18V Hammer Drill Comparison [2022] - Brushless Makita, Dewalt, Milwaukee, Bosch, Metabo, Hikoki etc 

Guys are champions, best channel out there! So honest and open. Thanks heaps for the vid

Cracking review - good to see a balanced look rather than what drills the quickest by 0.5 of a second 😂

I love Hikoki because of their ergonomics and they have lots of little features that just make all of the better. And they have great customer service, and warranty turn around time frame.

Solid review system. Personally I went with the Milwaukee because the shorter length is a lifesaver in my line of work. But breakdowns like these really show the strengths and more importantly the weak points of these tools

I've been waiting for sooo long good on you lads

I have a Makita 481 which is quite old but still going strong. I especially like the quality of the chuck that Makita fit, they have very little run out, are all metal, unlike some, and feel indestructible. Just wish they were still made in Japan.

the Hikoki actually has anti kick back protection only in speed 2 and it motion actuated

So happy to see this treat in my feed today. If Bosch can put the flexiclick head on that I'm sold. Ive been jealous of that sds attachment for a while

Pretty good review guys. The temperature results were really interesting, especially as I've seen some torture tests smoking the tools to death. Longevity is the next marker ~ "The only reason I've moved from brand X is I got fed up of replacing it every couple of months" :)

Love it guys. Cant wait to see when you do a table saw review (corded or cordless). Seems to be about the only thing missing in your series of great videos!

great review gentlemen....I appreciate your hard work and explanation on how to determine

I personally got the milwaukee and use it for holes up to 3inch in residential hvac installs. Perfect for me as the over heating or whatnot is not a concern but the power with 6 and 8amps ho batteries is a pleasure. In a perfect world I would've gotten the one key for tuning and anti kickback but it wasn't out just yet when I was needing a drill. Edit: also idk about other drills but I can say the chuck is rly good over the dewalts one from my experience.

Bosch gsb 18v-150c is designed for specifically Procore 8.0ah battery. not old 5.0ah batteries. If you use 5.0ah, it doesn't work at full power. like you use flexvolt for Dewalt, it designed for Procore 8.0. Gsb 18v-150c is the top spec drill on the market so far.

I found Makita DHP486Z for 155 Euros(~165 USD) on Black Friday - bought one for my father, it's a steal.

Great review/video. Regards any unique features, like the Bosch apparently has a feature that allows you to or helps you know the angle that you are drilling at. Can you tell us anything about this, your thoughts on it and do any other drills have anything unique. I love the compact size of the Makita for example. I also agree that they're not really going to be used for masonry that much, what would the order of the drills be of you took masonry out altogether??

Great review which somehow didn't show up on my feed the last months🤔👍

Really good review guys thank you👍🏽 from New York

Cracking video fellas. Love to see what is new and your thoughts on them. Few thoughts. 1. Makita 40v gives you some bells and whistles. If it pushed above the 3000 rpm it would be my go to every day of the week. 2. The anti kick back i think is an ohs over reach. I am all for safety but i dont think it is neccessary if you use the right tool for the job and give good footing and training. Totally fine with the feature if it can be turned off. 3. My other issue with the older generations has been when you don't get the power you want due to anti kickback or computer protection of the motor. Again, love the videos and equal best tool comparision going around RU-vid.

Finally! Lads review hilti and festool! Looking forward to this

I thought this was a good review, and I read hundreds of comments waiting for someone to point out the one glaring omission from your evaluation. You did not consider or even discuss the completeness of the "system" for each brand. That is a huge factor in choosing a cordless tool platform, which usually starts with the drill. Some of these tools have almost no companion tools at all, while some have hundreds of system compatible tools. If you evaluate the entire system, then your choice really comes down to Milwaukee, Makita, Dewalt, and maybe Bosch, in that order. Milwaukee's system offers so many different tools that I don't think you can imagine a new tool faster than they can make it. Makita is the only other system that comes close. Dewalt has all the "essentials", but none of the specialty tools that Milwaukee has. Who wants the best drill (by an admittedly small margin), if you have to buy two or more separate battery platforms to get the best sawzall and/or the best circular saw - or a cordless caulking gun or grinder? Thanks for the info, guys, but a Festool or Metabo "system" is just not that desirable to a buyer who needs a lot of diverse compatible tools.

well done boys, great review. i think its time to upgrade to microphones though :)

Excellent video guys! Thank you

Love the reviews guys

You should have put the flex24v turbo drill ive never seen it on your channel

Fantastic test. Thanks a lot. Though I do not agree on the decision to exclude 40V Makita XGT. There really is a notable difference compared to the 18V. The RPM's alone are pretty different. It also has anti-kickback, which - even if all other scores should be the same as the 18v - would make it the winner of the test. Something to think about. Lets face it, Makita's future really lies with the 40V XGT line. The same goes for Hikoki and their Multivolt line. Therefore you should start using these and drop the old 18v lines.

