These Milwaukee Cordless Tools Will Help You Build Out Your On-The-Go Kit
When you're good at working with your hands, it may occasionally seem like problems requiring DIY work just pop up out of nowhere. It's not so much that the universe is putting handiwork problems in front of you; it is just you recognizing when some kind of problem has a quick and simple solution. When you've got the know-how, it's easier to spot when and how something is broken and how to fix it.
If you feel that a multitude of such problems have been cropping up around you lately, you'd do well to assemble an on-the-go stash of tools to respond to them quickly. Stash this kit in your home or car, and when trouble arises, you can be a regular Fix-It Felix. To best facilitate this, you'll want cordless, battery-powered tools that you don't have to go hunting around for an outlet to use. As it happens, the Milwaukee hardware brand's bread and butter is convenient cordless tools.
We have five compact, cordless Milwaukee tools to recommend for your budding kit, each backed up by reviews from customers and professional workers.
M18 18V Lithium-Ion Cordless 1/2 in. Drill Driver Kit
If there were a banner-carrier of compact tools, it would be the classic power drill. Whether you need to make a quick hole or drive in a bolt or screw, a steadfast drill driver can handle both with confidence. Not only does Milwaukee offer a reliable drill driver, but if you're looking to build an on-the-go kit, then you can get one bundled alongside some other essentials.
The Cordless Drill Driver packs 500 in. lbs. of torque and up to 1,800 RPM thanks to its 4-pole frameless motor, plus an all-metal gear case and chuck to ensure stability and durability. What's especially nice is Milwaukee's proprietary REDLINK intelligence overload protection system, which automatically manages the tool's temperature during heavy usage situations to prevent it from overheating.
The Cordless Drill Driver Kit includes the titular drill driver, as well as a soft carrying case, a multi-voltage charger, and two REDLITHIUM battery packs. All of this has a 4.6 out of 5 user rating at Home Depot, where you can get the kit for $179.00. Tool review YouTube channel markthomasbuilder highly recommends the Cordless Drill Driver for its low weight, power, and precision, with the only real complaint being a lack of spots to store bits on the tool itself.
M12 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Electric Portable Inflator
Perhaps one of the most annoying examples of sudden hardware emergencies is a flat tire. Even if you don't run over a wood screw and puncture a hole in your tire, the general passage of time will squeeze the air out, leaving your ride uneven. Normally, this would necessitate a slog to the nearest gas station and five bucks in quarters to use the air pump, but instead of that, just pull an inflator out of your bag of tricks!
Milwaukee's Cordless Electric Portable Inflator has more than enough power to reinflate your tires, and yet it's only 7.5 inches tall, easily small enough to stick into an on-the-go kit. Using its high-efficiency motor, this little wonder can fully reinflate a typical car tire in under 60 seconds, though it can also handle any inflatable rated for up to 120 PSI. Using the digital display and its TrueFill auto-shutoff technology, you just program your desired PSI and let the pump do its job; it'll turn off automatically when the selected PSI is reached.
The Cordless Electric Portable Inflator is available at Home Depot for $129.00, where it has a user rating of 4.6 out of 5. This device comes recommended by tool review site ToolGuyd, which tested it on a pair of truck tires. With the power of a 4.0 battery pack, they were able to fill both tires with no rattling or drop-outs.
M18 FUEL 18V Lithium-Ion Cordless Brushless Oscillating Multi-Tool
The tricky thing about a sudden hardware emergency is that you never know exactly what kind of emergency it's going to be until it's already staring you in the face. As such, the best way to prepare for one is to pack a tool that doesn't have a single defined usage but rather works in a multitude of ways. In other words, you need a multi-tool and a powerful one at that.
Milwaukee's M18 FUEL Oscillating Multi-Tool has the muscle and adaptability to handle any situation. By switching out the blade, the oscillating head and brushless motor work together to deliver up to 20,000 OPM of rotational action, guaranteed to cut through materials of any shape and size. The REDLINK Plus intelligence system carefully distributes power from the attached battery pack to maximize longevity, while the auto-load feature starts the head slow for precision and gradually ramps up the speed to make deeper cuts.
The Milwaukee M18 Cordless Oscillating Multi-Tool is available at Home Depot for $229.00, where it has a user rating of 4.8 out of 5. Kenny Koehler of Pro Tool Reviews gave this tool an impressive 9.6 out of 10 score, citing its excellent cutting and sanding speeds, not to mention its comfortable grip and vibration-dampening features.
M12 FUEL 12V Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless 3/8 in. Right Angle Impact Wrench
Perhaps one of the most annoying handiwork situations you can encounter is when you need to loosen or tighten a nut or bolt, but it's right against a wall. It's too tight to work a regular wrench in there, to say nothing of actually turning it to loosen or tighten. What you need is a tool that you can just stick into the gap, attach it to the bolt, and let it handle the hard part. Milwaukee has just such a tool.
The M12 FUEL Right Angle Impact Wrench provides all the tightening and loosening action you could need for nuts and bolts but with a convenient right-angle design that allows you to work it into tight confines. The head is only 2.8 inches across, so it can fit into all kinds of tiny nooks and crannies, while the POWERSTATE motor delivers up to 220 ft. lbs. of torque to show those fasteners who's boss. Even if you can't see what you're fastening or loosening, the tool features an auto-shutoff that prevents over-tightening and slows to a stop when loosening.
Milwaukee's M12 FUEL Right Angle Impact Wrench is available at Home Depot for $199.00, where it has a user rating of 4.6 out of 5. DIY auto repair YouTube channel MrSubaru1387 was very impressed by this tool after successfully using it to tighten and loosen fasteners on cars, trucks, and tractors.
M18 18-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless LED Mounting Flood Light
One major element of surprise you need to consider when it comes to sudden hardware situations is the time of day they occur. If you're a contractor, after all, it may be more common for your friends or family to contact you when they have an emergency in the middle of the night. It's not safe to work in the dark, so you need a compact source of light to clear things up.
Milwaukee's M18 Mounting Flood Light is only 6.3 inches tall, small enough to clip to a work ladder, but its power betrays its size. This little lantern can output a whopping 1,500 lumens of clear, white light and run constantly for up to 20 hours on a single battery pack. As we mentioned, it features a spring-loaded clamp to firmly attach to any solid object like a ladder or pipe, though it also has a powerful magnetic base you can use to stick it to metallic surfaces. Don't worry if you drop it; it's impact-rated for falls of up to 9 feet.
The Milwaukee M18 Mounting Flood Light is available at Home Depot for $149.00, where it has a user rating of 4.6 out of 5. Users of this device have praised the powerful illumination and steadfast attachment methods. The only real consistent complaint is its lack of a handle, but it does its best work in a single location anyway.
Selection methodology
The preceding tools were chosen from small-sized, cordless Milwaukee tools available at Home Depot, with preference given to tools with at least a 4 out of 5 user score and/or positive feedback from either accredited tool review sites or tool review YouTube channels with at least 10,000 subscribers.