The Best 12 volt Lithium Cordless Drills and Drivers For Christmas

New 12 volt Lithium Cordless Drill/Drivers. The Best of the Best For Christmas!

12 volt is the new 10.8 volt. 12 volts is not better, it just represents the voltage nomenclature you are familiar with. If you live in Canada or Europe these are still labeled 10.8.  But most of these new lithium Drill/Drivers are stronger than your current 14.4, 15.6 and 16 volt tools!  For example the new Craftsman Nextec 12V Drill/Driver boasts over 260 in/lbs of torque and has all the features of a full-size cordless drill!

Don’t let the small size fool you! All of these cordless drills will have plenty of power for you around the home, apartment or acreage. Inch/lbs is the real measure of the power of the drill and is the standard rating for them.  Many interior construction and remodeling contractors are switching to these because they can get into tight spaces and they are so much lighter and easier to use than the old Nicad cordless tools. Cabinet makers and installer especially like them for their compact design.  They can now use power tools to install cabinets!  I regularly use these 12 volt tools for woodworking.  They don’t take up much room on my workbench and have all the features and power I need to do this rewarding hobby.  Buy the brand you are used to or if you want my opinion, buy Craftsman.  In my opinion the Craftsman cordless lithium drills gives you the best value for the price for this Christmas season.

Plain and Simple: Don’t waste your money on a drill that uses Nicad batteries.  Today’s Lithium-ion powered tools are affordable, lightweight and more dependable than tools that use a Nicad battery.  The new Lithium-ion batteries are a huge improvement over Nicads.  They don’t self-discharge. Even if you only use your drill two or three times a year they will be charged and ready to use.  They don’t get a memory. You can leave them on the charger and/or charge them back up every time you use them without worrying about the battery going bad. They last 3 to 4 times longer and will give you many years of daily use.

I am only including drill/drivers with chucks.  These drill can use all of the drill bits and driver bits you currently have.  I will write about the 12 volt tools that use the 1/4 locking hex chuck in another article. (Like the Rockwell 3RILL)

Black & Decker

New, Lightweight, and Compact!

I want to start out with the drill I don’t really recommend.  Black & Decker makes some great products and this drill is built well, but it has some shortcomings over all the other drills in this article.

It has only one speed and it’s slow (about 600 rpm) While this is ok for mounting curtain rods, it lacks the speed to quickly and efficiently handle other tasks. For a few dollars more you can buy a full featured drill like the Craftsman 17586 NEXTEC 12.0V Lithium-Ion Drill/Driver

Buy From Sears: Sears only sells this drill at the Full-Line (Mall Stores) If you want to buy this little drill from them you will have to go to the store.

Bosch:

This Bosch 3/8 inch drill has a price that goes with the high quality you expect from them.  This drill is more expensive than the Craftsman drills and it has no more features than they do, but if you are a Bosch fan, this is the 12 volt you need!. This full-featured drill has a 350 low speed for power fastening and a 1350 high speed for drilling and light fastener tasks.

The keyless chuck stays tight and the the 20 clutch settings allow you to set a screw in any type of wood. Bosch boasts this drill is the lightest weight of all these drills.

Craftsman:

Craftsman G2 Lithium. This drill is new.  The Generation 2 (G2) NEXTEC has over 260 in/lbs, and features the new quick charger. If you want the latest and best from Craftsman this is the one!  This drill rounds out an already great and affordable line of Craftsman NEXTEC tools.  The other tools that fit this battery include the multi-tool, auto-hammer, sander, two lights, air compressor, impact driver, trim saw, sabre saw, grass trimmer, hedge trimmer, multi-gardening tool and the great R.A.I.D. (right angle impact driver).

Buy here from Sears: Craftsman Nextec 12V Drill/Driver. Order this drill on-line for the best deals and pick it up at your local Sears (or have it shipped to your home)

 

Craftsman 17586 NEXTEC 12.0V Lithium-Ion Drill/Driver. 

Sears struck a home-run with this drill last year and it continues to be the best value on the market.  You can regularly get this drill, battery and charger for less than $60!. The batteries fit the growing line of NEXTEC home-owner tools so you don’t end up with an orphan drill that has batteries that will be hard to get in a few years.

Buy Here From Sears: Craftsman 17586 NEXTEC 12.0V Lithium-Ion Drill/Driver

DeWalt:

New From DeWalt. Lightweight, Powerful, Compact: This drill has the highest capacity battery of all the 12 volt drills.  The battery also fits a growing line of great contractor tools.

Buy Here From Sears: DeWalt 12V 3/8 in. Drill Driver Kit

Milwaukee:

Amazon has the best price for Milwaukee! Free Shipping, Fast Delivery: Don’t bother going to Home Depot, Amazon has the best deals.

This is part of the M12 line. This battery fits many contractor grade tools. If you are a Milwaukee tool fan this is the 12 volt drill you need to round out your tool kit.

Buy Here From Amazon: Milwaukee 2410-22 M12 Drill/Driver

Panasonic:

The Best of the Best! This drill is the one industrial users buy. This is the most expensive 12 volt drill! But it also has more power than most 18 and 20 volt cordless drills on the market.  If you use your drill every day, all day long you will appreciate the quality and dependability of this drill.

Buy Here from Amazon: Panasonic EY7441LZ2S 14.4-Volt Drill

Porter Cable:

If you are a Porter Cable fan this is the 12 volt drill for you.  The quality you expect from Porter Cable.

Rockwell:

This is a great, powerful drill for the money. Free battery replacement for life!

Buy Here From Sears: Rockwell 12V Lithium Drill Driver