Home Depot and Lowes are in a fierce marketing battle, with each saying their house brand makes the better 18V cordless drill driver. Lowes struck first, with an in-store banner behind their new Kobalt cordless power tool displays comparing the Kobalt Li-ion drill driver to Ridgid’s.
Kobalt's Claim to Being Best
Home Depot took nearly two months to respond, but their counter is strong and bold, with a new poster comparing Ridgid’s drill driver to Kobalt’s prominently appearing in the power tool department.
Ridgid's Claim to Being Best
We currently have both drill/drivers in-hand and will be reviewing them later this week, at which point we hope to find out which of the brands’ cordless drill is best. From what we can tell thus far, both drills are well-made and are high quality products.
Both brands claim, or rather strongly suggest, that their drill/driver superior, but both cannot be right. Which drill do you think is the better buy? Here are the product descriptions and specs for the Ridgid and Kobalt drills in question.
Teaser: from what we’ve seen and felt already, we think the Ridgid would win in a head to head comparison.
Metal gearbox (ridgid) vs Metal chuck (Kobalt) Winner ridgid (i know not the same by any means but it help kobalt from sounding too plasticy lol
torque-winner ridgid
price- kobalt
Actually, the Ridgid drill kit is $10 cheaper.
As for the metal vs. plastic construction, neither tool feels shoddily built – they’re both quite solid.
“the Ridgid drill kit is $10 cheaper” (I need to go back n look in store just bought the the Ridgid set i could of sworn, it was more, but would not be the 1st time i was wrong
lol) any ways the factor for me was the metal gear box, i have had bad luck with plastic gear box’s in the past. (got the milwaukee drill/impact set for that same reason).
i will agree they both felt sturdy.
Ridgid. I like mine. I did find it interesting that Kobalt list Ridgid as a 3 year warranty
I owned a Ridgid 18 volt compact drill (older version of the one pictured), it was great drill with the exception of the short battery life,and the slightly odd placement of the LED. I played with the Kobalts a bit at Lowes, they just felt kinda cheap to me and the batt was a little too oversized.
I would go with Ridgid, they’re an established powertool brand now, have a good warranty, proven support and have gotten a couple of generations of powertools lines under their belt now.
I’m just a little leery of new powertool launches, especially when I dont know who the OEM is and how long the tools will be around if the line doesnt pan out.
I would have to choose the Ridgid over the Kobalt (and I work at Lowe’s!)
Ridgid has so many more tools to offer. But looking at the Ridgid sign it says the Ridgid drill has 537 inch lbs of torque, but the web site says its equal to the Kobalt at 455. I call shenanagans on that, unless I missed something.
I also have to say its weird that Kobalt, with less than six months and only 10-15 tools on the market would take on such a well established brand like Ridgid.
(Correction: I mean Kobalt has 10-15 POWER tools on the market)
The Kobalt tools are made by Chervon, an OEM that makes tools for Craftsman and other well-known brands.
I don’t know where the torque values are taken from. The Ridgid sign says that those are the PTI torques, which doesn’t make sense since why would they rate their tools’ torque as lower than PTI-compliant results? Ridgid torque levels are different depending on whether you use the slim or extended capacity battery, so maybe that has something to do with it.
It makes sense that Kobalt is trying to match up to Ridgid. Lowes’ main competitor is Home Depot, and both Home Depot and Sears if you’re talking about just tools. It also wouldn’t be a good idea for to Lowes to suggestively compare the Kobalt power tools to other brands they carry, such as Porter Cable. If they’re going to make “ours vs. theirs” comparisons, Ryobi, Ridgid, and Craftsman are the brands to beat.
You can almost disregard the whole issue of warranty. My experience with both stores is that their warranties are no better than the paper they’re printed on. They love to throw them around as a sales tactic. They’ll be all but useless however, when you bring the item in with problems. Warranties are only as good as the companies that stand behind them. Neither of these stores are specialized dealers. They just sell them and forget them.
Robert
Robert
I own a ridgid set, and the drill chuck recntly stopped ratcheting, I went to the local ridgid authorized shop, and it came back like new, no hassle at all, are you speaking from experience?
