"Leon" wrote in
:
snip
Looks like
18v is now the "standard" but I've been perfectly happy with my 9.6
all these years.

IMHO 18 volt is not the standard. You see a lot of them but I would
be willing to wager that those buying 18 volt models and use them
daily will go lower voltage on the next ones. Unless you cannot
recharge during the day or do not have power available the big volt
drills are Heavy. I use my drill professionally and have had 4 9.6
volt models since the late 80's and recently went to the 12 volt
version. I miss the light weight of the 9.6.


My use could be described as 'heavy duty homeowner/light shop user'. I
bought DeWalt 12v heavy duty, as the transition was being made to 18v.
It's a heavy sucker, 1/2" capacity. Last year I bought a 3/8" lighter duty
version, to supplement the 'big' one. DeWalts work fine. I imagine the
others do, too, but that's outside my experience.

Smart chargers help a lot. If I remember to bring along a charger, I've
never been without battery. The recharge cycle is quicker than I can
discharge one and not wear ME out.

Cheap tools aren't worth the money, if a job needs to be done more than a
couple of times. And if it needs to be done only once, then a hand tool
makes sense, in all likelihood.

Patriarch