Cordless Drill Buying Guide

Nowadays, there are hundreds of drills you can choose from. Cordless drills are nowadays often a better choice than a corded drill. Cordless drills are very versatile tools, they can be used as screwdrivers as well as powerful hammer drills.

It is easy to get confused when trying to select the right drill. But as long as you know the basic differences between different types of cordless drills, it is quite easy to find the suitable model for you. In many cases, the differences between the drills are small so selecting the right drill can be difficult. To help you finding the right drill for you, we have a number of cordless drill reviews on this site.

How to choose the right cordless drill

There are many different kinds of cordless drill so the first question you need to answer is; what are you mainly going to use the drill for?

If you need both a drill and a screwdriver for tasks around the house, a combined drill and screwdriver is probably the best choice. You get good value for your money. If you are using a screwdriver a lot, a cordless screwdriver is a better choice than a combined drill and screwdriver. The cordless screwdrivers are lighter and smaller than drills, making them easier to use. Cordless screwdrivers are also cheaper than cordless drills.

If you need a really powerful driver, then the impact driver is the right tool for you. The impact driver is not suitable for drilling but it is the best tool for driving large screws.

Then you have to decide what kind of drill you need, the main types are:

Standard Drills
The best choice unless you need a drill with hammer action or work in tight places which requires a small drill. If you are going to do a lot of heavy duty drilling, you probably prefer a cordless drill with lithium-ion batteries.

Hammer Drills
Powerful drills with the pounding action of a hammer. Suitable for concrete and masonry drilling. Since the hammering action quickly drains the battery, a corded hammer drill may be a better choice than a cordless model.

Right Angle Drill
Compact drills used in tight places. The drill gets its name from the fact that the chuck is at a right angle to the body.

The battery is very important, different types of batteries are used. Lithium-ion batteries are the best and lightest but also the most expensive. You may prefer the cheaper Ni-Cad batteries. The higher voltage, the more powerful the battery will be but it will also be heavier. Here you can learn more about cordless drill batteries

A good drill is important but you also need good drill bits. A good drill will not do a good job if you are using poor drill bits. Here you can learn more about drill bits