My wife and I own some rental property. Most of the time, the property that we have purchased requires both repairs and renovations. My first concern is: How far is it to the nearest HOME DEPOT or LOWE’S?

Because there are always a wide variety of repairs that must be done, there are usually quite a few trips back and forth. And you never seem to get or remember everything that you need, thus more trips.

When we start these projects, there is seldom any power installed or activated yet, so we rely almost exclusively on generators to provide power or our handy cordless tools.

LOYAL DEWALT FAN
I am and have been a Dewalt fan for years. I like both their corded and cordless tools. So, all of my cordless tools were of the Dewalt 18 volt variety. However, other tool manufacturers have started making claims of how great their tools are. Yet, I held fast, not because I was completely sold out to Dewalt, but the reality is, that I have so much money invested in Dewalt cordless 18 volt tools.

All of my cordless tools use the same 18 volt battery, which is one of the reasons that I have not stepped up to Dewalt’s new 24 volt or 36 volt tools.

RIGID CLAIMS DRAW ATTENION
Enter Rigid. When Rigid came out with their new lifetime warranty, which includes parts, service and batteries, I wanted to switch badly. If you’ve had to purchase any Dewalt 18 volt batteries, then you know how I felt. But it’s hard to justify buying a new Rigid drill that costs between $250 – $300 and not being able to interchange it’s batteries in any of your other tools. Plus, I already had two or three Dewalt drills, so I just refused to change over.

Then one day I needed a reciprocating saw. I had a corded one, but no power source, so I made up my mind to purchase a cordless one. It was still going to have to be a Dewalt model, because of the battery interchange issue. The problem was that I could not find one that was sold as a “stand alone” item. The only way that I could find the Dewalt cordless reciprocating saw was in a kit.

I did not need or want a whole kit for just the reciprocating saw, so I started looking at the Rigid tools. Same problem. The only way that Rigid offered the reciprocating saw was in a kit. At least that was all that I could find at HOME DEPOT and LOWE’S. So, I refused to buy once again.

Then, after hearing quite a few good things about the new impact drivers, I decided to buy one. It would have to be a Dewalt model because of the whole battery issue. But, I ran into the same “only in a kit” problem. I couldn’t find a “stand alone” model to buy at either LOWE’S or HOME DEPOT.

THE BIG SWITCH
That’s when I decided to “bite the bullet” and buy a Rigid 18 volt kit. It came with a drill, a reciprocating saw, an impact driver, a circular saw and a flashlight. Total price of around $450. Plus, it came with two batteries and a twin charger, which will charge both batteries in less than half the time it takes to charge one Dewalt battery.

I have been thrilled with the performance of the Rigid tools. If I decide to go with Rigid’s 24 volt tools – guess what – my 18 volt batteries will work in them. What a concept. In my opinion, Rigid is paying attention to what craftsmen want and expect.

If you don’t have any cordless tools or only a few cordless tools, then I would recommend strongly that you go with Rigid for the quality, performance, cost (only slightly less than Dewalt’s) and the warranty (replacement parts, labor and batteries for life).