On 28/02/2015 14:15, newshound wrote:
I've been thinking about getting one for a while to save the hassle of
carting the Makita drill / impact / driver around.

So when I spotted the Lidl Li-Ion "Parkside" in the week for £15 it was
a bit of a no brainer.

Upsides, seems well made, comes in a nice solid plastic box. Enough
torque for most domestic jobs (i.e. not fencing or decking).

Downside, ghastly lilac/pink case and tool. The supplied bits don't seem
particularly high quality.

Biggest issue though is the lack of "soft start", in contrast to the
very nice fine control which you get from the Makita. That might even be
why the bits feel flimsy, the hard start means you get cam-out more
readily and hence damage them.

I'd wondered if you get soft start with (e.g.) the £35 Bosch, but it
doesn't look like, from Amazon. Does anyone know if there *is* a soft
start one out there?

Potentially a really handy tool but TBH I don't think I'd recommend it
for non-serious DIY people; probably OK for building flat pack though.

Update, this one is variable speed as well as having a torque setting
ring. £55 though.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-Cordle...productDetails