Hitachi DS10DFL 12-Volt, Excellent, compact 2 speed..

Overall Rating55555

Excellent, compact 2 speed range Li ion cordless drill & driver

In this category of drills, this one is excellent. Not many bells and whistles, very tight and solid operation and construction.

Got this one because of the small size and relatively light drill + battery. Does very well as a small electric screwdriver on the lower range. Quite good on higher range as a drill.

Run time is about average compared to others in this class, but the Li ion batteries charge much faster than NiCd which most competitors have, or they are a good bit larger and heavier. Costs a bit more than the NiCd counterparts, better torque and better for the environment than cheaper NiCd competition.

Major chain home improvement stores have been marking this down $10 recently (Aug2009).

Update (2/7/2012): I also found some auctions for this item here.

The featured review for this product, Hitachi DS10DFL 12-Volt Peak Li-Ion 2 Speed Drill/Driver Tools & Hardware, was written by M. R. Smith.

The average rating for this item is 5 out of 5 stars, according to 3 reviews.

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Reviews (3)

M. R. Smith

April 18th, 2010 at 1:03 am    


Overall Rating55555

Excellent, compact 2 speed range Li ion cordless drill & driver
Rated 5 stars.


Jim in Martinez

April 27th, 2010 at 6:31 pm    


Overall Rating55555

Best little drill I have owned so far
I tried this tool out while I was visiting friends in New England (Ipswich MA to be more precise). It was a pleasant surprise to me. It is compact relatively light weight and with plenty of torque and sufficient speed. I used it for two full days on several tasks without having to recharge the battery. After a few more days using the tool I decided it was worth it for me to buy one for myself. I ordered it online from MA and it was delivered right after I got back to California. I have been using it regularly at home instead of my Makita and more often than my DeWalt. With a paint stirring attachment it can quickly stir one or two gallon cans of paint. I used to use the 14.5 volt DeWalt because it had plenty of torque but was not real fast. The Hitachi has more than enough torque and is much faster, not mention a whole lot lighter.

Pros: good torque, good speed, nice weight and the light is a real plus as well

Cons: Not one that I have found so far.

I will be buying another for gift soon.

Nice tool to own!


Ben Mills

May 17th, 2010 at 11:50 am    


Overall Rating55555

Great drill, but will it have enough power for bigger jobs
I recently started doing some beginners woodworking and I was looking for a new drill to replace a super cheap Black & Decker that just wasn’t getting the job done. I wanted a one size fits all drill, but I didn’t want to pay too much and I didn’t want it to be too heavy. Lithium-ion would definitely be a bonus as well. I saw the great reviews for this drill and I read that a 12V drill is good enough for general woodworking.

After using the drill, I’m very happy with the purchase. It’s very light and it’s great having 2 batteries that charge very quickly. It also has way more clutch settings than my old Black & Decker, which is useful. My only concern is that this is a 12V PEAK drill. It sounds like you get 12V when the battery is fully charged, but it quickly drops down to 10.8V. I hope that’s powerful enough when I use it for bigger jobs. It seems powerful enough, but it slowed a little when I used it with a Kreg pocket hole jig. The pocket hole jig has a large drill bit and the drill did work, but I wouldn’t say it was “easy power”. I’ll update the review if I have any problems going forward.


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