Wish i watched this before buying $1300 AEG kit which i get tomorrow.... I mean im not going for speed but god damn.

I love you guys.

You can fight amd bicker over what brand is best or whatever but they all are leaps and bounds ahead of the very first battery tool technology that people were fighting and bickering about years ago. So the cheapest battery tool is better than the best Battery tool 15 years ago. Just let that sink in.

Nicely done

Very good 🔥🔥🔥

I'm disappointed with the Festool. I wish it had another extra 10nm, the second gear should be faster and the kickback would be configurable to not be so sensitive. Bummer... love the drill otherwise.

Good Review

Tbh the bosch they used is $100 more than makita and aeg.

This was not the aeg fusion line ?

Where is Parkside Performance?

I’ve been through 2 Dewalt pieces of shite. Both times, the trigger shorts out and the speed varies when you pull the trigger. Toilet grade.

What model is that dewalt

Hitachi merecia estar aí

QUANTO DURA LA BATTERIA

Where is the FLEX BEAST ONE???

Think about the chuck. The Dewalt chuck is an extremely poor design and is prone to constant jamming and when you replace the chuck, unless you are very skilled it has to go to the Dewalt dealer. The drill must be disassembled then the chuck which is shrink fitted to the housing needs a torch to free it. Dewalt made it that way on purpose.

Les falto RYOBI

Good stuff guys! Temperature is my biggest issue on site. Waiting for a drill to cool down or switching out a drill to avoid burning out is a fairly common occurrence when using 5-6 hours a day. Cheers guys.

So excited to see this come up. Properly comprehensive review. The heat mapping is very interesting, I must confesses to running the odd tool until I could not hold it anymore when stuck, so built idiot proofing of extra cooling is a real bonus for long term reliability.

I've commented before. But this is, hands down, the BEST representation of these tools on RU-vid. Thank you so much for it! I make tool deal videos and refer back to this on drills I have no experience with and recommend this video to my viewers to learn more about Metabo in general. Great brand with in my experience, great customer service as well. Tools can get pricey though LOL.

Love the challenge. I have the Dewalt dcd 999 and the Flex turbo love them both for different reasons the Dewalt has the torque can drive anything and the Flex has speed I will be getting the new Dewalt dcd 1007 as soon as it's available

"all of these are gonna tear your face off, we're gonna go a little deeper than that." so well said. this is why i choose makita. by far the smoothest & most controlled drills and impacts ive used.

I disagree with not including the makita 40v and the hikoki 36v . The reason they exist is because they would be more efficient and more powerful than their 18v counterparts. I can say that on paper they may look similar but having both the malitas there’s a sizable difference

Great Review, personally I’m almost 100% an Makita’s LXT Platform and have the XPH14 (US) which replaced its predecessor the XPH07 which still works great I just sold it to a friend. The XPH14 is an awesome tool that is really only has 2 places that need improvement, it’s not the greatest when using as a Hammer Drill and the lack of Anti-Kickback. A three or four speed transmission would also be nice especially when I’m drilling holes in steel with Bi-Metal Hole Saws because it’s current low speed is still faster than it needs to be for optimal drilling. It is much better than the XPH07 on Kickback (I broke the planetary gears twice on the 07 because it’s that hard). A quick tip for helping your hole saws last when drilling steel. After drilling the pilot hole use electrical tape to close off the holes on the hole saw body, fill the hole saw with crushed or pellet ice and drill the hole with around 500 RPM and moderate pressure. The melting ice keeps the hole saw and the steel cold, flushed away the chips, and provides more than enough lubrication. If you see steam that’s a sign that the ice is nearly depleted and when it stops it’s time to add more ice. With this method I’m able to drill holes faster, the edges are “cleaner”, cleanup is quick and easy which is especially important when drilling holes through Stainless Steel inside restaurant kitchens. Most importantly the actual hole saws last much longer than normal, I usually get several hundred holes before they wear out!

I think you did Festool dirty by lumping the steel scores together. It already got pinged for its lack of torque on the coach bolt test, so should have got some points back for its high speed. You should have split the scores into: * Timber - high torque (coach bolt) * Timber - medium torque (auger) * Timber - high speed (bugles) * Steel - high torque (step drill) * Steel - medium torque (8mm) * Steel - high speed (3mm) Then people can readjust your scores based on their main uses. Similarly it would have been good to see the masonry speed and comfort scores listed in the final table, but maybe use their overall rating for scoring. There's a few outliers like the Bosch that are fast but uncomfortable but the final table just makes the Bosch look slow when it's one of the fastest.

