Milwaukee2691-22 18-Volt Compact Drill and Impact Driver Combo Kit

This is a nice, high quality product. I don't know if all parts are MADE IN THE USA, but the quality sure looks like it is.First off, the case. It is strong built to support the weight of both drivers. You think this is a dumb observation? Just look at the MADE IN CHINA products and check their casing. You can even tell by just looking at the coloring for crying out loud. This case, however, is strong with a nice crimson red color, not a faded red which I've seen in many a product I've bought over the years.Second, each item (Drill/Driver, Compact Impact Driver, and Battery Base) has its instruction manual in English, Spanish, and French. The folks over at Milwaukee Tool had the class to place Spanish on its outter casing markings second. This is a common sense touch, as a vast many more people speak Spanish than they do French. I have nothing against the French, it's just a matter of fact.Just when you open the box where the product ships in, you'll see it for yourself. I thought long and hard before buying this product, as the cheapest was not the price I got it at, but the cheapest also had a high S&H charge, which I though needless to pay, as I have a prime membership at Amazon.com I wanted to take advantage of. I'm already NOT regreting it. This is true quality. Milwaukee really stands out with the best; that is, Hilti, watch out!The drills look small, but feel really heavy, which most likely give the torque advertised amply in Amazon.com and the manufacturer's site as well.I hope to be writing a review after using them, as I have several more products to review, and it's 20:29 hrs of Dec 4, 2010. I won't be going out in the cold to try them out just yet.Oh, before I forget, I did get a chance to try out the light on the Compact Impact Driver. It's a white light and it encompasses a large radius, much larger and clearer than the blue dot the Black and Decker LI4000 drill features. I know, because I happen to have the LI4000 B&D driver, which I also got at Amazon.com Black & Decker LI4000 3.6-Volt Lithium-Ion Smart Select with Exclusive Magnetic Screw Holder; nevertheless, the blue light works better in daylight.Stay tuned...Fabruary 16, 2011Finally got a chance to try these drills out. They are amazing. The torque power on the compact drill is amazing! The variable speed comes in very handy, as the drill has the power to drive screws, but the screw may be hard to screw in, so a more steady and slow motion is convenient. Here also did I find out what the two speeds of the drill are for. The number 1 speed is slower, but has more torque (more powerful). The number 2 speed is a quicker speed for speedier driving/drilling when resistance is low, among other applications depending on the job. The drill, however, does lose power when battery is low. It does not go dead all of a sudden, like I've read in other reviews. Battery charged in an hour, and drill was good to go at full power and torque.About the impact driver, what can I say? It does the job very nicely. I was changing an exterior light and the old screw was hard to take out. I used to take out these rusted screws with some vice wrench and twist until the thing would come out, but this would take several minutes per screw. I used the impact driver and it pulled out the screw with no trouble at all in a snap, of course, holding the impact driver at the right angle! Note also this tool comes with variable speed on the trigger for slower driving where needed.The fact that these drills are cordless is ideal for electritians. You may owe a corded drill, but if you're working on receptacles and charges where you must turn down power, you need a very long extension. These cordless drills more than make up for this fact in convenience and time saving.What can I say? As price is fluctuating between 224 and 300+, get it while it's at a good price. I highly recommend these tools as stand alone or in this combo kit.As comparison against Makita, Milwaukee has a 5 year warranty on their products, against 3 Makita offers. About quality, I don't know much. I've never owned anything Makita brand.I'm very pleased with this purchase and would advise any pro or home owner to own these particular tools.

I bought this set to replace a failing B&D Industrial cordless driver that had worked like a champ for a lot of years.Admittedly the only reason I chose the Milwaukee set over a Bosch set was the availability of a small vacuum that used the same battery pack. I am glad I did.The drill/driver is compact and very well balanced. I've used it for quite a few projects over the past 9 months and it has been up to every task I've thrown at it. The clutch seems to be very consistent with little variance even after driving multiple consecutive fasteners.The impact driver is a gem. Compact, light, balanced and powerful I've used it to bust off corroded exhaust fasteners and to drive 4" deck screws. (NOTE: this is an impact driver, not an impact wrench. i.e. It doesn't produce enough torque to tighten down wheel lug nuts.)My two favorite features of the impact driver are 1. The LED that lights the work area. 2. The variable speed/variable torque trigger. This is more useful than you would first think.The case does what it should and has space for the charger and a third battery if you need one.The batteries are also very, very nice. Compact but with a very useful run-time. Unlike NiCad batteries, LiIon batteries give you all or nothing. Whereas a NiCad will slowly lose power and fade out these batteries will give you full power until they are spent so, Milwaukee has provided a gauge on the battery pack so you can tell how much of a charge is left.>If you buy this set do yourself a favor and also buy the Milwaukee compact vacuum. I hesitantly >bought it at the recommendation of a friend. It seemed gimicky and useless but it is so well >designed and built that it gets used more than either the drill or driver.I think this is the first product I've given a full five stars to, I can't think of any fault or issue.Pros: price, great batteries, balanced, LED light, compact, included case, optional vacuum.Cons: still looking.

I've been using a DeWalt drill and driver for years; no real issues with them ... well, except heavy and takes forever to recharge, especially if the battery is hot, which it is if you've been using it. As fate would have it both my drill and my driver died within a few days of each other, motors shot. Far cheaper to replace than repair. But ... do I replace with DeWalt or go with something else?Google to the rescue. Search Best Cordless Drill/driver. Milwaukee came up first in nearly every critical reviewing site I found. In most review comparisons DeWalt didn't even make the chart cutoff of top 10. Next up, where to buy; to my great surprise Amazon had by far the best price (no, they aren't paying me for this review,tho they should!)Delivery was 3 days flat; package arrived in great shape, new as described. Batteries came half charged as they should. Popped 'em in the charger and fully charged in around 10 minutes. Awesome! Now for the test.I was building a large deck, ~ 39' x 20'. In 97F heat no less. The charge lasted longer than I did. The drill was doing pilot holes, the driver handling the screws. All day. No falter. No need for recharging during the day. At the end of the day I popped the batteries in the charger and did it again the next day. And the next (with several related jobs, not just the deck).To say these Milwaukees outperformed my old DeWalts is an understatement. MUCH lighter, max charge time of ~ 20 minutes when battery is completely drained. Tough. Drill goes right up to the last bit of juice before stopping, not like the DeWalt that loses power as the battery is fading.Now, I don't know about industrial-type use, but for advanced and complex DIY projects anyway Milwaukee holds up, and handily earns The Captain's Seal of Approval, Two Thumbs Up.Now I need to start replacing my other fading DeWalt cordless tools....