After the Bosh cordless drill battery quit on me, I did some research to help me decide what company made the best cordless drill to fit my needs. I ended up buying the Rigid table and miter saw and the cordless drill. I was very impressed with how well designed they are and how they work. I then decided to buy two extra Rigid batteries but after three years they all went bad. I went to the Home Depot and asked them if they could help me but was told that the warranty was up and I needed to contact the Rigid rep. who told me the same thing. That made me feel very disappointed in the company. I hope that Rigid will take this into consideration if/when they design/build new products. I think that for the amount of money these tools cost they should stand behind their products for longer than three years so that consumers such as myself feel more confident in buying their products knowing they will stand behind them.
I agree with the comment above that the warranty is a selling point but a fraud in practice. I bought Ridgid in 2005 and 2006 due to the warranty. They have been good tools — the nicad batteries are still good though the do not hold a charge long if sitting unused and none of the tools (18V drill, circular, sawsall, planer, jigsaw, light, impact) broke until 2011 when a small retaining ring on the circular saw broke and a small part on the head of the jigsaw broke. I was looking forward to having them repaired under warranty. 6 months after dropping them off at a Ridgid warranty repair center, I still do not have the tools back.
I am thinking about a new set of lithium ion Kobalt. I may have had enough of Ridgit.
I have a Ridgid 18V, model 86006, an older drill, bought 8/1/2009. Have had no problems with my warranty on my batteries. My batteries did not hold a charge early on, went to the local service shop (hole in the wall type place), week or so later, new or repair batteries and or charger. No problem.
I did have a challenge registering with Ridgid—that took about 8 months, but it got done. Ridgid said they were back logged. Whatever, it took a while but it got done. My two cents.
When it comes to warranty the Kobalt has the ridgid beat hands down. Ridgid is not owned by Home Depot therefore much like Lowe’s they do not have to take care of any warranty issues outside of their own return policy. If by chance you have had good luck in returning items and getting exchanges from them in the past all i can says is the best of luck to you. The Kobalt brand does belong to Lowe’s. As I have posted before all you do with Kobalt power tools if you have a problem is take them back to any Lowe’s store and get a new one. If you don’t think the warranty will be long enough for you I’ve been telling many of my customer to scratch off the date codes on their tools. My corporate office has already told us that if we can’t tell how old it is to go ahead and replace.
I’m a carpenter and use cordless drills all the time for roofing, framing, remodeling, decking, etc. and I’ve had 3 Rigid drill guns, and there isn’t a better gun on the market. Like in this case your chain stores aren’t worth shit, for the warranties I call the Rigid rep. had mine packaged up and sent out and back in a two weeks. Register your guns and they have a lifetime warranty on batteries, chargers, guns, parts, etc. Had all my batteries replaced in about 5 yrs and the internal gearbox to the gun I use the most completely done over, brand new gun for shipping cost, can’t beat that.
And on top of all that the 15.4v Rigid out performs the 18v Dewalt, if that tells you anything about performance. And if you use drills often you know that balance is key, the Rigid has a much better battery to drill balance than Dewalt or Kobalt as well.
i work commercial construction mainly sewer plant construction and i use my tools very hard I will live and die Milwaukee tools. Their five year warranty on all of their tools including cordless is just as good as any. But i was givin a Kobalt 18v cordless drill for christmas so i used it and used it hard. I used it to run a 1 1/8 inch tap to clean out threads on 20″ ductile and it impressed me. i used that tool harder in one week then most would in a life time and it worked flawless. I beat that drill and it would just come back for more. Kobalt has a good tool for the price
There’s absolutely no comparison. As Stuart said, the Kobalt tool is made by an OEM. I don’t know how much influence the Lowes design group had in its development, but it doesn’t look like it has any new features going for it that haven’t already been introduced in other lower-end drills on the market. It’s also hideous looking, IMHO. If I’m not mistaken, Rigid’s X4 series was designed in SC by Techtronic Industries. Comparing the drills from the X3 lineup to this it’s clear it was dev’d from the ground up. smaller, better internals, completely new shape, completely new battery cell layout, completely new charging capabilities with the DualChem chargers. Warranties aside, I think the X4 is the best pro-level drill that has come out in years. The Kobalt unit is nice for it’s class, but comparing them is ridiculous.
