Review Hitachi KC18DAL 18-Volt 3-Piece Lithium-Ion Cordless Combo Kit 
Buy Cheap Hitachi KC18DAL 18-Volt 3-Piece Lithium-Ion Cordless Combo Kit From Here Now!Kit includes (2) 3.0 Ah HXP Lithium Ion batteries for 3 times the life at half the weight of NiCd or NiMH batteries. Includes the DV18DL 18V hammer drill with a class leading 570 in. lb. of torque to power through the toughest jobs. Includes the CR18DL 18
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- Kit-includes two 3.0 Ah HXP Lithium Ion batteries for three times the life at half the weight of NiCd or NiMH batteries
- Includes the DV18DL 18-volt hammer drill with a class leading 570-inch/lbs of torque to power through the toughest jobs
- Includes the CR18DL 18-volts reciprocating saw with a tool-less blade change system and tripled sealed construction for durability
- Includes a handy lantern featuring two modes of operation (florescent or LED) and a 5-position handle for flexibility
- Includes a Universal Charger that charges 7.2 -18-volts Lithium Ion, NiMH and NiCd batteries
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"good deal but questionable performance" 2010-01-12
By John Salazar (chicago)
Please note I bought the 9pc kit which has the same tools
I have had about 10 cordless drills in the past 15 years and recently upgraded to this Hitachi 9 pc kit.
Most recently I had a Dewalt 18v 4pc that was about 5 years old. even though my Dewalt tools were in OK shape the 4 batteries were pretty much dead and had been "revived" a few times. I looked at replacing the batteries but between spending $250 for a new charger and pair of batteries or just replacing the whole kit it made sense to get new tools (my drill needed repair as well).
My initial impression is mixed I chose the Hitachi set over the Dewalt mainly due to cost and the Lithium Ion batteries, not to mention that they have a 10 year warranty on their tools.
The batteries on the Hitachi kit were definitely lighter than dewalt's. seemed like they were almost 1/3rd the weight but their plastic shell does seem to be cheaper quality then dewalt's and the clip mechanism also seems not as sturdy (hopefully though they will last longer).
I was very disappointed with the Hitachi lantern. The description states it has both LED's and a fluorescent lamp what it doesn't state is that there is ONLY 1 LED. Now com-on what can you do with 1 LED? the fluorescent bulb isn't that great compared to Dewalts gooseneck lamp this thing is nothing more than a childs toy.
Looking at the Drill itself, it's a nice solidly made tool. The design is a bit funky as it has a mix of plastic and rubber pieces its very comparable to the Dewalt 18v unit. Hitachi does fall WAY short on the silly belt clip / LED light that is attached to the lower left side of the tool. First off the LED is YELLOW another "come-on what are you thinking?" as it should be a white bulb also noteworthy is that it seems to be powered by its own battery. I have not taken the light apart to determine its power source but my guess is a couple of flat watch type batts and well that makes it worthless as well one of those marketing add ons that really does not need to be there.
The Sawzall, jigsaw grinder and SDS drill are all high quality once again the funky combination of plastic and rubber. I DID however really like the rubber surround that covered the front of the sawzall it makes the tool very comfortable to use.
My Favorite piece here so far is the one that I thought would be used the least. The 1/4" impact driver is great for driving screws I have even used a socket adapter into it and used it when working on my lawn equipment. Weight wise its about the same as my older Makita 14.4v unit but has alot more power is much smaller and drives long screws and bolts 500% better than a non impact driver.
My least favorite tool here is the "blower" I do alot of woodworking and thought it would be nice to have it handy to to blow off sawdust. I figured I'd have it handy and would be quicker than having to find the blower attachment for my air compressor. The unit works ok but its one of those tools that if you are in your shop and you have an air compressor 15 feet away its no big deal and add no value to your combo.
so what do I miss?
Not much if anything at all the tools are very comparable to my old Dewalt kit as mentioned the batteries and the charger appear to be cheaper plastic but that's nothing major and should not be a deal breaker.
