DeWalt 4-Pc. Combo Tool Kit — 18 Volt, Model# DC4KITA  Product Reviews

"An excellent all round cordless choice in combo kits. Powerfull 18v series provides continual power to my framing crews day in and day out.Rated as a RBW Top Tool Pick.[...]"

"I'm a professional construction worker (framing-to-furniture) and I currently have two of these kits at my disposal (one in my work shop, and one in my home shop) so I suppose I have a pretty good feel for these tools at this point. I'll take them one at a time. 1. Flexible Floodlight: a real surprise to me--an invaluable tool. Very bright, stable bulb and you always have a battery handy. 2. Reciprocating saw: a very handy battery gobbling tool. I don't know how dewalt gets thier battery ratings but this saw can munch a fully-charged battery in a few minutes of hard use. It is, however, perfect for running around new construction trimming door shims, cutting a muffler off your old jeep, or other small projects that make a cord a hassle. The blade change system is great in that it clamps the blade much tighter than other quick-change systems. 3. Circular Saw: surprisingly, the weak link of the system. This saw is dangerously underpowered. It runs at such low rpms that the cut is always jagged and it bogs down easily. An underpowered circular saw can be deadly in unexperienced hands so be really careful with this one and don't for a minute consider it a 'construction' circular saw. The table is very flimsy and one drop will make adjustments difficult and accuracy impossible. However, it's a good saw for trimming 1/4" plywood and cedar shingles. 4. Cordless Hammerdrill: the best of the kit. Some tools lend themselves to battery power and the drill is the first of such tools. This is a relatively powerful drill with a broad speed range that can run all day on a single battery under normal use. It has higher rpms than most corded drills with a 1/2" chuck and plenty of power in the low end to drive large hole saws and forstner bits when need be. The keyless chuck is the best of any cordless drill out there. 5. The batteries: The batteries charge quickly (45-60 minutes) in the stock charger. Most of the time, two batteries is enough for one carpenter, working alone. If you were to depend on the reciprocating saw much you would need at least a dozen batteries to get through the day. Under normal use the circular saw and drill won't wear out a battery before the other is charged. There is a disturbing rumor that the quality of the batteries in these kits is much lower than the replacement batteries you can buy. One of my batteries (one of four) went dead after about a month of use--dead. All the rest have been pretty good. My friends in construction have had similar problems. One kit blew out four batteries in a row. When replacement batteries were purchased new the problems dissapeared. One more note, you will need at least a week off work practicing taking these tools out of the plastic case and getting them back in--it's an exact science."