OK. I want to make it clear that Ridgid is in fact a Home Depot house brand. It also is incidentally their colors. Orange. Black. For those who care to notice. I use a cordless drill almost all the time when working, meaning finger depressed on trigger and chuck spinning/motor on. I hold this up sideways, level for extended periods of time. So I was shopping and willing to spend 500+$ on a cordless drill. I was actually looking at top products level brands like the contractors use all day long. Year round. Mind you, I work indoors, and there is not a lot of pressure/torque wear and tear since I am not pushing or drilling into something. The drill just needs to be held in the air, spinning, literally for hours on end. So balance. Weight. Battery run time are all important factors in needed to consider when purchasing a cordless drill for my profession. And I will pay anything, even ridiculous, overpriced, rip off, etc. to ensure I get the drill I need. I’m not a juicemonkey or construction worker so I’m not superman. But the nature of my job, the drill must be balanced, not top or back heavy and I need to hold it for sometimes five, ten, twenty more minutes straight while keeping finger depressed and chuck spinning (I am using the drill as a makeshift spinning device, and control is a MUST.) The Ridgid drill is the best I have found anywhere for size to weight ratio and seriously balance too. It is unbeatable. No joke. Go hold one. Compare to any cheaper, same price, or more expensive drill, it kills any competition. And I couldn’t believe it’s a budget house brand. I got it on sale as well, so it was an older version I think 86008 or something. Now they have an even newer one which is even more compact and even better batteries, this X4 stuff which adds a button to show battery level remaining on the battery itself. So useful. I’m kind of upset how well and durable this drill is lasting me. I really want the newer compact one and would hope the old one would break for a logical reason to buy the newer one with the newer X4 hyper lithium ion batteries, that I gather reading from ppls messages up above are even better and more longer lasting. I was already insanely happy with the quality and performance before, but to know they are constantly updating and upgrading their generation of product lines, I am satisfied they are not going anywhere and will back their brand reputation and quality. Home Depot will exchange batteries for you up to one year, and the chicken made it blatantly obvious its most people lazy and not registering is the real problem. Not the 3 yrs out of the box. People complaining are being extremely lazy and ignorant and unfair to the actual LIFETIME warranty that they offer everyone who buys their stuff and takes the time to register like they ask. Is that too much to ask you for a lifetime warranty????? It amazes me places like bix box electronic stores charge hundreds of dollars more for so called extended warranties and you guys complain about a free lifetime one. It boggles me humans sometime…. Anyways I wouldn’t have taken the time.even to write this had I not read such slander about a kickass tool that I bet my life on. It feeds me. Pays my bills. And helps me make money. So I do use it professionally though in other trades besides rough and hard construction/homebuilding. Oh. And I needed a 1/2″ chuck. Which is why I was drilll shopping in the first place. I learned most drills have 3/8″ only and I need big for my job to hold larger items. Besides that, I didn’t really notice or care the chuck shell is plastic and my profession is high heat exposure and the Ridgid is just fine. If anything I’m sure it’s why it feels so perfectly balanced. If you shoot guns or hold things to aim, you know what I’m talking about. It’s self leveling self balancing. And all during relaxed grip, and during depressing the trigger. Someone mentioned the length of the trigger pull and yes I agree its longer than needed, but there’s a hefty chunk of prepull distance before the drill activates and this position is my usual resting position. I have noted that it’s not hard to hold it here while resting, but more importantly its not hard to hold for long periods of time, and sideways, not forward facing like a gun. I have to hold the drill sideways, in front of my face, and at that height too for long durations. So trust me. Balance is very important for me. They have smaller corded screwdrivers which would be even more lighter and easy for me to hold, but battery duration would be a big problem. I work for 8-12 hrs straight sometimes, so thwe Ridgid set was good too cause it came with two batteries. And most kits and deals back then only one battery was standard issue or expected. Nowadays they have more drills with two batteries. Or even smarter pack up kits with less batteries but more tools to jack up the price and less amount of their most expensive replacement component, batteries. Genius, but highly robbery. Anyhow the point is I used to be a prehistoric dinosaur that used nicad and had to wait hours to recharge and resume work. Then I got smart to get a second battery and swap them. This was well before dual battery sets. So anyways when buying Ridgid I noticed the two batteries plus now are lithium ion without memory problems. And they charge hella faster. I really only need the battery to last as long as it takes for the second to charge and I can swap all day long if I need to. The old problem was charge time. Anyhow oldschool Ridgid batteries lasted me a few hours constant run without a lot of weight or torque resistance, and charged quick enough in between. Though my set does have a rapid charger. Now the new batteries are even better and with a charge level tester built in. I have no idea how this kobalt brand expects to compete. a big big big selling point, inside metal gears and guts. As I said I run my drill long and for extended periods of time constant running. So a lot break on me. I think I am a decent source of opinion. This drill just won’t die. I think I just have to give it away in order to not feel like an overconsuming north American with two of everything. But as I said I use it for work and to make a living so maybe it is justified, I guess. Anyways Ridgid all the way. Kobalt feels like craftsman or below mastercraft type quality. And it size and shape is seriously outdated. Large chunky batteries make drills feel clunky. Ridgid batteries are sleek and slimline. Go hold one. You’ll see for yourself. This whole comparison is a waste of time. Anyone who is knowledge will know Ridgid will win. Hands down. Blindfolded and hopping on one leg.
