As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Links to Amazon on this page are affiliate links.
Kit or bare tool: read what is in the box before you buy
Updated
If this is your first cordless tool from a brand, buy a kit. A kit has the tool, at least one battery and a charger. A "bare tool" or "tool only" listing has none of that and will not run out of the box. All seven picks on this site are kits.
How to read kit contents
Look for three things: how many batteries, the amp-hours of each, and whether a charger is listed. Bosch's page for the PS31-2A is a good model. It lists one drill/driver, two 12V Max 2.0 Ah batteries, one charger, two screwdriver bits and a carrying bag.
| Kit | Batteries | In the box |
|---|---|---|
| DEWALT DCD771C2 | 2 x 1.3 Ah | 46.8 Wh |
| Makita XFD131 | 1 x 3.0 Ah | 54 Wh |
| BOSCH PS31-2A | 2 x 2.0 Ah | 43.2 Wh |
| DEWALT DCD777D1 | 1 x 2.0 Ah | 36 Wh |
| BLACK+DECKER LD120VA | 1 x 1.5 Ah | 27 Wh |
| CRAFTSMAN CMCD711C2 | 2 x 1.3 Ah | 46.8 Wh |
| DEWALT DCK240C2 | 2 x 1.3 Ah | 46.8 Wh |
One big battery or two small ones? Two small packs let you keep working while one charges. One big pack runs longer before it stops. The Makita XFD131 has the most energy here at 54 Wh, but when it is flat you wait. The DEWALT DCD771C2 has 46.8 Wh split across two packs.
Watch for listings that disagree with the maker. CRAFTSMAN's own page title for the CMCD711C2 says 1.5 Ah batteries, while the parts list lower on the same page and the Amazon listing both say 1.3 Ah. We used 1.3.
You are buying a battery family
Batteries only fit their own brand's tools. Once you own two DEWALT 20V MAX packs and a charger, the next DEWALT tool can be a bare tool. That is when bare tools make sense. Makita says its 18V LXT line is the largest compatible 18 V slide-style battery system, with over 350 products. DEWALT 20V MAX and CRAFTSMAN V20 are large families too. The packs do not swap between brands, even though the voltage is the same.
Skip adapters and knock-off packs
The Power Tool Institute, the industry's safety body, warns against battery adapters that let one brand's pack run another brand's tool. It says bypassing the maker's battery system can cause overheating and even fires, because the tool, pack and charger are designed to talk to each other. It gives the same advice on knock-off and counterfeit packs: use the original maker's batteries.
Match a kit to your jobs with the drill kit checker, or compare all seven picks on the roundup page.