I do plan on buying the matching impact wrench a few extra batteries and the real flashlight (since the florescent lantern is a joke) here in a few months.
I do however want to point out that I wish Hitachi made a right angle drill as one does come with Dewalt's larger 18v kits.
Deal wise I bought mine from tyler tool they were running free shipping and a 10% off coupon so the setup cost me $782.10
Followup on 1/2" hammer drill. Was using a 2" hole saw to drill through 2 2x4's drill did not make it through without overheating. I should state the drill was not the first to stop the battery went into protect mode as I swapped the battery out for the one in the light. The lamp did not turn back on for about 3 minutes untill the battery cooled. Even with the second battery in the drill I had to stop for 15 minutes to let it cool down because it kept shutting down.
"Under-powered" 2009-04-19
By Gerald Noel (WI)
It is a good drill for homeowners, not for professionals. I am a professional electrician, and this drill has less power than my older Milwaukee 14 volt ni-cad drill.
"great first impression" 2009-01-19
By 5H4
This is just a first impression of the tools. I just picked them up today and haven't had a chance to really use them yet. I work at lowes and sell tools all day. I've heard a lot of feedback from customers about their tools, from manufacturers, and have spent a lot of time personally looking at tools. Also I use to work construction, and still do on the side, so I have used tools all day also, and have used pretty much every brand out there.
This is the second 3 piece combo kit I have bought. The previous was a Ridgid. I can't really say anything bad about the performance of my ridgid tools, they have been excellent. They have proven themselves over and over to perform and be very durable. The hitachis were bought as supplements, not replacements. I needed another drill and the combo was actually cheaper than the drill alone. The literature I've read from Hitachi while working at lowes explicitly states that they position themselves to target Ridgid as far as price, quality, etc. so I thought they would be a good comparison.
My first impression is that I will like the Hitachis better than my ridgids though. This is assuming that I will not be dissappointed with the performance (which I am extremely confident of as I sell a lot of Hitachis to contractors and professionals who are more than happy with their tools, never had any complaints from them). I think the Hitachis are a more thought out tool than the ridgids.
Starting with the drill: Vs. the ridgid, the drill is more compact. It is shorter, which will make it slightly easier to handle and it will fit in tighter places. I could also notice just from holding the two that the Hitachi is lighter, with and without the batteries in. I love the belt loop on the hitachi. Its an excellent feature, while I don't like to carry my drill on my belt, there are inevitably times when your on a ladder or something and need both hands and can't set the drill down (I actually rigged a hook on my ridgid for this purpose, but the hitachi hook is adjustable, and comes pre installed) And the hitachi has a light on there which only makes it better. Another thing is the Brushes are easily replaceable, while the ridgid would require disassembly (note: I have never had to replace the brushes on any of my drills, but I know it does happen). These small things carry a lot of weight in my book. Also it shows that Hitachi really considers the use of the tools when they are designing them.
The recip saw. Not much difference here at first look. One thing is the lock on the trigger. My ridgid (and many other brands) had a safety on it that required you to press the safety while pressing the trigger. I hated this and ended up dissabling it. This could be an issue if I ever have to send it back to ridgid as it could give them a reason to void the warranty. The hitachi has a trigger lock that is either switched on or off. This is nice, as I will always lock the trigger before I put it in my bag. I have put my ridgid in my bag before and had some other tool press the trigger and my saw is sitting there running in my bag, not good. This won't happen with the hitachi, very nice feature that I have never seen on any other recip. As with the drill, the recip is shorter than my ridgid, only by an inch or two, but none the less shorter is better. From holding the two I couldn't notice a difference in weight. One thing that I could see bothering me about the hitachi is the tab on the blade lock. It's a little small, and on our display in the store it fell off (or was stolen by a customer, which is probably more likely) leaving a small metal pin that isn't too friendly to bare hands. Hitachi says it is removable so that you can clean inside the blade lock, but I forsee it as only a matter of time before it pops off unnoticed and is lost. Also, as witht he drill the motor brushes are easily replaceable on the hitachi recip, not so with the ridgid.