The “chicken” above = “chick” (at home Depot store) explaining to me most ppls problem is the registering of the warranty of Ridgid products. So just don’t be a dummy and register. And you’ll have lifetime. Not three years. Making it better than Any other company out there unless they offer a same warranty. And I think even the high end drills for 300-400$ for a drill kit (not combo tool kit, just a drill driver alone) don’t necessarily have lifetime warranties but I could be wrong. I notice more and more Ridgid stuff at home Depot when I go there so they must be expanding and doing well. Kobalt may come and go. But I think Ridgid is here to stay and home depot seems to train or have employees who know a lot about it. She was really adamant about explaining the lifetime and registering so I guess they’ve felt with enough unhappy people who were just like me and forgot or just never got around to it. Til a battery breaks and you freak out looking for a reception and if or what warranty they have of offer and realize oops its past 90 days since. I bought it and I can’t register it now. Then you get mad at homebdepot when they can’t help you when you show up there all passed and leave all passed at Ridgid and the employees who couldnt help you out. Anyways. The chicken she said her dad was diehard tool lover and loved all the other brands but she got a lot of return or open box stuff cheap as an employee and now he was a huge Ridgid fan too after owning and using and converting get to that brand. Honestly for price levels being on the low end, warranty on the lifetime, and new product development and attention to detail in between, they are gonna come out on top. Especially since batteries are a big focus in cordless power tools and they are stepping up their game in that department for sure. Just look at the clunky shape of the Kobalt pictured next to the Ridgid. Or go hold their new compact x4 drill driver in store. Look at all the display models and hold them all. You won’t find one more cleverly and compactly designed. Durability is great and batteries last longer too now. They are The the top of the game. Someone like Kobalt who is probably just some rich investor who has some hookup or friend with a factory in china who offered him a sick deal on a large lot of unsold drivers. And then rebranded them, recolored them, repackaged them and brought email over here to his Lowes buddy or hookup and now they peddle this old technology newly relabelled and branded for unsuspecting consumers to buy into. I’m glad someone mentioned above that Ridgid does its own development ground up. Cause you really do start to notice in life all the oem junk that is a dime a dozen. And virtually all the same crappy cheap guts. But rebranded in a new colorful shell, a new logo and name, and advertising campaign to get the interest going. Unfortunately for Kobalt, I think they picked the wrong guy. But if Kobalt is slowest house brand, then it makez sense that they take on home depots house brand. Unfortunately they are either too fresh in the game, or relying on the same old lame tactic of rebranded and repackage of bulk lot discount purchases they probably got ahold of and had an opportunity to $$$$$$in. Just my guess anyways. But back to a product vs product comparison, Kobalt can’t win. I hope you take them all apart to pieces and strip them down in your contest as which is better. And note battery size. Weight. Balance. Lastingness. And feel. I have a feelings feeling even though the Kobalt may have one thing going for it, a metal chuck, that could seem as better than a plastic one, I know firsthand the Ridgid chuck is just fine durability wise and even lighter weightwise. Which is more important to me than a front or top heavy metal outsider chuck. The Ridgid chuck inner guts is steel anyways just the par your hand touches is plastic. But last time I checked, 99 out of 100 drills have plastic chucks too. Ridgid 1. Kobalt 0. Have fun with your test. It is amusing to see how this will play out. I’m betting on Ridgid for sure.
