Review Hitachi DS18DSAL 18-Volt 1/2-Inch Drill/Driver 
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Readmore Technical Details
- Compact and lightweight at 3.3-pounds
- 1/2-inch 18-volt driver/drill
- Provides 460-inch-pounds of torque
- Uses lithium ion battery technology
- Includes super-bright flashlight
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"finally found the right drill for around the house" 2010-05-17
By Mr. Ben (mid-michigan)
I make no claims that this drill does anything more than satisfy my demands as a new home owner. I'm not a contractor, I'm not a hobbyist, i just need something that'll work when I need it to and have a little bit of flexibility as far as the jobs it can tackle. I finally settled on this drill after first splurging on a "serious" Milwaukee combo kit and then accidentally buying a NiCd drill (keep those receipts handy!). The ergonomics and weight distribution of this Hitachi drill are great! The batteries seem to live up to the hype. While some may complain about the clutch settings, I think that the low end is nice and gentle, but you can still flick the switch to "high" and set it to drill and it'll give you plenty of power when you need it. In short, I really like it and look forward to using it, rather than tolerating it.
The built in LED is pretty good at giving you some extra light on the subject and the belt clip is a nice feature as well. The flashlight feels like a cheap afterthought, its rigid plastic which probably won't survive too many bumps or falls.
A couple downsides: no area to clip a spare bit, its such a simple design aspect, I don't understand why companies are leaving this off their designs (the milwaukee drill I bought didn't have a slot/holder/clip either) The batteries don't have any power indicator so you won't know how much longer to go until you need a recharge. Also, the case is kind of oversized for the items included and they don't sit securely in the case, especially the batteries and charger. At some point I'll probably toss the case and just put the kit in a bag.
"Nice drill but!!!!" 2010-02-08
By M. Dobson
Pros: Very lite and good torqe.
Cons: Battery Life, Driver clutch.
My 5 year old Craftsman needed to be replaced because of a sticky trigger. I liked the Hitachi because it was lite and had the torqe I was looking for. Plus, it was the least expensive Li-ion drill set I found. It lasted all of two days and 50 screws (#12 1 & 1/2" self tapping into 14 ga steel). I had the clutch set at 22, and the first time the clutch slipped, it stripped the gears. Plus, I would average about 20 screws per battery charge. My 5 year old Craftsman would drive twice that many screws on a single charge, and I grinded it's clutch numerous times. I drove about 200 screws with the Craftsman into 1/4" steel.
This would be a nice drill for wood working or just drilling. But for metal work, its not tough enough.
"very light drill" 2010-01-25
By QHAN
Had to buy a new drill in the middle of putting up 5 tiers, 4 sections, warehouse wood shelving. The Dewalt 14.4v, which I liked, went up in smokes after 5 yrs. Bought this Hitachi without any research, and was not disappoint. This drill is very compact and light, lighter than my 12v Dewalt. The battery came out of the box already charged, ready to go, which I appreciated cause I didn't have time to wait for initial charge-up. Each 1.5A lit-ion battery lasted about the same as a Ni-Cad, but much lighter and slimmer. Recharged takes 15-20 minutes. At 460in-lb, it easily drives 2 1/4 screws and sometimes 3in ones I was using, and 2 1/2 masonry screws pre-drilled. Was initially very skeptical of the belt hook but turned out to be a very convenient feature and didn't drop the drill through a lot of movement up and down the ladder. The led light gives a good added feature to work under low lighting conditions like under the shelves.
The extra flashlight is something I don't plan to use and seems a useless extra that could be taken out of the package to save buyers money. The case is ridiculously big. I had to put out a little more money for a bag to carry the drill and charger.
The green color and the stupid design on the drill make the drill look like a toy, but the performance is far from being one. I highly recommend this drill for extensive use. It lessen the wrist fatigue with its light weight and gives you very good driving power.
"460 lbs of Torque? ....You Bet!!!!" 2009-09-04
By Marvin Cohn (San Antonio, TX)
My rating of five stars is actually a solid four stars in order to help make up for the undeserved two-star rating, which one reviewer gave.
I did a lot of research before buying this drill. It is well balanced, easy to control, and will drive just about any screw into anything and do it for a long, long time on each battery. It is a powerhouse with more torque (460 lbs.) for the buck than any other drill in its class. I have found that, for me, two 1.5 amp-hour batteries are better than one 3.0 amp-hour battery (which is available) in that the smaller battery is much lighter; and if you are working with the drill all day long, you will appreciate not having to carry around the extra weight. The 1.5 ah battery charges in less than half an hour (not in 15 minutes as claimed), so you are always ready to go.
However, there are a few minor cons: 1) No drill bit holder (You can install one yourself...I prefer a magnet.) 2) The kit comes with a useless flashlight, not even l.e.d. It would have been better to have added a few doo-dads to the drill, such as a level, instead of wasting the money on a flashlight. 3) No battery meter. 4) Comes with a belt holder, which is very sturdy; but I wouldn't trust what one might hang it on to...and then there is always the possibility of drilling a hole in your leg. I removed it. 5) The case for the kit measures 16" x 18" x 4" and would do justice as designer luggage or as an overnight airline carry-on ...another waste; and when was the last time you lugged around (or even kept) your work drill in its case? However, it is recyclable. 6) The charging light on the bare-bones charger is recessed in the top of the charger and can only be viewed by looking down on it. The charger also has a rather cryptic light readout.
With all these complaints, I wouldn't trade it for any of the other 9 drills (for under $200) I tried out. Why? It outperformed every one of them.
For the past two weeks, we have been reconstructing a small country house. I included the Hitachi and a good corded drill (just in case)in my tool kit. So far, I have yet to plug in the corded drill.
"Weight and Balance" 2009-03-30
By Cary Secrest (Bethesda, MD)
This tool is my first foray into the world of Hitachi. What attracted me most is the feel of the grip and the way the tool doesn't cant forward or backward very much when using it. It's well-balanced, and the motor housing is short which is helpful in tight spaces. The design is different from most other drills. The battery doesn't project into the handle, but instead, slides in like a sled. I do like the "press and drop" battery design of other tools, but this "press and slide" design is easy to get used to. The clutch settings do seem a bit lighter than other drills, but on the other hand, the lighter settings on the drill are very nice for doing delicate work like setting #6 pan head screws to 1/8-inch oak plywood without imbedding the pan into the plywood. I haven't tried driving #10 screws into oak without a pilot hole. Personally, I like to drill a pilot in hardwoods so I don't risk breaking the head off of the screw. A #10 of any length will go in hardwood just fine with a pilot hole drilled first.
Positives: light weight, small for tight spaces, ergonomic, lithium ion batteries, ease of drill bit lock-up in the chuck, LED work light, and a very nice carrying case.
Minus(?). My only concern is to echo a previous review...I had no idea when I bought the tool that it is the only one Hitachi makes at this time with this battery design. It is new. Though lithium ion batteries last a long time and they have no charge "memory," at some point (1,000 charge cycles or so) they need to be replaced. It would be more comforting if the battery was universal to the product line.
One more thing...why the flashlight? The carrying case could be made smaller without it.
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