The pick for best value is the Ryobi One+ HP. At $100 it is the second-cheapest
tool here and it out-torques everything except the DeWALT, stalling at 196
inch-pounds in low range against $159 for the Makita's 106. It is 3.56 inches
front-to-back, weighs 2.4 lb, holds a controllable 18 rpm at the bottom of its
range — the finest of any drill in the test — and it was the first tool able to
bore a 1-1/2 inch hole, at 6.78 seconds, and a 2-1/8 inch hole, at 8.11. Its
weakness is heat: about 80 seconds into the 33 inch-pound endurance run it
smoked badly and powered down, though it was back at work once it had cooled.
For outright speed the Kobalt is the tool. It drove deck screws faster than
anything else at 1.2 seconds, spun the highest measured no-load speed at 1,950
rpm, tied the Ridgid for the fastest 3/4 inch hole at 1.46 seconds, and was
clearly quickest through the two largest bits at 4.3 and 4.86 seconds — nearly
twice the pace of the Ryobi One+ HP on the 2-1/8 inch bit. It also ran the full
two minutes under load in low range. The trade-offs are a coarse 100 rpm minimum
speed, 82 dB, and 2.805 lb. The Ridgid is the most balanced of the three: the
lightest tool at 2.04 lb and one of the shortest at 3.56 inches, yet 179
inch-pounds of torque, the fastest 1 inch hole in the test at 1.82 seconds, and
a clean two-minute run. All three share brushless motors, two-speed gearboxes
and the best-rated controls and grip diameters in the group.
Two findings should shape the decision. First, the gearbox is the specification
that matters: every two-speed drill beat every single-speed drill on torque, and
only those four could turn a 1-1/2 or 2-1/8 inch self-feeding bit. If the work
is deck screws and 3/4 inch holes, the single-speed Makita is genuinely quick at
1.41 and 1.51 seconds and holds 106 inch-pounds, the best of any one-gear tool;
if it involves wiring or plumbing through studs, a two-speed tool is the
requirement. Second, sustained load is a separate question from peak torque. The
DeWALT made the most torque of anything tested at 211 inch-pounds and was fast
with every bit, but it began smoking about 45 seconds into the endurance run,
shut off at 65 seconds and was still smoking after cooling. At the other end,
the Costway averaged 4.5 seconds per screw, stalled at 38 inch-pounds and could
not finish a 3/4 inch hole, so the $45 saved against the Ryobi One+ HP buys a
very different tool.