Indy Carbide Tool & Supply in Indianapolis, IN……….Grainger.com…….plus other various websites i can list all day that SELLS RIDGID HAND AND POWER TOOLS. Ridgid is NOT a Home Depot brand, contrary to alot of beliefs because of the colors of the tools. Home Depot is the only Home Improvement Store that sells their brand. IF Ridgid is owned by home depot or whatever then why would they allow other companies and competition to sell their own brand. Thats kinda like walking into a Wal-Mart and seeing Target brand stuff on shelves…doesnt make any sense. Now if you are really wanting to talk about Home Depot HOUSE BRAND NAME….try Husky. Husky tools are the “Home Depot Brand” of tools and we all know how husky tools are…blah blah blah, which are made my Stanley. Kobalt is the “Lowe’s Brand” of tools and are made by Snap-On. The Ridgid tools as we are talking about here, Cordless drills, saws, combo kits and all, have been around for a couple “tool Generations” to where as kobalt has just recently came out with them. But when you look at reviews on home depot, lowes, and other various sites the comparison is about the same on them. Anyone in construction and well, anyone knows that when a better model comes out, you want it, its a guy thing dont lie your like that. So is a lifetime warranty really worth the extra money your going to spend on the tools right now. A 5-year warranty is plenty enough cause by the time that warranty is up…youll probably have a better model with better batteries anyway, so how much of that warrany is really that important. NOW dont get my wrong the warranty is important to people, but because a warranyt is better does that mean that it is gonna perform better. It may seem like this is leaning a little toward Lowe’s and Kobalt brand, and in a sense it is but i look at it this way, they both are and can be pricey, they both work great and can do the job, and if all the ruccus about batteries messes with you that much, then go buy an electric makita, i got one in garage that my dad bought over 25 years, and i still use it which by the way works great.
Kobalt is not made by Snap-On. Snap-On doesn’t even make Snap-On. Kobalt is made by Chervon limited of China. Which, by the way, also make Husky, Home Depot house brand; MasterCraft, Menard’s house brand; Craftsman Professional series, Sears house brand; Craftsman Evolv, Sears house brand; Krafttech, K-mart house brand.
Rigid is owned by Emerson Electric Company, not Home Depot. The name is not even trademarked by Home Depot as Kobalt is trademarked by Lowes.
Research is easy. Learn to google (verb, not company name).
Hi , I don’t normally post here, but having done some research on lots of brands today, I did discover that the majority of the Ridgid power tool line , with the exception of Shop Vacs and Plumbing tools, are manufactured by TTi (Techtronic Industries) under license from Emerson Electric. TTi owns Milwaukee, Ryobi and AEG , among other well-known American brands. It was suggested above that this latest Ridgid X4 drill was designed in one of their studios in South Carolina, not far from where I grew up.
http://www.ttigroup.com/en/our_brands
AEG tools are marketed throughout Europe & Australia/NZ and a quick look at their website (Australian Version) and you will see some tools that look mighty familiar to the Home Depot Tool Department grazer ! It is curious why TTi does not list Ridgid on their site, but they may have some agreement with Home Depot.
http://www.aegpowertools.com.au/products/combo-kits/
One of their demo videos ended with “Serving professionals since 1898″ , so even if we are not familiar with their tools here in the States, they have been around. I like that they have a pretty extensive line of 18V tools there , which means we are likely to get more here, also. Incidentally, HD’s site carries more 18V Ridgid tools than their stores, including a cool portable light that uses a standard compact fluorescent bulb.
It seems they have worked out some of the issues they had with the earlier generation of the Lithium Ion batteries and having a Full Lifetime Warranty on the batteries, parts and service is what really clinched it for me. You just have to REMEMBER TO REGISTER AFTER YOUR PURCHASE !
Cheers,
V
Re: Vman says:
One of their demo videos ended with “Serving professionals since 1898″
—
I find it really distasteful that so many companies trade on names. AEG today is NOT the same company it was originally, it has been bought and sold many times since its origin, the only thing that is the same is the name.