Milwaukee 2602-20 18V Li-Ion 1/2" Cordless Drill/Driver

I've got a few of this model, so I think I can write a fair seat-of-my-pants review here. I should also mention that I have or have had some of the other big players in the 18v cordless drill/driver game, namely Makita and DeWalt. The reason I have several, I should mention, isn't because they have failed. It is because I have made the DIY'er's error of lending my most precious tools. But I digress.

First to dispense with the wannabe's. Makita is okay ... so long as you don't push it hard. IF you just do the occasional around-the-house repair or small project, it is probably serviceable. The DeWalt, by comparison, is a workhorse, and will likely provide you with decent service even through real actual building. So why would I jump ship to Milwaukee? That comes down to the feature set. This Milwaukee has the 18v Lithium-Ion battery, which is one of its strongest features. It takes a charge as advertised, from dead dry to full up in under 30 minutes. DeWalt's would be better named DeWait; They will take at least several hours to charge up, once the battery has cooled down, which takes several hours as well. It is hard to use a DeWalt for a long project without 4-5 batteries ready to go, as well as multiple chargers. The DeWalt will lose steam steadily from full charge, meaning you may not have the punch you need when you need it, without changing batteries. The Milwaukee, on the other hand, operates at full blast until the battery is drained, with precipitous dropoff. And the Milwaukee's battery has a nifty charge indicator, something simple that other manufacturers should have done. The LED light is handy, especially when operating in the darker corners. I have large hands, and I find the Milwaukee more ergonomic for my large mitts than the others; it doesn't hurt that the Milwaukee also has far less vibration than any other drill/driver on the market, and I've tested them all. For those of us with carpel tunnel syndrome and nerve damage, that's a heckuva help there.

Negatives? Okay, no drill/driver is perfect. Milwaukee has available, as an add-on, an attachment to hold bits. This should have been standard, as it is nearly indespensible. I have two of these, but the chucks differ slightly. The newer chuck is more prone to slippage, and I've found I have to use a grinder to square-off most of my round shank bits. This does the trick, but I never needed to do that with the older chuck. Hopefully Milwaukee will address this in the future, because it is, in my estimation, the single largest failing in this drill... but by no means a deal breaker.

If you're in the market for a cordless drill driver, don't waste time with any with ni-cad batteries, stay with lithium-ion. I think if you go with a Milwaukee you won't be disappointed. I'm not.

I work as a cable/satellite contractor and this drill is awesome.

Love the battery gauge and the led light, they are really nice extra features.

the hammer drill functions well and gets through brick and concrete no problem.

It is pretty light weight and the size is small enough that its comfortable to carry on my belt.

the bad:

this drill does not come with the belt hook. I don't know why this $300 drill doesn't include one but some of Milwaukee's other less expensive models have it included, its the exact same clip that they all use.

I wish there was a bit more power, when driving a 3" lag bolt into a stud on the high speed setting the drill will shut off about half way through. you have to switch to the low speed high torque setting to finish driving the lag bolt.

The battery seems to lose about 1 "bar" of charge over the course of a week of sitting which isn't terrible but i was hoping for a bit better.

excellent hammer drill, powerful, fast, heavy duty. a must have for the tradesman artillary. the li on batteries dont last exceptionally long as advertised, but with a complete charge in exactly 1 hr. u can go all day and night too
digital battery protection against over load and over discharge, motor too powerful to be true,battery guage, hold on let me catch my breath.......ok..great tool

Love it works great light compact but yet heavy duty I use it alot im im construction..hammer drill has lots of power low speed lots of torqe

Light and Powerful. I never knew what a time saver this drill could be until I used it on removing door hinges on some heavy metal doors. Made the job so easy. Later I used it on drilling holes in some concrete. It was like hot knife through butter.