Brand loyalty....or just convenience

[Thorfun]

morning all,

I'm wondering if there is such a thing as brand loyalty these days where you completely buy into that company or if, now that most manufacturers have the ability to share batteries amongst all their equipment, it's simply a convenience to use all of the same manufacturer's equipment?

 

The reason I'm asking is that I recently bought an Erbauer SDS cordless drill and a couple of batteries with the thought of buying new Erbauer power tools as and when I need them and I can use the same batteries with them all. and they do a lot of different tools which should satisfy my needs (most of my other tools are corded apart from a really old DeWalt cordless screwdriver/drill which is on it's last legs)..........but, I'm after a cordless Pole saw to do some trimming of branches around the garden etc but Erbauer don't do one!

 

so, as I've only got the one Erbauer power tool at the moment and not fully in their ecosystem do I knock them on the head and start buying a company who does Pole Saws and go with them for everything? or do I buy one company for garden tools and stick with Erbauer for building tools? or do I mix and match as required?

 

and then if I start with a new company for garden/external tools who should that be? I've been looking at Oregon garden tools and they seem to be pretty good and reasonably priced although their batteries are hugely expensive. Then there's DeWalt who are expensive on the tools but the batteries seem to be cheaper. I'd like to stay away from the 'budget' end of the spectrum as I'd like these tools to last through the build and beyond.

 

anyone have any brand loyalty these days? or do you simply buy as you need and not worry about who the manufacturer is as long as the tools do the job?

[nod]

I think there still is 

We never buy anything other than Hilti 

Due to no other brand will stand up to the contrast abuse 

Two year warranty Fix and back to you in two days or a replacement is sent out 

Put them on eBay after two years and recouped half your outlay 

[ProDave]

Batteries are not interchangable between makes (at least not without making an adaptor of some sort)

 

Batteries are also the weak link, so the thought of having 2 batteries and say 5 power tools is a recipe for never finding a charged battery when you need it, and short battery life as they will be hammered.

[Thorfun]

22 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Batteries are not interchangable between makes (at least not without making an adaptor of some sort)

 

agreed. so if going with multiple manufacturers you'd end up with multiple batteries and their chargers!

 

22 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Batteries are also the weak link, so the thought of having 2 batteries and say 5 power tools is a recipe for never finding a charged battery when you need it, and short battery life as they will be hammered.

 

this is an interesting concept and not something I'd really considered as I would generally be working on my own on things and so with 2 batteries one would be on charge while using the other one and I doubt a situation would ever arise, for me, where multiple tools would be being used at once. although the shortened life span is not something I'd considered.

 

Would you then buy multiple manufacturers or simply one battery per tool?

[Thorfun]

27 minutes ago, nod said:

I think there still is 

We never buy anything other than Hilti 

Due to no other brand will stand up to the contrast abuse 

Two year warranty Fix and back to you in two days or a replacement is sent out 

Put them on eBay after two years and recouped half your outlay 

they look more expensive that DeWalt but I guess you do get what you pay for. I'm not a professional builder though so I'm not sure that sort of robustness is needed but I will research them some more.

[PeterW]

I stick with Makita LXT as it has the widest range of tools tbh and the technology is pretty well proven. You can also buy other tools (a few of us have the heavy duty impact driver - £25 search Fakita) and they are ok. Not gone down the clone batteries yet but will do soon 

 

FFX have good offers on Makita and you can also pick up on eBay if you shop about. The other good thing is they don’t change the fittings / batteries frequently and you’re unlikely to get obsolete tools. 
 

I did look at Milwaukee but couldn’t justify the difference in price for a standard set (£700 vs £1100) of tools so I’ve stayed blue. 
 

Mate has Dewalt Flex and is saying they are heavy for all day use and he’s not been as impressed with the life on the units - he’s a joiner and uses them every day and has found the jigsaws not to be that robust. 

[Thorfun]

7 minutes ago, PeterW said:

I stick with Makita LXT as it has the widest range of tools tbh and the technology is pretty well proven. You can also buy other tools (a few of us have the heavy duty impact driver - £25 search Fakita) and they are ok. Not gone down the clone batteries yet but will do soon 

 

FFX have good offers on Makita and you can also pick up on eBay if you shop about. The other good thing is they don’t change the fittings / batteries frequently and you’re unlikely to get obsolete tools. 
 

