this is a good thread, and I am stuck with too many brands too.
Dewalt, old craftsman,
(weird,...my 35 year old 1/4" craftsman drill on a wire out-does everything, really fast model for drilling pilot holes, and lays torque,...worth pulling the a/c wire is it completes what a 20v dewalts 1/4" can't).
my old craftsman C3 stuff is still poking around, ...ni-cads are dead but they make new batteries for those. I have not used them in a long time. good for what I was doing back in the day though....really good for drywall type screws) ...the little trim circular saws are like useless though,..
20v dewalts I got on a holiday kit sale. (2 x 1/4 drills, 90 degree oscillating multi tool, and a little sawzall). I use them their, ...but always want more work than the can provide.
that little dewalt sawzall ....its seems like its strong, but boy is it slow....I was using it for trimming a fat sapling down flush to the ground last week. and it took like a minute to cut through 2" of trunk. its a handy trim saw to park next to drills in a bucket, but not quick like the bigger models....
bought some cheapo chinese things that go with dewalt 20v batteries though. a air hammer for pounding nails, which is nice for when you don't have enough space to swing the hammer, like for big old framing galvanized, ...and I got a little tire pump...not as great as my 12v d/c Viair that hooks to a car battery,...but handy enough to add a 5 psi to 8 tires before the battery is gone.
one of my professional mechanic friends has a couple great dewalt 20 volt ratchets. there are various sizes, the big ones put too much torque down. (he has some big dewalt demo drills too, like for taking to the pick pulls to pulverize rusty bolts)
and as nice as wire free is...a cheapo a/c wire job can still beat the crap out of 20v ...especially something for occasional homeowner use on a orange cord....(maybe put a peice of tape on the cord junction to keep it plugged in).
edit: and and with bigger batteries for outdoor power equipment look into inverters as a way to use them for more stuff than their manufacturer sells. (such maybe better than a little generator when trying to keep smaller drill type batteries filled,...like when you are hand carrying or wheel barrowing everything)