Probably I will stick with makita 40v line in the further. My lots of mates got 40v last year all happy ass. Good to see European tools jump a lot. Well done.

I've been using the dewalt dcd999 nearly every single day for well over a year for absolutely everything from drilling concrete, mixing buckets of cement, drilling steel and much much more and never had a single issue. This is a great piece of kit and when you up the battery to a 9AH it will destroy all the competitors on this list.

I have both the 18v makita in this vid and the 40v max makita drill. They are nowhere near the same drill.

I have the Metabo BS 18 LTX BL I for a few months. And I absolutely love it. It's a good completion to my 12V srewdriver and impact. Since I do not need the hammering function, it reduces weight and lenght a little bit.

Battery warranty is important to me. I have three 6Ah and two 12Ah Milwaukee batteries. Of those, two of the 6Ah and one of the 12Ah batteries failed (failure to charge) within the two year warranty period. I now have a third 6Ah failure, just outside warranty. My Hilti kit on the other hand has a 20 year warranty period for both the tool and the battery. Five years on from purchase and I have zero issues with my two Hilti batteries. Note I am a home gamer (hello AvE) so these tools are not used on a daily or even weekly basis.

Awesome vid boys. Only thing missing was $$$$. I assume the Hilti + Festool are on the high end, and the AEG would be at the low end. This can make a difference to the end user. Also the batteries prices. At the end of the day you have a Triton, I have a ranger, and old mate has a hilux And we all love and swear by our Ute's amd our tools.

Until someone almost twists their arm. Than they don't know how much they're missing with anti kickback.

Good info & insight guys. Have you seen or tried the new Dewalt 20v 40wh dcb-203 lithium ion pouch Powerstack batteries? 50% more powerful 25% smaller & lighter, not available over here yet. Also if possible are you able to review the new Hi-koki 18g brad finishing gun (apparently due in N.Z in April ish) & can you get your hands on the new Hi-koki "36v" Palm / trimmer router. Cheers guys 👍🏾🌞

Anti kickback would be great on the makita for those that love the makita drill and also tend to break bones. 😜

That new Bosch looks like a beast compared to their other models. Can't wait till it's available in U. S.

Awesome work gentlemen! But men.. some of those have HUMONGOUS batteries. That Hilti, Milwaukee and AEG are barges. It does matter when you have to use them in tight places and considering you usually bet in a battery platform, Makita, Dewalt or Bosch win IMHO

Top drawer review from some Top Blokes. Ripper form securing that Bosch Drill! Keep em coming fellas

Amazing video mates. Havent seen anyone compare this many of the top hammer drills in one wack with such a broad amount of test. Because so many drills are slightly better at different tasks. I know the metabo is top notch but hard to over look the dewalt and makita always up top are great value. Been a dcd99 fan for years. They really havent tried to shrink it but its amazing with the new powerstack battery for a powerful but lighter package.

Crazy how you got all those newest models... cheers for the test!

I do not think 18v and 40v Makita are that close to each other, they do have 500rpm difference on high speed, the 40v one having 2600rpm on second gear, and 100rpm difference on first gear. The 40v one also has electronic clutch with about 40 settings, and it has anti-kickback. I am surprised that the Bosch did not just plow through everything, as it boasts very impressive torque ratings.

You should include country of manufacture to. It makes a big difference with longevity.

Can't say for Hikoki multivolt, but makita 40v drill much faster than 18v, even if just looking on specs. It runs cooler, much cooler, it has kickback function, larger batteries(2,5 works fine though). For other features it is study. I used dewalt and metabo drills. Dewalt is awesome, my only complain is weight, otherwise it flew 2-5 meters on conrete surfaces multiple times and still runs good, same goes for makia. Metabo on the other hand was split in two when dropped from 1,5m on the very first day of use. Unfortunately this crack destroyed circuit board beyond repair.

Wonder if all the other manufacturer's will start using their own version of DeWalt's new 'Power Stack' batteries. That might change the results around a bit.

Dewalt dcf 999 X1 qw 18w 9oAh xrp xr Flexvooldu hiçbir makine geçemez de yenemezde

Awesome stuff lads. Yeah my Makita struggles on the old concrete, glad to see it's not just mine... I'll trade that for the comfort and an SDS ;)

It's a pity that at bosch you used the normal batteries for the temperature tests and then the Procore ones for intensive use, there is the biggest difference precisely the Procore ones have many benefits in terms at intensive use and cooling to see the Total temperature data a maximum demand.

Great stuff! I would have liked to see Flex in this competition though. I think Flex would have competed well.