I did look at Milwaukee but couldn’t justify the difference in price for a standard set (£700 vs £1100) of tools so I’ve stayed blue. 
 

Mate has Dewalt Flex and is saying they are heavy for all day use and he’s not been as impressed with the life on the units - he’s a joiner and uses them every day and has found the jigsaws not to be that robust. 

 

I can't see a Pole saw from Makita though so I'd still need to get another manufacturer for that. ?

 

but a very interesting point about not changing fittings often as that happened with the Dewalt drill I have. the batteries won't fit their new stuff so if I went with Dewalt (although probably won't due to cost and your mate's review!) I'd have to buy new batteries as well.

[PeterW]

22 minutes ago, Thorfun said:

 

I can't see a Pole saw from Makita though so I'd still need to get another manufacturer for that. ?

 

but a very interesting point about not changing fittings often as that happened with the Dewalt drill I have. the batteries won't fit their new stuff so if I went with Dewalt (although probably won't due to cost and your mate's review!) I'd have to buy new batteries as well.

Huge range from Makita - I will find the full range list but there are multiple options for pole saws including the multi tool systems. 
 

 

This is a decent image - you can even get a coffee machine ..!!

[Onoff]

The majority of my gear is LXT. Can't beat it imo.

 

However I wanted a 36V chainsaw for occasional use but didn't want to pay Makita prices. I bought an Einhell chainsaw for half the price and 3D printed adapters to use Makita batteries. Works like a dream. A couple of videos.

 

If I were you I'd abandon Erbauer if you're going to do lots of stuff over many years and go with a make. If for nothing else the ability to get spares. 

 

Use the Erbauer as your second drill. Tbh there might even be a Makita battery to Erbauer tool adapter out there already. I'll have a look in a bit.

Edited May 27, 2020 by Onoff

[Thorfun]

25 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Huge range from Makita - I will find the full range list but there are multiple options for pole saws including the multi tool systems. 
 

 

This is a decent image - you can even get a coffee machine ..!!

interesting, I didn't see the multitool. however (and just playing devil's advocate here as I'm a believer in you get what you pay for but there is a form of diminishing returns on that the really expensive stuff) it is hugely more expensive than the Oregon multitool. and seeing as a lot of these company use Oregon chains would the actual Makita tools be that much better than an Oregon tool? 

 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/oregon-ph600-4-36v-4-0ah-li-ion-brushless-cordless-4-in-1-multi-tool/922hf

 

 

[wozza]

I have quite a few Makita LXT tools and a big ish corded SDS drill. - I rate them.

 

I once got told by a chap who worked in a tool sales and repair place that Makita tools had fewer returns and repairs than other brands.

 

I have had a couple of good deals from passiontec - my impact driver was over £30 cheaper than anyone else and it was shipped from Germany in three days.

[Thorfun]

17 minutes ago, Onoff said:

The majority of my gear is LXT. Can't beat it imo.

 

However I wanted a 36V chainsaw but didn't want to pay Mskits prices. I bought an Einhell chainsaw for half the price and 3D printed adapters to use Makita batteries. Works like a dream.

 

If I were you I'd abandon Erbauer if you're going to do lots of stuff over many years and go with a make. If for nothing else the ability to get spares. 

Use the Erbauer as your second drill. Tbh there might even be a Makita battery to Erbauer tool adapter out there already. I'll have a look in a bit.

so, again and sorry to bang on about Oregon stuff but their 36V chainsaw is a pretty reasonable price.

 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/oregon-cs300-36v-li-ion-brushless-cordless-40cm-self-sharpening-chainsaw-bare/2432k

 

once you already have the batteries that is!

 

I just don't know how good their machinery is, although I believe their chains and bar quality is not in doubt.

[Thorfun]

1 minute ago, wozza said:

I have quite a few Makita LXT tools and a big ish corded SDS drill. - I rate them.

 

I once got told by a chap who worked in a tool sales and repair place that Makita tools had fewer returns and repairs than other brands.

 

I have had a couple of good deals from passiontec - my impact driver was over £30 cheaper than anyone else and it was shipped from Germany in three days.

 

thanks. seems that there are a lot of Makita happy customers! I definitely cannot ignore that.

