Festool576889 Cordless Drill CXS 18 HPC 18V 4.0 Ah I-Set

I have mostly used Makita and Milwaukee cordless power tools for the last 35 years. Nothing wrong with those brands - each has its own pro's and con's. The previous brushless Makita I had was just difficult to control at low-speed. I finally bought the Festool CXS 18 full kit. I was worried it would be too small, maybe not powerful enough... BUT, after months of use, I just LOVE this drill! I think it is all the small details - the way it soft-starts, the easy torque setting, quiet operation, plenty powerful enough, long battery life, rapid recharge... But most of all, it is the accessories that really make this such a universal tool: I often use the right-angle attachment, as well as the eccentric chuck and depth-stop chuck (Purchased separately) which does a beautiful job of setting drywall screws. And swapping-out the different chucks is so easy and intuitive. You can really feel the quality and sturdiness of all the machining of these accessories. And finally - the systainer... My previous drills have either had big, clunky plastic cases that didn't really fit everything I needed - OR they had a bag where I was always losing pieces, or loose screws would end-up shorting the loose extra batteries. The systainer is beautifully manufactured, and ALL the accessories fit inside - everything in its place. I am quickly switching over all of my cordless tools to Festool, with no regrets - except I wish I had done this sooner! Absolutely top quality stuff.

Most people looking at this have at least looked at the Milwaukee M12 Installation Driver for 40% of the price of the CXS 18, 31% if you include the Festool eccentric chuck you have to pay $139 extra for that comes with the Milwaukee.Having owned both I can say the big reasons to go Festool are the refinement, the Centrotec Chuck and the electronic clutch.When you try and engage the Milwaukee slowly, you can hear the motor whine and grind as it slowly starts to turn. With the Festool it just turns, as slowly as you like with no complaints or weird noises.Second, the Centrotec chuck allows you to use Centrotec bits. Bits show a lot of wobbling in the Milwaukee which is just gone with Centrotec, even if you use the Centrotec adapter and run regular hex bits. The increase in accuracy this provides is appreciated.Finally, the electronic clutch. Rather than start ratcheting away, the electronic clutch beeps and stops the chuck. This means you can repeatedly drive screws to the exact same depth, every time, as long as the material is the same. No more playing by ear or finishing up with a hand screwdriver unless you want to.Cons? The price. Can you justify the fact you could buy TWO of the Milwaukees and multiple drill/driver packages and still not come close to the price of this and just one or two Centrotec bits? Would you appreciate the smoothness and refinement of the Festool's operation? How about that the Festool can have various parameters like the light intensity and light on time to whether the reversing switch works for left-handers via a free app as the tool is Bluetooth-enabled (as are the batteries!)A side mention is the Milwaukee comes in a soft carrying case allowing you to keep everything together; this comes in a plastic Systainer 3 container that can connect with other Systainers and other Festool tools that come in them. The Systainers are handy, but aren't at all rugged. They're great for a woodshop, not for putting in a vehicle or for surviving extreme cold temperatures.Again, the choice of case is a judgement call; I immediately moved the CXS 18 to a MAKTRAK medium tool box anyway and the Systainer sits on a shelf.Don't get me wrong, the Milwaukee is a great tool, it's just it's the Toyota SUV and this is the Lexus equivalent.Do you want the refinement or consider it a waste of money?Only you can make that judgement call; in the end it was for me.

Excellent quality. Form factor is a beneficial setup to complement standard T shaped drills.