Kreg 20V Ionic Drive 1/2″ Compact Drill, 20V Blue Ion Charger & 2Ah Battery Pack – Professional Cordless Drill with Compact Design – For Woodworking & Everyday DIY Applications – KPTBDR050A

Great tool, too late, too pricey?
This is an excellent tool. It has great power and great functionality. Good battery life. A good charger. Good trigger. Good controls. Good light. Good weight. Good ergonomics. 21 different settings for torque, on the collar. Don’t forget mode 1 is higher torque, mode 2 is higher speed. Different settings for different tasks. This tool can do everything my yellow tools can do. It can do everything my red, lime green, and blue tools can do. This tool is a great drill. it’s even lighter and shorter than my primary yellow drill, and can match it for power and functionality. But I have two issues with it. First is value. The value isn’t there. This is a high cost drill. You can get tools as good as this, and arguably better, for equal or less, in other major brands. So I’m not saying you have to get some off brand tool to beat these prices. I’m saying you can go get big time, world class, major brand tools as good as this, if not better, for equal or less cost. I like Kreg tools. I have a Kreg jig I love, for making pocket holes. But they’re apparently new to the battery powered tool space. And so this leads me to the second issue. I believe Kreg brand power tools are new to the space, and don’t have a particularly big lineup. And when you buy into a battery powered tool line, you want a lot of tools in the line up for battery redundancy. Then I have plenty of batteries for plenty of tools and projects. And as I buy new tools, I don’t necessarily have to spend more to buy more batteries, and I can buy tool-only options, since I’ve got enough batteries. And all my batteries fit all my other tools. But this Kreg lineup is pretty limited, and as a result, I’m going to have to buy other brands anyway. So why shouldn’t I just buy all my tools from those other lineups? Because the Kreg value isn’t better, and has fewer options than its more seasoned competitors.This is a great tool. If you need a good drill to do some wood work, or any general drilling needs, this tool is up to the task. But investing in the Kreg lineup is expensive and maybe, not as wise as investing in other major lineups. Kreg is coming to the party very late, with only a small, expensive lineup, after many other companies have already dominated the space. Do they even offer a tabless battery option?

Nice somewhat ‘compact’ drill – decent battery life and low-end torque, but a bit expensive
Comparing this to my aged and much-used DeWalt drill, this is a good competitor with some slight advantages. It feels rugged and solid – very ergonomic and natural to use, it fits an adult male hand well. The form factor is somewhat compact – it’s comparable to a DeWalt impact bit driver. The behavior is more similar to the DeWalt drill, however (and these are the advantages) the low end gearing is discernably lower. At speed ‘one’ it has tremendous torque and you can easily get it to rotate at a crawl to help you position it with absolute precision. Additionally, at speed ‘two’ the rpm is higher than the DeWalt making it a superior drill – at least it feels that way.That stated, it isn’t quite as ergonomically friendly as the DeWalt – the DeWalt just feels more trim and solid. In the long run I struggle to believe this will last as long as my DeWalt has – it doesn’t feel quite as rugged. It also feels a bit pricey. Lastly – the presentation was almost bizarre – I received three boxes: one with the drill, one with the charger, and one with the battery – all contained in a clear hand-tied plastic bag. It felt like it was purchased at a farmer’s market. And it didn’t include a case or bag.If you’re excited about owning a Kreg-branded drill or adding to an existing set, this might be perfect for your needs. But there are many established brand-named options at this price point – all with long histories of extreme reliability and solid customer service. Just something to think about.