invest now, invest early, this is going to be a $ maker

Jesus... it was a 2s cat though.. I wanted to tell him to take the 4 hours and put the hood back on and call it a day.