[Thorfun]

37 minutes ago, Thorfun said:

so, again and sorry to bang on about Oregon stuff but their 36V chainsaw is a pretty reasonable price.

 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/oregon-cs300-36v-li-ion-brushless-cordless-40cm-self-sharpening-chainsaw-bare/2432k

 

once you already have the batteries that is!

 

I just don't know how good their machinery is, although I believe their chains and bar quality is not in doubt.

 

oh dear. this is not a good review!

 

https://www.techgearlab.com/reviews/tools/cordless-chainsaw/oregon-cordless-cs300

 

I'm starting to lean towards Makita. too many recommendations to ignore although I will definitely do more research. Anyone got any first hand experience of the Oregon power tools?

[Cpd]

Been using Makita for 20+ years and it’s my go to make  for sure. It takes abuse with ease. I have not actually got a broken makita tool and I have a lot, ive just upgraded as the years go on and the old stuff gets buried deeper and deeper in the shed..... 

[Onoff]

53 minutes ago, Thorfun said:

Anyone got any first hand experience of the Oregon power tools?

 

No. Just be told. Buy Makita. This isn't an "Oregon" sort of place.

 

?

[Thorfun]

51 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

No. Just be told. Buy Makita. This isn't an "Oregon" sort of place.

 

?

I've moved on from Oregon now. just researching and watching some reviews of the Ego tools. seem to get good reviews although I'll probably end up with Makita I like to research as many options as possible!

[PeterW]

Ego and Echo are both good - would love a decent 20” Echo hedge trimmer..!! 

[Thorfun]

7 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Ego and Echo are both good - would love a decent 20” Echo hedge trimmer..!! 

all the reviews seem to rate Ego. a 56V system as well. more research required but glad to know that someone on here rates them. ? 

[Gone West]

1 hour ago, Thorfun said:

all the reviews seem to rate Ego. a 56V system as well. more research required but glad to know that someone on here rates them. ? 

We bought an Ego self propelled lawnmower, strimmer and hedgecutter recently. The lawnmower came with a 5Ah battery which I use in the others. No complaints yet and charges quite quickly. May consider getting a 2Ah battery for the hedgecutter as I'm getting weak in  my old age or maybe eat some more spinach.

[Thorfun]

4 minutes ago, PeterStarck said:

We bought an Ego self propelled lawnmower, strimmer and hedgecutter recently. The lawnmower came with a 5Ah battery which I use in the others. No complaints yet and charges quite quickly. May consider getting a 2Ah battery for the hedgecutter as I'm getting weak in  my old age or maybe eat some more spinach.

 

thanks Peter. it's good to know! 

 

arrrrggghhhhh! why is this so difficult to choose. I was supposed to be working today but seem to have spent most of my day reading/watching reviews and using spreadsheets to compare. 

I'm sorely tempted to keep my garden equipment and my household tools separate for no other reason than not wanting to put all my eggs in one basket. Also, the Ego multitool works out about £250 - £350 cheaper (depending on where you buy) and I can get it next day delivery! whereas the Makita multitool body is out of stock most places and SWMBO wants to start in the garden asap. so, I think that's pretty much made my mind up for the garden tools then. 

 

I am very impressed with the range of tools that Makita offer though and so I think I'll probably ditch Erbauer and buy Makita for my tools for building with. i can probably sell my Erbauer drill as I've not used it much to recoup some of the costs.

 

thanks for all the advice. it has been (as usual) very helpful.

[Thorfun]

bugger.....spent so long procrastinating that I missed the deadline for shipping today! ?‍♂️

 

but my new Ego multitool should be here by the weekend. I'd just like to take this moment to apologise to all those that suggested I use Makita. I did listen to your advice and it was much appreciated but in the end a few things swayed me elsewhere. availability, price, and needing to use 2 x 18V batteries for the Makita range.

[CC45]

I use 18v dewalt - a lot of my mates do.  We aren't builders but are all self building.  Never a bother with them.  I suspect there's very little difference between Dewalt and makita.  I would buy either of these and sleep easy.  Buy cheap buy twice.

[Thorfun]

21 minutes ago, CC45 said:

 Buy cheap buy twice.

 

couldn't agree more! although I probably contradicted myself by not going the Makita route but the Ego stuff isn't cheap! it's just not as expensive as Makita/Dewalt. ?

 

although, only time will tell.