Needed some conformation bias on Metabo. Went with their battery line and have been really pleased but all American channels either leave them out of test or are hardcore red/yellow guys. Shame some of metabos new stuff is being made in China instead of Germany. Noticeable quality difference in my brand new impact driver made in China and 5 year old used 3speed Q hammer drill made in Germany.

Great video guys. Never seen this range of comparison, on an issue which every tradesman has thought something about. Interesting outcome on Festool, which I had someone give me the hard sell on recently. And interesting outcome on Milwaukee, which is probably the most regarded line among pros in my neck of the woods. Got the Dewalt myself and...now I might get that bigger battery you talked about. Cheers!

METABO

Nice tests The Hikoki extra feature is the AC adapter-dont use it much with the Hammer drill but I have at times while waiting for a battery to charge-works great for their other 36V tools-table saw, mitre saw, SDS max rotary, Full size router, grinder, vacuum etc

makita's 40v line will start clapping everyone's cheeks soon

Great comparison video! Very inspiring and great information. 🙂✌️❤️

Makita for the win.

Amazing vid guys 😊 Probably watched it 2-3 times 😂 I will point out that (I believe) AEG had already released its next Gen (Gen2) brushless drills and tools by this point, model A18FPD0. All metal gearbox and chuck. Would love to see a separate review on that to see how it might have done as opposed to their first gen heavy duties. Cheers lads

I've been running only Makita's in our company for the past eight years, always upgrading with the new arrivals... yeah, sure you get something here and there that "downs" - won't lose a night's sleep of changing over to another brand... thanks Gents, just a brilliant video... maybe also put PRICING in your spreadie next time round...

Fantastic comparison and effort made to compare such a vast material of tools! I say it all on the time in the comments - you chaps and toolbox buzz are the best tool channels in the world on YT. Thumbs up thanks for the continued reviews and vids. Watching from the UK.

Gents, as ever a top review. Many thanks for your time and effort. You're top men :-))

It is a fabulous review, I think the 'take home' message though is 'horses for courses', in other words what are the type of jobs you are going to do? I am looking for my father whose old corded Makita seems to be finally lumbering- has been a fabulous tool down the years. He will be doing a bit of masonry, so disappointing the Hikoki (best masonry) falls down elsewhere, interesting to see the Hilti not amazing on masonry - ? thought they were known for their hammer type work... May've gone for Bosch - the heat score is so impressive but not amazing in masonry. May stick to Makita...... Great review - plenty to think about

Its great what you've done hear but the 40v makita and 36v hikoki should of been there .for me the best combi drills on the market is 40v makita and the 2 speed metabo drill driver version for its compact

By using the 5.0ah battery on that Dewalt your turning it into the old dcd996 which is like a 6 year old tool , it gets about 40%or so more power using that 6.0ah FlexVolt battery , which IS the way its Marketed ... just saying ...

Bosch angle detection system is very handy for drilling 90 °

what are your all aorund oppinions about AEG tools? im a bit concerned about the company , never saw anyone using these tools at any worksite... only watched review of them, is it worth to invest in them?

I'm nearly a year late on commenting, but thought this was interesting. It looks like the Metabo beat out the Metabo3 only because of it's extra run-time and the anti-kickback. Really the old drill nearly beat out the new one in every other metric. Interesting.

Happy owner of the two Metabos you've presented here - 3 gear but also with the Quick system. An added benefit of that is all those spiffy attachments you can buy for your Metabo that extend its functionality, you guys should totally try the angle attachment or the torque tripler

I have the Bosch 150, awesome bit of kit. The old 110 was good, but would stall on a 32mm auger. The 150 just blows through, no problem. Great vid, nice job.

You should try the vonroc brand, made in the Netherlands..

I run Makita 18v and have the new dhp486 and it’s sad to see that it still suffers from the mechanical brake slipping problem that the 481 had and the 40v has. When are they going to sort this out??

As much as I love makita, they're at least 2x more expensive than bosch in my country

I, yap, try, yap, learn, yap, english, yap, looking, yap, yours, yap, video, yap...but feel it never be happens(

Running auger bit in fourth gear on Festool🤕

Lol 32mm auger test the bloke with the white t shirt can't drill straight

Hi guys great review. It would be good to see how you think the Fein 18v 4 speed stacks up next time you do one of these group tests. I have Festool, Hilti and Makita and my Fein 12v (also 4 speed) is my favourite.

Is flex 24v sold in Australia? Would of loved to see increased. But I'm excited to get my hands on that bosch!

All good tools I’ve used a lot of them but 4 me Hilti all day won’t let you down work horse yes cost more but you cannot beat the service you get .