DEWALT DCD800B 20V MAX XR Cordless Drill/Driver

In truth, this is probably more than I need on a regular basis but dang is it a lot of fun. For some background, I've worked my way through the full spectrum of DeWalt 20v Max drill/driver offerings over the past two-ish years, beginning with the brushed DCD771c2, then the basic brushless DCD777, then finally the DCD800b. I've played with two generations of Atomic at the store. The 12v series is also compelling. If form factor is an issue consider exploring those lines. Unfortunately I just don't have enough experience with those lines to include a meaningful comparison. Do have a look, though. Other gaps include the DCD991, which appears to a beast. The DCD996 also appears to be pure savagery, and I can't personally justify purchasing either of those fore my purposes. For my use case, I'm mostly DIY and occasionally work with my contractor friends if they need an extra person. I got the 800 as a little treat. I'm already deep in the DeWalt ecosystem with a variety of other tools, so despite the negative experience and repairs I had to do on the DCD777, I decided to try again with the 800. The 800 won't make your breakfast or take out the trash, but it will make your (working) life much gentler compared to the other product tiers. I haven't been purchasing my own powertools for very long, so this has been as much a process of learning how different tiers feel as it has been a practical intervention towards finding what feels good and stable for me to use. Lower tier (771) is powerful for what it is. Quite loud. When turning it on and off, you can kind of feel the brush kicking in the hand. Kind of a wrist turn. It was fine, but I can understand why if a person were using this tool every day, such a thing could become and ergonomic problem. I did my first several months of shelving and furniture construction with this item and it was adequate for those household tasks. The kickback adequately matched the power of the drill. 777 was a lot of fun while the original chuck still worked. No kick. Shorter than the 771 and a nice weight. When equipped with a 1.5" spade bit it could make appropriate progress. When equipped with a self-feeding auger, specifically the Spyder Stinger, this drill requires light pressure. It is prone to sucking the augur in too quickly and then jamming. The kickback mechanism is questionable, so you may get beaten up with a battery if you aren't leveraging the bottom of the handle properly. This tool is quite good, but if you plan to use it on more demanding jobs, your fundamentals need to be on point. The 800 will power through so many things. You can do whatever you want, really. It is TINY compared to the other two. It makes a huge difference in terms of balance and comfort having all of the weight sitting directly over the meatiest part of the hand. My first task for this drill was to carve out 22 3.5" holes in 1.5-inch hemlock with a Lennox hole saw. Using 4 and 5ah batteries this drill showed no hesitation whatsoever until the battery reached one bar. When using auger bits the drill held up to aggressive self-feeding and the kickback mechanism did its job. For basic drilling operations it is bananas. Honestly its night and day compared to the lower tier options, as it should be. You should be getting premium performance for a premium price. For a person who will be using this kind of tool every day and needs to work quickly, there's nothing better than good ergonomics. Having a drill that won't slip and twist your arm. That will never let you down on fundamental tasks. That has an all-metal, beefy as heck chuck. That allows you to work quickly. This whole buying process has helped me understand the draw of higher-end tools. The 800 is arguably in excess of what I need, but you know what? It's sick and I'm keeping it. For tools that you use frequently it is worth the investment to get exactly what you want if price allows. One final note on size is to be mindful of the clutch placement. After working so long with the other two drills, I was used to being able to grip the clutch with my fingertips touching on the other side and twist without my fingers hitting the body of the drill. I could go from 1 to drill in one big twist. I say this as a small-handed person: the 800 is stubby and does not allow for this. Please be careful, as the metal clutch hurts when your fingers knock against the body of the drill near the trigger. The clutch also requires a much firmer hold to twist. I still get bitten sometimes as I try to unlearn old habits. It's not a huge problem, just something to be aware of and get used to should you chose to upgrade.