The light. The ridgids came with a more typical flashlight. The hitachi has a lantern that you can set down or hang. I much prefer the lantern. I always had the problem of trying to position the flashlight so it would actually shine on the spot I am working on. With the lantern this shouldn't be a problem. You can hang the lantern by the handle also which is nice. In addition, the lantern has a fluorescent bulb and an LED. I really like this, they claim the lantern can run on the LED for 150 hours with one battery charge, or you can switch it to the fluorescent which is brighter.
warranty: The ridgid claims a lifetime free battery replacement. This is great, however when I tried to replace one of my batteries, it turned out to be a hassle. Hitachi has a 5 year warranty, which is the longest I have ever seen on a power tool. While this is good, I have never seen a manufacturer with a warranty that is easy to enforce (and, personnally I have never had an issue where I needed the warranty, but I have had customers who weren't so fortunate).
Overall: the hitachis design is more thought out. Great features that are actually practical. As I said, these small features carry a lot of weight in my book. It's these small things that can really make a job go smoother or easier from my experience. And again,these are just first impressions of the hitachis. I have never been dissappointed by the performance of my Ridgids and do not expect to be dissappointed by the hitachis from what I have heard from the professionals that I sell these tools to, but time will tell. If however, the hitachis don't perform, then none of the features can make up for a lack of performance. Similar note on durability. I have been extremely happy with the durability of my ridgids, they've been dropped off ladders more than once and nothing but battle scars have resulted, never have they broken. As with performcance, durability is simply essential, without it, the features don't mean anything (which I doubt will be an issue from what I have heard, but none the less we'll see).
"pleased with product" 2008-10-26
By J. B. Taukinukufili (Las vegas, NV USA)
Happy with the product it was just what I had hoped when I had received it. I still consider this product after having put it through the rigors of use to continue to be a quality product.
"A Homeowner's Perspective" 2008-01-05
By B. Fanciulli (United States)
I gave up on cordless drills over 5 years ago. I was absolutely sick of the one, maybe two, useful hours per charge from NiCad batteries and the fact that the power they provide degrades through the use of the charge, rendering the tools useless for anything other than very small jobs where a power source is not handy.
I've owned this set for about a year now. I was very reluctant to invest again in cordless tools, but with some major home renovation projects ahead and after reading about the power, endurance, and reliability of Lithium rechargables, I settled on this set at the recommendation of Consumer Reports.
I am extremely impressed with this technology. It takes several hours of hard use to wear these batteries down. There doesn't seem to be much, if any, degredation in power through the charge. However, there are warning signs of low power in that the tools will bind the last few uses--totally acceptable. The recharge time is only a few hours and the batteries are easily interchanged between the tools, making it such that you'll have zero down time if rotating between the two included battery packs. (Though you may want to get an extra if you plan on using the light in conjunction for bigger jobs, or if sharing the tools with a partner on the job.)
The drill and saws-all have served me well. 18 volts is more than adequate for most home jobs, but it is worth every penny. The drill cuts through 4x4's with ease, bores concrete with little effort. Yet it has a wide range of easily changable settings, the best of which being the trigger-controlled variable speed, making it also useful for jobs as simple as light electrical work and picture hanging. It does have amazing torque--it's counter-balanced so it doesn't destroy your wrist and there are variable torque settings. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the extremely noisy hammer function is only on during the highest torque settings, furthering the drill's versatility. And the saws-all? I can't believe how I got this far through life without it.
I would have given this set a 5-star rating had it not been for the durability of the drill. Granted, it is the most durable I have ever owned, however, after using it at the hammer setting when firring-out a basement wall over a period of several hours (about 50 bores), it somehow locked itself on the hammer setting and I can no longer turn it down. It sounds like some bearings popped loose in the torque selector. Again, it has served me well and I am happily purchasing another.
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