Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Ridgid). This thread is read-only.
My wife picked this hammer drill/driver for me a couple of weeks ago. So far I’ve used it a couple of times drilling holes in cabinets with varying hole saws. Drill is incredibly powerful compared to my other brushless Ridgid drills which are no slouches. Heard about issues with the clutch loosening during use but so far haven’t noticed this. Battery fit (the 3.0 Octane battery that was included in the kit) is a bit off compared to my other Ridgid drills and impact drivers. Even when snapped in the battery has a little more than 1/8″ of forward/backwards movement. It’s not loose and you have to try to move it. Hasn’t caused an issue with performance so it’s just something for me to keep an eye on. All in all, the drill is a savage so far. Definitely utilize the auxiliary handle when using hole saws because if the hole saw gets stuck you’ll pray that your grip lets go before your arm gets twisted off. Great addition to my deep Ridgid cordless platform.
A little more time with this drill and absolutely loving it. Still shocks me grabbing a big handful of trigger. The old saying “too much power is just enough” totally applies. Years ago if someone told me that cordless drills were going to have over 1000 inch pounds of torque I would’ve asked what they were smoking, and if I can have some too. O0
Was curious about all the “OCTANE” branding, was beginning to think it was just a marketing gimmick, I think for what you pay for Ridgid you get outstanding tools
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Jimbo, I switched from Milwaukee to Ridgid when they first came out (nicad/nimh days) and have no plans on going back. Not saying Ridgid is better or vice versa, but Ridgid is definitely the best bang for the buck when it comes to contractor grade tools. Honesty, I like having the different tool color on jobs. Makes it harder to get my stuff confused with most other’s tools. The Octane line appears to be quite improved similar to when Milwaukee released their “Fuel” line and now Gen3. A lot of people complain about the Ridgid lifetime service plan being difficult to complete. I strongly disagree. If you can read your receipt and serial numbers on the tools, the process is really simple. Even if it was a tad difficult, no other company even offers it. Of ALL of my Ridgid tools over all of the years I had them I had one cordless drill randomly shut off from time to time and one battery fade out, both after several years of jobsite use and abuse. I didn’t use the warranty service. I was happy enough. My partner is a Milwaukee guy and we constantly use each other’s tools. He’s mentioned on many occasions that if he had it to do over again he’d have gone Ridgid due to the equal performance, but much better price point. To each his own. Many slam Ridgid despite never using them but that usually just makes me laugh a bit. Use what you like and what works for you and you’ll have a good productive day.
Picked up 2 of the 9.0 batteries last night. Anxious to get them in this bad boy drill and tear some stuff up.
I only own a couple ridged tools…but, they just had a deal at hd…..starter kit( 1/3ah octane battery, 1/ 6ah octane battery, 1 fast charger, 1 octane bag) plus 1/ 9ah octane battery for $109…had to buy it.
Wow! I bought 2 of the 9.0 batteries a couple of weeks ago. They were on sale for $99. These batteries are savage beasts. Tried them in many of my tools and I’m super impressed. Yes, they’re big but tools have tons of power and I haven’t depleted one of them yet. These new Octane tools and batteries have won me over big time.
So I am a big fan of ridgid so far I had the gen 5x version and loved it. Used quite heavily. I bought the octane versions cause well why not new product supposed to be better I believe it is except for the trigger seems the triggers are failing on my octane tools started with my impact drill now I notice my hammer drill doing it as well variable speed trigger stops working to be more specific when you barely squeeze the trigger it takes off max rpm but when you squeeze the trigger all the way it either stops rotating or does a studder type deal lights flicker off and on I’ve used the octane versions along less and have treated them much better I have the warranties and there being fixed but 12 to 15 weeks is a long time going without your livelihood hopefully when the fix it they use a more reliable trigger