Ridgid Lithium-Ion 18-Volt Compact Drill - Review

Because Lithium Ion batteries are so much lighter and more powerful than standard batteries, tool companies have a lot more leeway as far as design is concerned. The problem is that most of them are still intoxicated by the technology, focusing on creating the "lightest ever" or the "most powerful ever" tools. The small little screwdriver-style drills are handy and the 36-volt tools are total overkill, but what about that middle range? What about having a nice, reliable, no-frills, 18 Volt drill? If you feel the same way, look no further than Ridgid's new 18-Volt Compact Li-Ion Drill.

The drill is very light, 4.5 lbs. to be exact. It's interesting, but when compared directly to the Makita 14.4, which is about 4.6 lbs, the Ridgid feels much lighter. We figure that this has something to do with the fact that two thirds of the weight is no longer in the battery and the balance is much more even. The Ridgid feels solid in the hands and once we put it to work, we were not let down at all.

As far as power goes, the drill had absolutely no problem driving 3" screws into some really damp pressure-treated wood. Again and again, we expected the drill to give out. But it was on day two of use that we finally killed the factory charge on the first battery. We're not saying that we were using the drill constantly for 36 hours, but we were using it enough to be impressed with the longevity of the Li-Ion battery. And what they say about the Li-Ion is true; when they die, they die. That's it. One screw goes in with no problem and on the next screw, the drill is dead.

But no worries, Ridgid's drill comes with a nice 30 minute charger, so it won't be long before you're back in action. The charger is nicely designed with a two light indication system and a easy to understand key to decipher what all the blinking means.

And speaking of blinking, Ridgid's drill comes equipped with a little light at the base of the chuck that lights up the work area when the drill is in use. Before we ever used this feature on our Makita impact driver many moons ago, we thought it was pretty dumb idea. But now, we're converts and are very happy to see it on this drill.

The one thing that we didn't like about Ridgid's new drill is the bag that it comes in. It's a little duffel, the same one that their Fuego comes in. For the circular saw, the bag is no problem. All you ever have in the bag is the circular saw. But with a drill, the bag doesn't work out. There's no way to contain the loose change of drill bits, driver bits, screws, and everything else that seems to find it's way into the average drill case. With a standard hard case, at least these things are easily seen and retrieved. With the bag, they might as well be lost. So, unless you get a nice small drill bit index (which you probably should do anyway), it won't be long before you've got a lot of clutter kicking around the bottom of the bag.

But, as always with Ridgid's tools, this complaint is a minor one and hardly detracts from the tool and its value. This is a very nice drill. It's powerful, lightweight, and perfectly balanced. We see this drill in the hands of everyone from the contractor to the occasional diyer. It's so light and easy to handle that even if you're not used to using a drill, you won't be intimidated.

The drill retails for $189.00 and comes with two batteries, the charger, and the bag. When compared to other Li-Ion drills is a real steal (The Hitachi is almost $300).

We assume that, like most of Ridgid's power tools, this drill is available at Home Depot, but we can't find it on their website or in our local store.

July 10, 2007

Ridgid Lithium-Ion 18-Volt Compact Drill - Review