Who Makes The Best Hammer Drill: Milwaukee, DeWalt, Bosch, Battle of the Best
Feeling indecisive about which hammer drill to purchase? I'm going to shed some light on this daunting decision. I'm narrowing the best cordless hammer drills down to the top 4 choices out in the market. We're going to investigate their torque, we're going to investigate how their battery/performance holds up while working with a tough job--concrete.We're going to investigate whether or not its design is ergonomic. Lastly, we're going to investigate their price. Now lets put Sherlock Holmes on the left shoulder and Dr. Watson on the right and begin. *Note: Two have brushless motors and the other two are not brushless*
The Ultimate Battery & Performance Test
One of the top reasons for buying a hammer drill is because it can handle the toughest jobs. Unless you are only planning to drill in wood, drywall etc., one of your main jobs will most likely involve drilling into concrete--if not, then just go buy a drill/driver instead of a hammer drill.
Drilling into concrete we are testing how many holes each hammer drill was able to do and how long it would last. Each hammer drill will be using 1/2" carbide hammer bits. Once the test began it was already obvious that the Makita, which is brushless, was the slowest and didn't last as long as the other three hammer drills. Normally brushless drills have an ever-lasting battery life, but not with concrete.
The hammer drill that owned this test was the Milwaukee M18 Fuel Drill, nearly doubling the amount of holes drilled compared to the Makita. Runner up was the Dewalt 20v max cordless drill, it beat out the Bosch simply based on the battery life, they were neck and neck on the speed, but the DeWalt battery lasted longer.
There you have it, for the torque test, Milwaukee tops the cake and the Makita tips the cake on this test.
Score Board: Milwaukee 1, DeWalt 0, Makita 0, Bosch 0
The Ergonomic Test
The Makita appears to be the most user friendly, (aside from when using with concrete as it choked on that test) as it is the most lightweight when compared to the other three. The DeWalt is the heaviest and longer in length than the others making it the least favorable in terms of ease of use. The Bosch is the second lightest hammer drill but longer than the third place Milwaukee. So Milwaukee is shorter but heavier than the Bosch and the Bosch is longer but lighter--just clearing my ramble up a bit.
Score Board: Milwaukee 1, DeWalt 0, Makita 1, Bosch 0
The Price Test (Tool Only & Based on time Article was Published)
Makita XPHO6Z 18V ($$), Milwaukee M18 Fuel 2604-20 ($$), DeWalt DCD985 L2 ($$$), Bosch HDH181XB 18V Brute Tough ($$).
There are special deals going on each day and with the Manufacturers producing newer models you can expect the prices to slash more or just check out what their newer models have to offer. Either way you decide, it is clear that Milwaukee is the most affordable, but not by much with the Makita trailing at a second place by a meager $5. (Read our Makita cordless drill review here)
Score Board: Milwaukee 2, DeWalt 0, Makita 1, Bosch 0
The Verdict
You read it here, the Milwaukee beat out the other three hammer drills. It's not the most lightweight of them all but with the power this drill produces and the battery charge lasting long enough to get the job done one could ignore that weight factor.
Bosch and DeWalt were in sync in the way they work but the price for the DeWalt will lead me to decide on the Bosch. Same performance but helluva lot cheaper.