Depends if you use your tools to make money.

I do, so I spend good money on good quality with good warranty.

In Australia that’s snappon for hand tools and Milwaukee for power tools.

It costs me a lot of time if I have to go back and buy a broken tool again.

Time is money

For power tools just pick your favorite color and stick to it. All the big brands are the same except for their special lil’ batteries. For everything else, buy cheap tools (Harbour Freight, garage sales, Amazon, eBay, etc.). When you wear them out / break them / otherwise need to replace them, that’s when you can justify spending a bit of money to get good tools. Plus at that point you’ll have a much better understanding of the tool and thus what you want or need for the tool to best serve you.

Or be like me and spend too much time/money finding a tool that might be good only to never use it because brain says, “I’m bored, find new hobby” every couple of business days.

There are no major tool brands just battery ecosystems with tool accessories

Bosch: never the best choice, but always a good one.

I made this decision when I purchased a house… Or rather, the bank purchased it, I just live here and pay them instead of a landlord.

I went with DeWalt and I don’t really have any regrets. I had one of the really basic 12v drills from them for like 10+ years. It mostly rattled around my car’s trunk during that time. I’ve purchased two additional batteries for it, one was shortly after I bought it, so I’d always have a charged battery on hand, the other to keep on the drill. When I needed to swap, I’d just take the dead battery into my home at the end of the day and charge it overnight, then dump it back in the car the next day.

I used it mainly for computer stuff, since I work in that industry… Racking equipment in server racks, opening computers, etc. Rarely did I need to actually make holes or anything with it… The third battery was purchased when the original battery that came with it, stopped working. The drill and two remaining batteries still work fine, though I don’t really need/use them anymore.

I might “donate” it to a young relative someday, for now it collects dust in my basement.

When I replaced it, I got all 20v DeWalt everything. I bought a pack of tools that came with a couple of fairly basic battery chargers, a couple batteries, a hammer drill, impact driver, reciprocating saw, oscillating tool, a circular saw, and a portable light… It even came with a carry bag, which was promptly tossed in a corner and hasn’t been touched since, except to kick it further into the corner.

After a short while of owning the house, we added a small (additional) set of batteries… I think 3 more? And picked up lawn equipment that’s also 20v from DeWalt. A string trimmer (aka a “whipper snipper”), and a hedge trimmer. I feel like I’m forgetting something… Oh well.

The odd man out, so to speak, is the lawnmower, we ended up picking up a DeWalt mower, but it’s 20v/60v, so it will take either pack. We had all 20v so we just stuck with that.

Then, I think last year? DeWalt released a snowblower, but it’s 60v only. So we had to get specific batteries just for that. The 60v ones are compatible with the 20v tools, but the blower will only take the 60v packs, so we have two 60v packs for it (and the lawnmower, I suppose, since they can take advantage of the extra juice), and 20v packs for everything else.

Everything is cross compatible, with the one exception of the snowblower, so we’re all set.

My experience with the 12v drill heavily biased me towards sticking with DeWalt.

I won’t tell anyone to buy DeWalt or Milwaukee, or any other brand. You’ll have to make that decision got yourself. I don’t have any strong feelings about other brands because I simply don’t have the experience with them to have an opinion… Except Ryobi. Fuck Ryobi. My brother used Ryobi for a long time, and he had nothing good to say about them besides the fact that their tools are cheap. They’re cheap in every way. You’ll spend more trying to keep them working than you’ll spend simply by buying better tools. Don’t do it.

Going to work on cars? Milwaukee. Not going to work on cars? Can save a few bucks with Dewalt, the nailguns and saws are real nice. I say this as someone who has a LOT of Ryobi but they just don’t work as well as the better stuff. If I had either of the two big brands I could probably ditch my corded circular, jig and reciprocating saws. Same with the 4in grinder.

Hand tools just mix and match, they don’t need to be the same brand.

I’m a big fan of buying power tools twice. I happen to go Ryobi for the first round but Harbor Freight / Northern Tool are probably similar.

If you can stand the fuss, buy corded tools and skip the brand loyalty that comes with batteries.

The biggest killer of cheaper power tools is generally heat. There are plastic components in the drive train. They hold up great to short jobs, but heat is their kryptonite. If you let a Ryobi tool cool down whenever you notice it getting warm to the touch it’ll last a long time. If you need to run a tool for hours at a time then skip the fuss and go straight to a more brand with a good reputation like DeWalt, Makita, Bosch, or Milwaukee.

Yep. Had a family member buy me Ryobi and 2 batteries. Guess I’m a Ryobi man now

Dewalt if you want it to last forever

Milwuakee if you want to put it in a cool box

Ryobi if you’re broke but dont live near a harbor freight

Festool if you have a trust fund

In Europe, LIDL’s Parkside lineup is fantastic. The battery lineup is a system, with two battery types, a 12V and a 20V. Their battery and charger lineup is great, cheap and reliable. A 2Ah is 20€, and an 8Ah for 50€. The 8Ah has bluetooth (I thought it was a gimmick, but is surprisingly useful!)

The range is astounding, having tools that no major brand has. I have a convertible saw that can be a sawzall or a jigsaw that has no right to work so well as it does in both modes, or a tiny rotary drill, smaller than a full size battery hammer drill, that is a little beast.

I used to own a sign shop so I kind of know a bit about these tools. Sign shops work with almost all materials, from metal to wood to plastics, to concrete and masonry, so the range of power tools we had was bewildering. My shop was team yellow with the odd Hitachi, now Hikoki. When I closed the shop I kept some of them. DeWalt is very, very good, but for DIY purposes, LIDL’s Parkside is my go to now.

I would place much, but not all the lineup at prosumer level, with features like all-metal one-hand-locking chucks, metal gearcases, brushless versions, and more.

Be prepared for endless mockery no matter which direction you go. Best of luck sir.

Makita. Best tools that aren’t stupid expensive.

Most consumer tools are made by like 2 or 3 companies, they all have different colors but are largely the same guts within a parent company’s holdings.

Direct tools factory outlet is run by TTI. Milwaukee, Rigid, Ryobi are all made by TTI. Stanley Black and Decker owns Dewalt, Black and Decker (duh), Craftsman, MAC Tools and Porter cable.

Bauer and Hercules are doin their own thing but the batteries are pretty decent.

https://www.protoolreviews.com/power-tool-manufacturers-who-owns-them/

I hate this so much that because of their proprietary battery slots you have to stick with one brand. And I can’t understand how this is even legal in UE when they spend so much time and resources to push usb-c as a standard and even made Apple bend. Why would you allow this, it’s much worse than a cable on ecological level

(I’m not saying that usb-c was a bad thing, far from it!)

It depends on what you’re doing. Metabo makes the best angle grinders. DeWalt makes the most reliable hand drills. Milwaukee is affordable. Imo best bang for your buck is good used tools. S&K made the best rachet set in the world for a time. Starrett and Mitutoyo stuff used to be practically bulletproof. Most modern brands don’t hold a candle to the quality of tools made 40-50 years ago